Agenda Document Pack - Cabinet - 24/01/2023
North Ayrshire Council · 24 January 2023
Back to Cabinet — 24 January 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE Cabinet A Meeting of the Cabinet of North Ayrshire Council will be held in the Council Chambers, Ground Floor, Cunninghame House, Irvine, KA12 8EE on Tuesday, 24 January 2023 at 14:30 to consider the undernoted business. Meeting Arrangements - Hybrid Meetings This meeting will be held on a predominantly physical basis but with provision, by prior notification, for remote attendance by Elected Members in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003. Where possible, the meeting will be live-streamed and available to view at https://north-ayrshire.public- i.tv/core/portal/home. 1 Declarations of Interest Members are requested to give notice of any declarations of interest in respect of items of business on the Agenda. 2 Minutes The accuracy of the minutes of meeting of the Cabinet held on 29 November 2022 will be confirmed and the Minutes signed in accordance with Paragraph 7 (1) of Schedule 7 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (copy enclosed). Reports by the Chief Executive 3 Council Plan Mid-Year Progress Report Submit a report by the Head of Service (Democratic Services) advising Cabinet on progress of our Council Plan priorities (copy enclosed). 1
Page 2
North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE 4 Proposed Car parking Charges Kilwinning, Irvine and Saltcoats (a) Submit a report by the Head of Service (Democratic Services) on the outcome of consideration by the Audit and Scrutiny Committee of three petitions in relation to proposed car parking charges in Kilwinning, Irvine and Saltcoats (copy enclosed); and (b) Submit a report by the Executive Director (Place) on 3 petitions received objecting to the introduction of car parking charges, the outcome of local discussions held with ward members and local measures proposed following the introduction of DPE and car parking charges and to consider and agree the level of parking charges to be introduced (copy enclosed). 5 Change of Mental Health Champion Submit a report by the Head of Service (Democratic Services) on the appointment of an Elected Member as Mental Health Champion following a vacancy having arisen (copy enclosed). 6 Revenue Budget 2022/23: Financial Performance to 30 November 2022 Submit a report by the Head of Service (Finance) on the financial performance of the Council at 30 November 2022 (copy enclosed). 7 Capital Programme Performance to 31 March 2023 Submit a report by the Head of Service (Finance) on progress in delivering the Capital Investment Programme for 2022/23 (copy enclosed). Reports by the Executive Director (Communities and Education) 8 Proposals for Community Investment Fund (CIF) Expenditure Submit a report by the Executive Director (Communities & Education) on applications by Locality Partnerships to allocate CIF funding to proposed projects (copy enclosed). 9 Community Asset Transfer Application – Toilet Block and adjacent land at Ardrossan South Beach Submit a report by the Executive Director (Communities & Education) seeking approval, in principle, for a 25-year lease of the toilet block and adjacent land at Ardrossan South Beach to Ardrossan Community Development Trust (copy enclosed). Reports by the Executive Director (Place) 10 Providing Affordable Warmth - ECO4 Flex Submit a report by the Executive Director (Place) seeking approval for proposals to enable access to ECO4 Flex funding for eligible households within North Ayrshire (copy enclosed). 2
Page 3
North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE 11 North Ayrshire Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS) Submit a report by the Executive Director (Place) seeking approval of a proposed North Ayrshire Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme. (copy enclosed). 12 Town Centre Fund Update Submit a report by the Executive Director (Place) providing an update on the delivery of the approved Town Centre Fund projects and seeking approval for the reallocation of the balance of funding (copy enclosed). 13 Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme Submit a report by the Executive Director (Place) seeking approval for the proposed North Ayrshire Council submission to the King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer consultation on the proposed new Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme (copy enclosed). 14 Urgent Items Any other items which the Chair considers to be urgent. Webcasting Please note: this meeting may be filmed/recorded/live-streamed to the Council's internet site and available to view at https://north-ayrshire.public- i.tv/core/portal/home, where it will be capable of repeated viewing. At the start of the meeting, the Provost/Chair will confirm if all or part of the meeting is being filmed/recorded/live-streamed. You should be aware that the Council is a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act 2018. Data collected during the webcast will be retained in accordance with the Council’s published policy, including, but not limited to, for the purpose of keeping historical records and making those records available via the Council’s internet site. Generally, the press and public seating areas will not be filmed. However, by entering the Council Chambers, using the press or public seating area or (by invitation) participating remotely in this meeting, you are consenting to being filmed and consenting to the use and storage of those images and sound recordings and any information pertaining to you contained in them for webcasting or training purposes and for the purpose of keeping historical records and making those records available to the public. If you do not wish to participate in a recording, you should leave the meeting. This will constitute your revocation of consent. If you have any queries regarding this and, in particular, if you believe that use and/or storage of any particular information would cause, or be likely to cause, substantial damage or distress to any individual, please contact dataprotectionofficer@north-ayrshire.gov.uk. 3
Page 4
North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE Cabinet Sederunt Marie Burns (Chair) Shaun Macaulay (Vice-Chair) Scott Davidson Tony Gurney Alan Hill Margaret Johnson Christina Larsen Chair: Apologies: Attending: 4
Page 5
Cabinet 29 November 2022 At a Meeting of the Cabinet of North Ayrshire Council at 2.30 p.m. involving a combination of participation by remote electronic means and physical attendance within the Council Chambers, Irvine Present (Physical Participation) Marie Burns, Scott Davidson, Tony Gurney, Alan Hill, Christina Larsen and Shaun Macaulay; Elizabeth Turbet, Rev Mark Goodman (Church Representatives); and Jackie MacKenzie (Teaching Representative) (Agenda Items 3-4). Present (Remote Electronic Participation) Margaret Johnson. In Attendance C. Hatton, Chief Executive; M. Boyd, Head of Service (Finance), D. Forbes, Senior Manager (Financial Management) and S. Quinn, Senior Manager (Corporate Procurement) (Chief Executive’s Service); R. McCutcheon, Executive Director, D. Hammond, Head of Service (Sustainability, Corporate Property & Transport), A. Cowley, Senior Manager (Roads) and M. Miller, Team Leader (Roads) (Place); A. Sutton, Executive Director, R. Arthur, Head of Service (Connected Communities) and L. Taylor, Senior Manager (Education) (Communities & Education); C. Cameron, Director and P. Doak (Head of Service (Finance & Transformation) (Health and Social Care Partnership); N. McIlvanney, Senior Manager and M. Ritchie, Regeneration Manager (Growth and Investment); R. Lynch, Senior Manager and C. Cochrane, Solicitor (Legal Services), L. Jolly, Communications Officer, C. Stewart and D. Mccaw, Committee Services Officers (Democratic Services). Apologies Andrew Bruce, Lay Member. Chair Marie Burns in the Chair. 1. Minutes The Minutes of the Meeting of the Cabinet held on 1 November 2022 were confirmed and the Minutes signed in accordance with Paragraph 7 (1) of Schedule 7 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. 2. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest by Members in terms of Standing Order 11 and Section 5 of the Code of Conduct for Councillors. Agenda Item 2 5
Page 6
3. Mayfields Housing Development, Saltcoats and Proposed Catchment Boundary Changes Submitted a report by the Executive Director (Communities and Education) seeking approval to carry out a Statutory Public Consultation on the proposal to amend the primary school catchment boundary lines between Saltcoats and Stevenston. A map showing the site and current catchment boundary lines was attached at Appendix 1 to the report. Appendix 2 to the report indicated the site and proposed new catchment boundary lines, with Appendix 3 outlining the advantages and disadvantages of each option which had been presented, including discussion with stakeholders as part of the early engagement outlined in the timeline at Appendix 4 to the report. Lastly, the breakdown of the pupil roll showing numbers of children registered for primary 1 (P1) residing within the catchment area and those outwith (placing requests) over the last 5 years was shown in the table at Appendix 5 to the report. The Cabinet agreed to approve the proposal to carry out a Statutory Public Consultation on the proposal to amend the primary school catchment boundary lines between Saltcoats and Stevenston. 4. North Ayrshire Children’s Services Plan 2020-23: Progress Report 2021- 22 Submitted a report by the Director (HSCP) presenting the draft North Ayrshire Children’s Services Plan 2020-23: Progress Report covering 2021-22. The North Ayrshire Children’s Services Plan 2020-23: Progress Report 2021-22 was attached at Appendix 1 to the report. Members asked a question and were provided with further information in relation to the provision of health visitors who had continued to deliver full national health visiting pathways throughout the pandemic and the positive impact this had made on helping children and young people continue to enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle. The Cabinet agreed (a) to approve the draft North Ayrshire Children’s Services Plan 2020-23: Progress Report 2021-22 set out at Appendix 1 to the report; and (b) that the Progress Report be submitted to the Scottish Government and published on the North Ayrshire Community Planning website, subject to sign-off by relevant Community Planning partners. 5. Establishment of a Policy Advisory Panel Submitted a report by the Chief Executive seeking approval to establish an Elected Member Policy Advisory Panel to assist in the preparation of policy proposals for consultation by Cabinet. A proposed Remit for the new Policy Advisory Panel, which was not limited to any specific area of policy development, was attached at Appendix 1 to the report. The Cabinet agreed to the establishment of a Policy Advisory Panel to support its work. 6
Page 7
6. The Investigations Manual of the Ethical Standards Commissioner’s office - Consultation Submitted a report by the Head of Service (Democratic Services) advising that the Ethical Standards Commissioner was consulting on the content of the draft Complaints Investigation Manual and seeking approval for the Council’s proposed submission to the consultation. The draft manual and proposed targets were set out at Appendices 1 and 2 to the report and the suggested consultation response at Appendix 3. The Cabinet agreed to (a) note the draft consultation document; and (b) approve the submission of the proposed consultation response provided at Appendix 3 to the report. 7. Revenue Budget 2022/23: Financial Performance to 30 September 2022 Submitted a report by the Head of Service (Finance) on the financial performance of the Council at 30 September 2022. Detailed explanations of the significant variances in service expenditure compared to the approved budgets, together with information on funding to be carried forward to support expenditure during 2022/23 were provided in Appendices 1-4 of the report. A full list of the proposed carry forward of earmarked funds was set out at Appendix 5 to the report. Information in respect of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was contained in Appendices 6 and 6a and information on virements/budget adjustment requests was provided at Appendix 7 to the report. Information on the IJB financial performance was presented in Appendix 8 to the report. The Cabinet agreed to (a) note (i) the information and financial projections outlined in the report and its associated appendices, (ii) the latest financial projection for the Health and Social Care Partnership highlighted at 2.6 of the report and (iii) the current projected deficit position of KA Leisure; and (b) approve (i) the earmarking of £1.792m identified at section 2.5 of the report to meet future year commitments and (ii) the virements detailed at Appendix 7 to the report. 9. Capital Programme Performance to 31 March 2023 Submitted a report by the Head of Service (Finance) on progress in delivering the Capital Investment Programme for 2022/23. Members asked a question and were provided with further information in relation to the global impact of rising costs and what affect this might have on the Council’s Capital Programme. The Cabinet agreed to note (i) the revisions to budgets outlined in the report, (ii) the General Services and HRA revised budgets at 30 September 2022, and (ii) the forecast expenditure to 31 March 2023. 7
Page 8
10. Treasury Management and Investment Mid-Year Report 2022/23 Submitted a report by the Head of Service (Finance) providing Cabinet with a Treasury Management update for the period 1 April to 30 September 2022. The Mid- Year report was attached at Appendix 1 to the report. The Cabinet agreed to (a) endorse the contents of the Treasury Management and Investment Mid-Year Report for 2022/23 as set out at Appendix 1 to the report; and (b) note the Prudential and Treasury Indicators contained therein. 11. Procurement Annual Activity Report (21-22) Submitted a report by the Head of Service (Finance) providing an update on Procurement activity for the period 2021/22. Members asked questions and were provided with further information in relation to the target figure which the Council had set to increase spend with local suppliers to 26% by 2024. The Cabinet agreed to note the contents of the report. 12. Cost-of-Living Crisis Submitted a report by the Executive Director (Communities & Education) on the Council’s response to the current cost-of-living crisis and associated investments and funds. Appendix 1 to the report provided an update on activity relating to the cost-of-living themes of energy advice & support, food, clothing & essentials, finance & benefits, children & families, health & wellbeing, business & community including transport to work, support for communities, and employee wellbeing. Members asked questions and were provided with further information in relation to the range of help and supports that had been made available to assist North Ayrshire residents in dealing with the current cost-of-living crisis. The Chair took the opportunity to thank the community and Elected Members for their input and participation in this work. The Cabinet agreed to (a) note the progress the Council has made on developing support in relation to the cost-of-living crisis and (b) accept future progress reports on the investments, funds and activity associated with the cost-of-living crisis. 13. Financial Inclusion Submitted a report by the Director (HSCP) providing Cabinet with an update on Financial Inclusion services. The current reporting structures of the teams which were part of the review process were set out at Appendix 1 to the report. 8
Page 9
Members asked questions and were provided with further information in relation to the timescales for the reporting of the Financial Inclusion Strategy to Cabinet and the importance of ensuring good and effective communication, to make as many people as possible aware of the Financial Inclusion service available to them in North Ayrshire. The Cabinet agreed to note the Financial Inclusion services being provided to local people, the increasing caseloads that were being handled in response to the cost-of- living crisis and through the expansion of service provision, and the initial findings of an ongoing review which would create a more integrated system to better support people in need. 13. Community Asset Transfer Application – Ardeer Quarry Football Ground and adjacent land Submitted a report by the Executive Director (Communities & Education) seeking approval for the transfer of ownership of Ardeer Football Ground and adjacent land. The Plan of Ardeer Quarry Football Ground and adjacent land was set out at Appendix 1 to the report. The work of the TASS volunteers, officers and local Members in bringing the asset transfer to fruition was acknowledged by the Cabinet. On behalf of Members, the Chair also paid particular tribute to Rhona Arthur, Head of Service (Connected Communities) who was retiring from service with North Ayrshire Council. Councillor Burns expressed her sincere thanks to Rhona for all her hard work, diligence and commitment throughout the years and the positive impact this had made on local communities in North Ayrshire. The Cabinet agreed to (a) the asset transfer of Ardeer Quarry Football Ground and adjacent land from North Ayrshire Council to Scottish Incorporated Charitable Organisation (SCIO), "TASS Community Sports”; (b) approve the recommended terms of transfer on this occasion at 10% of the property valuation of £25,000 (totalling £2,500); and (c) authorise officers to conclude the associated legal and community asset transfer processes for Ardeer Quarry Football Ground and adjacent land. 14. Tackling Climate Change: Public Bodies Climate Change Duties Report and Review of North Ayrshire’s Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change Strategy 3 (ESCCS3) Submitted a report by the Executive Director (Place) on the Cabinet’s net zero journey, including highlights from the Public Bodies Climate Change Duties (PBCCD) 2021/22 report and proposed strategic principles to be followed for the review of ESCCS3. Members asked questions and were provided with further information in relation to this being one of the Council’s strategic priorities and looking forward to the climate change benefits that would accrue over time, particularly in terms of reduction in emissions. 9
Page 10
The Cabinet agreed (a) to note (i) the Council’s current progress on the journey to net zero and (ii) the highlights from the PBCCD 2021/22 reporting template submission at section 2.11 to the report; and (b) to approve the strategic principles at section 2.19 to the report to guide development of ESCCS 4 on the Council’s net zero journey. 15. Ayrshire Local Flood Risk Management Plan Submitted a report by the Executive Director (Place) on progress and next steps in relation to the publication of the Second Ayrshire Local Flood Risk Management Plan and the Final Progress Report on the First Ayrshire Local Flood Risk Management Plan. The Final Progress Report on the Local Flood Risk Management Plan (2016- 2022) was set out at Appendix 1 to the report. The Ayrshire Local Plan District Draft Local Flood Risk Management Plan (2022-2028) was provided at Appendix 2 to the report. Members asked questions and were provided with further information in relation to the significant amount of hard work and effort that had been put in by various parties in terms of reducing the likelihood of flood risk in local communities. The Cabinet agreed to (a) approve (i) the Final Progress Report on the First Ayrshire Local Flood Risk Management Plan, which would allow its publication prior to the 31 December 2022 and (ii) the Second Ayrshire Local Flood Risk Management Plan (North Ayrshire aspects) which would allow its publication prior to the 31December 2022; and (b) note the potential North Ayrshire future financial implications of delivering the actions and flood studies contained within the Second Ayrshire Local Flood Risk Management Plan. 16. Flexible Advanced Manufacturing Space, i3 Irvine: Phase 1, Full Business Case Submitted a report by the Executive Director (Place) on the Full Business Case (FBC) for Phase 1 of the Flexible Advanced Manufacturing Space Project at i3, Irvine. The FBC was set out at Appendix 1 to the report. Members asked a question and were provided with further information on whether the Council was likely to receive feedback soon on the Levelling Up fund. The Cabinet agreed to (a) endorse the Full Business Case (FBC) for Phase 1 of the Flexible Advanced Manufacturing Space project at i3; (b) note the awaited outcome of a bid to the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) 2; and (c) approve the submission of the FBC set out at Appendix 1 to the report to the Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee (AEJC). The meeting ended at 4.10 p.m. 10
Page 11
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24th January 2023 Cabinet Title: Council Plan Mid-Year Progress Report 2022-23 Purpose: To advise Cabinet on progress of our Council Plan priorities. Recommendation: That Cabinet agrees to: a) Approve the Council Plan Progress Update Mid-Year 2022-23 as set out at Appendix 1; b) Note the status of the Council’s performance indicators and actions at Appendices 2 and 3; and c) Agree to refer this report to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration. 1. Introduction 1.1. The Council Plan 2019-24 Progress Update (Mid-Year 2022-23) and accompanying appendices provide detailed information on the progress being made towards our strategic priority outcomes and includes key activities, areas of focus, case studies and best in class examples. It provides an overview of our Council’s performance in the six months up to 30th September 2022. 1.2. In addition, as sub-actions conclude in the supporting Council Plan Delivery Plan, the Council Plan Progress Report at Appendix 1 includes recommendations on replacements to ensure continuous performance management. 2. Background 2.1. The Council Plan 2019-24 was approved by Council on 26 June 2019 and sets out our vision and priorities for the next five years. 2.2. The Council Plan 2019-24 Progress Update (Mid-Year 2022-23) provides details of our progress for each of the priorities – Aspiring Communities, Inspiring Place and a Council for the Future. The update also provides key highlights, areas of focus, case studies and best in class examples. 2.3. In August 2021 the Council Plan Delivery Plan was approved by Cabinet which enabled actions to be due at dates relating to the activity rather than financial year. This means their sub-actions are due to expire at various times throughout the year and replacements are best captured and approved as part of our Council Plan Progress Reporting. This report therefore seeks approval for the replacement of completed sub-actions and amendments of sub-actions which have been identified as ongoing / longer term. Agenda Item 3 11
Page 12
3. Performance Indicators 3.1. Appendix 2 details Performance Indicators from the Council Plan Performance Framework, showing (where available) a traffic light (Red, Amber, Green) symbol to show whether: The target level of performance has been achieved (Green); is slightly adrift of target (Amber); or is significantly adrift of target (Red). Analysis of the indicators is outlined in Table 1 below. 3.2. Where data is not available for Mid-Year 2022-23, the most recently available data up to the annual figure for 2020-21 is used. 96% of indicators where the status is known are on target or slightly adrift of target as at 30th September 2022. This is higher than the same period last year, when 83.9% of indicators where the status was known were either on or slightly adrift of target. However, only 25 indicators have a status available at Mid-Year 2022-23, compared to 31 the previous year. Table 1 Summary of Performance Indicator Status Traffic Light Mid-Year 2022-23 Mid-Year 2021-22 On target 18 (72%*) 20 (64.5%*) Slightly adrift 6 (24%*) 6 (19.4%*) Significantly adrift 1 (4%*) 5 (16.1%*) Status unknown or data only 6 (19.4% of all Council Plan indicators (31)) 3 (8.8% of all Council Plan indicators (34)) *Of the indicators where status is known 3.3. As detailed in the Performance Indicator Amendments section below, three performance indicators are currently not included in the Council Plan as at 30th September 2022. 3.4. Performance Indicator Amendments 3.4.1. An important element of the Corporate Policy, Performance and Elections Team’s role is to monitor the robustness of indicators and ensure the framework remains relevant to our Council Plan priorities. This ensures we are measuring the correct areas and have the information we need to make decisions. As a result, the following areas have been highlighted. 3.4.2. CP_01 % of population who are involved in local decision making (as a percentage of the population) was introduced in 2019 in an attempt to quantify our communities' participation in decision making. However, it is not possible to fully exclude potential duplication and as a result the figures could be misleading. To ensure our measures are as accurate as possible we are deactivating this indicator. Participation is central to our Council Plan and will continue to be managed through our Council Plan reporting, particularly via sub action “CP-SUB-04 We will extend and mainstream our participatory approach to offer communities, including young people, more opportunities to lead in local decision-making”. 3.4.3. Following the removal of CP_12 Percentage of learning disability service users accessing employment support activities (as detailed in the Year End Progress Report and approved by Cabinet), we have identified two replacement indicators that capture our supported employment activities. CP_12a Number of unemployed disabled residents supported and CP_12b Number of unemployed disabled residents supported into employment will demonstrate the current support that is in place and the results of that support in terms of enabling residents with additional needs to access employment. 12
Page 13
3.4.4. As agreed by Cabinet in our 2021-22 Year End Council Plan Progress Update report, we are currently working with the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) to identify a replacement for the discontinued indicator CP_13 Percentage of children with BMI centile >91 at 27 month review. This will now be detailed in our Year End Progress Update report. 3.4.5. CP_29 Overall carbon emissions (tonnes) – Provisional figures for 2021/22 have been updated following more information being made available. This has changed the year end status of 2021/22 reported in our Year End Progress Report from significantly adrift of target (red) to slightly adrift of target (amber). 4. Actions 4.1. Appendix 3 details the actions from the Council Plan Delivery Plan. There are 39 overall actions within the Council Plan supported by sub-actions. The status of the sub-actions informs the overall action status. 4.2. On 31st August 2021 Cabinet approved a method which ensured any sub-action slightly adrift (amber) or significantly adrift (red) automatically set the overall action status, with red taking priority. However, this approach has led to less important adrift of target sub-actions skewing the overall results and creating a false impression of performance. 4.3. It is proposed that officers continue to provide an update on activity for each sub action and an estimate of the current status (red, amber or green). Discussions between the Corporate Policy, Performance and Elections Team and the service, followed by constructive scrutiny by the Executive Leadership Team, will then inform the status of the overall action. This is the method used within this report and as a result, we are confident the statuses more accurately reflect our position than the previous automatic approach. 4.4. At Mid-Year 94.9% of actions are either on target or slightly adrift of target compared to 100% at Mid-Year 2021-22. Table 2 Summary of Overall Action Status Traffic Light Mid-Year 2022-23 Mid-Year 2021-22 On target 35 (89.74%) 39 (100%) Slightly adrift 2 (5.13%) 0 Significantly adrift 2 (5.13%) 0 4.5. The actions significantly adrift of target (red) relate to delays due to external factors. The educational estate new build and refurbishment projects are behind schedule due to the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic factors, however every child entitled to a free childcare place is currently being provided for (CP_05). The second action is significantly adrift as we are awaiting confirmation of funding from the Scottish Government to support the introduction of Mental Health Practitioners in GP practices (CP_16). 13
Page 14
4.6. Action Amendments 4.6.1. To ensure transparency, where the Corporate Policy, Performance and Elections Team in partnership with services feel an alteration to an action may result in more effective performance management, these recommendations are listed within Appendix 1 in detail. In summary, they relate to the following actions / sub-actions: • CP_06 - We will support our children and young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens – New proposed sub-actions sourced from Education Services Plan to replace completed sub- actions. • CP_07 - We will offer opportunities to our young people and their families to play a more active role in school life and encourage more participation in learning opportunities – New proposed sub-actions sourced from Education Services Plan to replace completed sub-actions. • CP_08 - We will work with our young people to build their resilience, supporting their mental and physical wellbeing – New proposed sub-actions sourced from Education Services Plan to replace completed sub-actions. • CP_09 - We will work with schools, colleges, universities, businesses and partners to deliver education, skills and training, helping people into work and sustaining employment – New proposed sub-actions sourced from Education Services Plan to replace completed sub-actions. • CP_10 - We will make sure that everyone has the ability and knowledge to participate in the digital world – New proposed sub-actions sourced from Education Services Plan to replace completed sub-actions. • CP-SUB-32 - Grow Care at Home Capacity – This is an ongoing action, therefore it is proposed the end date is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2024. • CP-SUB-33 - Prioritise Day Services Model and Support for Carers – This is a longer term action, therefore it is proposed the end date is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2023. • CP-SUB-34 - Prioritise integrated island services, including unscheduled care – Expected developments in this area mean extending this action from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2023 will enable us to capture performance more effectively. • CP-SUB-35a - We will help individuals to have better choice and control of their support at an early stage by reinvigorating Self-Directed Support – Following the establishment of A Self-Directed Support (SDS) Learning Review Board in June 2022 and resulting change in scope for this action, it is proposed this sub-action is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2023. • CP-SUB-37 - We will work with Scottish Government as a trailblazer site for the whole systems approach to diet and healthy weight (public health priority) – This work was paused due to the involvement of Public Health partners in the pandemic and resulting secondment of partners to other roles. However, it has recently recommenced and we now have a better understanding of the expected due date. It is proposed this sub-action is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2024. • CP-SUB-38 - Prioritisation of children and young people receiving support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services – Expected developments including opportunities to host services at West Road, Irvine, mean extending this sub-action’s due date form 31st March 2022 to 30th September 2023 will better reflect performance. • CP-SUB-39 - Prioritise community mental health services supporting people within their communities – This is an ongoing action, therefore it is proposed the end date is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2024. • CP-SUB-42 Work closely with colleagues in Acute Services and Police Scotland to address the levels of unscheduled care in mental health – It is proposed the end date is extended from 31st March 2022 to 30th September 2023 to reflect the opening for the new mental health hub at Woodland View, Irvine in the spring. 14
Page 15
5. Proposals 5.1 That Cabinet agrees to: a) Approve the Council Plan Progress Update Mid-Year 2022-23 as set out at Appendix 1; b) Note the status of the Council’s performance indicators and actions at Appendices 2 and 3; and c) Agree to refer this report to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee for further consideration. 6. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 6.1. There are no financial implications. Human Resources 6.2. There are no human resource implications. Legal 6.3. This report confirms the arrangements for the Council’s compliance with its duties under the Local Government Act 1992 and the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 and commitment to improving public performance reporting. Equality/Socio-economic 6.4. There are no equality/socio-economic implications. Environmental and Sustainability 6.5. There are no environmental and sustainability implications. Key Priorities 6.6. This report helps to demonstrate the Council’s delivery of its strategic priorities. Community Wealth Building 6.7. There are no community wealth building implications. 7. Consultation 7.1. Feedback from the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) informed the content of this report. Aileen Craig Head of Service (Democratic) For further information please contact Isla Hardy, Team Manager (Policy and Performance), email: IslaHardy@North-Ayrshire.gov.uk. Background Papers Council Plan 2019-24 15
Page 16
Council Plan 2019-24 Progress Update Mid-Year 2022-23 Appendix 1 16
Page 17
Contents Our Performance at a Glance ............................................................................................. 1 Welcome ........................................................................................................................... 2 Aspiring Communities - Key Activities ................................................................................ 3 Aspiring Communities – Case Study ................................................................................... 9 Aspiring Communities – Areas of Focus ............................................................................ 10 Inspiring Place – Key Activities ......................................................................................... 11 Inspiring Place – Case Study ............................................................................................. 14 Inspiring Place - Areas of Focus ....................................................................................... 15 A Council for the Future – Key Activities ........................................................................... 16 A Council for the Future - Areas of Focus .......................................................................... 17 Performance Summary .................................................................................................... 18 Best In Class .................................................................................................................... 27 What Our Customers Say ................................................................................................. 28 The Corporate Policy, Performance and Elections Team welcome any feedback you may have. We strive to make our Council and reports as accessible as possible and appreciate opportunities to discuss how this can be achieved. For further information please contact: The Corporate Policy, Performance and Elections Team Tel: 01294 324648 Email: NorthAyrshirePerforms@north-ayrshire.gov.uk 17
Page 18
Page 1 of 43 38 Modern Apprentices recruited to our Council, of which 7 (18%) are care experienced or have a disability 25 Community Wishes delivered through procurement contracts 16,050 new trees planted We established our Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board We launched our Energy Smart Programme totalling £2.176m of support to vulnerable households £500,000 allocated to help with basic food provision 58% of lower value procurement contracts (Quick Quotes) awarded to local businesses 170 of our Young People attended our Cost of the School Day Conference Our Performance at a Glance £4.074m allocated to support families with the cost of living Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building project officially launched with 120 stakeholders in attendance We currently have 2,603 tenants on our Tenant Panel 16,378 Free Bus Travel Passes issued to those under 22 years 18
Page 19
Page 2 of 43 Welcome Though the first six months of 2022/23 have seen us return to a more normal way of life in terms of Covid-19 restrictions, challenges relating to the cost of living are being felt by our communities across North Ayrshire. The increased cost of living is affecting all of our residents particularly our most vulnerable. We understand that as we try to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, the impact of rising fuel and food costs is particularly challenging both financially as well as for our mental health. Tackling child poverty and the cost of living crisis is therefore an immediate priority for our Council. If you are in need of assistance, please visit www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/cost- of-living or call 01294 310000. Throughout this update we provide information on how we are addressing immediate and longer term needs in our communities. Our ‘Tackling Child Poverty and the Cost of Living’ case study details over £6.2million of support including £2.54million from the Scottish Government Covid Recovery Fund and £4.074million from our Council budget. This is already reaching local families, ranging from £100 additional bridging payments for our eligible families, through to innovative energy supports and food networks led by our community partners. Our recently established Tackling Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board, chaired by the Leader of our Council and supported by our Community Planning Partners, will oversee our approach to ensure it is as effective as possible for the people of North Ayrshire. The way we are responding is attracting attention from other local authorities across Scotland and our focus continues to be on improving the lives of the people we serve - ensuring we achieve a North Ayrshire that is Fair For All. Our Vision A North Ayrshire that is ‘Fair for All’ Our Mission Working together to improve well-being, prosperity and equity in North Ayrshire Our Priorities Aspiring Communities ♦ Active and strong communities ♦ Children and young people experience the best start in life ♦ Inclusive, growing and enterprising local economy ♦ Residents and communities enjoy life-long health and well-being ♦ Residents and Communities are safe Inspiring Place ♦ Well connected with effective infrastructure ♦ Homes the meet residents’ needs ♦ Vibrant, welcoming and attractive environment ♦ A sustainable environment A Council for the Future ♦ An accessible Council that puts residents and communities at the heart of what we do ♦ An efficient Council that maximises resources and provides value for money ♦ A valued workforce that delivers high quality services ♦ A powerful and respected voice 19
Page 20
Page 3 of 28 Aspiring Communities - Key Activities Active and Strong Communities Community Investment Fund Cabinet approved £48,586 of the Community Investment Fund for Ardrossan Community Association (ACA) to support local residents address the cost of living crisis. Working alongside the Three Towns Locality Partnership, the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) and other partners, they increase access to food with dignity through Ardrossan Community Centre, support wellbeing and help our residents access employment. Beith Trust has received £15,812 from the Community Investment fund to explore improvements at Geilsland Estate. The funding will be used to examine the community space and provide Beith Trust with the information to secure capital funding and take the project to the next stage. Entitled the ‘Courtyard Project’, the aim is to ensure better, more energy efficient community spaces for local groups who have outgrown their current locations. Beith Trust is also planning to make the space more energy efficient by investing in green technology. Island Plans Delivery Groups have been formed to achieve the goals of the Isle of Cumbrae Local Island Plan and the Arran Island Plan. The Delivery Groups, consisting of local residents, will play a key role in actioning the plans as well as monitoring and reporting on their progress. Our Council worked closely with our residents, Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to establish the two 10-year Island Plans covering Arran and the Isle of Cumbrae respectively. The plans address long-term issues facing both islands and look to support the community alongside the economic and environmental wellbeing of our islands. Locality Partnerships Community representatives have been recruited for the refreshed Locality Partnerships following the recent Local Government Elections. ‘Getting to Know You’ and action planning sessions are taking place to bring together new Chairs, community representatives and partners to consider and plan how to best address priorities in each locality. Tenant Participation After meeting digitally through the pandemic, five of our Tenant Residents groups are now meeting in- person – the North Ayrshire Network, Inspection Panel and Service Improvement continue to meet online. Consultation for the Tenant Participation Strategy 2022 – 2027 is now complete and we were awarded Gold Level re-accreditation in July 2022 by the Tenant Participation Advisory Service Scotland (TPAS) for our approach to customer engagement, analysis of services and digital engagement. Bronze, silver, or gold accreditation is awarded to organisations based on how well they engage with tenants and is nationally recognised. As at September 2022, we have 2,603 tenants on the Tenant Panel. Participatory Budgeting Meetings were held with the successful 2022 Arts and Culture Participatory Budgeting (PB) applicants to provide support with their projects and help raise their profile within North Ayrshire. The support has been beneficial and has resulted in new projects and partnerships being formed. Community Hubs To strengthen the Community Hub model, 14 sites across North Ayrshire now have community larders embedded within community facilities. Supported by the Fairer Food Network and community partners, the larders were born during the pandemic with the goal of ensuring access to good food with dignity. Food poverty has been heightened by the recent cost of living crisis and the larders provide a dignified way for our people who are struggling to afford their weekly shop to source essential items. The volunteers assisting at the larders are able to provide our residents in need with information about other services which may be valuable, such as financial advice and support. In May 2022, we reviewed our larders, considering what we learned from the resilience hubs during the pandemic. The feedback from the review was very positive but further highlighted the need to ensure the network is as sustainable as possible especially due to the cost of living. 20
Page 21
Page 4 of 28 Community Asset Transfer After a successful community asset transfer, Thornhouse Avenue Tennis Courts are now owned and fully utilised by Irvine Tennis Club. The tennis courts have been established for 70 years however they needed upgrading. Thanks to the Community Asset Transfer, the Club can now attract external funding to further develop the courts and create opportunities for the local community - floodlights and a clubhouse will be installed and the courts will be brought up to competition standard. Children and Young People experience the best start in life Education Standards and Quality Report September saw the release of our Education Service Standards and Quality Report. This report details progress made towards our Service Improvement Plan priorities from session 2021-22. These priorities were as follows: ♦ Priority 1 – We will create the conditions for our children and young people to access the highest quality learning experiences from ages 3-18. ♦ Priority 2 – We will support our children and young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens ♦ Priority 3 – We will offer opportunities to our young people and their families to play a more active role in school life and encourage more participation in learning. ♦ Priority 4 – We will work with all young people to build their resilience supporting their mental health and physical wellbeing. Attainment We have continued to make good progress in our efforts to reduce the poverty related attainment gap and inequality in schools. Strategic and operational planning took place in response to the Scottish Government's publication of a revised framework for recovery and accelerating the Scottish Attainment Challenge in March 2022. A collaborative event with school leaders took place in May to inform next steps. Approximately 80 participants from our Education Service came together to address progress so far and agree future areas of focus. For the 2022/23 academic year these include: ♦ A review of professional learning. ♦ Embedding whole school nurture. ♦ Enhancing data literacy skills across the service. Our efforts to improve early learning and childcare and the roll out of 1140 hours of childcare across North Ayrshire have resulted in an increase in the percentage of children reaching their early years milestones by Primary One for 2022, bringing overall performance back to pre-pandemic levels. Our latest data from 2022 indicates we had slightly more children achieving their overall milestones than any other year recorded. North Ayrshire’s Family Learning Team continues to offer all schools across our local authority an extensive programme of interventions, which focus on enhancing family engagement during their child’s time at school. The Family Learning Team engaged with 1,013 families during 2021-22, with families participating in 25 different interventions. 21
Page 22
Page 5 of 28 Supporting Needs Review Our Education Service led Supporting Needs Review Board continues to take forward recommendations outlined in the Morgan Review of Additional Support for Learning. Our work locally focuses on three key areas, which are: How we use our resources; enhancement of universal and targeted services; and streamlining systems and processes to ensure equity. One recent improvement has been the roll out of Secondary Support Resources across all nine secondary schools. This model provides enhanced support to our young people within their own school community through inclusive and personalised learning experiences. Cost of the School Day Our Reducing the Cost of the School Day (COSD) Conference was held in May and attended by 170 of our young people, alongside parents, our employees, Elected Members and Community Planning partners. The aim of the conference was to shape the next steps in the COSD action plan through working with our residents most closely affected by the cost of the school day. Our Council’s commitment to nurture an equal society where children and young people experience the best start in life ensured the conference provided a platform for our children and young people to voice their experiences and those of their community. It also gave an opportunity for our young people to have their say in prioritising spending on areas such as: ♦ School transport costs. ♦ Residential / general trips. ♦ Access to digital devices and Wi-Fi. ♦ Stationery. ♦ Access to healthy food during weekends and holidays. ♦ Clothing. Free School Holiday Meals We provided free holiday school meals during the Easter and summer holidays for our children and young people entitled to free school meals. The Holiday School Meals Programme was established for those who are eligible for free school meals based on low income, however, no child was turned away if they wanted to participate and enjoy a lunch with friends. The programme was delivered by our community partners including community centres and KA Leisure. The programme also provided low- income families with a £10 grocery shopping voucher per child per week when free meals couldn’t be delivered. The programme was very successful during the summer break, with over 16,000 meals being prepared and delivered. Free Bus Travel Scheme With the introduction of the free bus travel scheme for 5 to 21 year-olds living in Scotland, our schools and Customer Services Team have supported families to complete the application process for a National Entitlement Card (NEC) or a Young Scot Card. The scheme aims to help our young people save money while travelling more sustainably. Applying through our schools eliminates the need for an ID check (required when applying directly for an NEC). As at September 2022, 16,378 of our children and young people had applied for a travel card. Inclusive, growing, and enterprising local economy An Inclusive Economy The Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building (AGD CWB) programme was officially launched at an online event in June with 120 attendees. One-to-one sessions, CWB focussed workshops and financial assistance has been provided through local enterprises recently and so far, the programme has achieved the following goals: ♦ 501 local enterprises supported. ♦ 101 local businesses are registered on Public Contracts Scotland (a national website used to advertise public sector procurement opportunities). ♦ 107 local businesses attended procurement workshops ♦ 156 local businesses accessed one-to-one procurement support / consultancy. ♦ 16 local businesses attended 'fair work' related workshops. To support the AGD CWB programme throughout Ayrshire, two videos have been created and are 22
Page 23
Page 6 of 28 available to view on YouTube, explaining the approach and the impact on our young people. As a key organisation, Police Scotland signed the Ayrshire Community Wealth Building Anchor Charter in June 2022. A total of 11 organisations have now signed the Charter. Procurement As part of our ongoing “Community Benefits Wishlist” where community groups can request donations or time from local suppliers, 25 wishes have been fully delivered since the list was launched in October 2021 (11 wishes delivered since 1 April 2022). Community Groups can register ‘wishes’ for their communities via the online Wishlist Portal. As at September 2022, there are: ♦ 61 groups registered on the list. ♦ 123 wishes. ♦ 13 wishes in discussion. Support given so far has included: ♦ Donations of garden equipment to West Kilbride Community Sport Group. ♦ A donation towards new sports equipment at Millport Town Hall. ♦ Food donations to Cranberry Moss Community Larder in Kilwinning. ♦ A refresh of the car park and Easter Trail at Fullarton Connexions. ♦ A roof survey of Barrmill Community Centre. ♦ Donation of an eight-yard skip of compost from Lowmac to Eglinton Community Garden. ♦ Donation of time and materials to renovate the dining area at Mungo Foundation by Muir Group. ♦ Donation of £250 from GMC Corsehill to Pennyburn Community Association. We have revised our Quick Quote procurement process to make it more accessible for local businesses. Quick Quotes are more straightforward and less labour intensive to complete than tenders, so will encourage our local businesses to quote to supply goods, services and works to our Council. As a result of the Quick Quote process, the value of locally awarded Quick Quotes has already increased by 21% compared to last year with 58% of Quick Quotes being awarded locally. Fair Work Our Pan-Ayrshire Fair Work Ayrshire Team is fully operational and has achieved the following this year: ♦ Engaged with 141 businesses. ♦ Conducted 78 initial meetings and developed 78 action plans. ♦ 31 Ayrshire businesses have been referred for secure living wage accreditation. ♦ 34 Ayrshire businesses have been referred for secure disability confident accreditation ♦ 8 Ayrshire businesses have been signposted to create Modern Apprenticeship opportunities Key Fair Work Ayrshire activities in the past six months include: ♦ Action planning with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, Police Scotland, KA Leisure and Ayrshire College. ♦ Supporting the North Ayrshire Job Fair and promoting Fair Work to 30 businesses attending and over 400 North Ayrshire residents. ♦ Working with Ayrshire College and key stakeholders across Ayrshire to address gender balance on particular courses and sectors e.g., care, construction, hair and beauty. ♦ Delivering a Fair Work Workshop for employers in partnership with Business Gateway. ♦ Supporting our Health and Social Care Partnership to deliver Fair Work support to care sector providers. Developing the Young Workforce To support pupils in the senior phase (S4-S6) of secondary schools, we have recruited Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Coordinators. DYW Coordinators work collaboratively with a range of post-school agencies, employers and internal services to support all our school leavers to move into education, training or employment. Feedback from schools indicates our DYW Coordinators are having a positive impact in supporting learners. We have recruited 38 Modern Apprentices, of whom seven of our new colleagues have a disability or are care experienced young people. 23
Page 24
Page 7 of 28 Residents and communities, enjoy good, life- long health and wellbeing In June our Cabinet approved the allocation of £2.154m of Scottish Government Covid Recovery Fund for a range of support to low-income households and measures to stimulate our local economic recovery. In August £2.348m was approved to further support our residents. This is detailed in our case study below. Better Off Programme (BONA) This project delivers financial advice services, adopting a person centred, holistic approach, through a Public Social Partnership (PSP). We have been piloting the approach in the Three Towns (Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston) and Arran to help deliver our Better Off programme. This is a voluntary partnership between organisations from the public and third sector which provides access to a range of advice services. The pilot will run until March 2023 and the PSP is currently being delivered by: ♦ Community Housing Advocacy Project (CHAP) – a charitable organisation offering financial advice. ♦ Citrus Energy – a social enterprise offering energy efficiency advice and advocacy services, such as fuel switching (once the market allows for this again in the future) and debt management. ♦ Our Money Matters Team. Community Care Day Services have reopened in all the localities on the mainland. Although operating at a reduced capacity due to recruitment needs, Day Services are providing building-based services and outreach provision based on priority to residents. The service continues to liaise with Alzheimer’s Scotland who recommenced Day Services in 2021. Our Community Space was launched in May in Dalry, Beith and Kilbirnie. Our Community Space provides a relaxed and informal social environment for residents. Teams are available to provide information and advice including representatives from Turning Point - Scotland’s Prevention, Early Intervention and Recovery Service. Mental Health and Wellbeing Support The new ‘See Me See Change’ approach to addressing mental health in schools has been piloted by nine secondary schools across North Ayrshire: ♦ St Matthews Academy, Saltcoats ♦ Arran High School ♦ Garnock Campus ♦ Ardrossan Academy ♦ Kilwinning Academy ♦ Irvine Royal Academy ♦ Auchenharvie Academy ♦ Largs Academy The approach is designed to break down barriers, encourage open communication about mental health and address stigma. 103 pupils and 25 employees attended training sessions where they also provided feedback to See Me staff on how the materials could be used or adapted to benefit schools. Our pupils and school teams then collaborated on action plans for their own schools. As part of Mental Health Awareness Week in May community events were run in Irvine and Springside with the aim of raising awareness and tackling loneliness. The events were established in partnership with North Ayrshire Community Link Workers, the Green Health Partnership, Irvine Community Development Teams, KA Leisure, Impact Arts, Children 1st and the Harbour Arts Centre. Work is continuing on a new Mental Health Hub due to open by March 2023 within Woodland View, Irvine. The new assessment hub will be the first of its kind in Scotland, providing unscheduled care assessment for up to 72 hours. Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Officers work to support young people aged 5-25 years with their wellbeing, resilience and mental health through a number of projects, events, activities and group work sessions including: • Suicide Prevention Work. • Family based Mental Health and Wellbeing learning workshops. • Targeted work around LGBT. • Partnership working with Employability and Ayrshire College. 24
Page 25
Page 8 of 28 • Your Resilience eight-week programme. • Be-lnn Unity Accredited Training. • Bee You Ambassadors and Mini Ambassadors. • Take Time Campaign. The team has been working across schools and communities with strong partnerships with Education, Family Learning, Police Scotland, Mental Health UK and Be-Inn Unity. Supporting family-based work, ambassador programmes, peer mentoring and a comprehensive mapping exercise, our youth-based group work is accredited with SQA Qualifications and Bounce Back Awards. (Bounce Back is a multiple award-winning approach to wellbeing, resilience and social-emotional learning for primary school children). We delivered a Pedal Irvine event on 8th May in association with Cycling Scotland and the Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT). This family event was free, provided Dr Bike sessions to check equipment before beginning the 6.2mile course and gave the opportunity for some residents without a bike to borrow one at no cost. Over 300 people took part. Residents and communities are safe Energy Support We are collaborating with the Energy Agency to assist our residents with the financial challenges faced due to the rising cost of energy over the coming months. The Energy Agency provides free advice on reducing energy consumption and promoting sustainability to help residents lower their energy bills. Our Energy Smart Scheme was allocated £1.726m in our 2022/23 budget, with an additional £450,000 approved in August. This offers: ♦ A dedicated helpline for energy efficiency and other low carbon advice. ♦ The delivery of energy efficiency measures in peoples’ homes to improve the affordability of energy in homes across North Ayrshire. ♦ A £450,000 Emergency Support element to provide direct payments to low income families struggling to pay their energy bills. To support this, our Council are providing financial assistance in the form of crisis payments to those in most need. Our Homelessness and Community Safety Team created four new posts to address income maximisation and help reduce fuel poverty for Council tenants. These officers help tenants to reconnect meters, address tenants’ debt and find sustainable ways to pay their bills going forward. A further two Housing Officers will help maximise the uptake of benefits for our residents living in Sheltered Accommodation. Our aim is to ensure all residents can more easily heat their homes and includes Winter Warm initiatives and interventions. Homelessness We continue to implement our ‘Housing First’ approach in the provision of homelessness services. Since April, 18 Housing First tenancies out of a target of 20 for the year have been created. Working across the Community Planning Partnership, the aim of Housing First tenancies is to break the cycle of homelessness for those suffering from addiction or mental health problems, or for residents who present offending behaviour. The Housing First tenancy sustainment success rate is as follows: ♦ Year 1 (2019/2020) 67% ♦ Year 2 (2020/2021) 91% ♦ Year 3 (2021/2022) 92% Community Safety With the warmer weather over the summer, our Streetscene team assessed all areas of open water across North Ayrshire under our responsibility and installed new safety equipment and signage. Our Water Safety Policy was updated and partner organisations encouraged to promote water safety. The Ayrshire Safer Shores Campaign 2022 was launched ahead of HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee holiday this summer. Working alongside partners including NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Abellio Scotrail and the British Transport Police, it aimed to maximise public safety and people’s enjoyment of our shores without the worry of antisocial behaviour or alcohol related incidents. 25
Page 26
Page 9 of 28 Aspiring Communities – Case Study Tackling Child Poverty and the Cost of Living Tackling child poverty and the current cost of living crisis is an immediate priority. We have established a new Child Poverty and Cost of Living Board, chaired by the Leader of our Council and supported by our Community Planning Partners. The aim of the board is to provide leadership in the development and delivery of our Child Poverty Action Plan and our approach to addressing the cost of living. Ensuring the voices of our residents are heard underpins the work of the Board. We have already hosted a mini-public enquiry with a range of partner organisations and residents from across North Ayrshire. Part of a rolling programme, the initial theme was to identify ways of improving access to public services and vital support through discussing ways to achieve a ‘No Wrong Door’ approach – ensuring residents are supported to access advice no matter how they contact our Council or our partners. The Board will continue to have conversations with residents on themes such as employability, food and childcare in the coming weeks. These important discussions will help to inform our Child Poverty Strategy 2023-26. In June, our Cabinet approved the allocation of £2.154m of the Scottish Government Covid Recovery Fund, to provide a range of support to low-income households and measures to stimulate local economic recovery. This includes immediate support such as a £100 top up to the existing £130 Summer, October and December Child Bridging Payments and is extended to families with children of pre-school age. Approximately 3,300 families in North Ayrshire (5,700 children) will be eligible to receive this support. In addition, a public transport travel scheme to support travel to work, support for the delivery of our Modern Apprentice programme, new Skills for Life work placements, employer recruitment incentives and a Digital Growth Fund to assist local businesses will be funded. In August 2022, our Cabinet approved an investment of £2.348m in addition to the £1.726m already secured through the 2022/23 budget for an Energy Smart Scheme Investment - a total of £4.074m to help our families with the cost of living. The Energy Smart Scheme will offer advice and support to help residents lower their energy bills, as well as practical help to install energy-saving features in homes. This support will be directed to our residents most in need. The approved funding in August also includes £500,000 to strengthen our existing community food network and ensure essential food provision is available to anyone who requires this support. These actions demonstrate our commitment to creating a fairer and more equitable society in North Ayrshire. 26
Page 27
Page 10 of 28 Aspiring Communities – Areas of Focus Active and strong communities ♦ We will continue to tackle child poverty and the cost of living by identifying immediate and medium-term actions through community workshops and mini enquiries. ♦ We will continue to support our Fairer Food Network, including our 14 community larders. ♦ We will develop our new Tenant Participation Strategy 2022-2027. ♦ We will refurbish Dreghorn and Fairlie libraries in order to accommodate community partners, strengthening our community hub approach. Children and young people experience the best start in life ♦ We will implement and embed our new learning, teaching and assessment framework to maximise the quality of educational experience for all learners. ♦ We will develop a three-year Raising Attainment Strategy to improve outcomes for all learners and reduce inequity of outcomes, including a focus on accelerating progress in the early stages of primary and early learning settings. ♦ We will implement our redesigned targeted approaches to reducing the poverty-related attainment gap. ♦ We will refresh our supports and provision to promote good mental health and wellbeing in our children and young people. ♦ We will establish an enhanced range of flexible child centred learning provisions, curriculum options and delivery methods that support a wide variety of needs. ♦ We will co-create with our children and young people new ways to maximise learner participation and voice. ♦ We will continue to actively progress and monitor education new builds and refurbishments. Inclusive, growing, and enterprising economy ♦ We will implement the Ayrshire Skills Investment plan across Ayrshire to ensure the skills of our residents meet the needs of local businesses in order to support access to good quality jobs. ♦ We will support digitally excluded residents through our community hubs and spaces. ♦ Through our new ‘Quick Quote’ process, we will encourage more local small and medium enterprises to apply for our supplier contracts, further supporting Community Wealth Building. ♦ We will develop an Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy focussed on Community Wealth Building. Residents and communities, enjoy good, life- long health and wellbeing ♦ We will continue to deliver a combination of day services and outreach provision. ♦ We will continue to collaborate with North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Third Sector Interface (TSI) North Ayrshire and Scottish Care to instil the foundations of ‘The Promise’ in North Ayrshire. ♦ We will review the way we offer period products to ensure they are meeting the needs of our communities. Residents and communities are safe ♦ We will open our new Mental Health Hub, Woodland View, Irvine, early in 2023. ♦ We will continue to create Housing First tenancies in order to alleviate homelessness and provide settled accommodation for our residents as soon as possible. 27
Page 28
Page 11 of 28 Inspiring Place – Key Activities Well connected with effective Infrastructure Lochshore Completed at the end of summer, we are preparing to open our Lochshore Park Hub on 4th October. The Hub will open with a free family fun day with activities for people of all ages to take part in. Our Active Travel connection linking Lochshore Park to the National Cycle Network (NCN7) is also complete with some additional landscaping works to follow. We began construction on our 5km leisure route with completion expected by the end of this year. Our woodland planting proposals are fully designed and an application for funding is with Scottish Forestry for approval, with ground preparation works anticipated to start late 2022 with 17,632 new trees planted early 2023. An application to the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund Round Two (‘Levelling Up Fund’) was submitted in early August, with the outcome expected in the autumn. If approved, this will accelerate the delivery of future phases. Ayrshire Growth Deal Great Harbour - Our long-term planning document for the Great Harbour Project is currently being finalised. Alongside this we are developing our delivery strategy as well as detailing how the funding will be distributed. This will allow us to ensure the project remains within budget. Ardrossan Harbour – Potential design revisions are being informed by consultation events that were held earlier this year. More than 120 written responses were received as part of the consultation process while 60 people attended public events held in Brodick and our library in Ardrossan. Ardrossan Marina – This project has progressed through the preliminary design stage including the exploration of available engineering options. Following a revised costing exercise and current challenging construction market conditions, we are reviewing this project alongside our partners. Ardrossan Campus Site - In response to the challenges faced by construction projects across the country as a result of global economic factors, a revised delivery programme has now been developed which aims to open the Ardrossan Community Campus development in August 2026. Marine Tourism - Our Cumbrae Transit Marina Outline Business Case is now in development. We are in the process of agreeing the project programme and timeframes related to the Millport Coastal Flood Protection Scheme. We are currently looking at identifying a suitable location for our Arran Transit Marina. Throughout this process we are engaging with Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd. A programme of engagement and consultation has been established with community steering groups on both Arran and Cumbrae to further inform the most appropriate marina operating model. I3 Digital Innovation Campus - Our Phase 1 Full Business Case for the Digital Processing Manufacturing Centre was approved by the Ayrshire Joint Economic Committee, alongside the lease agreement for the facility. Works are expected to be completed by mid-January 2023 and we are expecting the Phase 1 facility to be launched prior to end of March 2023. Our Flexible Business Space Unit tender process is complete for Phase 1 with the industrial unit and costs confirmed. Our Full Business Case was prepared and submitted to the Project Management Office, Scottish Government and Cabinet for endorsement. Approval will be sought from the Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee in early December, following which the tender can be awarded. Electric Vehicles We continue to invest in our public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, with the following publicly accessible EV charge point installations commissioned: 28
Page 29
Page 12 of 28 ♦ Ship House car park in Arran - 2 x 7kW EV charge points ♦ Beach Drive car park in Irvine - 2 x 7kW EV charge points The following chargers are expected to be commissioned later in 2022: ♦ Skelmorlie Community Centre - 1 x 50kW EV charge point ♦ Arran Education Centre as part of the Island Infrastructure Fund - 2 x 7kW EV charge points We are also working in partnership with East and South Ayrshire Councils, supported by Scottish Futures Trust, as part of a pathfinder project to deliver additional EV charging infrastructure. Regeneration External Funding The following Regeneration Funding Proposals for 2022/23 under the Regeneration Delivery Plan were agreed by Cabinet, including: ♦ £1.093m Place Based Investment Programme proposals for 2022/23 and their subsequent implementation. ♦ £1.32m Vacant and Derelict Land Fund proposal for 2022/23, the Local Delivery Plan’s submission to Scottish Government and their subsequent implementation. ♦ £1.385m awards under Strathclyde Partnership for Transport’s (SPT) Capital Programme for 2022/23 for active travel and public transport improvements and their subsequent implementation. ♦ £0.86m Cycling Walking and Safer Routes proposals for 2022/23 and their subsequent implementation. We have submitted the following applications for external funding: ♦ Two applications to Round 2 of the Levelling Up Fund were submitted for Lochshore Park and a joint North and South Ayrshire Council Commercial Estate Low Carbon Infrastructure project. ♦ Two applications to the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme for the King’s Arms Redevelopment and Town Centre Living Pilot projects in Irvine. The King’s Arms has now progressed to a stage 2 application to be submitted in November. Feedback and alternative funding options to support our Town Centre Living pilots are being assessed. The following projects are ongoing: ♦ Development of the B714 Upgrade project utilising Levelling Up Fund monies and our Council’s Investment Fund. Landowner and stakeholder consultation is informing development of the next stage (the Outline Business Case). ♦ Delivery of the approved £0.259m Islands Infrastructure Fund projects including Mountain Rescue car park upgrade, layby upgrades and new EV charging points (see EV charging (left)). ♦ Delivery of the £1.96m Ardrossan Low Carbon Hub and Ardrossan Connections projects in partnership with Sustrans. ♦ Delivery of the UK Government Community Renewal Fund (CRF) funded projects to pilot a Place Framework approach in our town centres and the Islands Green Programme. Both proposals have involved extensive public and stakeholder consultation and engagement. ♦ Launch of the second round of the Repurposing Property Grant Fund to support landowners and communities to bring vacant land and properties back into positive use. Road Assets Our second phase of the implementation of our new asset management system that will help us manage the condition of our roads is progressing. This will include the introduction of mobile working for operational teams providing a more effective and efficient means of managing reactive and routine works. Digital Connectivity The current percentage of our properties with access to superfast broadband in North Ayrshire is 97.44% (Scotland-wide figure is 95.30%). Whilst the percentage of properties has not increased significantly in the last 12 months, the average available download and upload speed has improved significantly. The mean download speed has more than doubled in a year and is now 88 Mbps. The mean upload speed has doubled to 15 Mbps. Though we cannot directly influence this rollout, we monitor it as it impacts directly on our residents and local businesses. 29
Page 30
Page 13 of 28 Public Wi-Fi is also now available in 23 of our community venues and was accessed by 48,558 users between April and September 2022. Homes that meet residents’ needs We have completed 79 new homes at the unique St Michael’s Wynd development site in Kilwinning, bringing a diverse range of homes to the area. This development includes 43 homes (including nine designed for residents with wheelchairs), 24 sheltered houses, 10 supported accommodations with a 24- hour employee base and two amenity bungalows. The St Colm’s Sheltered Housing unit in Largs is complete and will provide 29 new accessible homes for older people. Work has also commenced on the nearby former Largs Police Office (Court Street) site. Our officers from Housing, Legal and Finance have been working closely with Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) around the financial modelling for the ‘HOME’ alternative affordable housing model and to establish and mitigate the financial risk. Costs have been updated to reflect the current situation with regards to inflation, which has made the scheme unaffordable. In addition, SFT worked with the Scottish Government regarding the classification of tenancy and ownership. They have confirmed they wouldn't recognise it as a shared ownership scheme. Further work is required to establish the most appropriate way forward. Our Private Sector Team dealt with 136 property condition complaints between April and September. 61 of these cases have been resolved, with the remainder of the owners and landlords working with the Private Sector Team to bring the properties up to standard. 11 of these private properties failed to meet the tolerable standard (the basic level of repair for a property to be fit to live in). Vibrant, welcoming and attractive environment We secured an additional £509,000 of grant funding from the Scottish Government Islands Programme to support the Phase 2 restoration of Millport Town Hall. This funding will help fund the creation of office and community space, conservation centre, permanent Men’s Shed and small community garden. Phase 1 of the restoration (£2.3m) is progressing well. As part of the same round of funding – aimed at supporting islands-based projects relating to climate change, population retention and tourism – the Scottish Government committed £540,000, supported by further funding of £60,000 from our Council, for the redevelopment of island toilet buildings on both Arran and Cumbrae. These Island Pit Stops are eco- designed buildings with landscaped outdoors space offering visitors sustainable and efficient amenities. Consultation and engagement will be undertaken with our local communities, stakeholders and Elected Members on Arran and Cumbrae to help shape the detailed development of the proposals. Our residents in Largs, Saltcoats and Kilwinning are taking part in a pilot project to shape their towns through a Place Framework. This framework identifies the priorities and projects needing addressed in each area. Funded by the UK Government's Community Renewal Fund and the Scottish Government's Place Based Investment Programme, a series of emerging projects and ideas have been identified through discussions with our communities and stakeholders, including during our public engagement events in the towns in May, June and August 2022. A sustainable environment We continue to progress with delivery of our two solar farm developments, initiating the procurement process in July 2022 for a design and build contractor, with a view to appointment in early 2023. Following allocation of budget from the Council’s Investment Fund, we are developing a range of sustainability projects for implementation, including proposals for further energy efficiency investment in our building estate for delivery in 2023/24. Our bulky waste reuse partner Cunninghame Furniture Recycling Company (CFRC) is now collecting and sanitising mattresses as part of a new initiative to improve opportunities for their reuse, funded through a successful bid to the Scottish Government’s Recycling Improvement Fund. Two new local strategies are under development and will be the subject of consultation in 2022, with final recommendations and plans coming forward for approval in early 2023. The local Transport and Active Travel Strategy and the Vacant and Derelict land Strategy will be considered by Cabinet in Spring 2022. 30
Page 31
Page 14 of 28 Inspiring Place – Case Study Making Waves Festival The RAF Red Arrows, Del Amitri, Red Hot Chilli Pipers and Twin Atlantic were among the entertainment at our first ever Making Waves Festival in Irvine on 23rd and 24th July. As well as the concerts, a range of free activities drew crowds to the waterfront event which was organised by North Ayrshire Council, Event Scotland, the Scottish Maritime Museum and local music promotors Freckfest. The world-renowned RAF Red Arrows took to the sky for a spectacular aerobatic display, having last performed above Irvine in 1993 during a BBC Radio 1 Roadshow. Our Maritime Museum welcomed thousands for a fantastic Ayrshire Makers Market along with free entry to a Sea Monsters exhibition and family fun fair. More fun on and off the water included fairground rides, paddleboarding and activity stalls which all ages could enjoy. Our harbourside’s cafes and bars provided attendees with a great range of food and drink, some staying open for extended hours over the weekend. The economic impact report on the event shows that over 25,000 people turned out to view the Red Arrows display, enjoy the music and/or visit the Scottish Maritime Museum and other attractions along the Harbourside. In summary: ♦ Gross Direct Spend £1.1m ♦ North Ayrshire Net Direct Spend £0.7m ♦ North Ayrshire Net Additional GVA £0.3m ♦ Seven Net full time equivalent (FTE) jobs created Ratings for the Festival were overwhelmingly positive, particularly relating to the staff and volunteers and the live music. Some of the comments left on social media included: “Massive credit to North Ayrshire Council. What a set up. What a line up. What a great festival” “Fab day, great atmosphere and everybody just having fun… lovely to see all the kids having a great time as well” “Brilliant I had two nine year olds with me they absolutely loved it, danced the whole time” 31
Page 32
Page 15 of 28 Inspiring Place - Areas of Focus Well connected with effective infrastructure ♦ We will explore an alternative route for the Brodick to Corrie Cycle Path. ♦ We will commission electric vehicle charging points in Skelmorlie and Arran. ♦ We will launch our Phase 1 facility at I3 Digital Innovation Campus. ♦ We will formally launch the Lochshore Park Hub with a community event. ♦ We will seek approval for the Flexible Business Space Unit from the Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee. ♦ We will complete the construction of the 5km leisure route and play areas as part of our Lochshore Regeneration Project. Homes that meet residents’ needs ♦ We will explore options for an alternative affordable housing model. Vibrant, welcoming and attractive environment ♦ We will finalise our Open Space Strategy update and accompanying Open Space Asset Management Plan. ♦ We will finalise our Litter, Fly Tipping and Dog Fouling Prevention Strategy to align with the Scottish Government’s updated national strategy. A sustainable environment ♦ We will progress the next steps of our ‘remakery’ project to increase the level of re-use and repair. ♦ We will continue to clarify and report transparently on our emissions so that the North Ayrshire emissions baseline is clearly understood. This will be outlined in our Public Bodies Climate Change Duties Report and Review of North Ayrshire Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy 3 Report presented to Cabinet in November. 32
Page 33
Page 16 of 28 A Council for the Future – Key Activities An accessible Council that puts residents and communities at the heart of what we do We successfully delivered the Local Government Elections on Thursday 5 May 2022 with a turnout of 44%. The votes cast were counted electronically at the Portal, High Street, Irvine on Friday 6 May 2022 and returned 33 Councillors for our area. Our Accessing our Council programme is progressing. We are initially focusing on shifting many of our services online, while being mindful of digital exclusion and protecting non-digital access. We are working to rationalise contact details to make it easier for our residents and partners to contact appropriate services. This work strongly links into the ‘No Wrong Door’ approach of our Tackling Child Poverty and the Cost-of-Living Board. We have developed a dedicated ‘Cost of Living Support’ page on our website where residents can immediately see support provided by our Council and can directly access the information. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has published their Annual Performance Report 2021-22 which highlights how public services are handling complaints in their area. For our Council, none of the 24 complaints sent to the SPSO were taken to the investigation stage. They were resolved at either the ‘advice’ or the ‘early resolution’ stage. Of the 24 complaints, 17 were closed under the ‘early resolution’ stage with nine (53%) categorised as good complaint handling. This demonstrates that we have robust complaint handling procedures in place. An efficient Council that maximises resources and provides value for money Our procurement process has been revised to ensure more local businesses are able to quote for lower value goods and services through the Quick Quote process. Full details are available in the Procurement section above. New mobile technology has been purchased for our domestic refuse collection vehicles, which will improve the service information that is available to our Customer Contact Centre and our residents. Work is continuing to progress the Single Use Plastics Waste Prevention Action Plan following the ban on certain single-use plastics on 1st June. A three-phase communication plan which links to the Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy is ongoing to encourage our employees and residents to be 'Plastic Smart'. A valued workforce that delivers high quality services We continue to promote our employee wellbeing programme ‘LiveWell’ which now includes a new ‘SaveWell’ theme providing advice on energy saving, affordable loans, accessing affordable food, white goods, housing support, financial pressures and mental health advice. We have paid the Real Living Wage since 2011 and have committed to paying the new rate of £10.90 per hour seven months early to help support our employees through the current cost of living crisis. This will benefit 961 employees in predominantly frontline roles. We held our first in person Leadership Conference since the Covid-19 lockdown. The event in June raised awareness of the symptoms and effects of child poverty and aimed to identify key ways for our services to work together and support some of our most vulnerable young people and their families. In September, we achieved the Disability Confident: Level Three Leader award. This demonstrates our commitment to our employees who have a disability. Disability Confident encourages employers to think differently about disabilities and encourages them to take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop employees with disabilities We committed to the Miscarriage Association’s Pregnancy Loss Pledge, encouraging a supportive workplace where people feel safe and can discuss pregnancy and/or loss without fear of being disadvantaged. We are providing employees and managers with a range of updated resources and guides. 33
Page 34
Page 17 of 28 A powerful and respected voice Equality and Inclusion We jointly held the first ever Hate Crime Conference in Ayrshire, which was delivered by the Ayrshire Equality Partnership (AEP). The AEP includes all three Ayrshire Councils (North, East and South), NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue and the Procurator Fiscal. The conference allowed partners to come together to share their experiences in tackling Hate Crime, sharing best practice as well as resources that are available for organisations to help them support victims of Hate Crime. A Council for the Future - Areas of Focus An accessible Council that puts residents and communities at the heart of what we do ♦ We will implement our new Customer Portal that will be fully integrated with the National MyAccount. This will include upgrading Housing Rent and Council Tax account access. ♦ We will renew our Public Services Network Compliance Certificate. ♦ We will deliver our Accessibility Approach to all Council Services to raise awareness of Digital Accessibility, ensuring all our services are accessible to our residents. ♦ We will review our current hybrid system provision for committees and improve the future delivery of hybrid meetings. An efficient Council that maximises resources and provides value for money ♦ We will continue to progress our “Accessing Our Council” project, to ensure our services are as accessible as possible. This includes reviewing and streamlining our transactions, such as forms and systems. A valued workforce that delivers high quality services ♦ We will produce and collate information on Mental Health Awareness to ensure a single point of contact and produce guides for employees. ♦ We will continue to develop our LiveWell Programme which offers employees a range of Health and Wellbeing Activities. A powerful and respected voice ♦ We will continue our work with the Improvement Service, Social Security Scotland and Glasgow City Council on a data sharing pilot to help address poverty in our communities. ♦ We will strengthen our Business Continuity Planning with services and trade unions. ♦ In partnership with the Scottish Government and other councils, we will take forward the procurement and implementation of an externally provided Security Operations Centre. 34
Page 35
Page 18 of 28 Performance Summary Where performance indicator information is pending, the most recent status up to 2020/21 year end is used. Indicators and actions adrift of target and not previously reported are detailed on the next page. Aspiring Communities ♦ Active and strong communities ♦ Children and young people experience the best start in life ♦ Inclusive, growing and enterprising local economy ♦ Residents and communities enjoy good life-long health and well-being ♦ Residents and communities are safe Inspiring Place ♦ Well connected with effective infrastructure ♦ Homes that meet residents’ needs ♦ A vibrant, welcoming and attractive environment ♦ A sustainable environment A Council for the Future ♦ An accessible Council that puts residents and communities at the heart of what we do ♦ An efficient Council that maximises resources and provides value for money ♦ A valued workforce that delivers high quality services ♦ A powerful and respected voice Legend On Target / Complete Slightly Adrift of Target Significantly Adrift of Target Status Unknown / Data Only 1 33% 2 67% Performance Indicators 4 80% 1 20% Actions 11 73% 2 14% 2 13% Performance Indicators 15 83% 1 6% 2 11% Actions 6 46% 4 31% 1 8% 2 15% Performance Indicators 16 100% Actions 35
Page 36
Page 19 of 28 Performance Indicators Adrift of Target This section details the performance indicators adrift of target and the action being taken to address performance. Due to expected data lags the most recent data may relate to previous time periods but may only now be available to report. To avoid duplication, only data that has not previously been reported to our Cabinet is included in this section. The current status of the following indicators is being reported for the first time, however the data relates to 2021/22:, CP_10a % of Procurement Spent on Local Enterprises The 2021/22 local enterprise spend percentage was 22.93%, which is lower than the target of 24%, however performance has improved over the past two years and this represents the highest percentage of spend with local businesses since 2017/18 (when it was 23.04%). 2021/22 performance also represents the second highest proportion of spend with local suppliers since we began recording this measure in 2015/16. We continue to embrace Community Wealth Building by supporting local suppliers, such as through our revised Quick Quote procedures detailed above. CP_26 Tourism Visitor Numbers This figure has become available since our Year End report and relates to the 2021 calendar year. The number of visitors to North Ayrshire has increased as Covid-19 restrictions eased during this period. Due to the restrictions in 2021, it is still below pre-pandemic levels, however we have plans in place which include events to attract tourism back to North Ayrshire. The current status of the following indicator relates to mid-year 2022-23: CP_27 Street Cleanliness Index - % Clean (LGBF) Performance has reduced from 91.34% in 2020/21 to 86.3% as at September 2022, however the most recent figure is provisional as final figures are provided through the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) in February 2023. To help address performance, we have ordered larger capacity street bins and an evaluation of our existing street cleaning schedule has been completed. A pilot is underway to target poor performing streets with an increased frequency of cleaning backed up by litter educational campaigns in these areas. Performance Indicators - Additional Information CP_08 % of Children Living in Poverty (After Housing Costs) The most recent child poverty figures from the Child Poverty Action Group were published on 12th July 2022 and relate to 2020/21. This most recent data release appears to show that the percentage of children in poverty in North Ayrshire has reduced to 24.7% during 2020/21 compared to 27.9% the year before. This would mean it is close to levels in 2014/15, however there are concerns around the accuracy of the 2020/21 figure due to the pandemic. Therefore, it is appropriate to highlight this measure in this report despite it being seen as on target. The decrease seems unusual due to the expected impact of the pandemic. These figures are sourced from Loughborough University and are based on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures which come with a caveat that they are impacted by Covid-19 (whereas 2019-20 figures were unaffected). Due to the pandemic, the method for gathering this information changed from focus groups to telephone calls (meaning it wasn’t possible to verify if actual documents such as payslips etc. were referred to during discussions) and the sample size was also affected. As a result, the UK Government states “We recommend that all users consider using the caveat: ‘Data collection for FYE 2021 was affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Figures for FYE 2021 are subject to additional uncertainty and may not be strictly comparable with previous years.’” 36
Page 37
Page 20 of 28 In addition, the figures on the UK Government website show we have the second highest proportion of children aged under 16 years old in relative or absolute low income families (as at year end 2021), behind Glasgow City Council. Addressing child poverty is a key aim of our Council as detailed throughout this report. In addition, we are developing a suite of local indicators that will support decision making as part of our Child Poverty Action Plan 2023- 26. Performance Indicator Amendments CP_01 % of population who are involved in local decision making (as a percentage of the population) was introduced in 2019 as an attempt to quantify our communities' participation in decision making. However, it is not possible to fully exclude potential duplication and as a result the figures could be misleading. To ensure our measures are as accurate as possible we are deactivating this indicator. Participation is central to our Council Plan and will continue to be managed through our Council Plan reporting, particularly via sub action “CP-SUB-04 We will extend and mainstream our participatory approach to offer communities, including young people, more opportunities to lead in local decision-making”. Following the removal of CP_12 Percentage of learning disability service users accessing employment support activities (as detailed in the Year End Progress Report and approved by Cabinet), we have identified two replacement indicators that capture our supported employment activities. CP_12a Number of unemployed residents with a disability supported, and CP_12b Number of unemployed residents with a disability supported into employment will demonstrate the current support that is in place and the results of that support in terms of enabling residents with additional needs to access employment. As agreed by Cabinet in our 2021-22 Year End Council Plan Progress Update report, we are currently working with the HSCP to identify a replacement for the discontinued indicator CP_13 Percentage of children with BMI centile >91 at 27 month review. This will now be detailed in our Year End Progress Update report. CP_29 Overall carbon emissions (tonnes) – Provisional figures for 2021/22 have been updated as more information has been made available. This has changed the year end status of 2021/22 reported in our Year End Progress Report from significantly adrift of target (red) to slightly adrift of target (amber). 37
Page 38
Page 21 of 28 Actions Adrift of Target Within our Council Plan Delivery Plan overall actions are supported by sub actions. Officers provide an update on activity for each sub action and an estimate of the current status (red, amber or green). Discussions between the Corporate Policy, Performance and Elections Team and the service, followed by constructive scrutiny by the Executive Leadership Team, inform the status of the overall action. As a result, we are confident the statuses accurately reflect our position. This section highlights the reasons for underperformance within each action and efforts being made to remedy it. An overview of action performance can be shown in appendix three of this report. CP_05 We will expand our learning and childcare estate, including ensuring all eligible children are able to access 1140 hours of free childcare each year CP-SUB-08 Deliver major educational new build and refurbishment projects aligned to Scotland’s Learning Estate Strategy: “Connecting People, Places and Learning” Due Date 30th June 2022 All large scale capital projects across our Learning Estate have been adversely affected by external factors including the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic factors. However, all eligible children in North Ayrshire are currently receiving 1140 hours of free childcare. CP-SUB-09 Develop an Outdoor Play Strategy to support Early Years Practitioners to provide excellent learning and developmental opportunities (Complete – no remedial note required) CP_15 We will let people decide how best to manage their own care needs and support people to live in their own homes for as long as possible. CP-SUB-32 Grow Care At Home capacity (Due 31st March 2022. It is proposed to extend due date to March 2024, see “Action Amendments” section below.) Our Care at Home recruitment campaign has been very effective in growing the workforce, this has been facilitated through TV and radio advertising, leaflet drops and social media campaigns. For the year to September 2022, 57 events were held across North Ayrshire with 365 people offered employment as a result. Care at Home is an area of high turnover but overall in North Ayrshire the workforce has grown over the period. Work remains ongoing to continue to grow the service to fully meet the demand for care in the community. CP-SUB-33 Prioritise Day Services Model and Support for Carers. (Due 31st March 2022. It is proposed to extend due date to March 2023, see “Action Amendments” section below.) The Partnership’s inhouse Day Services commenced a careful phased period of re-opening on 6 June 2022 and have re-opened Day Services in all of the localities on the mainland. The Day Services are now successfully delivering a mix of day services and outreach provision. There is a programme of work underway to improve carer identification, information and support services in North Ayrshire in line with the Carers Act. A range of plans are in place to expand the reach of carers information, assessment and support, how to involve more carers in collaborative decision making and getting resources (both personnel and financial) to carers more quickly. Proposals which have been formed in collaboration with the Carers Advisory Group include increasing staffing capacity, payments to carers with completed assessments, a softer approach to assessment and support, support for young carers in partnership with KA Leisure and Active Schools, the service specification for the future Carers Service and support for involving carers in discharge planning. CP-SUB-34 Prioritise integrated Island services, including unscheduled care. Recruitment is ongoing to the new and enhanced integrated roles on the island, staff accommodation remains a challenge, a solution to this is being 38
Page 39
Page 22 of 28 (Due 31st March 2022. It is proposed to extend due date to March 2023, see “Action Amendments” section below.) progressed and expected to positively impact on recruitment and mainland support to Arran services from February 2023. CP-SUB-35a We will help individuals to have better choice and control of their support at an early stage by reinvigorating Self-Directed Support. (Due 31st March 2022. It is proposed to extend due date to March 2023, see “Action Amendments” section below.) Good progress is being driven by a Self-Directed Support (SDS) Learning Review Board which was established in June 2022 and is led by senior employees and external interested partner stakeholders. The review was commissioned by the Chief Officer and Chief Social Work Officer to explore the implementation and delivery of SDS. The review will provide strategic guidance and oversight to co-ordinate recommendations made as a result, by identifying and supporting opportunities to: • Increase Social Work capacity to meaningfully deliver self-directed support. • Maintain staff wellbeing, both physical and psychological. • Provide assurance to legislative and regulatory bodies that safe practice is supported by good governance. CP_16 We will work with individuals and communities to support positive lifestyle choices which improve health and wellbeing. CP-SUB-36 We will provide opportunities for people to be more active more often, through the Active Communities Strategy (On target – no remedial note required) CP-SUB-37 We will work with Scottish Government as a trailblazer site for the whole systems approach to diet and healthy weight (public health priority) (Due 31st March 2022. It is proposed to extend due date to March 2024, see “Action Amendments” section below.) The work of the Trailblazer was paused at national level as employees in Public Heath were focused on the pandemic response and seconded elsewhere. During this time Lead Officers have attended the regular Catch Up and Skills Sharing events to keep abreast of developments across the sector. Work has now been reactivated and officers have been involved in active discussions with partners. Since early July there has been engagement with KA Leisure, partners in the Active Communities Strategy and the CPP Board to develop a North Ayrshire Wellbeing Alliance. The Alliance will be led KA Leisure and its responsibilities will be to deliver the Wellbeing priority in the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan. Other work that has clear strategic links with a whole systems approach to diet and healthy weight includes: The development of North Ayrshire’s Fairer Food Network of community larders; and the renewal of the four year strategic partnership agreement between the Council, North Ayrshire’s Active Schools and sportscotland, with an enhanced capacity to support diversity and inclusion. CP-SUB-38 Prioritisation of children and young people receiving support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. (Due 31st March 2022. It is proposed to extend due date to September 2023, see “Action Amendments” section below.) The HSCP and wider partners are working together to improve access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and alternative community supports to improve access for assessment and treatment for young people. CAMHS, which is an NHS service, has seen referrals to increase month on month with demand now having doubled, the vast majority of these being for Neurodevelopmental Assessment and diagnosis. Accommodation has been secured and supported by North Ayrshire Council to host the CAMHS Neuro Service and Community Eating Disorders Service at West Road in Irvine. This is an exciting opportunity to redesign a facility with the concept of neurodiversity in mind and the recommendations of the National Review of Eating Disorders Services. 39
Page 40
Page 23 of 28 CP-SUB-39 Prioritise community mental health services supporting people within their communities. (Due 31st March 2022. It is proposed to extend due date to March 2024, see “Action Amendments” section below.) Demand and capacity continue to remain challenging across mental health services. The Community Mental Health Team has been supported with funding for social work capacity to recruit to additional Mental Health Officers (MHO), Social Work and Social Work assistant posts, this resource is essential to meet the growing demand and complexity of need in our communities. The Scottish Government allocated a Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund which was distributed by Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs) to communities across Scotland. This is to support adults through community based initiatives to help address the impact of distress and mental ill health caused by social isolation and loneliness, as well as addressing mental health inequalities made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding has been critical to the recovery of local communities. CP-SUB-40 We will place Mental Health Practitioners into GP practices to offer triage calls, urgent and routine face to face assessments as well as directing patients to the most appropriate support without unnecessary referrals to mental health services. Due Date 31 March 2022 The expansion of Mental Health Practitioners into GP practices is currently on hold pending confirmation of funding from the Scottish Government. This was anticipated as part of the £120m investment as part of the Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Fund but has been paused given other financial pressures. Plans have been developed in anticipation of funding being released. CP-SUB-41 We will improve emotional and mental health and wellbeing through physical and social participation in community activities, including for young people. (On target – no remedial note required) CP_38 We will use technology to improve access to and delivery of our services CP-SUB-90 Implement cloud solutions where appropriate giving consideration to business need, solution availability, viability of business cases, cyber security and information governance. (On target – no remedial note required) CP-SUB-92 Deliver Cyber Resilience Digital Services to support technological innovation and provide confidence in the security of our infrastructure, data management and technology. (On target – no remedial note required) CP-SUB-93 We will review, refresh and re-launch the Digital Strategy taking account of learning from the Covid-19 pandemic. (Due Date 31st March 2022) A draft updated strategy is being reviewed following engagement with businesses, learners and tourism. CP-SUB-94 We will work collaboratively with our communities to streamline the benefits process – helping residents maximise income opportunities and build relationships to support them. (On target – no remedial note required) 40
Page 41
Page 24 of 28 Action Amendments To ensure transparency, where the Corporate Policy, Performance and Elections Team in partnership with services feel an alteration to an action may result in more effective performance management, these recommendations are listed below. Many of the actions relate to the Education Services Plan as it is revised during the summer (end of the academic year) but links into our Council Plan. It is therefore appropriate to update the Council Plan sub actions relating to our Education Service in this mid-year report. Proposed New Sub Actions – Education Overall Action: CP_06 - We will support our children and young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens. New proposed sub-actions: 1. Extend play methods and teaching practices from early years into Primary One and Two, through a pilot programme in identified schools. (Due 30th June 2023) 2. Promote progressive and interdisciplinary outdoor learning experiences with a focus on sustainable development goals, directly related to our Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy. (Due 30th June 2023) 3. Deliver a range of facilitated programmes and bespoke sessions, to support the leadership development and enhance skills in context of education practitioners across all sectors. (Due 30th June 2023) 4. Develop a three-year Raising Attainment Strategy to improve outcomes for all learners and reduce inequity of outcomes, including a focus on accelerating progress in early primary and Early Learning Centres following implementation of 1140 hours of childcare. (Due 30th June 2023) 5. Develop an improving outcomes strategy (and action plan) for care experienced learners. (Due 30th June 2023) 6. Establish an enhanced range of flexible and child centred learning provisions, curriculum and delivery methods to meet a wide variety of support needs. (Due 30th June 2023) 7. Deliver our Education Service's capital project programme for the 2022-23 academic year to ensure high quality learning environments for all learners. (Due 30th June 2023) Overall Action: CP_07 - We will offer opportunities to our young people and their families to play a more active role in school life and encourage more participation in learning opportunities. New proposed sub-actions: 1. Co-create with our children and young people new ways to maximise learner participation and voice, as well as create a new Learner Participation Policy. (Due 30th June 2023) 2. Implement locally the revised ‘Learning Together’ Scottish Government parental involvement and engagement action plan. (Due 30th June 2023) 3. Continue to work collaboratively with establishments through the Family Learning Team and offer a wide range of opportunities that enhance family learning in establishments. (Due 30th June 2023) Overall Action: CP_08 - We will work with our young people to build their resilience, supporting their mental and physical wellbeing. New proposed sub-actions: 1. Assist education establishments to implement the national mental health and wellbeing Whole School Approach, including curricular, professional learning and parental supports. (Due 30th June 2023) 2. Review approaches to promoting positive relationships and whole school nurture and continue to adapt our approaches based on an analysis of need. (Due 30th June 2023) 3. Support a range of targeted nurturing approaches, including nurture groups that will continue to develop the social and emotional skills of identified children and young people so that they are able to be included and nurtured within their local community. (Due 30th June 2023) 41
Page 42
Page 25 of 28 Overall Action: CP_09 - We will work with schools, colleges, universities, businesses and partners to deliver education, skills and training, helping people into work and sustaining employment. New proposed sub-actions: 1. Through Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) co-ordinators and other partners, embed approaches to planning, supporting and tracking post-school destinations for all school leavers. (Due 30th June 2023) 2. Refresh and strengthen the focus of the school-college partnership and provide enhanced opportunities for achievement, e.g., through the Regional Improvement Collaborative, in the senior phase. (Due 30th June 2023) 3. Design tailored programmes with partners to provide enhanced support for specific groups of school leavers, including those with identified needs. (Due 30th June 2023) Overall Action: CP_10 - We will make sure that everyone has the ability and knowledge to participate in the digital world. New proposed sub-action: • Develop an Education Digital Skills Strategy and support establishments to achieve Digital Schools status, ensuring that digital technologies are a central component of our approaches to quality learning and teaching. (Due 30th June 2023) Sub-Action Amendments CP-SUB-32 - Grow Care at Home Capacity This is an ongoing action, therefore it is proposed the end date is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2024. CP-SUB-33 - Prioritise Day Services Model and Support for Carers. This is a longer term action, therefore it is proposed the end date is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2023. CP-SUB-34 - Prioritise integrated island services, including unscheduled care. Expected developments in this area mean extending this action from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2023 will better reflect performance. CP-SUB-35a - We will help individuals to have better choice and control of their support at an early stage by reinvigorating Self-Directed Support. Following the establishment of A Self-Directed Support (SDS) Learning Review Board in June 2022 and resulting change in scope for this action, it is proposed this sub-action is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2023. CP-SUB-37 - We will work with Scottish Government as a trailblazer site for the whole systems approach to diet and healthy weight (public health priority). This work was paused due to the involvement of Public Health partners in the pandemic and resulting secondment of partners to other roles. However, it has recently recommenced and we now have a better understanding of the expected due date. It is proposed this sub-action is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2024. CP-SUB-38 - Prioritisation of children and young people receiving support from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. Expected developments including opportunities to host services at West Road, Irvine, mean extending this sub- action’s due date form 31st March 2022 to 30th September 2023 will better reflect performance. CP-SUB-39 - Prioritise community mental health services supporting people within their communities. This is an ongoing action, therefore it is proposed the end date is extended from 31st March 2022 to 31st March 2024. CP-SUB-42 Work closely with colleagues in Acute Services and Police Scotland to address the levels of unscheduled care in mental health. It is proposed the end date is extended from 31st March 2022 to 30th September 2023 to reflect the opening for the new mental health hub at Woodland View, Irvine in the spring. 42
Page 43
Page 26 of 28 Trend Charts Key: 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 CP_15 Number of attendances at indoor sports & leisure facilities (Excluding Pools) 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 CP_29 Overall Carbon Emissions (Tonnes) 0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 CP_02 % of Council budget directed via participatory methods 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 CP_22 Number of electric vehicle charging points publicly available 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 CP_31 % of total household waste that is recycled (Calendar Year as per SEPA) (LGBF) 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 CP_33 % of Self Service Transactions 43
Page 44
Page 27 of 28 Best In Class Our Senior Manager for Customer Services was invited to present at a national webinar ‘Child Poverty and the Cost of Living Crisis’ led by the Improvement Service in September. This included presenting our approach to delivering top-up bridging payments of £100 to low-income families. East Lothian Council have approached us to learn more about our fuel poverty payments approved by Cabinet in August. We continue to contribute to both the national UNCRC Implementation Network and Child Poverty Peer Group led by the Improvement Service. This has led to becoming joint leads in a pilot to explore data sharing with Social Security Scotland, with the aim of ensuring some of our most vulnerable residents are aware of support available to them. Working in partnership with the Improvement Service and Glasgow City Council, if successful it could help deliver better outcomes for residents locally and nationally. The North Ayrshire Council Strategic Community Learning and Development Plan 2021-2024 was developed through consultation and engagement with communities. Education Scotland undertook an Aspect Review in May 2022, with a focus on Food with Dignity and Community Food Networks. As a result, North Ayrshire Community Learning and Development Service will feature in the report as a good practice example. Our Corporate Policy, Performance and Election Team provided support to Aberdeenshire Council on their performance framework, strategy and Council Plan. The Scottish Government have commended the approach in North Ayrshire in delivering the Long- Term Unemployed programme, exceeding the job creation targets set for the area. In addition, the Scottish Government gave very positive feedback on the quality of the submissions to the 2022/23 Islands Programme fund. Neighbourhood Services performed well in the Best Kept War Memorial national competition judged by the British Legion. The Saltcoats memorial won the overall award and the Kilwinning memorial was Champion of Champions, Stevenston and Ardrossan memorials also received recognition. Recently published SEPA recycling rates for 2021 show we have the second highest recycling rate of the 32 Scottish local authorities. We were awarded gold level re-accreditation in July 2022 by the Tenant Participation Advisory Service Scotland (TPAS) for our approach to customer engagement, analysis of services and digital engagement. Bronze, silver, or gold accreditation is awarded to organisations based on how well they perform in regard to tenant participation services and is nationally recognised for providing an impartial report on performance. Our Senior Manager for Waste and Streetscene Strategy and Contracts is participating in the new National Fly Tipping Forum and contributing to the development of the revised National Litter and Fly Tipping strategy, which will have a six-year lifespan. The strategy will outline actions under behaviour change, services and infrastructure and enforcement. One of our Building Services apprentices was shortlisted for the UK Apprentice of the Year finalist. 44
Page 45
Page 28 of 28 “Can you thank the Streetscene team on my behalf for the wonderful job they did cutting the grass at Coldstream, West Kilbride, it’s much appreciated.” North Ayrshire Resident What Our Customers Say “I used the Bartonholm recycling centre. I want to compliment the council and staff at the centre for doing a great job. The staff were polite and helpful and the centre was neat and tidy and looked cared for. The lady that I spoke to was especially helpful and she was busy with a broom keeping the place in good shape and clearly has pride in her work. Long may this go on.” North Ayrshire Resident “Thank you for your recent classes at Beith library, my son has enjoyed attending the organised events and looks forward to Fridays’ Digi Dabble. Absolutely amazing to have these over the summer and all free. The ladies are absolutely wonderful and the girl who took the sewing class on Thursday was very patient and amazing with the children, very fun and engaging. We look forward to all our future visits especially the weekly Saturday Lego club which is now very much part of our weekend routine.” North Ayrshire Resident “I want to say how happy I am at the brilliant service I have had from the Homeless team to the housing allocation and Largs housing. After what was a terrible personal situation myself and my children found ourselves, I reluctantly reached out for help and to say I was overwhelmed by the kindness of every person I spoke to is an understatement! I will always be very grateful for the support I received. And my children and I finally have a safe place to call our home. Many thanks NAC!!” North Ayrshire Resident “Hi, there are some faulty lamp posts burning throughout the day. Please can someone investigate?” North Ayrshire Resident “Thank you for reporting this fault. I can confirm our electrician has attended and repaired the timeclock within the lamp posts and they are now not on during the day.” North Ayrshire Council Representative “The beach was beautiful today, lovely and clean with no rubbish, excellent job done keeping it looking well groomed.” North Ayrshire Resident 45
Page 46
For further information please contact: The Corporate Policy, Performance and Elections Team Tel: 01294 324648 Email: NorthAyrshirePerforms@north-ayrshire.gov.uk 46
Page 47
Appendix 2 - Council Plan Performance Indicators Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 1 of 6 Appendix 2 – Council Plan Performance Indicators Priority - Aspiring Communities 1 This figure is provisional pending further data. PI Status Significantly Adrift of Target Slightly Adrift of Target On Target Data Only Data Not Available PI Code & Description 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Q2 2022/23 Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status CP_02 Percentage of Council budget directed via participatory methods 1.11% 0.89% 1.13% 1.2% 2.32% 1.1% 1.76%1 1% CP_03 Percentage of residents who agree they have access to opportunities to participate in their local community 47% 47% 47% 47% - 47% Measured Annually CP_04 Percentage of children achieving their developmental milestones at the time the child starts primary school N/A 79% 72% 80% 78.5% 78% Measured Annually CP_05 Average total tariff score of pupils living in SIMD 30% most deprived areas 685.8 718 744.7 724 Due Feb 2023 710 Measured annually, next data release due February 2023. 47
Page 48
Appendix 2 - Council Plan Performance Indicators Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 2 of 6 2 CP_08 Children Living in Poverty (After housing costs): Data collection for 2020/21 was affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Figures for FYE 2020/21 are subject to additional uncertainty and may not be strictly comparable with previous years. Please see ‘Performance Indicators - Additional Information’ section for more details. PI Code & Description 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Q2 2022/23 Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status CP_06 Average tariff score: All Leavers 857.4 895 912 900 Due Feb 2023 880 Measured annually, next data release due February 2023. CP_07 Percentage of school leavers entering positive destinations (LGBF) 92.5% 96% 95.2% 96.2% Due Feb 2023 96.2% Measured annually, next data release due February 2023. CP_08 Percentage of children living in poverty (after housing costs) 27.9% 26.5% 24.7%2 26.5% Due July 2023 26.5% Measured annually, next data release due July 2023. CP_09 Percentage of working age population in employment 70.2% 70% 69% 64.7% 66.3% 70% 67.8% - CP_10a Percentage of procurement spent on local enterprises 19.98% 23% 21.39% 23.5% 22.93% 24% Measured Annually CP_11 Percentage of people earning less than the living wage (LGBF) 16% 24% 16.2% 23% Due Feb 2023 22% Measured Annually CP_14 Percentage of households in fuel poverty 28% 25.5% 28% 28% Due Feb 2023 28% Measured Annually 48
Page 49
Appendix 2 - Council Plan Performance Indicators Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 3 of 6 3 We are continuing to work closely with KA Leisure to support and promote their services. PI Code & Description 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Q2 2022/23 Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status CP_15 Number of attendances at indoor sports & leisure facilities (excluding pools) 1,859,843 1,964,100 71,913 736,915 298,806 105.089 3 CP_16 Percentage of people aged 65 and over with long-term care needs who receiving personal care at home (LGBF) 69.42% 66% 69.51% 66% Due Feb 2023 66% Measured Annually CP_17 Emergency Admissions (Number) 19,150 20,257 16,283 20,257 17,966 20,257 Measured Annually CP_18 Percentage of new tenancies to applicants who were assessed as homeless sustained for more than a year 84.07% 82% 92.48% 85% 86.92% 85% Measured Annually 49
Page 50
Appendix 2 - Council Plan Performance Indicators Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 4 of 6 Priority - Inspiring Place Code & Short Name 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Q2 2022/23 Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status CP_19 Proportion of operational buildings that are suitable for their current use (LGBF) 90.89% 93% 91.05% 93% Due Feb 2023 93% Measured Annually CP_20 Overall percentage of road network that should be considered for maintenance treatment 37.3% 38.1% 37.1% 38.1% 33.9% 37.5% Measured Annually CP_21 Proportion of properties receiving superfast broadband (LGBF) 94.1% 97% 94.7% 97% Due Feb 2023 97% Measured Annually CP_22 Number of electric vehicle charging points publicly available 36 30 45 42 49 43 57 Not possible to set quarterly targets due to nature of roll out of EV points with private partners CP_23 Number of new build Council housing units reaching completion (cumulative) 381 351 437 755 681 630 Measured Annually CP_24 Number of empty homes brought back into use (cumulative) 594 500 594 600 1,051 600 Measured Annually 50
Page 51
Appendix 2 - Council Plan Performance Indicators Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 5 of 6 4 CP_27 Street Cleanliness Index - Percentage Clean (LGBF) – This is a provisional figure based on an audit in late October 2021. The final figure will be confirmed through the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) in February 2023. 5 CP_29 - As we continue to broaden the scope of what we measure within our carbon emissions, this indicator will evolve to capture elements such as carbon emissions resulting from our supply chains as well as other areas. This will ensure as accurate a picture as possible of our emissions but may mean years are not directly comparable depending on when additional information begins to be captured. Please see ‘Performance Indicator Amendments’ section for more details. Code & Short Name 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Q2 2022/23 Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status CP_25 Percentage of Council dwellings that meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (LGBF) 99.36% 99.4% 98.83% 99.5% Due Feb 2023 99.5% Measured Annually CP_26 Tourism Visitor Numbers 1,599,400 1,534,968 315,620 1,534,968 858,300 1,534,968 Measured Annually CP_27 Street Cleanliness Index - Percentage Clean (LGBF) 94.6 94 91.34 94 89.54 94 86.3 90 CP_28 Hectares of vacant & derelict land in North Ayrshire 1,180 1,244 1,204 1,194 1,198 1,144 Measured Annually CP_29 Overall carbon emissions (tonnes)5 37,508 39,320 22,846 35,127 21,791 21,247 3,942 - CP_30 Total installed capacity of low carbon heat and electricity generation across the Council's estate 9,700 9,700 10,720 9,800 11,680 11,000 Measured Annually CP_31 Percentage of total household waste that is recycled (calendar year as per SEPA) (LGBF) 56.3% 59% 52.1% 52.1% 56.4% 53.1% 58.8% 51% 51
Page 52
Appendix 2 - Council Plan Performance Indicators Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 6 of 6 Priority - A Council for the Future Code & Short Name 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 Q2 2022/23 Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status Value Target Status CP_32 Percentage of Customers delighted with the overall Customer Service 81% 77% Surveys suspended due to Covid-19 and due to resume in 2022/23. Measured Annually CP_33 Percentage of Self- Service Transactions 41.26% 40% 58% 45% 58.33% 50% 63% 50% CP_34 Employee Engagement Level - Council Wide 70.67% 70% No survey planned 52
Page 53
Appendix 3 - Council Plan Actions Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 1 of 6 Appendix 3 - Council Plan Action Tracker *2021 status based on information available rather than specific sub-actions. **Council Plan Delivery Plan was in development during Q1. 2019-20 2020-21* 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Priority Outcome Ref # Existing Overall Action Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year End Estimate Q1** Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Aspiring Communities What we’ ll do to make active and strong communities CP_01 We will build stronger relationships between the council, communities and partners. CP_02 We will co-produce a local charter with our communities which sets out the things we jointly commit to do for each other, to help each other create a better North Ayrshire. Complete CP_03 We will extend our participatory approach, offering communities more opportunities to lead in local decision- making. CP_04 We will support communities to achieve what’s important to them through strong local networks. What we’ ll do to ensure our children and young people experience the best start in life CP_05 We will expand our early learning and childcare provision to make sure all eligible children are able to access 1140 hours of free care each year. CP_06 We will support our children and young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens. CP_07 We will offer opportunities to our young people and their families to play a more active role in school life and encourage more participation in learning opportunities. 53
Page 54
Appendix 3 - Council Plan Actions Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 2 of 6 *2021 status based on information available rather than specific sub-actions. **Council Plan Delivery Plan was in development during Q1. 2019-20 2020-21* 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Priority Outcome Ref # Existing Overall Action Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year End Estimate Q1** Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 CP_08 We will work with all young people to build their resilience, supporting their mental health and physical well-being. What we’ ll do to have an inclusive, growing and enterprising local economy CP_09 We will work with schools, colleges, universities, businesses and partners to deliver education, skills and training, helping people into work and sustaining employment. CP_10 We will make sure that everyone has the ability and knowledge to participate in the digital world. CP_11 We will support our local businesses to become more innovative and competitive. CP_12 We will promote fair employment practices. CP_13 We will develop and implement a Community Wealth Building (CWB) strategy. What we’ ll do to make sure North Ayrshire residents and communities CP_14 We will continue our work with partners, including the Scottish Government, to explore the feasibility of a Scottish Basic Income Pilot. Complete CP_15 We will let people decide how best to manage their own care needs and support people to live in their own homes for as long as possible. CP_16 We will work with individuals and communities to support positive lifestyle choices which improve health and wellbeing. 54
Page 55
Appendix 3 - Council Plan Actions Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 3 of 6 *2021 status based on information available rather than specific sub-actions. **Council Plan Delivery Plan was in development during Q1. 2019-20 2020-21* 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Priority Outcome Ref # Existing Overall Action Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year End Estimate Q1** Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 What we will do to ensure North Ayrshire CP_17 We will work with partners to support our vulnerable residents and communities. CP_18 We will extend the ‘Housing First’ pilot to address homelessness. Inspiring Place What we’ ll do to make North Ayrshire well-connected with effective infrastructure CP_19 We will provide well-maintained, integrated travel and transport networks, supporting alternative and sustainable transport. CP_20 We will work with partners to make sure there is sustained investment in our roads, ports and harbour infrastructure to ensure that travel is resilient and reliable. CP_21 We will work with partners to extend public wi-fi and improve our digital connectivity. CP_22 We will provide an appropriately sized, fit for purpose, energy-efficient and digital- enabled property portfolio, including our schools. CP_23 We will attract investment, through the Ayrshire Growth Deal and other means, to support regeneration and job creation at our key development sites of i3 Irvine, Hunterston, Lochshore, Ardrossan Marine Quarter, and the Irvine Great Harbour. CP_24 We will support our communities to maximise the use of community assets (such as schools) and encourage Community Asset Transfers. CP_25 With our social landlord partners, we will build new, modern, energy-efficient lifelong homes for life, tailored to the needs of tenants. 55
Page 56
Appendix 3 - Council Plan Actions Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 4 of 6 *2021 status based on information available rather than specific sub-actions. **Council Plan Delivery Plan was in development during Q1. 2019-20 2020-21* 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Priority Outcome Ref # Existing Overall Action Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year End Estimate Q1** Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 What we’ ll do to provide our residents with homes and houses that meet their CP_26 We will actively promote a mix of homes by facilitating private housing development. CP_27 We will work with property owners and landlords to make sure our private housing is suitable for the needs of our residents. CP_28 We will form a partnership with other Councils to introduce a low-cost energy offer. Off Programme No longer being pursued following a decision by Nottingham City Council to sell their not-for-profit energy company to British Gas following significant financial losses. What we’ ll do to make North Ayrshire a vibrant, welcoming and attractive environment CP_29 We will provide well-kept public places and town centres which will benefit our residents, visitors and businesses. CP_30 We will, where possible, bring empty properties back into use. CP_31 We will work with communities to improve the quality of the local environment through a participatory approach. CP_32 We will develop North Ayrshire as a coastal and island destination, attracting tourism investment and visitors. 56
Page 57
Appendix 3 - Council Plan Actions Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 5 of 6 *2021 status based on information available rather than specific sub-actions. **Council Plan Delivery Plan was in development during Q1. 2019-20 2020-21* 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Priority Outcome Ref # Existing Overall Action Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year End Estimate Q1** Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 What we'll do to make sure we all live in a sustainable environment CP_33 We will support a circular economy by re-using, recycling and generating energy from the waste we manage. CP_34 We will develop additional low carbon renewable energy schemes and networks. CP_35 We will protect our communities by delivering the Local Flood Risk Management Plan, the Shoreline Management Plan and the Millport and Upper Garnock Valley Flood Protection Schemes. A Council for the Future An accessible Council that puts residents and communities at the heart of what we do CP_36 We will work with communities and key stakeholders to radically review what we do and how we do it, to deliver cost effective services. CP_37 We will provide joined up services across the Council and with partner agencies and communities. CP_38 We will use technology to improve access to and delivery of our services. 57
Page 58
Appendix 3 - Council Plan Actions Mid-Year 2022-23 Page 6 of 6 *2021 status based on information available rather than specific sub-actions. **Council Plan Delivery Plan was in development during Q1. 2019-20 2020-21* 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 Priority Outcome Ref # Existing Overall Action Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Year End Estimate Q1** Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 A powerful and respected voice CP_39 We will make our case nationally, regionally and locally levels to secure investment to support delivery of our priorities. An efficient Council that maximises resources and provides value for money CP_40 We will review what we do and how we do it to ensure we deliver the best possible services. This action was removed as approved by Cabinet in August 2021 as it duplicates CP_36 and CP_37. A valued workforce that delivers high quality services CP_41 We will empower and invest in our workforce to develop new and innovative ways of working. 58
Page 59
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Petitions: Proposed Car Parking Charges: Kilwinning, Irvine and Saltcoats Purpose: To advise Cabinet of the outcome of consideration by the Audit and Scrutiny Committee of three petitions in relation to proposed car parking charges in Kilwinning, Irvine and Saltcoats. Recommendation: That the Cabinet considers the recommendation by the Audit and Scrutiny Committee to note the content of the three petitions when considering the related report on the level of car parking charges. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 At its meeting on 15 November 2022, the Audit and Scrutiny Committee considered reports by the Chief Executive on petitions that had been received requesting that the Council maintain free parking in Kilwinning, Irvine and Saltcoats. The Executive Director (Place) provided a briefing note on the background to the proposed car parking charges and this was appended to the reports. 2. Background 2.1 Petition 1 – Oxenward East and Almswall Road Car Parks, Kilwinning The principal spokespersons, Tom Biondi and Graham Milliken, outlined the objections to the proposed car parking charges from shopkeepers and local residents and highlighted various matters, including the following:- • the total number of signatures having risen to more than 2,900 written and 1,933 online; • North Ayrshire’s Fair for All vision in terms of working together, engaging and supporting local communities; • the Town Centre Parking Strategy 2014-2020, which stated that parking would be free; • the lack of consultation on the introduction of parking charges; • the creation of inequality, with parking charges not applicable for all towns in North Ayrshire; • the impact on local business income in Kilwinning; Agenda Item 4 59
Page 60
• that Kilwinning and its surrounding areas were identified as a significant area of deprivation within the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation; • the ongoing struggle of local businesses and residents in terms of the cost-of- living crisis and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic; and • existing customers having stated they would shop elsewhere if charges were to be introduced. The spokespersons also gave examples of how local residents would be affected by the introduction of parking charges. 2.2 Petition 2 – East Road, Kirkgate and West Road, Irvine The principal spokesperson, William Frew, outlined the objections to the proposed car parking charges from shopkeepers and local residents and highlighted various matters, including the following:- • the ongoing struggle for small local businesses in the area; • the disruption and lost business arising from the recent regeneration of the high street area; • the slow recovery for businesses following the Covid-19 pandemic; • hardship in relation to the cost-of-living crisis; • the increase in overheads for businesses; • the unfair advantage to larger shops with free parking areas if charges were introduced elsewhere in the town; • the demise of the Kilmarnock and Ayr Town Centres following the introduction of pay-and-display parking charges; and • the lack of consultation with regard to the introduction of the parking charges. 2.3 Petition 3 – Saltcoats Town Centre and Surrounding Areas The principal spokesperson, Gerard Houston, outlined the objections to the proposed car parking charges from shopkeepers and local residents and highlighted various matters, including the following:- • the total number of written signatures having risen to more than 4000; • the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis on local businesses; • that access to short stay parking/pick ups would be essential to keep small businesses running; • that independent family-run businesses would be affected by the parking charges and not larger businesses; • the reliance on the car parks for staff parking, when staff were also struggling with cost-of-living rises; • the potential for encouraging parking in residential areas, which would cause additional difficulties in the town; • existing restrictions in Dockhead Street, Saltcoats and the extension of the restricted vehicular access between 10am and 4pm, which already affected footfall for local businesses; and • the lack of consultation with local traders and the general public. 60
Page 61
2.4 The Head of Service (Commerical) referred to the Briefing Note on Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) and the proposed introduction of car parking charges, a key outcome of which would be improved regulation of traffic in town centres by directing long-stay patrons to free parking slightly further out while providing chargeable and short-stay parking close to retail and other town centre services. The proposals would also encourage alternative more active and sustainable modes of transport and aimed to reduce the volume of traffic travelling through town centres by facilitating the use of public transport. Information was also provided in relation to movement within car parks, where parking charges would help with vehicle turnover, use of disabled parking bays, and the ban on pavement parking to be introduced in late 2023. 2.5 Members asked questions of all spokespersons and received responses in relation to:- • the initial proposal approved in 2019 which was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic; • the number of car parks in the local areas which were already short-stay and time-limited; and • whether petitioners considered that penalties should be imposed on those who parked all day in short stay car parks or whether there should be no limitation on any car park. 2.6 Spokesperson responses additionally mentioned Kirkgate, Irvine parking being utilised for school pickups, the use of the East Road car park, Irvine, for the Portal and the view that the College in Kilwinning should have more adequate parking provision for their specific use on campus. 2.7 Members asked questions of the Head of Service (Neighbourhood Services) in relation to:- • previous methods of consultation with Elected Members on charges to be applied; • the location of the one-hour free parking in Kilwinning where a response would be provided to Members; • monitoring of car park usage where charges were to be applied; • Elected Member engagement sessions which would include information on resident parking permit requirements; • the feasibility study model and assumptions around fines and collection rates; • the estimated costs in connection with Wardens (in the region of £120,000); • a post pandemic review of town centre footfall which indicated more normal parking behaviours; • reports on all the car parks in terms of usage and capacity; and • the current position regarding on street parking charges. 2.8 The Audit and Scrutiny Committee agreed to accept the three petitions and ask Cabinet to note their content when considering the report on the level of car parking charges at their meeting on 24 January 2023. 3. Proposals 3.1 The Cabinet is invited to note the content of the three petitions when considering their report on the level of car parking charges at their meeting on 24 January 2023. 61
Page 62
4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 There is £440k income per year forecast from this initiative across North Ayrshire. If the initiative does not go ahead it would need to be replaced with an alternative proposal(s) to plug the budget gap ie. other income opportunities to raise £440k or £440k of new savings. Human Resources 4.2 None arising from this report. Legal 4.3 None arising from this report. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 None arising from this report. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 None arising from this report. Key Priorities 4.6 None arising from this report. Community Wealth Building 4.7 None arising from this report. 5. Consultation 5.1 The Head of Service (Neighbourhood Services) was made aware of the terms of the petitions and provided a briefing note to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee which is attached as Appendix 1 to this report. Aileen Craig Head of Service (Democratic) For further information please contact Diane McCaw, Committee Services Officer, on 01294 324132 Background Papers N/A 62
Page 63
Briefing Note: DPE and Car Parking Charges Background On 11 June 2019 Cabinet recommended that DPE be introduced across North Ayrshire and that car park charges should apply in Irvine, Kilwinning, Saltcoats, Largs and Brodick. Charges were set at: However, following a call in to Audit and Scrutiny the matter was referred back to Cabinet to reconsider the previous decision in relation to the introduction of car parking charges in Brodick and in the inclusion of Arran in DPE. On 25 September 2019 full Council backed DPE for the entire Council area but not to implement car parking charges on Arran. In 2020, a global pandemic emerged, and the introduction of the proposals was put on hold due to this. On 2 March 2022, at its budget setting meeting full Council approved an increase in charges, as follows. Proposed Tariff Time (Mins) Short stay 60 £1.50 120 £2.00 240 £3.50 All Day Not permitted A motion was proposed at the Full Council Meeting on 21 September 2022 that in view of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, the introduction of these measures should be paused and a further review of the impact of these measures on residents and local businesses should be undertaken. However, following a division and a roll call vote, Council agreed that, ‘in light of the deepening financial crisis, a proposal be brought to Cabinet to reconsider the level of charges proposed in the 2022/23 budget.’ Key Outcomes of DPE Traffic Management A key desired outcome of introducing DPE and parking charges is an improved regulation of traffic in our town centres, by directing long stay patrons to free parking slightly further out whilst providing chargeable and short stay parking close to retail and other town centre services. Appendix 1 63
Page 64
Sustainable Transport/Climate Change The introduction of these measures also aligns with National Transport Policy by encouraging more active and sustainable modes of transport. The Scottish Government has a target to reduce car usage by 20% by 2030 and car parking charges will help contribute to this target by shifting people towards using alternative and sustainable modes of transport. The introduction of DPE and car parking charges aims to support sustainable and active travel and reduce the impact of transport on our communities. This also aims to reduce the volume of traffic travelling through our towns and to facilitate public transport to support a shift towards more sustainable travel behaviour. This aligns with the Council’s agreed Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy and furthermore, it aligns with the Council’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions through our declaration of a Climate Emergency and will contribute to the ambition to achieve net zero by 2030. The Town Centre Parking Strategy 2014-20, referred to by the petitioner did state that parking would be free, at the time of publishing the report in 2014, however the new Local Transport Strategy will cover this. Since 2014 much change has taken place particularly around Climate Change and the declaration of a Climate Emergency. DPE powers and charges Process to enact DPE To obtain DPE powers an application has been submitted to Scottish Government to transfer the enforcement powers from Police Scotland to North Ayrshire Council and the statutory process is underway with implementation now expected on 1 July 2023. DPE powers are currently held by 21 Local Authorities including all our neighbouring local authorities. Charges It is important to note that Decriminalised Parking is not sustainable without the income generated from parking charges. Transport Scotland recommends that DPE should be financially sustainable as far as possible. It states, ‘if a strong financial case cannot be made the Local Authority needs to explain how it would meet any shortfall before Transport Scotland could make a decision on the application.’ It is recommended that when considering taking on DPE powers a robust Business Case outlining how DPE will be funded is required. North Ayrshire Council commissioned robust Feasibility Studies in 2019 which helped inform the Car Parking charges model. A Financial Assessment was submitted as part of the application to the Scottish Ministers. Parking for disabled badge holders/poor parking behaviour Disabled badge holders will be able to park free of charge in the car parks where charges apply. A significant problem is that disabled parking bays are being abused with able bodied drivers parking in them preventing disabled badge holders from parking. There are also issues with inconsiderate drivers parking on double yellow lines, bus stops, ‘keep clear’ areas near schools etc and DPE powers will help us act on this. 64
Page 65
Pavement Parking Ban The Scottish Government is introducing a ban on pavement parking in late 2023 and without car park wardens we will be unable to enforce this legislation. Car parks where charges will apply • Irvine – Kirkgate, West Road and East Road • Kilwinning – Almswell Road and Oxenward • Saltcoats – Vernon Street, Bradshaw Street, Windmill Street and Kirkgate. • Largs – Gateside Street. There is already charging in place at Bellmans Close in Largs. North Ayrshire Council currently has 55 car parks and 44 will remain free of charge to use, the exceptions being the 10 named above plus Bellman’s Close, Largs. There is free parking available nearby the locations where charges will apply. In Kilwinning, the Woodwynd Car Park will remain free of charge and there is also on street free parking. Implementation Plan Ongoing engagement Engagement sessions have been arranged with local elected members and will take place between 5 and 8 December 2022. These engagement sessions offer the opportunity to discuss concerns and issues around the proposals. Residents parking permits The Service are considering the introduction of resident parking bays to address resident’s concerns. Level of Charges In accordance with the Council’s decision on 21 September 2022, a report will be submitted to the Cabinet meeting on 24 January 2023 on charges. Financial Implications Car Parking charges were agreed as part of the Council’s budget setting process and an income of £440,000 per annum is included in the budget. Any proposal to review or abolish car parking charges will require details on how the £440,000 funding gap will be met through increased charges/income or new savings. There is also a cost in providing and maintaining car parks and in the current financial climate this is difficult to sustain without some sort of charge. 65
Page 66
66
Page 67
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Decriminalised Parking Enforcement and Car Parking Charges Purpose: To: (i) provide Cabinet with information on 3 petitions received objecting to the introduction of car parking charges; (ii) advise on the outcome of local discussions held with ward members and local measures proposed following the introduction of DPE and car parking charges; (iii) consider and agree the level of parking charges to be introduced. Recommendation: Cabinet is asked to: i) note the 3 petitions (as detailed in the separate report to this Cabinet) received objecting to the introduction of car parking charges, heard at a recent Audit and Scrutiny Committee; ii) consider and agree the recommendations for addressing local concerns including the introduction of resident parking permits and the removal of Bradshaw Street, Saltcoats from the chargeable car parks ; and iii) consider and agree the level of charges to be introduced in the car parks, noting that should option 3 (as detailed within Appendix 3) be the preferred option, then an alternative source of revenue funding will need to be identified to address the budget shortfall identified in paragraph 4.1 of this report. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 At a meeting of North Ayrshire Council on 28 February 2018, it was agreed to develop the introduction of Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) and the introduction of car parking charges. 1.2 Since the withdrawal of the Traffic Warden Service by the Police in 2012, the enforcement of parking violations has reduced significantly and is now generally only undertaken by the Police in response to complaints or issues of obstructive parking leading to a significant increase in visible parking violations and poor parking behaviours, with the Council having no enforcement powers to tackle this. Agenda Item 4 67
Page 68
1.3 On 11 June 2019 Cabinet recommended that DPE be introduced across North Ayrshire and that car park charges should apply in Irvine, Kilwinning, Saltcoats, Largs and Brodick. However, following a call in to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee the matter was referred back to Cabinet to reconsider the previous decision in relation to the introduction of car parking charges in Brodick and the inclusion of Arran in DPE. 1.4 On 25 September 2019 full Council considered and supported DPE for the entire Council area but decided not to implement car parking charges on Arran. Arrangements commenced to implement the Council’s decision, however the global pandemic emerged, and the introduction of the proposals was therefore put on hold, predominantly due to the re-prioritisation of Council resources and Scottish Government resources to respond to the pandemic. 1.5 At the budget setting meeting on 2 March 2022 full Council agreed to an increase in proposed charges from those previously agreed. 1.6 A motion was proposed at the Full Council Meeting on 21 September 2022 that in view of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, the introduction of these measures should be paused and a further review of the impact of these measures on residents and local businesses should be undertaken. However, following a division and a roll call vote, Council agreed that ‘in light of the deepening financial crisis, a proposal be brought to Cabinet to reconsider the level of charges proposed in the 2022/23 budget’. 1.7 Petitions objecting to the introduction of car parking charges were received from businesses and traders in Kilwinning, Irvine and Saltcoats citing that in their opinion the introduction of car parking charges would have an adverse impact on local businesses and that this may result in the closure of a number of small independent businesses in the towns affected. The petitions were heard by the Audit and Scrutiny Committee on 15 November 2022, and these were upheld and referred to Cabinet for further consideration. A separate report is presented to Cabinet today with full details. 2. Background 2.1 In 2012 the Traffic Warden Service was withdrawn by the Police. Parking violations in North Ayrshire are a criminal offence and Police Scotland is responsible for parking enforcement through powers under the Road Traffic Act. However, they are often unable to do so due to competing priorities/pressures. 2.2 Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) is a regime which enables the local authority to administer its own parking penalties, including the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to vehicles parking inappropriately. In areas with DPE, stationary traffic offences cease to be criminal offences enforced by the Police and instead become civil penalties enforced by the local authority. Local authorities retain the income from penalty charges from parking offences to finance the operation, enforcement and adjudication of the DPE regime 2.3 There are many benefits of DPE and a key desired outcome of introducing DPE and parking charges is an improved regulation of traffic in our town centres, by directing long stay patrons to free parking slightly further out whilst providing chargeable and short stay parking close to retail and other town centre services. This is aimed at creating more turnover of parking spaces and improved availability and access for 68
Page 69
people to get a parking space in Town Centres, thereby improving opportunities and ease of access to local business premises. 2.4 The introduction of these measures also aligns with National Transport Policy by encouraging more active and sustainable modes of transport. The Scottish Government has a target to reduce car usage by 20% by 2030 and car parking charges will help contribute to this target by shifting people towards using alternative and sustainable modes of transport. 2.5 Furthermore, there is a significant problem in that disabled parking bays are being abused with able bodied drivers parking in them preventing disabled badge holders from parking. There are also issues with inconsiderate drivers parking on double yellow lines, bus stops, ‘keep clear’ areas near schools etc and DPE powers will help the Council act on this. It should be noted that disabled badge holders will be able to park free of charge in the car parks where charges apply. 2.6 DPE is not financially viable on its own and requires additional income from car parking charges to support its operation. The income generated from penalty charges from on and off-street parking violations must be retained to finance the operation, enforcement and adjudication of the DPE regime. 2.7 For information, details of income generated from DPE through the issue of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) for other local authorities in Scotland for 2019/20 are included in Appendix 1. This shows that two Local Authorities, Angus Council and East Renfrewshire Council, operated DPE without car parking charges and both incurred a financial loss. More locally, East Ayrshire Council generated a net income of £604,138 by introducing car parking charges alongside DPE. In South Ayrshire, the data shows a net income achieved of £739,809. 2.8 Parking charges were initially agreed by the Cabinet on 18 June 2019 and full Council on 25 September 2019 and were set at: However, at the Council’s budget setting on 2 March 2022 the proposed charges were increased to the following. Proposed Tariff Time (Mins) Short stay 60 £1.50 120 £2.00 240 £3.50 All Day Not permitted 2.9 The budget proposal agreed in March 2022 was based on estimated net revenue income of £440,000 from the introduction of car parking charges. However, following a recent financial evaluation in the preparation of this report there is a risk that the £440,000 net income forecast is unlikely to be achieved and it is more prudent to 69
Page 70
assume that the sum of £300,000 net revenue income per year based on the March 2022 agreed car park charges is achievable. 2.10 This is due to a number of factors. Although the estimated income for charges and Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) has remained constant, expenditure costs have increased significantly since the original Options Appraisal/Business Case was prepared in 2018/19. Pay awards, vehicle costs, fuel costs and other associated supplies and services costs have increased significantly, particularly in recent times. Furthermore, the original Options Appraisal/Business Case was based on external enforcement rather than internal enforcement. Whilst external enforcement would cost less per year to operate there are other non-financial benefits in operating an internal enforcement team. Internal enforcement would allow the Council more control over the deployment of the team to hot spots/ areas of concern and there is also a negative stereotype image of external enforcement teams having an over-zealous approach to enforcement duties. The Council also has experience in a similar type of enforcement activity though the Environmental Enforcement Team and this knowledge/experience will be valuable in the formation of the DPE enforcement team. It should be stressed however, that the anticipated net revenue position is based on an assumed level of car park vehicle occupancy. This activity level would likely be variable and require to be continually monitored. 2.11 To obtain DPE powers the Council must follow a statutory process and make an application to Scottish Government. North Ayrshire have submitted their application for DPE powers and have been advised by Transport Scotland that the implementation date that Scottish Government are working to has been further delayed from 1 July 2023 and is now likely to be around August/ September 2023. 2.12 Location plans of the proposed car parks where charges are to be introduced are shown in Appendix 2. The estimated vehicle occupancy in the car parks has been estimated as 25% to 35% to take account of potential displacement following the introduction of the new charging regime. 2.13 Petitions objecting to the introduction of car parking charges were submitted to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee on 15 November 2022. Three petitions were received in respect of the proposal to introduce car parking charges in Kilwinning, Irvine and Saltcoats. The objections were based on a number of factors including the financial impact on local businesses, the cost of living crisis, lack of consultation and impact on residential parking. The 3 petitions requested free parking remains in place. The Audit and Scrutiny Committee agreed to accept the three petitions and ask Cabinet to note their content when considering the intended report on the level of car parking charges at their meeting on 24 January 2023. 2.14 In Irvine it is proposed to introduce parking charges in 3 town centre car parks at Kirkgate, West Road and East Road. Officers met with Irvine Ward Members on 6 December 2022 to agree local needs, including a review of restrictions and the need for Resident Parking Permits as a result of displacement following the introduction of car parking charges. From officer inspections only the Kirkgate car park demonstrated overnight and daytime occupation of the car park by residents. It is therefore proposed to introduce resident parking permits for residents of Hill Street affected by the introduction of the parking charges. It is proposed that the first permit would be free of charge, and it is suggested that an additional permit should incur an administration fee of £100. It is also proposed to introduce a small number (6 bays) of time limited free 70
Page 71
(30 mins) free parking at East Road Car Park to assist with short stops required to access local businesses in the town centre. 2.15 In Kilwinning it is proposed to introduce car parking charges in 2 car parks, these being at Almswall Road and at Oxenward. Officers met with Kilwinning Ward Members on 5 December 2022 to consider local needs. Following officer inspections only the Almswall Road car park demonstrated resident parking during the day. It is proposed that resident parking permits are issued to the residents that are fronting and abutting Almswall Road car park and also the residential properties affected on Almswall Road. It is suggested that the first permit would be free of charge, and that any additional permit should incur an administration fee of £100. It is also suggested that there should be some time limited free patient parking (up to 60 minutes) on Almswall Road for up to 5 vehicles and time limited patient parking at Oxenward Surgery for 2 vehicles (up to 60 minutes). In addition, it is proposed some time limited free parking (up to 60 minutes) in Woodwynd West for up to 6 spaces and Oxenward (Boulevard) for to 2 vehicles to assist with short stops required to access local businesses in the town centre. 2.16 In Saltcoats it was proposed to introduce car parking charges in Vernon Street, Bradshaw Street, Windmill Street and Kirkgate. Officers met with the Saltcoats Ward Members on 8 December 2022 to agree local needs. From officer inspections of the car parks only the Bradshaw Street car park demonstrated a need for resident parking permits. However, if residential parking permits were issued for Bradshaw Street, there would be little scope to recover any income. It is therefore proposed this car park is removed from the proposals for car parking charges. Residential parking permits were not considered necessary in any of the remaining car parks. A long-term lease of the Kirkgate car park is currently being finalised and parking charges are necessary to fund the lease agreement. Local members also discussed the benefits the enforcement of current parking restrictions could deliver for local businesses such as the one hour short stay at Hamilton Street. This would generate more traffic turnover and more business for local traders as this is currently being abused by people parking for longer than the one hour. 2.17 In Largs there is already car park charges in place at the Seafront Car Park and at Bellman’s Close. it is proposed to introduce further parking charges in the car park at Gateside Street. Officers met with North Coast Ward Members on 8 December 2022 to agree local needs. It is proposed to introduce resident parking permits in the Gateside Street car park for residential properties in the immediate vicinity of the car park. It is proposed that the first permit would be free and that any additional permit should incur an administration fee of £100. In addition, it is proposed to introduce time limited free parking in Fraser Street and Morris Street (up to 60 minutes) for visitors. This will remain unlimited to the residents of Fraser Street and Morris Street who have no access to off street parking. 2.18 Options for the level of parking charges are provided in Appendix 3. It should be noted that car parking charges will apply from Mon-Fri between 0900-1700 hours for Irvine, Kilwinning and Saltcoats. For Largs, car park charges will apply seven days per week from 0900-1700 hours. 2.19 To implement and manage the DPE and car parking charges regime, enforcement staff will be required. The enforcement of DPE will require the recruitment of 1 Supervisory Parking Attendant and 6 Parking Attendant’s. This will enable 130 hours 71
Page 72
of on and off-street enforcement per week excluding travel time and administration. Shift working will be required for the Parking Attendants to ensure enforcement can be delivered over the full week. The Enforcement Team will be employed by the Council, however assistance with the administration and processing of the PCN’s will be through collaboration with an external partner. The costs of delivering Decriminalised Parking Enforcement have been factored into the financial modelling. 2.20 At the Full Council Meeting on 21 September 2022 a motion was considered which proposed that in view of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, the introduction of car parking charges should be paused and a further review of the impact on residents and local businesses should be undertaken. However, following a division and a roll call vote, Council agreed that ‘in light of the deepening financial crisis, a proposal be brought to Cabinet to reconsider the level of charges proposed in the 2022/23 budget’. To assist Cabinet in its consideration of the level of charges to be introduced, a number of charging options have been modelled and are included at appendix 3 for consideration. 3. Proposals 3.1 It is proposed that Cabinet: i) notes the 3 petitions (as detailed in the separate report to this Cabinet) received objecting to the introduction of car parking charges, heard at a recent Audit and Scrutiny Committee; ii) considers and agrees the recommendations for addressing local concerns including the introduction of resident parking permits and the removal of Bradshaw Street, Saltcoats from the chargeable car parks; and iii) considers and agrees the level of charges to be introduced in the car parks, noting that should option 3 (as detailed within Appendix 3) be the preferred option, then an alternative source of revenue funding will need to be identified to address the budget shortfall identified in paragraph 4.1 of this report. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 Capital amounting to £300,000 was allocated for this project. The costs associated with land purchase adjacent to Bellman’s Close and associated infrastructure were met from this. Details on potential revenue income are provided in Appendix 3. The budget proposal agreed on March 2022 was based on estimated net income of £440,000 from the introduction of car parking charges. However, following a recent financial evaluation in the preparation of this report it has been assessed that the £440,000 income forecast is unlikely to be achieved and the sum of £300,000 net revenue income per year based on the March 2022 agreed car park charges is a more realistic estimate. This is due to a number of factors. Although the estimated income for parking fee charges and Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) has remained constant, expenditure costs have increased significantly since the original Options Appraisal/Business Case was prepared in 2018/19. Pay awards, vehicle costs, fuel costs and other associated supplies and services costs have increased significantly, particularly in recent times. As well as this the removal of Bradshaw Street, Saltcoats due to lack of available spaces has reduced income by £10,217. Furthermore, the 72
Page 73
original Options Appraisal/Business Case was based on external enforcement rather than internal enforcement. Whilst external enforcement would cost less per year to operate there are other non-financial advantages in operating an internal enforcement team as stated above at para 2.10. In terms of existing budgeted resources an approved net budget of £440,000 income is currently reflected in the Council’s financial plans for 2023/24. The anticipated financial impact from this report ultimately depends on the level of car parking charges approved. In the case of option 1 or option 2 being approved, there would be an anticipated full year budget shortfall of between £135,000 to £140,000. Due to the variable activity level of car park occupancy and resultant income this position would be subject to monitoring during the course of 2023/24 with any adverse variance managed within the context of existing Council resources. These resources include additional temporary budget provision for 2023/24 associated with areas of key inflationary pressure, including pay, fuel etc. Any anticipated recurring adverse variance beyond 2023/24 would be incorporated into the budget planning for 2024/25. However, in the case of option 3 being approved, with an anticipated net deficit of £176,000, this would result in a budget pressure of over £616,000 from the Council’s budgeted resources. With no variable income generated from car parking to mitigate this financial risk on a recurring basis, appropriate substitute savings to this value would require to be identified in order to address the budget gap. Finally, in the case of option 1 and option 2 and in particular, a model of operation where the 1st hour parking is free, this would present a significant financial impact and would also require substitute savings to be identified. Human Resources 4.2 The enforcement of DPE will require the recruitment of 1 Supervisory Parking Attendant and 6 Parking Attendants. Legal 4.3 Legislation contained in The Road Traffic Act 1991 enables local authorities to decriminalise parking offences and allows local authorities to introduce their own parking penalty regime. A Traffic Regulation Order which consolidates our on-street parking restrictions and a Traffic Regulation Order which enables parking charges in our car parks have been promoted and were issued on 28 July 2022. The Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) charge is set by the Scottish Government and the Council cannot amend this. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 Improved car parking opportunities and better management of parking will improve accessibility to town centres for all. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The introduction of DPE and car parking charges aims to support sustainable and active travel and reduce the impact of transport on our communities. This also includes aims to reduce the volume of traffic travelling through our towns and to facilitate public transport to support a shift towards more sustainable travel behaviour. 73
Page 74
This aligns with the Council’s agreed Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy workstreams of: Green Economy; Transport and Travel; and Sustainable Operations. Furthermore, it aligns with the Council’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions through our declaration of a Climate Emergency and will contribute to the ambition to achieve net zero by 2030. Key Priorities 4.6 The introduction of DPE and car parking charges will contribute to the Council's strategic objectives of growing our economy, increasing employment and regenerating towns through the creation of improved turnover in parking spaces in town centres and new and improved opportunities for sustainable and active travel to key employment areas, town centres, services and local attractions. Community Wealth Building 4.7 The introduction of DPE and car parking charges supports the creation of 7 new jobs within the area. 5. Consultation 5.1 As part of the implementation of DPE it is a statutory duty to publish plans to introduce car parking charges and this was issued through a Traffic Regulation Order on 28 July 2022. Local ward members in areas where parking charges are being introduced were consulted in December 2022 in respect of the measures to be introduced to mitigate local concerns. It is also proposed that further engagement takes place with local residents and businesses in the areas affected by parking charges and that information in the format of a Frequently Asked Questions document be published to share updates on the project. RUSSELL McCUTCHEON Executive Director (Place) For further information please contact Thomas Reaney, Head of Neighbourhood Services, on 01294 324890. Background Papers 0 74
Page 75
1 Road Traffic Act 1991 – Review of Penalty Charge Notice Levels Revised Guidance (2001), Scottish Executive http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/918/0096509.pdf transport.gov.scot Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Local Authorities’ Income and Expenditure: 2019 to 2020 75
Page 76
Decriminalised Parking Enforcement Transport Scotland Contents Background .................................................................................................................... 3 Scottish Government position on DPE ........................................................................ 3 Local authorities with DPE powers .............................................................................. 3 Penalty Charges............................................................................................................. 6 Penalty Charge Levels – Background ......................................................................... 6 Number of PCNs Issued by local authorities ............................................................... 6 Number of Bus Lane Enforcement Charges issued by local authorities ................... 8 Financing of DPE .......................................................................................................... 8 Glossary ........................................................................................................................ 11 76
Page 77
1 Road Traffic Act 1991 – Review of Penalty Charge Notice Levels Revised Guidance (2001), Scottish Executive http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/918/0096509.pdf Background The Road Traffic Act 1991 introduced provisions enabling the decriminalisation of most non-endorsable parking offences in London and permitted similar arrangements to be introduced elsewhere in the UK by secondary legislation. Currently 21 local authorities in Scotland operate Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) regimes in their areas. DPE is a regime that enables a local authority to enforce its own parking policies, including the issuing of Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to motorists breaching parking controls in specified areas. DPE seeks to ensure that parking policies are implemented effectively and the underlying objective of DPE operation should be to achieve 100% compliance with parking controls and therefore no penalty charges. In areas with DPE, stationary traffic offences cease to be criminal offences enforced by the police and instead become civil penalties imposed by local authorities. Enforcement of certain parking offences such as obstructive or dangerous parking remains the responsibility of Police Scotland. Scottish Government position on DPE The Scottish Government’s position is that decriminalised parking enforcement powers should contribute to a local authority’s overall transport objectives and thereby contribute to National and Regional Transport Strategies. Parking policies are an essential part of a local authority’s traffic management strategy and should be designed to manage the traffic network effectively, improving or maintaining traffic flow and reducing congestion. This improves road safety and the local environment and encourages, where appropriate, increased use of more sustainable and healthy forms of travel. The integration of enforcement powers and parking policy should enhance local authority accountability to its residents for overall parking policy, as well as enabling better monitoring of the effectiveness and value of parking controls to ensure that such parking policy is responsive to public needs. Local authorities with DPE powers There are 21 local authorities in Scotland that have acquired DPE powers and these are listed in Table 1. The remaining local authorities, also listed in the table, are either actively working towards DPE, such as North Ayrshire Council, Orkney Islands Council and Aberdeenshire Council, or are authorities who have decided that enforcement powers are not necessary or are not desired for reasons such as cost of implementation. 77
Page 78
DPE introduced Actively working towards DPE Not formally engaged with SG on a DPE proposal Aberdeen City (2003) Aberdeenshire Clackmannanshire Angus (2017) North Ayrshire Dumfries & Galloway Argyll and Bute (2014) Orkney Islands Moray City of Edinburgh (1998) Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) Dundee City (2004) Scottish Borders East Ayrshire (2012) Shetland Islands East Dunbartonshire (2014) West Dunbartonshire East Lothian (2017) West Lothian East Renfrewshire (2013) Falkirk (2018) Fife (2013) Glasgow City (1999) Highland (2016) Inverclyde (2014) Midlothian (2018) North Lanarkshire (2017) Perth and Kinross (2002) Renfrewshire (2010) South Ayrshire (2012) South Lanarkshire (2005) Stirling (2017) Table 1: Local authorities with or without DPE powers 78
Page 79
Figure 1: DPE map of Scotland 79
Page 80
1 Road Traffic Act 1991 – Review of Penalty Charge Notice Levels Revised Guidance (2001), Scottish Executive http://www.gov.scot/Resource/Doc/918/0096509.pdf Penalty Charges Penalty Charge Levels – Background Under Section 74 of the Road Traffic Act 1991, as amended by the Orders designating the permitted and special parking areas in the local authority area, it is the duty of the local authority operating DPE to have regard to any guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers in respect of the levels of parking charges. The current guidance1 dates to April 2001. The amounts payable by a motorist issued with a PCN by a local authority and – for general context – in respect of parking related Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) issued by Police Scotland, are as follows. PCNs (DPE) are in an initial amount of £40, £50 or £60. Those amounts are discounted by 50% if paid within 14 days or increased by 50% if certain follow-up enforcement action is required. FPNs (not DPE) are in an initial amount of £30, rising to £45 if certain follow-up enforcement action is required. Number of PCNs Issued by local authorities Table 2 below indicates the number of PCNs that have been issued by local authorities with DPE powers over the last three financial years. The information is collated from information provided by the local authorities in question. Further information on these figures can be obtained from the relevant local authority. 80
Page 81
Local Authority 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 Aberdeen City 40,392 38,967 36,842 Angus 6,273 6,626 8,217 Argyll & Bute 6,269 6,696 5,775 City of Edinburgh 191,563 183,965 191,479 Dundee City 21,837 29,130 31,949 East Ayrshire 6,262 6,900 6,097 East Dunbartonshire 5,301 6,348 6,137 East Lothian 10,040 9,540 10,063 East Renfrewshire 5,176 4,859 3,614 Falkirk* - 2,881 7,689 Fife 21,890 21,768 19,864 Glasgow City 125,505 146,412 152,579 Highland 9,477 10,000 10,386 Inverclyde 8,059 9,117 8,635 Midlothian* - 6,855 6,939 North Lanarkshire* - 6,018 11,863 Perth & Kinross 14,469 15,852 13,401 Renfrewshire 6,823 6,974 5,191 South Ayrshire 5,824 7,213 8,991 South Lanarkshire 20,952 21,281 22,320 Stirling 9,975 9,586 12,189 Table 2: Number of PCNs issued by local authorities with DPE 81
Page 82
* Falkirk Council’s DPE regime commenced on 19 November 2018 * Midlothian Council’s DPE regime commenced on 2 April 2018 * North Lanarkshire Council received their powers in November 2017 however their DPE regime did not commence until November 2018 Number of Bus Lane Enforcement Charges issued by local authorities Table 3 below indicates the number of Bus Lane Enforcement Charges that have been issued by local authorities with DPE and Bus Lane Enforcement powers in the last financial year. The information is collated from information provided by the local authorities in question. Further information on these figures can be obtained from the relevant local authority. Local Authority 2018/19 2019/20 Aberdeen City 27,295 21,170 City of Edinburgh 28,668 54,586 Glasgow City 96,506 115,534 Table 3: Number of Bus Lane Enforcement Charges issued by local authorities with DPE (only applicable to local authorities with Bus Lane Enforcement powers) Financing of DPE Ministers’ guidance to local authorities seeking to acquire DPE powers is that the system should insofar as possible be self-financing. Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 provides that any deficit accrued by a local authority as a result of the authority’s operation of DPE must be made good out of the local authority’s general fund. Section 55 also requires that any surplus may only be used to make good any amount charged to the general fund over the preceding 4 years or for certain transport-related purposes including; the provision and maintenance of off- street parking or, where the local authority consider that further provision of off-street parking is not necessary or desirable, the provision or operation of (or facilities for) public passenger transport services; or for road improvement projects in the local authority area. Under Section 55 of the 1984 Act, as amended, a local authority operating a DPE regime is required to keep an account of their income and expenditure in respect of designated parking places and additional parking charges, in the permitted and special parking areas. The following table provides the income and expenditure figures for each of the 21 local authorities who have been operating DPE regimes in their areas from 2019 to 2020. 82
Page 83
Local authority PCN income Pay & display/other income Total income Expenditure Annual balance Aberdeen City 1,311,333 7,288,265 8,599,598 3,521,099 5,078,499 Angus 187,339 0 187,339 314,918 -127,579 Argyll & Bute 178,419 1,024,112 1,202,531 360,375 842,156 City of Edinburgh 5,898,735 27,207,305 33,106,040 9,230,474 23,875,566 Dundee City 1,059,719 4,141,757 5,201,476 2,871,520 2,329,956 East Ayrshire 258,568 1,127,677 1,386,245 782,107 604,138 East Dunbartonshire 204,174 345,474 549,648 323,798 225,850 East Lothian 316,255 295,388 611,643 448,363 163,280 East Renfrewshire 133,257 0 133,257 220,481 -87,224 Falkirk 270,215 497,182 767,397 421,718 345,679 Fife 523,000 3,318,000 3,841,000 2,840,000 1,001,000 Glasgow City 5,484,781 19,305,557 24,790,338 8,547,211 16,243,127 Highland 306,453 829,908 1,136,361 1,144,081 -7,720 Inverclyde 369,421 39,103 408,524 390,975 17,549 Midlothian 184,224 51,922 236,146 282,632 -46,486 North Lanarkshire 369,108 1,410 370,518 282,873 87,645 Perth & Kinross 526,945 3,028,038 3,554,983 2,528,140 1,026,843 Renfrewshire 131,316 759,506 890,822 569,525 321,297 South Ayrshire 296,999 798,687 1,095,686 355,877 739,809 South Lanarkshire 748,579 1,577,928 2,326,507 2,326,507 0 Stirling 332,070 713,824 1,045,894 739,660 306,234 Table 4: Local authorities with DPE – income & expenditure (£) – financial year 2019-2020 83
Page 84
The information provided in Table 4 has been provided by the local authorities concerned. Figures from the councils who have recently set up DPE regimes may be affected by initial setting-up costs. Figures have also been provided for pay & display income, vehicle impound income and permit income, to inform our understanding of the overall position. The precise uses to which any DPE surpluses have been put are a matter for the relevant local authority. For the purposes of this report to committee, the Scottish Government has been advised by local authorities of the following: Aberdeen City Council reported that the Bus Lane Infringement Surplus was used for strategic road improvements, transport and roads related projects. Argyll and Bute Council reported that the surplus income is used to maintain the car park facilities (including surface maintenance and upgrading parking machines to cashless) and for road improvements. Road improvements included: high friction surfacing to carriageways, footway improvements (incl. crossing points), pedestrian barrier and vehicles activated warning signs. East Dunbartonshire Council reported that as part of the Councils budget setting process, a significant additional capital commitment of £7.5m was agreed for 2020/21 and beyond to support the need of sustained and increasing investment in the roads network. This capital allocation supplements previous additional sums from the General Fund Revenue Budget for reactive roads maintenance. Such developments and additional commitments would not have been possible, to this extent, without the contribution from the surpluses generated by decriminalised parking enforcement. East Lothian Council reported that the additional income was used to improve passenger facilities at their coastal car parks. Glasgow City Council reported that the surplus income is used to assist in the strategic transport management objectives including the expansion of new parking zones and other transport related matters. Perth and Kinross Council reported that the income provides investment and maintenance funding for car parks. If it is not utilised in-year, it is held in the Car Park Trading Account. Stirling Council reported that the surplus will be used for the provision of additional and revised on-street parking within the Council area. Further details on how each local authority has spent any surplus generated from DPE in a particular year can be obtained from the local authority concerned. 84
Page 85
Glossary DPE Decriminalised Parking Enforcement FPN Fixed Penalty Notice LA Local Authorities PCN Penalty Charge Notice 85
Page 86
© Crown copyright 2020 You may re-use this information (excluding logos and images) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence or e-mail: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. Further copies of this document are available, on request, in audio and visual formats and in community languages. Any enquiries regarding this document / publication should be sent to us at info@transport.gov.scot This document is also available on the Transport Scotland website: www.transport.gov.scot Published by Transport Scotland, December 2020 Follow us: transcotland @transcotland transport.gov.scot 86
Page 87
Appendix 2 Proposals for Irvine 87
Page 88
Appendix 2 Proposal for Kilwinning 88
Page 89
Appendix 2 Proposals for Saltcoats 89
Page 90
Appendix 2 Proposals for Largs 90
Page 91
Appendix 3 Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) and Car Parking Charges Financial Options As per para 2.18 of the report options on the level of parking charges are provided below. Options are based on: i) DPE supported by parking charges as set at the Council Budget meeting in March 2022, ii) DPE supported by parking charges. This is set at the lower level of £1 for the first hour with a tariff of £3.50 for between 1 and 4 hours. iii) DPE on its own with no car parking charges. Note the estimated operating costs are slightly reduced to reflect there would be no requirement to maintain ticket/pay stations within car parks. For information an assessment of the provisions of the first hour free parking has been included. Note: Options are based on an In-house Enforcement Team supported by outsourced back-office administration and processing. Option 1. DPE plus Car Parking Charges - Tariff as set at Council Budget Meeting in March 2022 1 hour / £1.50 – 2 hours / £2.00 – up to 4 hours / £3.50 Annual Operating Costs Estimated Income from PCN’s Income from Parking Charges Net Surplus / Deficit £506,975 £292,000 £515,119 £300,144 (1st Hour free parking results in a reduction in car parking income of £313,778 resulting in an overall deficit of -£13,634) Option 2. DPE plus Car Parking Charges with a lower charge for up to one hour 1 hour / £1.00 – up to 4 hours / £3.50 Annual Operating Costs Estimated Income from PCN’s Income from Parking Charges Net Surplus / Deficit £506,975 £292,000 £520,349 £305,374 (1st Hour free parking results in a reduction in car parking income of £209,185 resulting in net income of £96,189) Option 3. DPE only – No Parking Charges Annual Operating Costs Estimated Income from PCN’s Income from Parking Charges Net Surplus / Deficit £468,301 £292,000 £0 -£176,303 91
Page 92
92
Page 93
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Change of Mental Health Champion Purpose: To consider the appointment of an Elected Member as Mental Health Champion following a vacancy having arisen. Recommendation: To agree to appoint an Elected Member as Mental Health Champion. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The Cabinet on 7 June 2022, appointed Elected Members as Champions in a number of areas, namely Carers, Young People, Veterans, Mental Health and Older People. 1.2 A vacancy has arisen for the role of Mental Health Champion. This report recommends that Cabinet considers appointing another Elected Member as Mental Health Champion. 2. Background 2.1 The rationale for the creation of a Mental Health Champion position recognises the importance of addressing issues of mental health for individuals and communities. 2.2 The role of Champion requires considerable time commitment from the Elected Member appointed. The Provost was appointed as Mental Health Champion. However, considering the significant duties with associated time commitments in her role as Provost, she has reluctantly concluded that she will not be able to provide the time commitment which is necessary for the role of Mental Health Champion. Accordingly, she has decided to step aside to enable another Elected Member to fulfil this important role. 3. Proposals 3.1 It is recommended that Cabinet notes that a vacancy has arisen and agrees to nominate and appoint another Elected Member as the Council’s Mental Health Champion. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial Agenda Item 5 93
Page 94
4.1 None arising from this report. Human Resources 4.2 None arising from this report. Legal 4.3 None arising from this report. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The appointment of Champions supports the Council’s equalities work. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 None arising from this report. Key Priorities 4.6 The appointment supports the Council’s strategic priorities which underpins delivery of the Council Plan. Community Wealth Building 4.7 Not applicable. 5. Consultation 5.1 Consultation will take place with the replacement Elected Member before confirming them for this position. Aileen Craig Head of Democratic Services For further information please contact Craig Stewart, Committee Services Officer , on 01294 324130 email: craigstewart@north-ayrshire.gov.uk Background Papers -- 94
Page 95
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Revenue Budget 2022/23 : Financial Performance to 30 November 2022 Purpose: To advise Cabinet of the financial performance for the Council at 30 November 2022. Recommendation: That Cabinet agrees to: (a) note the information and financial projections outlined in the report; (b) approve the earmarking of £0.023m identified at 2.5 to meet future year commitments; (c) note the latest financial projection for the Health and Social Care Partnership highlighted at 2.6; (d) note the current projected deficit position of KA Leisure; and (e) approve the virements detailed in Appendix 7. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The General Services Revenue Estimates for 2022/23 were approved by Council on 2 March 2022. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Revenue Budget for 2022/23 was approved by Council on 16 February 2022. 1.2 As part of the monitoring procedures to keep the Cabinet informed of the financial performance of the Council, financial performance reports are presented on a regular basis. This is the third report for 2022/23 and covers the period to the end of November 2022 (Period 8). Projections have been made to the year-end. 1.3 At Period 8 the General Fund is forecasting a net in-year underspend of (£0.048m) after transferring resources to/from earmarked reserves. 1.4 The Housing Revenue Account is forecasting a net in-year underspend of (£0.817m), (1.5%). Agenda Item 6 95
Page 96
1.5 At the end of October 2022, the Health and Social Care Partnership is projecting a year-end underspend of (£0.077m), (0.0%), for 2022/23, an increase of £0.026m from the previously reported position. The Council services element is reporting a projected overspend of £0.129m, which is a movement of £0.421m from the previously reported underspend. This has been offset by a projected underspend in relation to the Health services element of (£0.206m), which is an improvement of (£0.447m) over the same period. 1.6 KA Leisure has indicated a projected trading deficit of £0.280m for 2022/23. It is anticipated that the additional financial support to KA Leisure will be drawn from previously approved earmarked funds. 1.7 Significant risks to the reported position have been identified arising from inflationary pressures in relation to energy costs and essential commodities, including food and vehicle fuel, and the ongoing negotiations in relation to 2022/23 pay settlement for teachers. These pressures are likely to be offset in the short term by reductions arising from the current industrial action by teacher unions. However, the full impact of this will continue to be assessed and quantified. The net impact of these in terms of the utilisation of Council reserves and knock on effect on future budget gaps will continue to be monitored and reported to Cabinet as appropriate. 2. Background General Fund 2.1 The Council set a breakeven budget for 2022/23. In addition to the budget approved on 2 March 2022, earmarked funds of £31.875m were carried forward from 2021/22 for service expenditure in 2022/23 and are reflected in the figures within the 2022/23 financial performance reports as they are drawn down. 2.2 Current financial projections indicate that a net in-year underspend of (£0.048m), net of transfers to/from reserves, is anticipated for the year to 31 March 2023. 96
Page 97
2.3 Details of the current financial projections are summarised in the following table: 2.4 The reported Planned Income includes a number of adjustments to Scottish Government funding from that included in the approved budget, as detailed in the following table: Appendix No Annual Budget Projection to 31 March 2023 Projected Variance for year (Fav)/Adv Projected Variance @ Period 6 (Fav)/Adv Movement Note Service Expenditure £000's £000's £000's £000's £000's Chief Executives 1 19,423 19,379 (44) (49) 5 Communities 2 172,547 170,425 (2,122) (1,915) (207) (i) Place 3 51,799 54,645 2,846 2,653 193 (ii) Other Corporate Services 4 34,319 31,245 (3,074) (3,030) (44) (iii) Sub Total 278,088 275,694 (2,394) (2,341) (53) Health and Social Care Partnership 8 118,871 118,871 - - - 2.6 Balance for Services 396,959 394,565 (2,394) (2,341) (53) Financing Charges 5 12,272 12,272 - - - Contribution to Loans Fund Reserve 5 3,661 3,661 - - - Total Planned Expenditure 412,892 410,498 (2,394) (2,341) (53) Planned Income Aggregate External Finance 5 (346,101) (346,101) - - - Council Tax 5 (62,005) (61,960) 45 63 (18) Use of Earmarked Funds 5 (4,786) (4,786) - - - Total Planned Income (412,892) (412,847) 45 63 (18) Net Expenditure/ (Income) - (2,349) (2,349) (2,278) (71) Carried Forward Funds - 2,301 2,301 2,278 23 Revised Net Expenditure/(Income) - (48) (48) - (48) Non Domestic Rates Specific Grants TOTAL AEF Planned Income £000's £000's £000's Approved Budget 30 September 2022 (282,462) (37,575) (21,259) (341,296) Movements: 22/23 Pay Award (3,744) (3,744) Cost of Living Award Funding (910) (910) Green Growth Accelerator (26) (26) Music Tuition Charging (27) (27) Scottish Disability Assistance support (98) (98) Revised Planned Income (287,267) (37,575) (21,259) (346,101) General Revenue Grant £000's 97
Page 98
2.5 Commentary on Significant Movements from the Approved Budget The Council's overall financial forecast against the revised budget is a net breakeven position. Although this is consistent with the previously reported position, it includes a number of movements at a service level. A brief explanation of the significant movements from the previous forecasts are outlined as follows: (i) Communities – underspend of (£2.122m), an increase of (£0.207m) from the previously reported underspend. The movement since Period 6 is primarily related to: • Impact of industrial action by Teachers, (£0.278m); • Vacancy management across services, (£0.152m); and • Increased net income linked to school meals uptake within Facilities Management, (£0.125m). These have been partly offset by: • Increased residential childcare and external day placements, £0.250m; and • Increased teacher cover projections, £0.141m. It is requested that the amount previously approved earmarking in relation to the expansion of ELC provision is reduced by (£0.070m) to reflect updated cost projections. Current employee cost projections will be updated for the implications of the ongoing national teacher pay settlement negotiations and the impact of any further industrial action as these elements are quantified. (ii) Place – overspend of £2.864m, an increase of £0.193m from the previously reported overspend. The net movement since Period 6 is primarily related to: • Additional survey costs incurred in supporting the Education estate review and additional costs for statutory compliance, £0.199m; • Additional Streetscene costs due to the extension of seasonal worker contracts, £0.196m; • Revised energy inflation costs arising from street lighting and traffic signals, £0.131m; and • Increased transport costs related to additional fuel consumption and SPT contract charges, £0.093m. These have been partly offset by: • Additional income across services, (£0.154m); • Vacancy management across services, (£0.104m); • Improved recyclates prices within waste disposal contracts, (£0.079m); and • Rephased costs associated with Local Development Plan, (£0.060m). 98
Page 99
It is requested that a further £0.093m is earmarked to support anticipated additional expenditure during 2023/24, including: • £0.050m for Local Development Plan; and • £0.043m in relation to the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan. Virements in relation to the realignment of income from other services budgets within Roads, reflecting revised projections, have been included within Appendix 7. (iii) Other Corporate Items – underspend of (£3.074m), an increase of (£0.044m) from the previously reported underspend. The movement since Period 6 is primarily related to additional income in relation to the administration of grants, (£0.166m), which has been partly offset by: • The utilisation of corporate contingencies, £0.071m; and • Revised projections for Housing Benefit Overpayment Recoveries, £0.059m. The revised net underspend has been applied to offset the net overspend reported within Place. Health and Social Care Partnership 2.6 A copy of the HSCP financial performance report as at the end of November 2022 is attached at Appendix 8. The report highlights the key challenges and variances for the Partnership. The key points for Cabinet to note are summarised below: • The projected outturn is a year-end underspend of (£0.077m) for 2022/23. • The projected underspend on the Health Services element is (£0.206m) over the same period. This is partly offset by a projected overspend on the Council Services element of £0.129m; • The main areas of risk identified include: High risk areas of low volume / high-cost services areas e.g. Learning Disability care packages, children’s residential placements and complex care packages; Progress with the work to develop set aside arrangements and the risk sharing arrangements agreed as part of this; Ongoing implementation costs of the Scottish Government policy directives; Lead / hosted service arrangements, including managing pressures and reporting this across the 3 IJBs; The impact on Lead Partnership and acute services from decisions taken by other Ayrshire areas; The Covid recovery process and re-mobilisation of services, including the ability to change and improve services following learning from the Covid response; The impact and implementation of the National Care Service; 99
Page 100
The NHS pay award is not settled for 2022-23 and negotiations are ongoing; NHS pay award for 2022/23; The current extremely high levels of inflation; The review of the Care at Home service which commenced in Spring 2022; Supported Accommodation - funding has been included in the budget for the new developments but the adequacy of the funding will only be known when the final occupants are agreed; Fire dampener compensation – the final level of compensation has still to be agreed and may vary from the £0.306m assumed in the current projection. The projected position highlights the progress towards financial balance essential to minimise further financial risk to the Council within the context of the current debt of £2.320m. Proposals for the accelerated repayment of this debt during 2022/23 have been included in the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan. This includes the planned earmarking of an additional £0.834m in 2022/23 presented to Cabinet on 29 November 2022 to support this. Further information will be presented to Cabinet during the course of the year. Risks 2.7 Significant risks to the reported position have been identified arising from inflationary pressures in relation to energy costs and essential commodities, including food and vehicle fuel. A total of £1.666m has been drawn down from earmarked reserves to offset the additional inflationary pressures identified across services to 30 September 2022. In June 2022, Cabinet agreed to earmark £1.888m from the 2021/22 underspend to address unbudgeted inflationary pressures arising from the current cost of living crisis. Any further increases beyond current budget provision may impact on future service provision. Negotiations in relation to the 2022/23 Teachers’ pay settlement are still ongoing and any award in excess of that agreed by local government workers may require the utilisation of Council reserves, with a knock on effect on future budget gaps. These pressures are likely to be offset in the short term by reductions arising from the current industrial action by teacher unions. However, the full impact of further industrial action cannot be quantified at this time. The net risks arising from these negotiations will continue to be monitored and reported to Cabinet as appropriate. 100
Page 101
Housing Revenue Account 2.8 The Housing Revenue Account budgeted for a breakeven position in 2022/23 and an in-year underspend of (£0.817m), (1.5%), is currently anticipated for the year to 31 March 2023. This is summarised in the following table with further details provided in Appendix 6. 2.9 Commentary Significant Movements from the Revised Budget A brief explanation of the significant movements from the previous forecasts is outlined as follows: (i) Employee Costs – overspend of £0.107m, a reduction of (£0.095m) from the previously reported overspend The movement is primarily related to vacancy management across the service. (ii) Property Costs – overspend of £1.141m, an increase of £0.420m from the previously reported overspend The movement is primarily related to increased expenditure on Repairs, £0.127m, and Other Property Costs, £0.309m, which is primarily related to additional Council Tax liabilities. (iii) Capital Financing Costs – underspend of (£2.068m), an increase of (£0.065m) from the previously reported underspend The underspend is primarily related to reduced loan charges, reflecting rephasing within the HRA capital programme. (iv) Income – underrecovery of £0.049m, a reduction of (£0.112m) from the previously reported underrecovery The movement is primarily related to increased recharges to other services. Annual Budget Projection to 31 March 2023 Projected Variance for year (Fav)/Adv Previous Variance @ Period 6 (Fav)/Adv Movement Note £000's £000's £000's £000's £000's Employee Costs 5,300 5,407 107 202 (95) (i) Property Costs 18,857 19,998 1,141 721 420 (ii) Supplies and Services 451 325 (126) (135) 9 Transport and Plant Costs 34 25 (9) (9) - Administration Costs 1,874 1,765 (109) (111) 2 Third Party Payments 2,550 2,748 198 230 (32) Transfer Payments 155 155 - - - Other Expenditure 368 368 - - - Capital Financing 24,692 22,624 (2,068) (2,003) (65) (iii) Gross Expenditure 54,281 53,415 (866) (1,105) 239 Income (54,281) (54,232) 49 161 (112) (iv) Net Expenditure - (817) (817) (944) 127 101
Page 102
3. Proposals 3.1 It is proposed that Cabinet agrees to: (c) note the information and financial projections outlined in the report; (d) approve the earmarking of £0.023m identified at 2.5 to meet future year commitments; (c) note the latest financial projection for the Health and Social Care Partnership highlighted at 2.6; (d) note the current projected deficit position of KA Leisure; and (e) approve the virements detailed in Appendix 7. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 General Services The net projection for the year as at 30 November 2022 is a net underspend of (£0.048m). Housing Revenue Account The net projection for the year as at 30 November 2022 is a net underspend of (£0.817m). Human Resources 4.2 None. Legal 4.3 None. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 None. Environmental and Sustainability 4.5 None. Key Priorities 4.6 This report directly supports the Council Plan 2019 to 2024 by maximising resources and providing value for money to support financially sustainable delivery models. Community Wealth Building 4.7 None. 102
Page 103
5. Consultation 5.1 Progress as outlined in this report has been approved by Executive Directors. Mark Boyd Head of Service (Finance) For further information please contact David Forbes, Senior Manager (Strategic Business Partner), on 01294 324551. Background Papers Revenue Budget 2022/23 : Financial Performance to 30 September 2022 - Cabinet 29 November 2022 103
Page 104
Appendix 1 CHIEF EXECUTIVES BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Objective Summary Annual Budget Projected Outturn Annual Variance Adverse or (Favourable) % Variance Note No £000 £000 £000 Chief Executive Chief Executive 193 198 5 3% Total for Chief Executive 193 198 5 3% Financial Services Change Programme 62 62 - 0% Audit, Fraud, Safety & Insurance 647 656 9 1% Corporate Procurement 971 832 (139) (14%) 1 Financial Services 1,306 1,306 - 0% Revenues (539) (506) 33 (6%) Transformation 712 722 10 1% Total for Financial Services 3,159 3,072 (87) (3%) People & ICT Employee Services 894 894 - 0% HR & Organisational Development 1,103 1,103 - 0% ICT 5,288 5,286 (2) (0%) Business Support 1,259 1,259 - 0% Customer Services 3,731 3,731 - 0% Total for People & ICT 12,275 12,273 (2) (0%) Democratic Services Legal & Licensing 461 534 73 16% 2 Policy, Performance & Elections 473 459 (14) (3%) Communications 463 460 (3) (1%) Civil Contingencies 60 60 - 0% Committee Services 554 554 - 0% Member Services 1,327 1,339 12 1% Ayrshire Support Service 54 54 - 0% Information Governance 404 376 (28) (7%) Total for Democratic Services 3,796 3,836 40 1% Net Total 19,423 19,379 (44) (0%) 104
Page 105
Appendix 1 Subjective Summary Annual Budget Projected Outturn Annual Variance Adverse or (Favourable) % Variance £000 £000 £000 Employee Costs 16,363 16,218 (145) (1%) Property Costs 67 68 1 1% Supplies and Services 3,071 3,072 1 0% Transport and Plant Costs 26 26 - 0% Administration Costs 1,335 1,349 14 1% Other Agencies & Bodies 1,945 1,945 - 0% Transfer Payments 817 817 - 0% Other Expenditure - - - - Capital Financing - - - - Gross Expenditure 23,624 23,495 (129) (1%) Income (4,201) (4,116) 85 (2%) Net Expenditure 19,423 19,379 (44) (0%) 105
Page 106
Appendix 1a CHIEF EXECUTIVES BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Budget £000 Projected Variance £000 Variance as % of budget Section Note 1 Finance - Corporate Procurement Movement : There has been a favourable movement of £0.039m since P6 primarily due to additonal vacancy management and increased rebate income 957 (131) -14% Employee Costs - An underspend of £0.113m due to vacancy management. - (8) Other minor variances (139) Democratic Services - Legal and Licensing Movement : There has been an adverse movement of £0.021m since P6 mainly due to reduced Licensing income. (717) 76 -11% Income : Projected under-recovery of £0.076m due to under-recovery in Licensing income based on current and prior year trends. - (3) Other minor variances 73 Note 2 106
Page 107
Appendix 2 COMMUNITIES BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Objective Summary Annual Budget Projected Outturn Annual Variance Adverse or (Favourable) % Variance Note No £000 £000 £000 Early Years Education 19,761 19,698 (63) (0%) 1 Primary Education 44,548 44,172 (376) (1%) 2 Secondary Education 56,130 55,963 (167) (0%) 3 Additional Support Needs 12,593 12,449 (144) (1%) 4 Education - Other 4,994 4,413 (581) (12%) 5 Pupil Equity Fund 5,414 5,414 - 0% Facilities Management 16,630 15,839 (791) (5%) 6 Connected Communities 12,477 12,477 - 0% 7 Net Total 172,547 170,425 (2,122) (1%) Less Proposed Carry Forwards - 1,196 1,196 Net Total 172,547 171,621 (926) (1%) Subjective Summary Annual Budget Final Year End Outturn Annual Variance Adverse or (Favourable) % variance £000 £000 £000 Employee Costs 144,797 142,590 (2,207) (2%) Property Costs 1,678 1,804 126 8% Supplies and Services 23,319 22,905 (414) (2%) Transport and Plant Costs 176 212 36 20% Administration Costs 615 588 (27) (4%) Other Agencies & Bodies 13,302 13,410 108 1% Transfer Payments 580 580 - 0% Other Expenditure - - - Capital Financing 78 78 - 0% Gross Expenditure 184,545 182,167 (2,378) (1%) Income (11,998) (11,742) 256 (2%) Net Expenditure 172,547 170,425 (2,122) (1%) 107
Page 108
Appendix 2a COMMUNITIES BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Budget £000 Projected Variance £000 Variance as % of budget Section Note 1 Early Years Education Movement : There has been a favourable movement of £0.038m compared to P6. This is mainly due to employee vacancy management 15,186 (63) 0% Employee costs: £0.063m due to continuing recruitment gaps and vacancy management across the sector, (63) Note 2 Primary Education Movement : There has been an unfavourable movement of £0.062m compared to P6. This is mainly due to revised projections in increased PPP costs. 42,311 (482) -1% Employee Costs : £0.482m underspend in non teaching staff costs of which £0.270m is due to a part year saving for Dining Hall Supervisors who were appointed at the start of this academic year. The remainder is due to recruitment gaps and vacancy management across all other categories of non teaching staff. 2,090 89 4% Supplies and Services : £0.089m overspend in PPP costs due to pass through utility costs subject to same inflationary pressures as other schools. 80 (28) -35% Third Party Payments: an underspend of £0.028m as less overtime required due to streamlined processes (73) 45 -62% Income: under recovery of school let income due to school lets not fully operational These figures do not include any implications from further industrial action as part of the national dispute over teachers’ salaries, nor resultant commitments emerging from any subsequent pay settlement. This information will be reflected in future reports at the appropriate time. (376) Note 3 Secondary Education Movement : There has been a favourable movement of £0.142m compared to P6. This is mainly due to continuing recruitment gaps and vacancy management and revised projections in PPP costs. 42,711 (265) -1% Employee Costs : £0.265m underspends in non teaching staff costs due to recruitment gaps and vacancy management across all types of staff. 13,210 83 1% Supplies and Services : £0.083m overspend in PPP costs due to pass through utility costs subject to same inflationary pressures as other schools. 139 (30) -22% Third Party Payments: an underspend of £0.030m as less overtime required due to streamlined processes (79) 45 -57% Income: under recovery of school let income due to school lets not fully operational These figures do not include any implications from further industrial action as part of the national dispute over teachers’ salaries, nor resultant commitments emerging from any subsequent pay settlement. This information will be reflected in future reports at the appropriate time. (167) Note 4 ASN Movement: There has been an unfavourable movement of £0.173m compared to P6, mainly due to increases in both residential (£0.164m) and day placement (£0.086m) costs as additional young persons are accessing these services. This is partially offset by further employee costs underspends of £0.087m due to vacancy management. 10,859 (308) -3% Employee costs: £0.077m underspend in teaching costs and a £0.231m underspend in non teaching staff costs across all ASN school and bases provision from recruitment gaps and vacancy management across all categories of non teaching staff. There is an ongoing Supporting Needs review and this is due to be completed later this calendar year. 1,010 (242) -24% There is a projected underspend of £0.242m on external day placements as a result of the assessment process currently in place. This enables the children to remain in mainstream establishments or in-authority ASN establishments. 499 377 76% There is a projected overspend of £0.377m on external specialist residential placements due to the wider impact of the pandemic on the ongoing number of children in residential education. Currently there are 10 children in accommodation. Joint working is ongoing with HSCP to continually assess the care setting for these children in delivering positive outcomes. - 29 Other minor movements across various budget lines (144) 108
Page 109
Appendix 2a Budget £000 Projected Variance £000 Variance as % of budget Section Note 5 Education Other Movement :There has been a favourable movement of £0.137m since P6. This is mainly due to underspends in employee costs as a result of the teachers industrial action to date, partly offset by a projected increased spend in teachers HQ cover costs. 3,893 (334) -9% Employee costs: £0.074m underspends across central HQ staff and £0.278m underspend in relation to the 2 days industrial action by teachers during 2022. 1,410 21 1% Third Party Payments - small overspends across various subscriptions/licences 1,677 (290) -17% Income - PPP insurance rebate £0.075m, deductions of £0.200m in excess of budget and £0.015m salaries rec'd from capital 22 Other minor movements across various budget lines (581) Note 6 Facilities Management Movement: There has been a favourable movement of £0.125m since period 6 which is primarily in relation to increased school meal uptake. 13,873 (498) -4% Employee Costs: Underspend of £0.042m is due to reduced commercial catering activity. There is an underspend of £0.205m due to the reduced uptake of school meals. In addition, there is an underspend of £0.231m due to recruitment issues and reduced overtime and casual costs. 1,079 103 10% Property Costs: Overspend is primarily in relation to purchasing cleaning materials in response to Covid-19. 4,645 (772) -17% Supplies and services: There is a saving of £0.124m in food due to reduced commercial catering. There are further food savings of £0.208m due to reduced school meal uptake. In addition, there is an underspend within Early Years of £0.397m which has arisen due to a lower attendance rate than originally anticipated. There is also a saving of £0.062m within tools and implements due to delayed opening of Moorpark Primary and reduced commercial catering activity. (3,038) 361 -12% Income: There is an under-recovery in commercial catering income of £0.589m due to the closure of buildings and Covid- 19 restrictions. This is offset against an over-recovery of school meal income of £0.179m and cleaning and janitorial income of £0.049m. A marketing campaign is being rolled out to encourage the uptake of school meals across the school estate. 15 Other minor movements The Early years expansion is linked to specific grant funding provided by the Scottish Government. It is proposed to reduce the £0.467m previously earmarked by £0.070m to £0.397m. This is to match the current projected underspend to the earmark request. (791) Note 7 Connected Communities Movement: There has been no change since P6. 7,319 (258) -4% Employee Costs: underspends across all sectors due to vacancy management. 1,285 156 12% Supplies and Services: anticipated inflationary increase in costs. 4,875 (6) 0% Third Party Payments: additional support of £0.280m will be required for NALL from the Council. This will come from the use of previously earmarked funds totalling £0.365m which will be used to support the trading deficit position and the renewal programme within NALL. (1,460) 99 -7% Income: projected £0.165m under recovery across various sectors as income has not returned to pre covid levels, offset by projected over recovery in Arran Outdoor of £0.030m and Harbour Arts Centre of £0.036m. - 9 Other minor movements across various budget lines. - 109
Page 110
Appendix 3 PLACE BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Objective Summary Annual Budget Projected Outturn Annual Variance Adverse or (Favourable) % Variance Note No £000 £000 £000 Directorate and Support 186 186 - 0% Housing and Public Protection Building Services (2,541) (2,541) - 0% 1 Property Governance (9) (9) - 0% Planning Services 290 230 (60) (21%) 2 Protective Services 1,460 1,360 (100) (7%) 3 Other Housing 3,032 2,668 (364) (12%) 4 Total for Housing and Public Protection 2,232 1,708 (524) (23%) Commercial Services Roads 6,364 6,874 510 8% 5 Streetscene 4,701 4,960 259 6% 6 Waste Resources 9,224 9,491 267 3% 7 Total for Commercial Services 20,289 21,325 1,036 5% Economic Growth and Regeneration Economic Development 4,383 4,358 (25) (1%) Growth & Investment 211 211 - 0% Total for Economic Growth and Regeneration 4,594 4,569 (25) (1%) Sustainability, Transport and Corporate Property Property Management & Investment 1,442 1,529 87 6% 8 Housing Assets & Investment (4) (4) - 0% Property Maintenance 3,372 3,571 199 6% 9 Property Running Costs 4,725 4,743 18 0% Energy and Sustainability 5,347 6,512 1,165 22% 10 Internal Transport 9,616 10,506 890 9% 11 Total for Sustainability, Transport and Corporate Property 24,498 26,857 2,359 10% Net Total 51,799 54,645 2,846 5% Transfer to Earmarked Reserves 146 146 Net Total 51,799 54,791 2,992 110
Page 111
Appendix 3 Subjective Summary Annual Budget Projected Year End Outturn Annual Variance Adverse or (Favourable) % variance £000 £000 £000 Employee Costs 45,247 45,690 443 1% Property Costs 21,430 22,853 1,423 7% Supplies and Services 9,804 10,152 348 4% Transport and Plant Costs 9,379 10,610 1,231 13% Administration Costs 798 798 - 0% Other Agencies & Bodies 19,735 19,058 (677) (3%) Transfer Payments - - - 0% Other Expenditure 182 192 10 5% Gross Expenditure 106,575 109,353 2,778 3% Income (54,776) (54,708) 68 (0%) Net Expenditure 51,799 54,645 2,846 5% 111
Page 112
Appendix 3a PLACE BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Budget £000 Projected Variance £000 Variance as % of budget Section Note 1 Building Services Movement: There has been no movement since P6 however the service are currently managing significant financial challenges. 9,164 (347) (4%) Employee costs: An underspend of £0.347m in employee costs due to vacancy management. 5,624 (918) (16%) Supplies & Services: An underspend of £0.918m in supplies and services. This is due to an underspend in materials as a result of a change in the composition of the works programme. This underspend is partially offset against the reduction in income shown below. 547 69 13% Transport costs: An overspend of £0.069m in transport costs due to increased fuel and other transport costs. 2,152 792 37% Third Party Payments: An overspend in third party payments of £0.792m. This is due to an overspend of £0.750m in payment to contractors and an overspend of £0.042m in Agency costs. (20,153) 358 (2%) Income: There is an under recovery of income of £0.358m. This is primarily due to the delay in the door renewal, detection equipment and kitchen programmes. 46 Other minor movements - Note 2 Planning Services Movement : There has been a favourable movement of £0.060m since the last reporting period due to delays in the Local Development Plan moving costs into 23-24. 102 (60) (59%) Supplies & Services: An underspend of £0.060m due to plans for the LDP moving costs into 23-24. It is requested to earmark £0.050m of the Supplies & Services underspend that relates to the Local Development Plan. This is to cover the phasing of the LDP over the next few years. (60) Note 3 Protective Services Movement : There has been a favourable movement of £0.031m since the last reporting period due to vacancies being filled later within the service. 1,749 (100) (6%) Employee Costs: An underspend of £0.100m in staffing costs due to vacancies during the year now filled with the exception of one position and resignations pending. (100) Note 4 Other Housing Movement: There has been a favourable movement of £0.073m since period 6. This is mainly due to a decrease in employee costs across the service, partly offset by a small decrease in income and an increase in property costs, relating mainly to Council Tax payments. 4,466 (443) (10%) Employee Costs: Underspend due to vacancy management. 2,590 53 2% Property Costs: £0.034m of the overspend relates to Council Tax payments. This is for backdated Council Tax from the previous two years, which is due for temporary furnished properties while they were unoccupied for a short period of time between tenants. Further overspend in Temporary Accommodation property rents as additional units have been in use, which is offset by the additional income for these properties. 26 Other minor movements It is requested to earmark £0.043m of the vacancy underspend that relates to the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan, which is linked to grant funding provided by the Scottish Government. This is in addition to the £0.053m RRTP funding that was requested to be earmarked at period 6. (364) 112
Page 113
Appendix 3a Budget £000 Projected Variance £000 Variance as % of budget Section Note 5 Roads Movement: An additional £0.131m energy budget that was included in period 6 has been removed from Roads to show the inflationary impact of the rising energy costs for operating street lighting and traffic signals. The additional budget will be drawn down from contingency at year end. 2,458 236 10% Supplies and Services: Overspend of £0.132m on street lighting and traffic signal electricity costs, which is due to inflation. Further overspend of £0.104m relates mainly to coated roadstone costs, which have been adversely affected by inflation. 2,526 (45) (2%) Third Party Payments: Due to Covid-19 related delays in implementing the Car Parking Charges and Decriminalised Parking Enforcement saving, the £0.125m budget allocated for the introduction will not be used. The roads maintenance budget has been adversely affected by inflationary pressures which is reflected in the overall overspend. There is also a small overspend of £0.050m in unavoidable contractor costs. In addition to this, there is an overspend of £0.025m on Artificial Intelligence software costs related to Asset Management. (3,092) 273 (9%) Income: £0.346m under recovery of income relating to the saving for Car Parking Charges and Decriminalised Parking Enforcement, which will not be achieved this year due to delays in the transfer of these powers. This is partly offset with an over recovery in fees and charges in Network. 46 Other minor movements. A budget virement for £0.788m has been included in Appendix 7. This is mainly to increase the income and related expenditure budgets for work carried out for other Council Services. 510 Note 6 Streetscene Movement : There has been an adverse movement of £0.037m since P6 comprised of increased payroll costs of £0.196m offset by increased income of £0.104m and a reduction in materials of £0.047m 6,690 237 4% Employee Costs: There is an overspend of £0.237m in employee costs primarily due to extension of seasonal workers to January 2023 £0.182m and turnover not achieved of £0.055m 129 152 118% Transport Costs: There is an overspend of £0.152m in transport costs primarily due to addtional vehicles required for the Covid response and seasonal workers. (2,888) (148) 5% Income: There is an over-recovery of income due to increased internments of £0.104m and £0.036m of income from other departments. 18 Other minor movements 259 Note 7 Waste Services Movement : There has been a favourable movement of £0.092m since P6 due to; additional Income from Sale of Vouchers £0.050m and reduced costs on Bulky waste £0.052m and Organic £0.027m, offset by higher costs in Trade Effluent of £0.042m. 4,763 826 17% Employee Costs: Additional temporary labour remains in place within Waste Operations as the service recovers from the pandemic. Work to review beats taking account of post pandemic waste composition analysis and to balance the burden of new builds is ongoing with Trade Union colleagues resulting in support arrangements being required. In addition there is a high volume of annual leave not taken due to COVID, requiring holiday cover. 413 130 31% Supplies & Services: Overspend on Trade effluent £0.112m and Refuse containers £0.070m, offset by underspends in Materials £0.051m 6,369 (725) (11%) Third Party Payments: Underspend in Payment to contractors of £0.708m largely a result of improved quality of our recyclate streams following sustained ‘right stuff, right bin’ campaigns alongside more competitive recyclate prices within our disposal contracts. 201 201 100% Transport Costs: Overspend of £0.201m due to the new way of working requiring 2 additional hire vehicles plus a long term hire. This is being reviewed in line with the post pandemic review of beats. (2,930) (134) 5% Income: Over-recovery of income due to the recyclates market for glass, cans, plastics and paper being favourable to provide income rather than a cost to the council £0.121m. - (31) Other minor movements. 267 Note 8 Property Management and Investment Movement : There has been no significant movement since P6 2,350 (90) (4%) Employee Costs: An underspend of £0.052m due to vacancy management. (8,653) 119 (1%) Income: There is an under-recovery of £0.119m in fee income. - 58 Other minor movements including payment to contractors £0.036m and supplies and services £0.020m 87 113
Page 114
Appendix 3a Budget £000 Projected Variance £000 Variance as % of budget Section Note 9 Property Maintenance Movement : There has been an unfavourable movement of £0.199m since P6 due to additional survey costs incurred in supporting the Education estate review and additional costs for statutory compliance. 6,733 199 3% Property Costs : There is an overspend of £0.144m due to external surveying works associated with supporting the Education Estate Review. Statutory Compliance is also reporting an overspend of £0.067m. 199 Note 10 Energy and Sustainability Movement : There has been no movement since P6 5,374 1,160 22% Property Costs: Due to the current energy crisis and after drawing down £0.658m from contingencies there is an overspend in property costs of £1.160m due to increased utility cost charges. Electricity is forecast to be £0.070m overspent, gas £0.981m over and biomass £0.109m over. The reported overspends are after the inclusion of budgeted inflation contingencies. The remaining overspend will be offset against the additional inflationary provisions agreed by Council which have been reported within the Other Corporate Items appendix. A review is underway to confirm options available to reduce consumption across our estate further to help mitigate the inflationary pressure. This will be considered in the context of a need for sufficient ventilation in buildings and will also be contingent on temperatures experienced during the winter season - 5 Other minor movements 1,165 Note 10 Internal Transport Movement - There has been an unfavourable movement of £0.093m due to a £0.049m increase in fuel costs as a result of higher usage than previously forecasted and £0.043m increase in transport provision costs as SPT contract prices are projected to be higher than initially anticipated. 1,682 43 3% Employee Costs: There is an overspend of £0.043m due to reduced staff turnover. 4,201 499 12% Transport Provision Costs: Projected overspend of £0.499m is largely due to direct fuel cost increases and indirect fuel and labour cost increases through our school transport contracts. 1,823 274 15% Fuel Costs: This projected overspend of £0.274m is due to the increase in fuel prices and the legislative changes restricting the use of rebated gas oil (or 'red diesel' as it is commonly referred to). 467 53 11% External Hires: Projected overspend of £0.053m due to additional hire vehicles as a result of increased lead time for replacement vehicles. 1,123 50 4% Repairs & Maintenance: Projected overspend of £0.050m in repairs and maintenance due to price increases and maximising the life of assets due to the increased lead time for replacement vehicles and the shortage of available rental alternatives. - (29) Other minor movements The reported overspends are after the inclusion of budgeted inflation contingencies. The remaining fuel price related overspend will be offset against the additional inflationary provisions agreed by Council which have been reported within the Other Corporate Items appendix. 890 114
Page 115
Appendix 4 OTHER CORPORATE ITEMS BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Objective Summary Annual Budget Projected Outturn Annual Variance Adverse or (Favourable) % Variance Note No £000 £000 £000 Strathclyde Passenger Transport 2,212 2,188 (24) (1%) SPT Concessionary Fares 286 286 - 0% Ayrshire Joint Valuation Board 975 932 (43) (4%) 3,473 3,406 (67) (2%) 1 Other Corporate Costs Pension Costs 1,895 1,895 - 0% Central Telephones 310 310 - 0% Other Corporate Items (incl Transformation Costs, Bad Debt Provision, External Audit fees and other centrally held funding.) 26,219 23,291 (2,928) (11%) 2 Housing Benefits 2,422 2,343 (79) -3% 3 34,319 31,245 (3,074) (9%) Less Proposed Carry Forwards 959 Net Total 34,319 31,245 (2,115) (6%) 115
Page 116
Appendix 4a OTHER CORPORATE ITEMS BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Budget £000 Projected Variance £000 Variance as % of budget Section Note 1 Joint Boards There has been movement of £0.021m from Period 6 due to a requisition refund from SPT 3,473 (67) -2% There is a projected underspend of £0.067m as annual requisitions confirmed at less than current budget. (67) Note 2 Other Corporate Items There has been a favourable movement of £0.082m since Period 6 due to additional administration grants received from the Scottish Government, partly offset by the utilisation of previously approved CTR budgets to offset increased claims. 26,219 (3,158) -12% The projected underspend is primarily related to the drawdown of £1.666m earmarked funds in relation to additional contractual and non contractual energy and fuel costs reported across the services, linked to significant unbudgeted inflationary pressures and the release of £0.552m of earmarked funds in relation to the 2022/23 pay settlement. In addition, centrally held funds of £0.607m are not expected to be fully utilised in year, including additional Scottish Government funding in relation to Core Curriculum Charges, changes to DHP distributions and the administration of grants. Additional corporate income of £0.103m is anticipated in relation to the shared AVC scheme and the purchase of additional annual leave. These funds have been applied to offset the overspend reported within Place at Appendix 3. (3,158) Note 3 Housing Benefit There has been movement of £0.059m from Period 6 due to the revised Housing Benefit overpayment recoveries. 2,422 (79) -3% Projected underspend of £0.079m due to the provision of Housing Benefits and overpayment recovery. (79) 116
Page 117
Appendix 5 MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Objective Summary Annual Budget Projected Outturn Annual Variance Adverse or (Favourable) % variance Note No £000 £000 £000 Financing Charges 12,272 12,272 - - Contribution to Loans Fund Reserve 3,661 3,661 - - Scottish Government Funding (346,101) (346,101) - - Council Tax (62,005) (61,960) 45 (0%) 1 Use of Earmarked Funds (4,786) (4,786) - - Net Total (396,959) (396,914) 45 (0%) In year Council Tax collection performance has continued to return towards pre pandemic levels. However, net collections for prior years is lower than anticipated at this point in the financial year. Note 1 Council Tax Movement: There has been a favourable movement of £0.018m since period 6. This is mainly due to increases in the Council Tax base. 117
Page 118
Appendix 6 HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Annual Budget Projected Outturn Annual Variance Adverse or (Favourable) % Variance Note No £ £ £ Employee Costs 5,300 5,407 107 2% 1 Property Costs Responsive Repairs 5,677 6,613 936 16% Void Repairs 3,021 3,112 91 3% Planned and Cyclical Maintenance 4,957 4,854 (103) (2%) Aids and Adaptions 1,648 1,648 - 0% Other property costs 3,554 3,771 217 6% Total for Property Costs 18,857 19,998 1,141 2 Supplies & Services 451 325 (126) (28%) 3 Transport Costs 34 25 (9) (26%) Administration Costs 1,874 1,765 (109) (6%) 4 Third Party Payments 2,550 2,748 198 8% 5 Transfer Payments 155 155 - 0% Other Expenditure 368 368 - 0% Capital Financing Costs 24,692 22,624 (2,068) (8%) 6 Gross Expenditure 54,281 53,415 (866) (2%) Income Council House Rents (53,310) (52,967) 343 (1%) Other Rents (326) (388) (62) 19% Recharges (499) (679) (180) 36% Other Income (146) (198) (52) 36% Transfer from HRA Reserves - - - 0% Total Income (54,281) (54,232) 49 (0%) 7 Net Expenditure - (817) (817) 118
Page 119
Appendix 6a HRA BUDGETARY CONTROL 2022/23 REPORT FOR THE 8 MONTHS TO 30 NOVEMBER 2022 Budget £000 Variance £000 Variance as % of budget Note 1 5,300 107 2% 107 Note 2 18,857 1,141 6% 1,141 Note 3 451 (126) -28% (126) Note 4 1,874 (109) -6% (109) Note 5 2,550 198 8% 198 Note 6 24,692 (2,068) -8% (2,068) Note 7 (54,281) 49 0% 49 B/fwd from 2021/22 Transfer to / from Reserves Use of Earmarked sums Earmarking of in year surplus Funding of Capital Projects Projected Balance at 31/03/23 £m £m £m £m £m £m 5.280 - - - (1.151) 4.129 1.500 - - - - 1.500 5.000 - - - - 5.000 1.558 - - - - 1.558 0.123 - - - - 0.123 0.781 - - 0.817 - 1.598 0.416 - - - - 0.416 0.052 - - - - 0.052 0.636 - - - - 0.636 0.270 - - - - 0.270 15.616 - - 0.817 (1.151) 15.282 HRA reserves and balances Supplies & Services An underspend in supplies and services of £0.126m. This is primarily due to underspends of £0.080m in computer equipment and £0.054m in software licences. Administration Costs Movement - there has been an adverse movement of £0.002m since Period 6. Movement - an adverse movement of £0.009m since Period 6. An underspend in administration costs of £0.109m. This is primarily due to an underspend of £0.105m in legal fees. Property Costs Movement - an adverse movement of £0.420m since Period 6. This is due to an increase of £0.027m in Responsive Repairs, £0.100m in Void Repairs and £0.309m in Other Property Costs primarily due to £0.206m in Council Tax payments and £0.041m in void rent loss, offset by a reduction of £0.016m in Planned and Cyclical Maintenance . An overspend in property costs of £1.141m. This is due to an overspend of £0.935m in Responsive Repairs, partially related to construction inflation, £0.092m in Voids Repairs, and £0.217m in other property costs of which £0.206m relates to increased Council Tax payments and £0.017m in void rent loss, offset by an underspend of £0.103m in Planned and Cyclical Maintenance. Third Party Payments Movement - there has been a favourable movement of £0.032m since Period 6. This is due to a reduction of £0.020m in Housing Asset and Investment recharges and £0.012m in ASB Tenance & Support charges. An overspend in third party payments of £0.198m. This is due to an overspend of £0.236m in the Housing Asset and Investment recharges partially offset by an underspend of £0.038m in the ASB & Tenancy support charges. Capital Financing Costs Movement - a favourable movement of £0.065m since P6 due to further rephasing of the capital programme. There is an underspend in capital financing costs of £2.068m due to reduced loan charges. This is due to the reduced levels of expenditure currently being experienced in the HRA Capital budget Section Employee costs An overspend in employee costs of £0.107m. This is due to an increased projection in the salary uplift. Movement - There has been a favourable movement of £0.095m since Period 6 due to vacancy management. Council House Building Fund Welfare Reform Contingency Balance Infrastructure Improvements Major Refurbishment Works Tenant led balance Electrical Testing Sustainability Fund Software Licences Voids - non programmed works Income Movement - a favourable movement of £0.112m since Period 6. This is due to an an increase of £0.136m in recharges offset by a reduction of £0.024m in other income. An under recovery in income of £0.049m. This is due to an under recovery of £0.342m in Council House Rents partially offset by an over recovery of £0.061m in Other Rents, £0.180m in Recharges and £0.052m in Other Income. 119
Page 120
Appendix 7 1) Budget Virements Place Roads Network - Third Party Payments T 0.758 Roads Network - Supplies and Services T 0.030 Roads Network - Income T -0.788 0.000 Budget Management - 30 November 2022 Virement/Budget Adjustment Requests 2022/23 Perm (P) / Temp(T) Virement £m Directorate Total £m 120
Page 121
Official-Protect Official-Protect Integration Joint Board 15th December 2022 Subject: 2022-23 – Month 7 Financial Performance Purpose: To provide an overview of the IJB’s financial performance as at Month 7 (October) including an update on the estimated financial impact of the Covid-19 response. Recommendation: It is recommended that the IJB: (a) notes the overall integrated financial performance report for the financial year 2022-23 and the current overall projected year-end underspend of £0.077m; (b) notes the progress with delivery of agreed savings; (c) notes the remaining financial risks for 2022-23, including the impact of remaining Covid-19 estimates and costs; and (d) approves the budget reduction which is detailed at paragraph 2.11. Glossary of Terms NHS AA NHS Ayrshire and Arran HSCP Health and Social Care Partnership MH Mental Health CAMHS Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services BRAG Blue, Red, Amber, Green UNPACS UNPACS, (UNPlanned Activities) – Extra Contractual Referrals NRAC NHS Resource Allocation Committee GAE Grant Aided Expenditure PAC Performance and Audit Committee MARAC Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The report provides an overview of the financial position for the Partnership and outlines the projected year-end outturn position informed by the projected expenditure and income commitments; these have been prepared in conjunction with relevant budget holders and services. It should be noted that, although this report refers to the position at the end of October, further work is undertaken following the month end to finalise projections, therefore the projected outturn position is as current and up to date as can practicably be reported. 1.2 The projected outturn is a year-end underspend of £0.077m (0%) for 2022-23. This includes the financial impact of the recently agreed local authority pay award but Appendix 8 121
Page 122
Official-Protect Official-Protect excludes the NHS pay award which has still to be agreed so this is still an unquantified risk. 1.3 From the core projections, overall, the main areas of pressure are learning disability care packages, residential placements for children, supplementary staff in wards and Unplanned Activities (UnPACs) within the lead partnership for mental health. 2. CURRENT POSITION 2.1 The report includes an overview of the financial position including commitments against the available resource, explanations for the main budget variances and an update on progress in terms of savings delivery. The report also includes detail of the estimated costs and potential financial impact of the Covid-19 response. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE – AT MONTH 7 2.2 At Month 7 against the full-year budget of £282.672m there is a projected year-end underspend of £0.077m (0%). The Integration Scheme outlines that there is an expectation that the IJB takes account of the totality of resources available to balance the budget in year. Following this approach, an integrated view of the financial position should be taken, however it is useful to note that this overall position consists of a projected overspend of £0.129m in social care services and a projected underspend of £0.206m in health services. Appendix A provides the financial overview of the Partnership position. The sections that follow outline the significant variances in service expenditure compared to the approved budgets. The projections for some areas will be subject to fluctuations as they depend on recruitment plans for new funding and also the capacity of providers to take on work. 2.3 Health and Community Care Services Against the full-year budget of £80.666m there is a projected overspend of £0.422m (0.5%) which is an adverse swing of £0.092m and the main variances are: a) Care home placements including respite placements (net position after service user contributions and charging order income) are projected to underspend by £1.003m which is a favourable movement of £0.080m. The budgeted number of permanent placements is 778 and at month 7 there are 787 placements. The projection assumes that the current number of placements will continue to increase to 799 placements by the end of the year. Within the projection there is an assumption that recent placements which do not have a completed financial assessment (often due to the pressure to discharge from hospital) are costed with 50% of the cases at the current average cost of a placement and 50% at the gross or interim funded rate. It is likely that there will still be some cases being gross or interim funded at the year end. Their actual cost will not be known until the FA1 financial assessment is completed and this can impact on the final position. 122
Page 123
Official-Protect Official-Protect The level of income recovered from charging orders was under recovered in 2021- 22 but an online position is assumed at month 7 as the income received to date is in line with the target. b) Care at home (in house and purchased) is projected to be £0.004m overspent which is a favourable movement of £0.096m. The position is made up of an underspend in purchased care at home as providers are not always able to accept referrals due to staffing / recruitment issues and an overspend in the in-house service. As there are vacant posts some of the current capacity is being met by existing staff working additional hours and casual staff. Bank staff are being offered contracts and additional staff are being recruited which will replace the need for existing staff to work additional hours. c) Community alarms are projected to be £0.096m underspent which is a favourable movement of £0.010m. d) Reablement services are projected to be £0.182m underspent which is an adverse movement of £0.005m due to vacancies which are being actively recruited to. e) Care at Home Charging Income is projected to under recover by £0.084m (no movement) due to an ongoing shift towards personal care which is non chargeable. This is after applying £0.076m of Covid funding. f) Physical Disability Care Packages (including residential and direct payments) - projected overspend of £0.128m in community care packages, £0.170m in direct payments and £0.262m for residential placements. This is an overall adverse movement of £0.025m. g) Adaptations are projected to be online based on spend to date. h) Anam Cara is projected to overspend by £0.174m which is an adverse movement of £0.019m due to an overspend on employee costs relating to covering vacancies and sickness. i) Integrated Island Services is projected to be £0.126m overspent which is a £0.009m adverse movement. The overspend is mainly due to additional accommodation costs for mainland staff working at Montrose House due to local recruitment challenges and adaptation costs to Montrose following the increase to the capacity. j) District Nursing is projected to overspend by £0.029m due to an overspend on supplies. k) Rehab wards are projected to overspend by £0.212m (Redburn ward £0.310m overspent and Douglas Grant £0.098m underspent), no movement from month 6. The overspend at Redburn is due to cover costs for vacancies as well as supplementary staffing for patients who require one to one support. l) Ward 2 is projected to break even which is an adverse movement of £0.040m due to increased drug costs. 123
Page 124
Official-Protect Official-Protect 2.4 Mental Health Services Against the full-year budget of £87.950m there is a projected overspend of £0.740m (0.8%) which is a favourable movement of £0.261m. This excludes any potential variance on the Mental Health Recovery and Renewal Funding where any underspend will be earmarked at the year-end for use in 2023-24. The main variances are: a) Learning Disabilities are projected to overspend by £1.330m and the main variances are: • Care Packages (including residential and direct payments) - projected overspend of £0.324m in community care packages, £0.231m in direct payments and £0.512m for residential placements. This is an overall favourable movement of £0.088m. Community Learning Disability Care packages are proving to be one of the most challenging areas to address overspends. The data from CM2000 will be reported back to the service to allow them to see where care has deviated from the planned level and focus reviews to those areas. • Residential Respite is projected to overspend by £0.148m (no movement). The overspend reflects funding the new facility (Roslin House) to full capacity (£0.091m) and increased energy costs (£0.057m). • Agency staffing is projected to overspend by £0.088m due to the use of agency staff during the period of recruiting to full establishment. b) Community Mental Health services are projected to underspend by £0.601m which is mainly due to an underspend of £0.560m in community packages (including direct payments). c) The Lead Partnership for Mental Health is projecting to be £0.039m overspent which is a favourable movement of £0.213m and the main variances are as follows: • A projected underspend in Adult Inpatients of £0.066m which is a favourable movement of £0.030m. This is mainly due to overspends in supplementary staff, staff in redeployment and reduced bed sale income which are offset by £0.306m of income in relation to the firestop works. • The UNPACS (Unplanned Activities) budget is projected to overspend by £1.200m (no movement) based on current number of placements remaining until the year end. These placements are for individuals with very specific needs that require a higher level of security and/or care from a staff group with a particular skill set/competence. There are no local NHS secure facilities for women, people with a learning disability or people with neurodevelopmental disorder. This can necessitate an UNPACs placement with a specialist provider which can be out-of-area. The nature of mental health UNPACS spend is that it is almost exclusively on medium or long term complex secure residential placements which are very expensive so a small increase in placements can have a high budgetary impact. Due to the complexity and risk involved, transitions between units or levels of security can take many months. Applications to approve a placement are made to the Associate Medical Director for Mental Health who needs to be satisfied that the placement is appropriate and unavoidable prior to this being agreed. 124
Page 125
Official-Protect Official-Protect • A projected overspend in MH Pharmacy of £0.100m (no movement) due to an increase in substitute prescribing costs. • Learning Disability Services are projected to overspend by £0.275m which is an adverse movement of £0.025m. This is mainly due to high usage of supplementary staffing, cross-charging for a LD patient whose discharge has been delayed and redeployment staffing costs. Supplementary staffing costs relate to backfill for sickness, increase and sustained enhanced observations and vacancies. The enhanced observations are reviewed on a daily basis however, due to the individuals being acutely unwell at present, this level of enhanced observations has been maintained for a lengthy period of time. The projection assumes that we begin cross charging another HSCP for the ongoing costs of the person detailed above where, despite having extensive time to identify an alternative placement there has, as yet been no solution identified. • Elderly Inpatients are projected to overspend by £0.134m which is a favourable movement of £0.030m mainly due to the reduced use of supplementary staffing. • The reduction in National Insurance contributions has resulted in a part year saving to the Lead Partnership of £0.148m which is included in the projection. • The turnover target for vacancy savings for the Lead Partnership is held within the Lead Partnership as this is a Pan-Ayrshire target. There is a projected over-recovery of the vacancy savings target of £1.187m in 2022-23, further information is included in the table below: The current projection to the year-end is informed by the recruitment plans and the confidence in recruitment success and realistic timescales for filling individual vacancies. The areas contributing to this vacancy savings position are noted below: • Adult Community Health services £0.192m • CAMHS £0.546m • Mental Health Admin £0.300m • Psychiatry £0.100m • Psychology £0.540m • Associate Nurse Director £0.040m Vacancy Savings Target (£0.481m) Projected to March 2023 £1.718m Over/(Under) Achievement £1.237m 2.5 Children and Justice Services Children’s Services Against the full-year budget of £36.325m there is a projected overspend of £2.501m (6.9%) which is an adverse movement of £0.551m. The main variances are: a) Care Experienced Children and Young People is projected to overspend by £2.451m which is an adverse movement of £0.459m. The main areas within this are noted below: 125
Page 126
Official-Protect Official-Protect • Children’s residential placements are projected to overspend by £2.911m prior to Covid funding and projected to overspend by £2.015m after £0.896m of Covid funding. This is an adverse movement of £0.180m. We started 22/23 with 23 placements and there are currently 24 placements. Of these placements two were assumed to be discharged October and two in December but will continue until March 2023, additionally one new place has commenced; we are assuming all current placements are continuing until the end of the year. • Fostering placements are projected to underspend by £0.176m (no movement). This is based on the budget for 115 places and 110 actual placements (of which 6 are Covid related and are funded through the Covid-19 funding) since the start of the year. Recruitment of foster carers is an active priority for the team, both to limit the requirement for external foster placements and reduce pressures elsewhere on the service. This is promoted through regular targeted recruitment campaigns, community awareness raising and daily presence on various social media platforms. Our active recruitment strategy is gaining some interest and we are actively pursuing a number of enquiries as a result. • Fostering Xtra placements are projected to be on-line after applying £0.086m of Covid funding. The projection is based on the budget for 30 placements and 29 current placements since the start of the year. • Private Fostering placements are projected to be £0.047m underspent (no movement) based on the budget for 17 placements and 16 current placements. • Kinship placements are projected to underspend by £0.180m which is a favourable movement of £0.030m and this is based on the budget for 376 places and 356 current placements. • Adoption placements are projected to overspend by £0.072m (no movement). This is based on the budget for 56 places and 67 actual placements. b) Children with disabilities – residential placements are projected to underspend by £0.173m which is an adverse movement of £0.100m. This is based on an increased number of placements (11) which are expected to continue until the end of the year. c) Residential respite – placements are projected to overspend by £0.405m which is an adverse movement of £0.070m. These short-term placements are used to prevent an admission to full residential care. There is one placement continuing at month 7 but it is expected to cease at the end of November. 2.6 ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS (AHP) AHP services are projected to underspend by £0.122m due to underspends in non- employee costs. 2.7 CHIEF SOCIAL WORK OFFICER There is a projected underspend of £0.992rm due to a projected underspend in the Carers Strategy funding. There is no movement since month 6. 2.8 MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT Management and Support Services are projected to underspend by £2.855m which is a favourable movement of £0.522m. The main areas of underspend are: 126
Page 127
Official-Protect Official-Protect • An over-recovery of payroll turnover of £2.072m for social care services and an over-recovery of payroll turnover of £0.537m for health services as outlined in the table below. • The reduction in National Insurance contributions has resulted in a part year saving to the Non-Lead Partnership of £0.148m and £0.150m for social care which is included in the projection for Management and Support. • The additional saving in LD day care employee costs of £0.130m has transferred to the HSCP strategy code to be held as a saving for future years. • The 2022-23 budget included a budgeted surplus on the social care side offset by a budgeted deficit on the health side of the budget. The net impact is neutral but Appendix A will show this position for each element. The turnover targets and projected achievement for the financial year for Health and Social Care services out with the Lead Partnership is noted below: The position in the table above reflects the assumption in the current financial projections. For social care, a total of £2.759m (137% of annual target) has been achieved to date. The turnover achieved to date is higher than usual as the 22/23 budget included investment in various areas of staffing and these posts are not fully recruited to yet. The underspend in day care for older people has also been included as payroll turnover in 2022/23 which is a change from 2021/22 when the underspend was held to offset additional care at home costs. The health vacancy projection to the year-end is based on the month 7 position and is informed by the recruitment plans and confidence in recruitment to posts for the remainder of the year. The areas contributing to the health and social care vacancy savings are spread across a wide range of services with vacancy savings being achieved in most areas. The main areas at month 7 are: • Learning Disability £0.430m • Management and Support £0.359m • Community Care Service Delivery £0.427m • Rehab and Reablement £0.298m • Locality Services £0.266m • Integrated Island Services £0.256m • Community Mental Health £0.220m There have been no intentional plans to pause or delay recruitment and services have actively continued to recruit; in some service areas it has proven difficult to fill posts. The turnover target for the North Lead Partnership for Mental Health services is detailed within the Lead Partnership information at section 2.4. Social Care Health Services Vacancy Savings Target (2.014m) (1.183m) Projected to March 2023 4.086m 1.720m Over/(Under) Achievement 2.072m 0.537m 127
Page 128
Official-Protect Official-Protect 2.9 LOCAL AUTHORITY PAY AWARD SHORTFALL The recently agreed local government pay award was not fully funded. The total cost of the pay award was £4.384m against the budgeted increase of £2.077m. The additional cost of £2.307m will be partially met by additional recurring Scottish Government funding of £1.866m and the gap of £0.441m will be an in-year overspend with the recurring cost being factored into the 23/24 budget. There is also an additional cost in relation to the additional day of leave as some frontline posts will require to be covered during this leave. The estimated cost of this is £0.120m. 2.10 Savings Progress a) The approved 2022-23 budget included £0.683m of savings. BRAG Status Position at Budget Approval £m Position at Month 7 £m Red - 0.060 Amber 0.060 - Green 0.623 - Blue - 0.623 TOTAL 0.683 0.683 b) The main area to note is that red savings of £0.060m relating to adoption allowances will not be achieved but this is accounted for in the projected outturn. The review of allowances is complete, but the benefit will not be realised until future years as the changes will apply to future cases. Appendix B shows the full Transformation Plan for 2022/23 which has been agreed by the Transformation Board; the Board is in place to provide oversight and governance to the programme of service change. A focus of the Board is to ensure plans are in place to deliver savings and service change, with a solution focussed approach to bringing programmes back on track. Not all the service changes on the Transformation Plan have savings attached to them but there is an expectation that they will lead to service improvements. The Plan is critical to the ongoing sustainability and safety of service delivery and to supporting the delivery of financial balance in future. Appendix C provides an overview of those service changes which do have financial savings attached to them and the current BRAG status around the deliverability of each saving. 2.11 Budget Changes The Integration Scheme states that “either party may increase it’s in year payment to the Integration Joint Board. Neither party may reduce the payment in-year to the Integration Joint Board nor Services managed on a Lead Partnership basis…. without the express consent of the Integration Joint Board.” 128
Page 129
Official-Protect Official-Protect Appendix D highlights the movement in the overall budget position for the Partnership following the initial approved budget. Reduction Requiring Approval: 1) Drug Tariff Reduction 2022-23 £0.320m 2.12 NHS – Set Aside and Pan Ayrshire Services Lead Partnerships: The IJB outturn position is adjusted to reflect the impact of Lead Partnership services. The outturn for all Lead Partnership services is shared across the 3 Partnerships on an NRAC basis; this position is currently the default pending further work to develop a framework to report the financial position and risk sharing across the 3 Partnerships in relation to hosted or lead service arrangements, which has been delayed by the requirement to focus efforts on the Covid response. The final outturn in relation to North Lead Partnership services would not be fully attributed to the North IJB as a share would be allocated to East and South Partnerships; similarly, the impact of the outturn on East and South led services will require to be shared with North. At Month 7 the MH lead partnership is projected to overspend by £0.039m (£0.013m NRAC share for East and £0.012m for South). The information reported for South is the month 6 info as they do not report at month 7. East HSCP –the month 6 position is a projected £0.974m underspend of which £0.360m (37%) is attributable to North. The main variances are: • Primary Care and Out of Hours Services (Lead Partnership) There is a projected underspend of £0.824m on the Primary Care Lead Partnership budget and is due largely to projected underspends in Primary Care, Primary Medical Services and Dental services where staffing numbers are running at less than establishment. The projected underspend within Dental services is largely due to reduced staffing costs in Childsmile and within the Dental management team, with both service areas running with vacancies. In addition, there are reduced costs within Primary Care contracting and support, largely due to staffing turnover, as well as projected savings in diabetic retinopathy services and East Ayrshire Community Hospital medical and general pharmaceutical services. These reduced costs are partially offset by additional costs in the GP element of Out of Hours services, as well as additional costs in the overnight nursing service. These elements of additional cost result in a projected overspend of £0.217m, with work ongoing to address, as far as possible, over the course of the 2022/23 financial year. Ayrshire Urgent Care Services costs related to the Covid-19 pandemic are recharged against the Local Mobilisation Plan (Community Clinical Hub). As highlighted previously in this report, projected costs for 2022/23 require to be reduced as far as possible, with a recovery plan, to ensure costs can be contained within budget going forward. • Prison and Police Healthcare (Lead Partnership) The £0.150m projected underspend at month 7 is largely due to net staffing savings. Medical contracts at both Prison and Police have reduced and is contributing to the projected underspend. These contracts have been renegotiated with 2021/22 being the first year of the new contract for Prison and Police 129
Page 130
Official-Protect Official-Protect Custody. A review of the prison service is being undertaken and it is anticipated that surplus funds will go towards improving staffing levels within the prison. • Other Lead Services The £0.100m projected outturn is online with budget and relates to anticipated charges for services from Marie Curie. All three Ayrshire IJBs approved additional funding of £0.004m on a non-recurring basis as part of their 2022/23 budgets to increase the overall budget from the £0.088m baseline. This additional funding is required to offset identified cost pressures and to meet service demands from 1 April this year. The non-recurring nature of the approved uplift reflects that a service review is to be undertaken in 2022/23. South HSCP – projected overspend of £0.143m of which £0.053m will be allocated to North. The overspend is mainly due to an overspend in the community store and continence service offset by vacancies in the Family Nurse Partnership. Set Aside: - an approach has yet to be decided on for 22/23, which may be used as a “shadow year” for using current year activity. This will depend on how representative the activity is felt to be. By default, inflation will be applied to the 2021/22 budget. The annual budget for Acute Services is £379.3m. The directorate is overspent by £8.2m, caused by increasing overspends on agency medical and nursing staff, together with increasing drug expenditure. These have been required due to the level of operational pressure being experienced, in common with many other areas in Scotland. There is a material underlying deficit caused by: • Unachieved efficiency savings • High expenditure on medical and nursing agency staff, high rates of absence and vacancies causing service pressure • High numbers of delayed discharges and high acuity of patients. The IJBs and the Health Board work closely in partnership to maintain service and improve performance. 2.13 FINANCIAL RISKS There are a number of ongoing financial risk areas that may impact on the 2022-23 budget during the year, these include: • High risk areas of low volume / high-cost services areas e.g. Learning Disability care packages, children’s residential placements and complex care packages. • Progress with the work to develop set aside arrangements and the risk sharing arrangements agreed as part of this • Ongoing implementation costs of the Scottish Government policy directives • Lead / hosted service arrangements, including managing pressures and reporting this across the 3 IJBs • The impact on Lead Partnership and acute services from decisions taken by other Ayrshire areas • The Covid recovery process and re-mobilisation of services, including the ability to change and improve services following learning from the Covid response • The impact and implementation of the National Care Service. • The NHS pay award is not settled for 2022-23 and negotiations are ongoing. 130
Page 131
Official-Protect Official-Protect • The current extremely high levels of inflation • The review of the Care at Home service which commenced in Spring 2022 • Supported Accommodation - funding has been included in the budget for the new developments but the adequacy of the funding will only be known when the final occupants are agreed. • Fire dampener compensation – the final level of compensation has still to be agreed and may vary from the £0.306m assumed in the current projection. These risks will be monitored during 2022-23 and the financial impact reported through the budget monitoring report. 2.14 COVID-19 – FINANCE MOBILISATION PLAN IMPACT Summary of position From the outset of the pandemic the HSCP acted very swiftly to respond and developed a mobilisation plan detailing the additional activities to support our response, alongside the estimated financial impact. Financial returns were submitted to the Scottish Government on a regular basis during 2020-21 and 2021-22, on the premise that any additional costs aligned to mobilisation plans would be fully funded. This process will continue during 2022-23 with returns moving from quarterly to monthly. Covid funding of £13.321m was carried forward from 2021-22 for use in services delegated to the Partnership during 2022-23 and the costs outlined below will be met from this funding. Any unused funding, based on the projected spend in the month 6 return, will be reclaimed by the Scottish Government and redistributed to Health Boards for Covid-related costs in non-delegated services. 2.15 Mobilisation Plan and Funding Position The initial month 3 mobilisation plan cost submission was submitted in July and estimated the costs to be £4.067m to March 2023. The changes since month 3 are summarised in the table below with the main area being payments to providers to reflect the payments made to date and the extension of part of the scheme to 31st March 2023. The costs remain estimates as the situation continually evolves there will be a further update submitted each month. The local finance mobilisation plan submission is included as Appendix E. The main areas of cost are summarised below: Service Area Initial Month 3 Return £m Month 4 Return £m Month 5 Return £m Months 6 and 7 Return £m Payments to Providers 1.100 1.100 1.953 2.143 PPE 0.418 0.418 0.419 0.326 Additional Staff 1.317 1.317 1.315 1.318 Loss of Income 0.246 0.246 0.246 0.210 Children & Families 0.957 0.957 0.957 1.107 Other Areas 0.029 0.029 0.015 0.015 TOTAL 4.067 4.067 4.905 5.119 131
Page 132
Official-Protect Official-Protect Based on the projected spend, it is anticipated that £8.202m will be reclaimed by Scottish Government. IJBs have been advised by Government that a year-end reconciliation and balancing adjustment will be carried out in the event that too much or too little funding has been retained by IJBs. 2.16 Provider Sustainability Payments and Care Home Occupancy Payments COSLA Leaders and Scottish Government have agreed an approach to supporting the social care sector to ensure that reasonable additional costs will be met. We have been making payments to commissioned social care providers in line with the agreed national principles for sustainability and remobilisation payments to social care providers during COVID 19. Care Home Occupancy Payments - The Scottish Government ceased these payments at the end of October 2021 but exceptions were made following the Omicron outbreak and limited payments were made to eligible care homes. Meetings are being held with each care home to discuss ongoing sustainability and to provide support. Sustainability payments – the most recent guidance issued on 22nd June reduces the scope of what providers can claim for. The main costs that can be claimed relate to testing and vaccination and this is extended to 31st March 2023. The Social Care Staff Support Fund was also extended to 31st March 2023 (previously to 30th September 2022). The sustainability payments are estimated to be a significant cost in our mobilisation plan and the timely submission and assessment of claims is key to ensuring we can accurately estimate the financial cost and ensure the costs are reclaimed from the Scottish Government. The breakdown of payments made in 2022-23 up to 31st October 2022 are shown in the tables below: PROVIDER SUMMARY NCHC Care Homes Other Total Total Number of Providers 17 49 66 Number contacting NAC 16 11 27 Providers Supported to date 16 11 27 OUTSTANDING CLAIMS NCHC Care Homes Other Total Total Number of Claims - 4 4 Value of Claims - 156,720 156,720 SUPPORT PROVIDED NCHC Care Homes Other Services TOTAL £ £ £ Occupancy Payments 81,650 0 81,650 Staffing 631,342 191,215 822,556 132
Page 133
Official-Protect Official-Protect PPE, Infection Control 181,778 47,994 229,772 Other 74,075 7,894 81,969 TOTAL 968,845 247,102 1,215,947 2.17 RESERVES The IJB reserves position is summarised in the table below with full detail given in Appendix F. The ‘free’ general fund balance of £7.248m is held as a contingency balance, this equates to around 2.5% of the IJB budget for 2021-22 which is above the lower target level of 2% and does demonstrate significant progress towards establishing a contingency reserve of between 2% and 4%. £1.486m is held by the Council to support a further repayment of debt at the end of 2022-23 and this is not reflected in the financial projection. The Council and Partnership are currently exploring options to clear the full debt by the end of the current financial year. General Fund Reserves Earmarked Reserves Total Debt to NAC Free GF SG Funding Non-SG Funding £m HSCP £m £m £m £m £m £m Opening Balance - 1 April 2022 (2.321) 7.248 23.106 0.699 0.500 29.232 3. PROPOSALS 3.1 Anticipated Outcomes Continuing to closely monitor the financial position will allow the IJB to take corrective action where required to ensure the Partnership can deliver services in 2022-23 from within the available resource, thereby limiting the financial risk to the funding partners. The estimated costs and funding in relation to the Covid-19 response also require to be closely monitored to ensure that the IJB can plan for the impact of this and to ensure that the IJB is in the position to re-claim funding to compensate for the additional costs. 3.2 Measuring Impact Ongoing updates to the financial position will be reported to the IJB throughout 2022- 23. 133
Page 134
Official-Protect Official-Protect 4. IMPLICATIONS Financial: The financial implications are as outlined in the report. Against the full-year budget of £282.672m there is a projected underspend of £0.077m. The report outlines the main variances for individual services. Human Resources: The report highlights vacancy or turnover savings achieved to date. Services will review any staffing establishment plans and recruitment in line with normal practice when implementing service change and reviews as per agreement with the IJB, there is no intention to sustain this level of staffing capacity reduction on a recurring or planned basis. Legal: None Equality: None Children and Young People None Environmental & Sustainability: None Key Priorities: None Risk Implications: Para 2.13 highlights the financial risks. The report falls in line with the agreed risk appetite statement which is a low-risk appetite in respect to adherence to standing financial instructions, financial controls and financial statutory duties and a high-risk appetite in relation to finance and value for money. Community Benefits: None Direction Required to Council, Health Board or Both Direction to: - 1. No Direction Required 2. North Ayrshire Council 3. NHS Ayrshire & Arran 4. North Ayrshire Council and NHS Ayrshire & Arran √ 5. CONSULTATION 5.1 This report has been produced in consultation with relevant budget holders and the Partnership Senior Management Team. The IJB financial monitoring report is shared with the NHS Ayrshire and Arran Director of Finance and North Ayrshire Council’s Head of Finance after the report has been finalised for the IJB. 6. CONCLUSION 6.1 It is recommended that the IJB: (a) notes the overall integrated financial performance report for the financial year 2022-23, the overall projected year-end underspend of £0.077m; (b) notes the progress with delivery of agreed savings; (c) notes the remaining financial risks for 2022-23; 134
Page 135
Official-Protect Official-Protect (d) approves the budget reduction which is detailed at para 2.11. For more information please contact: Paul Doak, Head of Finance and Transformation at pdoak@north-ayrshire.gov.uk or Eleanor Currie, Principal Manager – Finance at eleanorcurrie@north-ayrshire.gov.uk 135
Page 136
Official-Protect Official-Protect 2022-23 Budget Monitoring Report–Objective Summary as at 31st October 2022 Appendix A Budget Outturn Over/ (Under) Spend Variance Budget Outturn Over/ (Under) Spend Variance Budget Outturn Over/ (Under) Spend Variance £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 COMMUNITY CARE AND HEALTH 64,242 64,174 (68) 16,424 16,914 490 80,666 81,088 422 330 92 : Locality Services 27,764 27,473 (291) 5,250 5,350 100 33,014 32,823 (191) (203) 12 : Community Care Service Delivery 31,489 31,399 (90) 0 0 0 31,489 31,399 (90) (97) 7 : Rehabilitation and Reablement 1,849 1,846 (3) 0 0 0 1,849 1,846 (3) (7) 4 : Long Term Conditions 925 1,118 193 9,083 9,473 390 10,008 10,591 583 522 61 : Community Link Workers 184 181 (3) 0 0 0 184 181 (3) (2) (1) : Integrated Island Services 2,031 2,157 126 2,091 2,091 0 4,122 4,248 126 117 9 MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES 30,968 31,759 791 56,982 56,931 (51) 87,950 88,690 740 1,001 (261) : Learning Disabilities 21,482 22,812 1,330 482 482 0 21,964 23,294 1,330 1,325 5 : Community Mental Health 5,780 5,239 (541) 1,649 1,589 (60) 7,429 6,828 (601) (518) (83) : Addictions 3,706 3,708 2 1,658 1,628 (30) 5,364 5,336 (28) (58) 30 : Lead Partnership Mental Health NHS Area Wide 0 0 0 53,193 53,232 39 53,193 53,232 39 252 (213) CHILDREN & JUSTICE SERVICES 32,355 34,856 2,501 3,970 3,970 0 36,325 38,826 2,501 1,950 551 : Irvine, Kilwinning and Three Towns 3,082 3,124 42 0 0 0 3,082 3,124 42 7 35 : Garnock Valley, North Coast and Arran 2,106 2,077 (29) 0 0 0 2,106 2,077 (29) (33) 4 :Intervention Services 1,753 1,768 15 340 340 0 2,093 2,108 15 (19) 34 : Care Experienced Children & Young people 21,674 24,125 2,451 0 0 0 21,674 24,125 2,451 1,992 459 : Head of Service - Children & Families 1,191 1,215 24 0 0 0 1,191 1,215 24 9 15 : Justice Services 2,385 2,385 0 0 0 0 2,385 2,385 0 (3) 3 : Universal Early Years 164 162 (2) 3,195 3,195 0 3,359 3,357 (2) (3) 1 : Lead Partnership NHS Children's Services 0 0 0 435 435 0 435 435 0 0 0 CHIEF SOCIAL WORK OFFICER 2,552 1,560 (992) 0 0 0 2,552 1,560 (992) (986) (6) PRIMARY CARE 0 0 0 49,330 49,330 0 49,330 49,330 0 0 0 ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS 0 8,801 8,679 (122) 8,801 8,679 (122) (124) 2 COVID NHS 0 0 0 806 806 0 806 806 0 0 0 MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT COSTS 13,924 11,260 (2,664) 2,318 2,127 (191) 16,242 13,387 (2,855) (2,333) (522) LOCAL AUTHORITY PAY AWARD SHORTFALL 0 561 561 0 0 0 0 561 561 441 120 OUTTURN ON A MANAGED BASIS 144,041 144,170 129 138,631 138,757 126 282,672 282,927 255 279 (24) Return Hosted Over/Underspends East 0 0 0 0 (13) (13) 0 (13) (13) (82) 69 Return Hosted Over/Underspends South 0 0 0 0 (12) (12) 0 (12) (12) (78) 66 Receive Hosted Over/Underspends South 0 0 0 0 53 53 0 53 53 53 0 Receive Hosted Over/Underspends East 0 0 0 0 (360) (360) 0 (360) (360) (223) (137) OUTTURN ON AN IJB BASIS 144,041 144,170 129 138,631 138,425 (206) 282,672 282,595 (77) (51) (26) Over/ (Under) Spend Variance at Period 6 Movement in projected variance from Period 6 TOTAL Partnership Budget - Objective Summary Council Health 2022/23 Budget 136
Page 137
Official-Protect 2022-23 Transformation Plan Appendix B Savings reference number Project Project Description Deliveribility Status Saving/ Investment Approved Saving 2022/23 £ Investment Saving Delivered at Month 7 £ Projected Saving Projected Shortfall 22/23 £ Children, Families and Justice Services SP/HSCP/20/1 Children and Young People - External Residential Placements Monitor and review all placements with a view to reducing the overspend. Amber Saving - - SP/HSCP/20/4 Adoption Allowances Montior Adoption Allowances. With a view to reduce the overspend Red Saving 59,535 - - 59,535 SP/HSCP/20/19 Fostering - reduce external placements. Monitor Fostering Placements with a view to reduce the overspend Red Saving - - Transport review Review of costs relating to taxi utilisation and implemenation of new electronic form. Aim to reduce transport budget in council. Links in with David Hammonds Tranformation Project. Red Saving Grow internal fostering capacity Review capacity of existing foster carers with a view of increasing existing capacity Amber Cost neutral NACSTA4030 Fostering Short Breaks Develop an inhouse short break service to replace the commisioned service provided by Cornerstone. Amber Saving - - - Mental Health and LD Transformation of CAMHS - CAMHS Specification CAMHS have reviewed and updated referral guidance to align with the CAMHS National Specification. Some risks identified in order to facilitate the continued changes are accommodation, and recruitment of clinical staff. Amber Investment 1,091,463 Transformation of CAMHS - CAMHS Age 25 CAMHS are developing specific pathways to provide care and support up to the age of 25 where appropriate e.g. Eating Disorders, Neuro, Personality Disorders, Early Psychosis. Amber Investment 623,402 Transformation of CAMHS - CAMHS Waiting List Two external providers have been procured to support Neuro waiting for assessment (Purple House Amber Investment 311,701 137
Page 138
Official-Protect Official-Protect Savings reference number Project Project Description Deliveribility Status Saving/ Investment Approved Saving 2022/23 £ Investment Saving Delivered at Month 7 £ Projected Saving Projected Shortfall 22/23 £ Transformation of CAMHS - CAMHS Psyc Waiting List Clinical Director & Senior Manager agreed plan in order to reduce access to Psychiatry. In addition to this, 3 non-medical prescribers have been trained and are prescribing for ADHD clinics. Amber Investment 366,707 Transformation of CAMHS - Out of Hours Unscheduled Care Recruitment and implementation of a new service to provide support to children and young people on an unscheduled basis. CAMHS are being commissioned by Paediatrics to deliver this service via Scottish Government funds. Amber Investment 86,294 Transformation of CAMHS - CAMHS Intensive Home Treatment Recruitment is ongoing. Accommodation required to house team together. Ongoing development of policies and procedures for team in alignment with partners agencies Amber Investment 14,752 Transformation of CAMHS - CAMHS Liaison Amber Investment 129,073 Primary Care Mental Health investment Creation of a business case to deliver Mental Health to Primary Care over the next 4 years. Allocation of funds will be incrementally incraesed over the duration of the next four years. North leading for Ayrshire. Green Investment 261,159 Continued review of models of care at Woodland View A particular focus on rehabilation models of care for MH building on learning from Warrix Avenue. Development of a business case for ARBD is also underway. A test of change for ward 7B will be reported through this workstream. Amber Implementation of MAT standards Programme of work to set up the systems required to report on Medical Assisted Treatment standards for Addictions. The programme will be run on a pan ayrshire basis led by North. The national direction was for this to be led by Public Health but they have not started any recruitment so North will take forward in the meantime. Green Investment Complex Care Model - Independent living change fund Recruit the Intensive Support Team agreed through this fund and monitor progress of assessments of out of area placements. A dynamic register should be developed and maintained which will feed into national data. Amber Investment 513,000 ACORN business model Mental Health Rehabilitation service needing help to transition to a social enterprise. Now incoporated within Caring for Ayrshire. Red Saving - - - - Implementation of Trakcare Patient Management System in Community Services Implementation of new information recording system for NHS to report on 18 weeks RTT. This will include development of new processes and transfer of data from current system to the new one. This will allow for better recording of clinical activity and inform future DCAQ work. Adult community mental health will go live first followed by other community teams currently utilisating Access databases. A Pan Ayrshire referral management service will be set up Green Cost neutral Implementation of Unscheduled Care Part of the national redesign of urgent care work. The aim of the mental health project is to deliver an integrated system to support mental health and wellbeing by utilising existing mental health services and enhancing their pathways for unscheduled mental health presentations. Green Investment 138
Page 139
Official-Protect Official-Protect Savings reference number Project Project Description Deliveribility Status Saving/ Investment Approved Saving 2022/23 £ Investment Saving Delivered at Month 7 £ Projected Saving Projected Shortfall 22/23 £ Health and Community Care TEC Solutions To appoint a temporarory 'Project Manager' post, who will oversee the procurement and installation of digital telecare equipment Green Investment 50,000 - - Analogue to Digital Funding received for a Project Manager to manage the process of moving all services users from analogue to digital technology. Amber Investment 996,000 SP/HSCP/20/17 Care at Home - Service Review This project will incorporate the review of the care at home job role and any implications for service as a Amber Investment - - Hospital Team Model Green Arran Integrated Services model Continue to work towards an Integrated Hub on Arran building on the frailty work and developing a single point of contact for all health and social care services. It is anticipated there will be a substantial amount of investment required and a business case will be developed. Green Primary Care Investment Fund Remodel how we deliver primary care locally, ensuring that multi-disciplinary teams are available in each medical practice across North Ayrshire. This will help ensure that when needed local people will get the right care and support they need Green Investment HSCP MDT - Community Health & Care Implement HSCP MDTs across each of the localities to support GP practices and HSCP service coordinate care for those with the most complex needs. This approach will replace Older People Local Operational Teams.’ Develop Care at Home - Minimum data set Scope all current recording processes for data and look to consolidate a dataset that can be used for all reporting needs. Cost neutral AHP Whole System redesign Build on the learning from the recent AHP workforce exercise; to better understand the distribution and contribution of AHPs in health and care in North Ayrshire, to support future workforce planning that maximises this contribution for the benefit of the people of North Amber Interim Beds To utilise a one-off lump sum, provided by the Scottish Government, to provide interim beds, for a maximum of 6 weeks, for clients who will have an onward move to permanent care. Green 139
Page 140
Official-Protect Official-Protect Savings reference number Project Project Description Deliveribility Status Saving/ Investment Approved Saving 2022/23 £ Investment Saving Delivered at Month 7 £ Projected Saving Projected Shortfall 22/23 £ Partnership Wide Supported acc models - NAC housing/ Sleepover/ outreach model Continue working with third sector providers to implement supported accommodation models in the Green Saving - - SDS Review Engage with all stakeholders to look at how we encourage a more innovative and person centred approach to SDS. Implement an SDS Review Learning Board to help progress. Carers Review Develop a resource release model for allocation of funds for carers as well as implement a short break service. Amber Saving - - - Adult Complex Care Model - Call Monitoring Review of call monitoring system for provision of adult community supports. This will include evaluation of current provision and development of a specification for future tender as the current contract is due to expire. Implementation of Eclipse information system Implementation of new information recording system for social care to replace Care First. This will include dedvelopment of new protocols and transfer of data from current system to the new one. Money matters and GP Practice Welfare Rights service Facilitate the introduction of a money advise service available within GP practices. Investment 78,000 Payroll Turnover Inflation Monitor slippage through staff turnover with a view to meeting the savings target. Saving 301,201 301,201 - - Business Support Review (linked to Care at home review) Scope and review the remit of the business support unit and how it could be adapted to the benefit of all HSCP teams. North Elderly Mental Health inpatients (lead partnership) Agree the spend going forward for the recurring savings achieved through bed retraction from Ailsa. Saving 321,000 321,000 - - HSCP Challenge Fund - invest to save Monitoring of all projects approved through the Challenge Fund with a focus on invest to save ideas. Transitions Improve transition pathways from Childrens to Adult services as well as into older adults in order to improve outcomes for service users. Caring for Ayrshire The focus for Caring for Ayrshire is to bring a greater proportion of health provision into local communities. The Caring for Ayrshire work will ensure local GP practices are fit for purpose and have the capacity to host multi-disciplinary teams and meet local health and care needs. Investment Advocacy Strategy Refresh of Advocacy strategy with a view to incorporating both adult and childrens services. Cost neutral 140
Page 141
Official-Protect Official-Protect 2022-23 Savings Tracker Appendix C Savings ref number Description Deliverability Status at budget setting Approved Saving 2021/22 £m Deliverability Status Month 7 Saving Delivered @ Month 7 £m Projected to Deliver during Year £m Projected Shortfall £m Comment 1 Adoption Allowances Amber 0.060 Red - 0.060 - Currently projecting an overspend. TOTAL SOCIAL CARE SAVINGS 0.060 0.000 0.060 0.000 Savings ref number Description Deliverability Status at budget setting Approved Saving 2021/22 £m Deliverability Status Month 7 Saving Delivered @ Month 7 £m Projected to Deliver during Year £m Projected Shortfall £m Comment 2 Payroll Turnover Inflation Green 0.302 Blue 0.302 - Achieved 3 Elderly Mental Health inpatients (lead partnership) Green 0.321 Blue 0.321 - - Achieved TOTAL HEALTH SAVINGS 0.623 0.623 0.000 0.000 TOTAL NORTH HSCP SAVINGS 0.683 0.623 0.060 0.000 North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership 2022/23 Savings 141
Page 142
Official-Protect 2022-23 Budget Reconciliation Appendix D COUNCIL Period Permanent or Temporary £'m Initial Approved Budget 116.017 Base budget adjustments 1 (0.046) Uploaded Budget 115.971 Resource Transfer 1 P 26.228 Software Licences transfer to IT 3 P (0.002) Montrose Cleaning Post to Facilities Management 3 P (0.014) Software Licences transfer to IT 4 P (0.003) Summer of Play Funding from Education 5 T 0.056 Insurance – transfer to corporate 6 P (0.075) Software Licences transfer to IT 6 P (0.006) MARAC funding 6 T 0.009 Pay Award Funding 7 P 1.866 Commercial Waste - Corporate adjustment 7 P 0.013 Roundings (0.002) Budget Reported at Month 7 144.041 HEALTH Period Permanent or Temporary £'m Initial Approved Budget 163.988 Resource Transfer (26.228) Month 10-12 Adjustments 22.401 Adjust for Non-recurring funding (22.408) Full Year effect of Part Year Reductions 0.128 REVISED 22-23 BUDGET 137.881 Training Grade Adj – April 1 P (0.064) Vire No 2 - East to North CAMHS Admin 1 P 0.099 Band 2-4 SG Funding reduction 1 P (0.007) AHP Clinical Admin Budget Transfer 2 P 0.048 Dean Funding to Partnerships 2 P 0.085 Prescribing Uplift 2 P 1.631 Prescribing Cres 2 P (0.715) Prescribing out non schedule 5 2 P (0.429) Scottish Huntington’s Post 3 P 0.014 Daldorch Income Shortfall 3 P 0.045 Community Store Contributions 3 P (0.006) Iona/Lewis Patient to South 3 T (0.046) Marie Curie contract uplift 3 P (0.004) Trakcare/Huntington’s/ Daldorch 3 P 0.086 Staff Wellbeing Posts from OH&RD 4 P 0.193 Top Slicing Posts- Prescribing 4 P (0.071) 142
Page 143
Official-Protect Official-Protect Admin Post transferred to Medical Records 4 T (0.034) Naloxone for Police Scotland 4 T 0.026 Dean Funding 5 P 0.095 Rx Top Slicing to Pharmacy 5 P (0.008) Uplift DOAC (Direct Oral Anticoagulant) Rebate 5 P 0.06 Uplift CRES to Primary Care Rebate Scheme 5 P 0.068 Dysphagia Post 5 P (0.021) ADP PSST Support 5 T 0.008 CAMHS Liaison Funding 5 T (0.350) Specialist Pharmacist in Substance Misuse 6 T 0.012 BBV (Blood Borne Virus) Funding 6 T 0.242 Maternal and Infant Nutrition Allocation 6 T 0.020 Dean Funding Pay Award 6 P 0.061 GP Office 365 Upgrade 6 T (0.137) HD200 Drug Tariff Reduction 2022-23 7 P (0.320) Medical Pay Award 2.5% Top Up 7 T 0.170 Roundings 7 (0.001) Budget Reported at Month 7 138.631 COMBINED BUDGET MONTH 7 282.672 143
Page 144
Official-Protect Appendix E Mobilisation Submission – Month 7 Covid-19 Costs - HSCP - All Workstream Mapping £000s April May June July August September October November December January February March 2022-23 Revenue Total 1. Public Health Scale up of Public Health Measures 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2. Vaccinations Flu Vaccination & Covid-19 Vaccination (FVCV) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3. Workforce and Capacity Additional Community Hospital Bed Capacity 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3. Workforce and Capacity Additional Staff Costs (Contracted staff) (17) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 (17) 3. Workforce and Capacity Additional Staff Costs (Non-contracted staff) 92 93 93 109 109 109 109 109 109 109 109 109 1,260 4. PPE, Equipment and IPC Additional Equipment and Maintenance 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4. PPE, Equipment and IPC Additional Infection Prevention and Control Costs 45 45 45 32 32 20 18 18 18 18 18 18 326 4. PPE, Equipment and IPC Additional PPE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4. PPE, Equipment and IPC PPE Hub Running Costs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5. Social Care and Community Capacity Additional Capacity in Community 21 9 10 (13) 0 (27) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5. Social Care and Community Capacity Additional Care Home Placements 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5. Social Care and Community Capacity Adult Social Care 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5. Social Care and Community Capacity Children and Family Services 188 79 79 68 68 139 81 81 81 81 81 81 1,107 5. Social Care and Community Capacity Homelessness and Criminal Justice Services 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5. Social Care and Community Capacity Reducing Delayed Discharge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5. Social Care and Community Capacity Covid-19 Financial Support for Adult Social Care Providers 291 291 291 243 243 459 55 55 54 54 54 54 2,143 5. Social Care and Community Capacity Social Care Support Fund Claims 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5. Social Care and Community Capacity Chief Social Work Officer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6. Primary Care Additional FHS Contractor Costs 13 13 13 12 12 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 75 6. Primary Care Primary Care 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7. Miscellaneous Digital & IT costs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7. Miscellaneous Loss of Income 47 41 41 41 41 43 (29) 0 0 0 0 0 225 7. Miscellaneous Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7. Miscellaneous Payments to Third Parties 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7. Miscellaneous Staff Wellbeing 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7. Miscellaneous Patient Transport 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 680 571 572 492 504 755 234 263 262 262 262 262 5,119Total Covid Costs - HSCP - All 144
Page 145
Official-Protect Appendix F Reserves Position in Detail Earmarked Funds : Alcohol & Drug Partnership 890 : Mental Health Action 15 511 : Primary Care Improvement Fund 1,856 : 21-22 Budget Gap 0 : Challenge Fund 500 : Community Living Change Fund 513 : Covid19 Funding 13,321 : Neighbourhood Networks 145 : Mental Health Officer Development Grant 41 : NAC Recovery and Renewal – Mental Health Element 71 : Joint Equipment 5 : Nethermains Adaptations 40 : Supported Accommodation 50 : Care at Home Capacity 1,192 : Interim Care 1,046 : Trauma Training 50 : Trauma Trainer 48 : Family Wellbeing Fund 106 : Perinatal MH Nurse 65 : Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children 11 : Multi-Disciplinary Teams 644 : Health Care Support Workers 144 : MH Recovery and Renewal 2,057 : Medical photography 4 : Data Sims 28 : School Nursing 56 : Buvidal 109 : AHP Winter Funding 51 : Perinatal and Infant Mental Health 86 : Cossette Funding 18 : Replacement Mattress Programme 78 : Expansion of Primary Care Estates 55 : GP Premises Improvements - tranches 1 and 2 81 : Mental Health Wellbeing in Primary Care 40 : Dental Practice Improvement 265 : Dental Winter Preparedness 128 Total Earmarked 24,305 Outstanding Debt (2,321) Unallocated General Fund 7,248 General Fund 29,232 145
Page 146
146
Page 147
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Capital Programme Performance to 31 March 2023 Purpose: To advise Cabinet of progress in delivering the Capital Investment Programme for 2022/23. Recommendation: That Cabinet agrees to (a) note the revisions to budgets outlined in the report; and (b) note (i) the General Services and HRA revised budgets at 30 November 2022; and (ii) the forecast expenditure to 31 March 2023. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The General Services Capital Investment Programme 2022/23 to 2030/31 was approved by Council on 2 March 2022. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Investment Programme 2022/23 sits within the updated HRA Business Plan and was approved by Council on 16 February 2022. 1.2 This report identifies the current programme for 2022/23, taking account of adjustments made to the initial budgets. The report presents the revised budgets at 30 November 2022 and forecast expenditure to 31 March 2023. 1.3 At Period 8 the General Fund is forecasting a projected underspend of (£0.149m) against a revised budget of £48.627m. The HRA is forecasting a projected underspend of (£6.981m) against a revised budget of £57.768m. 1.4 Within the General Fund, adjustments to funding have resulted in additions to the overall capital programme of £9.679m, including an acceleration of Scottish Government funding in relation to Flooding projects. Further reviews of individual project plans have identified a number of adjustments to the current profiles. As a result, (£25.189m) has been reprofiled for delivery in 2023/24, including (£8.760m) funding in relation to Flooding. This has been partly offset by the acceleration of £0.357m to 2022/23 from future years. 1.5 Within the HRA, a review of delivery timescales has identified a requirement to re- profile (£8.735m) of works for delivery in 2023/24 and beyond. This is offset by the acceleration of £0.652m to 2022/23 from future years. Agenda Item 7 147
Page 148
1.7 The major risk to the forecast position is the uncertainty arising from the ongoing inflationary pressures and supply chain issues which are impacting on tender returns and the cost of materials, as reported across a number of General Fund and HRA projects. While some mitigation has been built into the programme to offset cost pressures, any further significant increase in costs will result in increased borrowing requirements and may have a negative impact on the deliverability of both the General Fund and HRA capital programmes for 2022/23 and beyond. Projects will continue to be monitored closely with cost increases met initially from the additional flexibility built into the programme. However, any requirement for further borrowing will be a matter for Council to consider. 2. Background General Fund 2.1 The following table outlines the movements in the 2022/23 General Services budget: 2.2 (a) Changes to Funding The capital programme has been updated to reflect the following changes to funding. This includes the acceleration of Scottish Government support for Flooding projects which will be rephased in line with anticipated expenditure: 2.3 (b) Other Revisions to the Programme An adjustment of £0.018m has been reported due to an additional CFCR contribution in relation to the Ayrshire Growth deal project at Irvine Harbourside. 2022/23 £m Budget as at 30 September 2022 63.762 a) Changes to Funding 9.679 b) Other Revisions to the Programme 0.018 Revised Budget 73.459 c) Alterations to phasing of projects:- 2023/24 to 2022/23 0.357 2022/23 to 2023/24 (25.189) Budget as at 30 November 2022 48.627 Funding Body Amount Project General Capital Grant £0.738m UFSM General Capital Grant £8.760m Flooding Projects Sustrans £0.143m Lochshore SPT £0.038m B777 Corridor Improvements Total £9.679m 148
Page 149
2.4 (c) Alterations to the Phasing of Projects The ongoing review of individual project plans, taking cognisance of the current levels of volatility within the construction sector, has identified a requirement to re-profile a further (£25.189m) of works for delivery in 2023/24 and beyond. This includes a corporate phasing adjustment reflecting the degree of uncertainty in the total expenditure projections and the rephased grant income in relation to the Flooding projects: These adjustments have been partly offset by the acceleration of £0.357m of expenditure to 2022/23 from future years. Service Amount Project Communities (£8.376m) Montgomerie Park School (£4.949m) Moorpark Primary (£3.131m) UFSM Expansion (£0.381m) Ardrossan New Build (£0.052m) Other minor adjustments (£16.889m) Chief Executives (£0.090m) ICT Investment Fund (£0.050m) Telephony (£0.140m) HSCP (£0.100m) Carefirst Replacement (£0.100m) Place (£8.760m) Additional Flooding Grant (£1.000m) Millport Coastal FPS (£0.714m) VDLF - I3 Irvine Enterprise (£0.502m) Low Carbon Hub (£0.136m) VDLF - Harbour Masters Office (£0.120m) PLI Goldcraigs (£0.103m) Irvine Enterprise Area (£0.100m) AGD - I3 Digilab Phase 2 (£0.094m) Other minor Adjustments (£0.050m) AGD - Marine Tourism Ardrossan (£11.579m) Corporate £3.519m Uncertainty / Sensitivity Adjustment £3.519m Total (£25.189m) 149
Page 150
2.5 These adjustments have resulted in a revised 2022/23 budget at 30 November 2022 of £48.627m. 2.6 The following graph illustrates the movement in each programme on a service basis compared to the revised programme: Service Amount Project Chief Executives £0.083m Schools ICT Investment HSCP £0.006m Community Alarms Place £0.110m Ardrossan North Shore £0.150m PLI Kilwinning Academy £0.008m Other minor adjustments £0.268m Total £0.357m 38.672 32.249 0.492 50.239 2.500 124.152 25.201 8.948 2.002 43.502 (10.019) 69.634 25.196 6.764 1.672 38.451 (8.321) 63.762 9.045 2.555 1.578 40.231 (4.782) 48.627 (29.627) (29.694) 1.086 (10.008) (7.282) (75.525) Approved Programme Movement Programme @ P6 Programme @ P4 Programme @ P8 150
Page 151
2.7 The impact on budgeted funding, elements of which are related to the profile of expenditure reported above, is a reduction of £15.135m from the revised budget, including: 2.8 Projected Capital Expenditure to 31 March 2023 The projections are summarised by service in the following table: 2.9 Minor underspends totalling £0.149m have been reported in relation to completed projects, including the Residential and Respite Unit, £0.140m, and Shewalton Landfill, £0.009m. These funds will be transferred to the Flexibility budget to offset anticipated budget pressures elsewhere in the programme. Information on the progress of all projects can be found in Appendix 1. Category Amount Comments Borrowing £23.438m Rephased aligned to projected expenditure CFCR (£0.018m) Additional CFCR Contribution Capital Grants (£8.500m) Rephased and additional government grants Other Grants £0.322m Rephased and revised contributions Capital Receipts (£0.107m) Realigned capital receipts Total £15.135m Revised Budget 2022/23 Budget Revisions Carry Forwards and Adjustments Revised Budget 2022/23 Projected Expenditure / Income to 31 March 2023 Projected Variance Over / (Under) £m £m £m £m £m £m Expenditure Communities 25.196 0.738 (16.889) 9.045 9.045 - Chief Executive 6.764 (4.209) 2.555 2.555 - Health and Social Care Partnership 1.672 (0.094) 1.578 1.438 (0.140) Place 38.451 8.959 (7.179) 40.231 40.222 (0.009) Other including Flexibility (8.321) 3.539 (4.782) (4.782) - Total Expenditure 63.762 9.697 (24.832) 48.627 48.478 (0.149) Income General Capital Grant (16.960) (9.498) 0.117 (26.341) (26.341) - Specific Capital Grant (13.070) - 0.881 (12.189) (12.189) - Use of Reserve Funds - - - - - - Capital Funded from Current Revenue - (0.018) (0.018) (0.018) - Capital Receipts (0.359) (0.107) (0.466) (0.466) - Other Grants & Contributions (3.361) (0.181) 0.503 (3.039) (3.039) - Prudential Borrowing (30.012) 23.438 (6.574) (6.425) 0.149 Total Income (63.762) (9.697) 24.832 (48.627) (48.478) 0.149 151
Page 152
2.10 Although not formally reflected in the financial performance reports at this time due to ongoing uncertainty, areas of cost risk have been identified as a result of cost volatility arising from the ongoing inflationary pressures, outstanding contractor claims and supply chain issues which are impacting on tender returns and the cost of materials. Specific projects where cost risks have been identified, or are anticipated, include Upper Garnock Flood Prevention Scheme, Moorpark Primary, Montgomerie Park Primary, Largs Sea Wall, Ardrossan North Shore advance works, Ardrossan Campus and Ardrossan Harbour Landside works. Some mitigation has been built into the Capital Investment Programme in the form of enhanced flexibility budgets. However, cost pressures may exceed this provision, requiring additional revenue investment to offset any additional borrowing requirements. These risks will be quantified as individual projects are completed and tendering exercises are finalised, with the impact on the costs of the programme being monitored and reported to Cabinet as appropriate. Any funding in excess of the current level of financial flexibility, which is required to deliver the current capital programme, will be a matter for Council to consider within the context of overall affordability. This affordability assessment will be included in the upcoming Capital Budget due to be presented at Council on 1 March 2023 and will take account of all known cost pressures, funding and borrowing requirements based on current and projected interest rates, the anticipated re- direction of revenue resources and use of financial flexibilities to support delivery of the programme and a further flexible allowance to help manage the ongoing cost risks associated with the programme. Housing Revenue Account 2.11 The following table outlines the movements in the 2022/23 HRA Capital budget: 2.12 (a) Alterations to the Phasing of Projects A further review of the timescale for delivery of capital projects has identified a requirement to re-profile (£8.735m) of works for delivery in 2023/24 and beyond, including: 2022/23 £m Budget as at 30 September 2022 65.851 a) Alterations to phasing of projects:- 2022/23 to 2023/24 (8.735) 2023/24 to 2022/23 0.652 Budget as at 30 November 2022 57.768 152
Page 153
This has been partly offset by the acceleration of £0.652m of project expenditure for delivery during 2022/23, including: 2.13 These adjustments have resulted in a revised 2022/23 budget at 30 November 2022 of £57.768m. Category Amount Project New Builds (£0.237m) Harbourside Irvine (£0.050m) Glebe Place (£0.048m) Other minor adjustments (£0.335m) Improvements (£2.500m) Sheltered Housing Units (£0.068m) Saltcoats MSF Investment (£0.009m) Other minor adjustments (£2.577m) Refurbishments (£0.440m) Kings Arm Project (£0.034m) Other minor adjustments (£0.474m) Other (£5.309m) Energy Efficiency Standard (£0.040m) Other minor adjustments (£5.349m) Total (£8.735m) Category Amount Project New Builds £0.210m Acquisition of Houses on Open Market £0.191m New Build St Colms Irvine £0.106m New Build St Michaels Wynd £0.056m Other minor adjustments £0.563m Improvements £0.054m Kitchen Programme Voids £0.054m Refurbishments £0.002m Other minor adjustments Other £0.033m Solar Panels £0.033m Total £0.652m 153
Page 154
2.14 The impact on budgeted funding is a reduction of £8.083m in Capital Grants and Prudential Borrowing: 2.15 Projected Capital Expenditure to 31 March 2023 The projections are summarised in the following table: 2.16 A variance of (£6.981m) is projected within the HRA capital programme for 2022/23 arising from revisions to a number of projects, including: These have been partly offset by a projected overspend of £0.673m in relation to the reprofiling of the Insulated re-rendering programme. Category Amount Comments Capital Grants £1.409m Reduction aligned to projected expenditure Borrowing £6.674m Reduction aligned to projected expenditure Total £8.083m Revised Budget 2022/23 Carry Forwards and Adjustments Revised Budget 2022/23 Projected Expenditure / Income to 31 March 2023 Projected Variance Over / (Under) Service £m £m £m £m £m Expenditure Housing Revenue Account 65.851 (8.083) 57.768 50.787 (6.981) Total Expenditure 65.851 (8.083) 57.768 50.787 (6.981) Income CFCR (12.209) - (12.209) (12.209) - Capital Grants (4.327) 1.409 (2.918) (2.918) - Use of Reserves - - - - Affordable Housing Contribution (1.596) - (1.596) (1.596) - Prudential Borrowing (47.719) 6.674 (41.045) (34.064) 6.981 Total Income (65.851) 8.083 (57.768) (50.787) 6.981 Project Variance Comments Kitchen Programme (£2.997m) Aligned to revised Business Plan and labour shortages Electrical Rewiring (£1.532m) Aligned to revised Business Plan and labour shortages Roofing & Rendering (£2.152m) Aligned to revised Business Plan Central Heating (£0.973m) Aligned to revised Business Plan Total (£7.654m) 154
Page 155
2.17 Increased costs arising from tender inflation and supply chain issues have been identified in relation to some projects, including the Door Replacement Programme and Sheltered Housing Unit Improvements. Further cost pressures resulting from inflationary and supply chain issues continue to be monitored and a review of the potential impact on the Business Plan and Capital Programme will be undertaken to address any identified issues. Further information on the progress of all projects can be found in Appendix 2. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Cabinet agrees to (a) note the revisions to budgets outlined in the report; and (b) note (i) the General Services and HRA revised budgets at 30 November 2022; and (ii) the forecast expenditure to 31 March 2023. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The financial implications are as outlined in the report. Expenditure will continue to be closely monitored to ensure early action is taken regarding any projected underspends or overspends. Human Resources 4.2 None. Legal 4.3 None. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 None. Environmental and Sustainability 4.5 None. Key Priorities 4.6 This report directly supports the Council Plan 2019 to 2024 by maximising resources and providing value for money to support financially sustainable delivery models. Community Wealth Building 4.7 None. 155
Page 156
5. Consultation 5.1 Progress as outlined in this report has been approved by Executive Directors. Mark Boyd Head of Service (Finance) For further information please contact David Forbes, Senior Manager (Strategic Business Partner), on 01294 324551. Background Papers Capital Programme Performance to 31 March 2023 – Cabinet, 29 November 2022 156
Page 157
TOTAL PROJECT Project Description Total Project Budget Cumulative Expenditure to date Total Project Forecast Projected Over/ (Under) Spend Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Brought / Carry Forward to 2023/24 Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Year to Date Budget 2022/23 Actual Expenditure to 30 November 2022 Year to date Variance 2022/23 Projected Expenditure to 31st March 2023 Actual Over/ (Under) Spend for 2022/23 True Over/ (Under) Spend £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ EXPENDITURE Communities Nursery Education 15,790,489 15,171,330 15,790,489 0 2,280,827 0 2,280,827 0 1,661,667 1,661,667 2,280,827 0 0 Primary Schools 36,414,441 5,033,157 36,414,441 0 21,200,778 (16,508,379) 4,692,399 0 2,068,190 2,068,190 4,692,399 0 0 Secondary Schools 74,575,465 3,689,657 74,575,465 0 1,300,053 (381,000) 919,053 0 391,618 391,618 919,053 0 0 Special Education 25,443,178 25,287,270 25,443,178 0 903,203 0 903,203 0 747,296 747,296 903,203 0 0 Schools Other 298,000 151,457 298,000 0 191,892 0 191,892 0 45,349 45,349 191,892 0 0 Information & Culture 125,916 14,848 125,916 0 53,289 0 53,289 0 8,285 8,285 53,289 0 0 Completed Projects 87,824,335 87,797,419 87,824,335 0 3,679 0 3,679 0 (23,237) (23,237) 3,679 0 0 SUB TOTAL 240,471,825 137,145,138 240,471,825 0 25,933,721 (16,889,379) 9,044,342 0 4,899,167 4,899,167 9,044,342 0 0 Chief Executive Council IT Strategy 9,757,832 3,739,759 9,757,832 0 2,612,704 (57,418) 2,555,286 0 2,228,031 2,228,031 2,555,286 0 0 SUB TOTAL 9,757,832 3,739,759 9,757,832 0 2,612,704 (57,418) 2,555,286 0 2,228,031 2,228,031 2,555,286 0 0 Health & Social Care Management & Support 2,050,595 790,721 2,050,595 0 310,839 (93,810) 217,029 0 46,964 46,964 217,029 0 0 Housing Non HRA 686,065 329,554 686,065 0 686,065 0 686,065 0 329,554 329,554 686,065 0 0 Adults 4,608,078 4,586,323 4,608,078 0 46,804 0 46,804 0 25,049 25,049 46,804 0 0 Young People 5,720,000 5,214,446 5,579,718 (140,282) 628,264 0 628,264 0 122,710 122,710 487,982 (140,282) (140,282) SUB TOTAL 13,064,739 10,921,044 12,924,457 (140,282) 1,671,972 (93,810) 1,578,162 0 524,277 524,277 1,437,880 (140,282) (140,282) Place Roads 107,634,049 25,874,285 107,634,049 (1,000,000) 17,643,800 (1,000,000) 16,643,800 0 7,787,043 7,787,043 16,643,800 0 0 Streetscene 6,580,996 2,630,025 6,580,996 0 2,258,694 10,154 2,268,848 0 1,210,495 1,210,495 2,268,848 0 0 Transport 4,543,811 1,003,289 4,543,811 0 2,678,211 0 2,678,211 0 887,689 887,689 2,678,211 0 0 Waste Services 14,853,343 14,539,343 14,844,503 (8,840) 314,000 0 314,000 0 0 0 305,160 (8,840) (8,840) Renewable Energy 8,890,393 1,649,781 8,890,393 0 1,067,368 0 1,067,368 0 51,317 51,317 1,067,368 0 0 Office Accommodation 3,011,259 637,981 3,011,259 0 1,918,102 30,024 1,948,126 0 637,981 637,981 1,948,126 0 0 Other Property 5,986,638 439,107 5,986,638 0 987,925 0 987,925 0 56,477 56,477 987,925 0 0 Other Housing 350,000 0 350,000 0 350,000 0 350,000 0 0 0 350,000 0 0 Economic Development & Regeneration 151,300,983 27,352,180 151,300,983 0 15,523,313 (1,590,912) 13,932,401 0 5,315,617 5,315,617 13,932,401 0 0 Completed Projects 8,994,855 8,898,234 8,994,855 0 40,595 0 40,595 0 (45,823) (45,823) 40,595 0 0 SUB TOTAL 312,146,327 83,024,226 312,137,487 (1,008,840) 42,782,008 (2,550,734) 40,231,274 0 15,900,796 15,900,796 40,222,434 (8,840) (8,840) Other Other 9,325,741 0 9,325,741 0 2,371,616 2,371,616 0 0 0 2,371,616 0 0 SUB TOTAL 9,325,741 0 9,325,741 0 2,371,616 0 2,371,616 0 0 0 2,371,616 0 0 Uncertainty / Sensitivity Adjustment* (7,153,223) (7,153,223) (7,153,223) Total Project Expenditure 584,766,464 234,830,167 584,617,342 (1,149,122) 75,372,021 (26,744,564) 48,627,457 0 23,552,272 23,552,272 48,478,335 (149,122) (149,122) Total Project Income (75,372,021) 26,744,564 (48,627,457) (24,066,555) (24,066,555) 0 (48,478,335) 149,122 149,122 Total Net Expenditure 0 0 0 (24,066,555) (514,283) 23,552,272 0 0 0 * Sensitivity adjustment of 10% or 25% based on source and reliability of expenditure projections On Target (+0.5% of budget) On Target (up to 5% delay of original timescales) Slightly off target (+ 0.5% to 2% of budget, or £0.125m, whichever is less) Slightly off target (+ 5% to 10% of original timescales) Significantly off target (+2% or more of budget, or £0.500m, whichever is less) Significantly off target (+10% or more of original timescales) The following classifications have been used to highlight financial performance against budget CURRENT YEAR 2022/23 North Ayrshire Council Capital Statement 2022/23 Year Ended 31st March 2023 Period 8 The following classifications have been used to highlight delivery performance against original timescales set 157
Page 158
Revised Budget 22/23 Variance £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ CAPITAL BORROWING Prudential Borrowing 94,515,334 9,882,875 1,655,477 106,053,686 (74,119,640) 31,934,046 13,578,187 (18,355,859) SUB TOTAL 94,515,334 9,882,875 1,655,477 106,053,686 (74,119,640) 0 31,934,046 0 13,578,187 (18,355,859) SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT FUNDING Specific Capital Grants Early Learning & Childcare 464,253 517,775 982,028 0 982,028 978,659 982,028 0 Cycling / Walking /Safer Streets 1,111,122 38,831 (300,566) 849,387 (252,322) 597,065 261,387 597,065 0 Vacant & Derelict Land Funding 3,710,375 123,927 848,022 4,682,324 (1,595,199) 3,087,125 3,262,324 2,206,109 (881,016) UK Government Grant - AGD 2,040,120 2,040,120 0 2,040,120 0 2,040,120 0 Lochshore - Garnock Community Visitor Hub 0 50,000 50,000 0 50,000 50,000 50,000 0 Town Centre Regeneration 0 166,774 250,000 416,774 0 416,774 416,773 416,774 0 Stevenston Beach Hub 0 34,525 50,000 84,525 0 84,525 84,525 84,525 0 Annickbank - Vacant & Derelict Land Investment Programme 400,000 400,000 0 400,000 0 Millport Town Hall Regeneration 0 382,028 1,187,810 1,569,838 0 1,569,838 1,569,838 1,569,838 0 Millport Town Hall Phase 2 509,450 509,450 0 509,450 0 Islands Pit Stops 540,000 540,000 0 540,000 0 Place Based Investment Programme 706,000 147,903 346,040 1,199,943 0 1,199,943 2,292,944 1,199,943 0 Island Infrastructure Fund 0 259,000 259,000 0 259,000 259,000 259,000 0 B714 Improvements 857,907 197,160 1,055,067 156,933 1,212,000 1,212,000 1,212,000 0 Renewal of Play Parks 0 117,000 117,000 (117,000) 0 0 0 0 CO2 Monitors in Schools 0 122,000 122,000 0 122,000 122,000 122,000 0 Capital Grants Flooding 2,778,000 2,778,000 8,676,000 11,454,000 0 11,454,000 0 General Capital Grant 9,805,000 845,000 10,650,000 4,237,000 14,887,000 12,367,000 14,887,000 SUB TOTAL 22,039,777 1,780,923 3,035,306 26,856,006 12,554,862 0 39,410,868 22,876,449 38,529,852 (881,016) OTHER INCOME TO PROGRAMME CFCR 600,000 0 0 600,000 (582,200) 0 17,800 0 17,800 0 Grants & Contributions 1,925,682 866,594 1,539,395 4,331,671 (788,568) 0 3,543,103 982,458 3,039,515 (503,588) Capital Receipts 352,500 0 0 352,500 113,704 0 466,204 207,648 466,204 0 SUB TOTAL 7,597,157 1,050,109 1,628,337 10,275,603 (6,248,496) 0 4,027,107 1,190,106 3,523,519 (503,588) TOTAL CAPITAL PROGRAMME FUNDING 124,152,268 12,713,907 6,319,120 143,185,295 (67,813,274) 0 75,372,021 24,066,555 55,631,558 (19,740,463) 22/23 Budget at Capital Refresh Mar 2022 Capital Programme Funding 2022/23 Projected Income to 31st March 2023 Approved budget at Period 1 used as revised starting point 2022/23 Actual Income to 30 November 2022Funding Description Carry Forward from 2021/22 Changes after Capital Refresh Mar 2022 Total Changes in Year Changes at Capital Refresh Mar 2023 158
Page 159
COMMUNITIES MILESTONE Total Project Budget Cumulative Expenditure to date Total Project Forecast Projected Over/ (Under) Spend Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Year to Date Budget 2022/23 Actual Expenditure to 30 November 2022 Year to date Variance 2022/23 Projected Expenditure to 31 March 2023 Actual Over/ (Under) Spend for 2022/23 True Over/(Under) Spend Brought / Carry Forward to 2023/24 Original Target Revised Forecast Current Project Stage Delivery Status Financial Delivery Status Physical £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Nursery Education Early Years Programme ST BRIDGETS EARLY YEARS 785,068 770,580 785,068 0 7,969 0 (6,519) (6,519) 7,969 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target KILMORY EARLY YEARS 55,978 28,117 55,978 0 27,986 0 125 125 27,986 0 0 15-Aug-22 15-Aug-22 Pre Tender On Target On Target ST PETERS EARLY YEARS 1,261,310 1,226,705 1,261,310 0 42,333 0 7,728 7,728 42,333 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target MAYFIELD PS EARLY YEARS 215,850 215,542 215,850 0 5,820 0 5,512 5,512 5,820 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target BEITH PS EARLY YEARS 341,321 339,763 341,321 0 6,540 0 4,983 4,983 6,540 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target SKELMORLIE PS EARLY YEARS 366,440 346,635 366,440 0 11,492 0 (8,313) (8,313) 11,492 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target WEST KILBRIDE EARLY EARLY YEARS 232,807 220,254 232,807 0 11,531 0 (1,022) (1,022) 11,531 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target GATESIDE EARLY YEARS 407,478 407,478 407,478 0 2,613 0 2,612 2,612 2,613 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target FAIRLIE EARLY YEARS 204,528 204,528 204,528 0 878 0 878 878 878 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target DREGHORN EARLY YEARS 84,784 82,843 84,784 0 2,341 0 400 400 2,341 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target LARGS CAMPUS EARLY YEARS 45,836 45,869 45,836 0 0 0 33 33 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target MOORPARK EARLY YEARS 1,000 182 1,000 0 818 0 0 0 818 0 0 14-Aug-20 15-Aug-22 Development On Target On Target PIRNMILL EARLY YEARS 80,000 43,330 80,000 0 77,510 0 40,840 40,840 77,510 0 0 31-Oct-21 15-Aug-22 Pre Tender On Target On Target SHISKINE EARLY YEARS 74,808 100,298 74,808 0 18,650 0 44,140 44,140 18,650 0 0 31-Oct-21 15-Aug-22 Pre Tender On Target On Target CORRIE EARLY YEARS 38,606 24,708 38,606 0 37,046 0 23,149 23,149 37,046 0 0 31-Oct-21 15-Aug-22 Pre Tender On Target On Target LAMLASH EARLY YEARS 15,000 807 15,000 0 14,318 0 125 125 14,318 0 0 31-Oct-21 15-Aug-22 Development On Target On Target BRODICK EARLY YEARS 302,590 322,203 302,590 0 294,151 0 313,764 313,764 294,151 0 0 31-Oct-21 15-Aug-22 Development On Target On Target MARRESS HOUSE 3,430,394 3,116,258 3,430,394 0 1,503,052 0 1,188,915 1,188,915 1,503,052 0 0 22-Jul-22 28-Feb-23 Construction On Target Significantly off target result of poor performance by the contractor and continuing issues with the condition of the existing building Completed Nursery Education LAWTHORN EARLY YEARS 201,037 201,037 201,037 0 77 0 77 77 77 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Other Nursery Education ANNICK PRIMARY EXT - EARLY YRS PROVISION 3,201,415 3,029,954 3,201,415 0 215,702 0 44,241 44,241 215,702 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target Total Nursery Education 15,790,489 15,171,330 15,790,489 0 2,280,827 0 1,661,667 1,661,667 2,280,827 0 0 0 Primary Schools MOORPARK PRIMARY 10,849,442 4,188,095 10,849,442 0 8,035,005 0 1,373,659 1,373,659 3,086,371 (4,948,634) (4,948,634) 30-Sep-22 30-Sep-23 Construction Slightly off target Significantly off target Delays are being experienced by the contractor and wider supply chain. MONTGOMERIE PARK SCHOOL 14,470,000 643,275 14,470,000 0 9,261,273 0 493,006 493,006 884,778 (8,376,495) (8,376,495) 30-Apr-24 05-Jul-24 Tender Significantly off target On Target Revised project costs £2.550m above initial budget as reported to Cabinet on 27/4/22 UNIVERSAL FREE SCHOOL MEALS EXPANSION 3,205,000 0 3,205,000 0 3,130,750 0 0 0 0 (3,130,750) (3,130,750) 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Tender On Target On Target UFSM ARDEER PRIMARY SCHOOL 22,500 0 22,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Tender On Target On Target UFSM BEITH PRIMARY SCHOOL 22,500 0 22,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Tender On Target On Target UFSM BRODICK PRIMARY SCHOOL 225,000 106,075 225,000 0 191,250 0 106,075 106,075 191,250 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete UFSM CALEDONIA PRIMARY SCHOOL 60,000 0 60,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Aug-23 31-Aug-23 Feasibility On Target On Target UFSM CASTLEPARK PRIMARY SCHOOL 105,000 0 105,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Aug-23 31-Aug-23 Tender On Target On Target UFSM CORRIE PRIMARY SCHOOL 52,500 41,586 52,500 0 52,500 0 41,586 41,586 52,500 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete UFSM CORSEHILL PRIMARY SCHOOL 60,000 0 60,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Aug-23 31-Aug-23 Tender On Target On Target UFSM GARNOCK COMMUNITY CAMPUS 90,000 0 90,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Aug-23 31-Aug-23 Tender On Target On Target UFSM GLEBE PRIMARY SCHOOL 2,125,000 0 2,125,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Aug-24 31-Aug-24 Tender On Target On Target UFSM GLENCAIRN PRIMARY SCHOOL 22,500 0 22,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Tender On Target On Target UFSM HAYOCKS PRIMARY SCHOOL 82,500 0 82,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Aug-23 31-Aug-23 Development On Target On Target UFSM KILMORY PRIMARY SCHOOL 30,000 0 30,000 0 30,000 0 0 0 0 (30,000) (30,000) 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Tender On Target On Target UFSM LARGS PRIMARY SCHOOL 300,000 0 300,000 0 255,000 0 0 0 255,000 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete UFSM LOUDOUN-MONTGOMERY PRIMARY SCHOOL 2,125,000 0 2,125,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Aug-24 31-Aug-24 Tender On Target On Target UFSM PENNYBURN PRIMARY SCHOOL 22,500 0 22,500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Tender On Target On Target UFSM SHISKINE PRIMARY SCHOOL 22,500 22,360 22,500 0 22,500 0 22,360 22,360 22,500 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete UFSM WEST KILBRIDE PRIMARY SCHOOL 2,500,000 31,766 2,500,000 0 200,000 0 31,505 31,505 200,000 0 0 31-Aug-24 31-Jan-23 Tender On Target On Target UFSM WHITING BAY PRIMARY SCHOOL 22,500 0 22,500 0 22,500 0 0 0 0 (22,500) (22,500) 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Tender On Target On Target Total Primary Education 36,414,441 5,033,157 36,414,441 0 21,200,778 0 2,068,190 2,068,190 4,692,399 (16,508,379) 0 (16,508,379) Secondary Schools KILWINNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT 2,805,435 2,426,329 2,805,435 0 127,953 0 71,926 71,926 127,953 0 0 31-Aug-21 31-Mar-24 Construction On Target On Target AYRSHIRE COLLEGE PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT 200,000 0 200,000 0 200,000 0 0 0 200,000 0 0 31-Mar-22 31-Jan-23 Future Years On Target On Target ARDROSSAN NEW BUILD 71,570,030 1,263,328 71,570,030 0 972,100 0 319,691 319,691 591,100 (381,000) (381,000) 31-Aug-26 31-Aug-26 In Development Slightly off target Slightly off target Delayed expenditure linked to anticipated delays and inflationary pressures linked to the advance works tender process. Total Secondary Education 74,575,465 3,689,657 74,575,465 0 1,300,053 0 391,618 391,618 919,053 (381,000) 0 (381,000) CAPITAL MONITORING 2022/23 CommentsProject Description TOTAL PROJECT COMPLETION DATES DELIVERY STATUS2022/23 BUDGETS 159
Page 160
COMMUNITIES MILESTONE Total Project Budget Cumulative Expenditure to date Total Project Forecast Projected Over/ (Under) Spend Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Year to Date Budget 2022/23 Actual Expenditure to 30 November 2022 Year to date Variance 2022/23 Projected Expenditure to 31 March 2023 Actual Over/ (Under) Spend for 2022/23 True Over/(Under) Spend Brought / Carry Forward to 2023/24 Original Target Revised Forecast Current Project Stage Delivery Status Financial Delivery Status Physical CAPITAL MONITORING 2022/23 CommentsProject Description TOTAL PROJECT COMPLETION DATES DELIVERY STATUS2022/23 BUDGETS Special Education LOCKHART CAMPUS 25,443,178 25,287,270 25,443,178 0 903,203 0 747,296 747,296 903,203 0 0 Complete Complete Snagging On Target On Target Total Special Education 25,443,178 25,287,270 25,443,178 0 903,203 0 747,296 747,296 903,203 0 0 0 Schools Other CO2 MONITORS IN SCHOOLS 298,000 151,457 298,000 0 191,892 0 45,349 45,349 191,892 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target Total Schools Other 298,000 151,457 298,000 0 191,892 0 45,349 45,349 191,892 0 0 0 Information & Culture CASTLES & HISTORIC MONUMENTS 50,740 8,285 50,740 0 50,740 0 8,285 8,285 50,740 0 0 Holding Code Holding Code Holding Code Holding Code Holding Code ABBEY TOWER 75,176 6,563 75,176 0 2,549 0 0 0 2,549 0 0 Autumn 2023 Autumn 2023 Planning On Hold On Hold Total Information & Cultural 125,916 14,848 125,916 0 53,289 0 8,285 8,285 53,289 0 0 0 Completed Projects ST BRIDGETS PRIMARY SCHOOL 143,178 141,967 143,178 0 0 0 (1,211) (1,211) 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete GARNOCK CAMPUS 40,307,259 40,283,664 40,307,259 0 2,893 0 (20,702) (20,702) 2,893 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete AUCHENHARVIE SECONDARY ESTATE LEARNING ENVT 3,112,120 3,111,334 3,112,120 0 786 0 0 0 786 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete KILWINNING ESTATE SECONDARY PITCH 712,080 710,756 712,080 0 0 0 (1,324) (1,324) 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Budget to be taken from Secondary Schools Learning Environment Total Completed Projects 87,824,335 87,797,419 87,824,335 0 3,679 0 (23,237) (23,237) 3,679 0 0 0 Total Communities 240,471,825 137,145,138 240,471,825 0 25,933,721 0 4,899,167 4,899,167 9,044,342 (16,889,379) 0 (16,889,379) 160
Page 161
CHIEF EXECUTIVE MILESTONE Total Project Budget Cumulative Expenditure to date Total Project Forecast Projected Over/ (Under) Spend Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Year to Date Budget 2022/23 Actual Expenditure to 30 November 2022 Year to Date Variance 2022/23 Projected Expenditure to 31 March 2023 Actual Over/ (Under) Spend for 2022/23 True Over/(Under) Spend Brought / Carry Forward to 2023/24 Original Target Revised Forecast Current Project Stage Delivery Status Financial Delivery Status Physical £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Council IT Strategy SCHOOLS ICT INVESTMENT * 1,215,537 1,297,915 1,215,537 0 1,215,537 0 1,297,915 1,297,915 1,297,915 82,378 82,378 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 On-going On Target On Target ICT INVESTMENT FUND 3,822,986 943,746 3,822,986 0 519,796 0 313,956 313,956 430,000 (89,796) (89,796) 31-Mar-26 31-Mar-26 On-going On Target On Target WAN 857,100 347,190 857,100 0 94,297 0 84,386 84,386 94,297 0 0 31-Mar-28 31-Mar-28 Implementation On Target On Target LAN/WiFi 2,673,000 913,375 2,673,000 0 691,816 0 542,191 542,191 691,816 0 0 31-Mar-28 31-Mar-28 Implementation On Target On Target TELEPHONY 1,146,693 195,631 1,146,693 0 86,988 0 (14,074) (14,074) 36,988 (50,000) (50,000) 31-Mar-28 31-Mar-28 Implementation On Target On Target OUR FUTURE WORKING ENVIRONMENT 42,516 41,903 42,516 0 4,270 0 3,657 3,657 4,270 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Procurement On Target On Target Total IT Strategy 9,757,832 3,739,759 9,757,832 0 2,612,704 0 2,228,031 2,228,031 2,555,286 (57,418) 0 (57,418) Total Chief Executive 9,757,832 3,739,759 9,757,832 0 2,612,704 0 2,228,031 2,228,031 2,555,286 (57,418) 0 (57,418) CAPITAL MONITORING 2022/23 CommentsProject Description COMPLETION DATESTOTAL PROJECT DELIVERY STATUS2022/23 BUDGETS 161
Page 162
HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE MILESTONE Total Project Budget Cumulative Expenditure to date Total Project Forecast Projected Over/ (Under) Spend Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Year to Date Budget 2022/23 Actual Expenditure to 30 November 2022 Year to Date Variance 2022/23 Projected Expenditure to 31 March 2023 Actual Over/ (Under) Spend for 2022/23 True Over/(Under) Spend Brought / Carry Forward to 2023/24 Original Target Revised Forecast Current Project Stage Delivery Status Financial Delivery Status Physical £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Management & Support HOME CARE SYSTEM 433,917 433,917 433,917 0 42,682 0 42,682 42,682 42,682 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete COMMUNITY ALARMS - ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL 996,000 4,190 996,000 0 0 0 4,190 4,190 6,190 6,190 6,190 31-Dec-23 31-Dec-23 Future Years On Target On Target CAREFIRST REPLACEMENT 536,058 267,993 536,058 0 268,157 0 92 92 168,157 (100,000) (100,000) 31-Aug-24 31-Aug-24 In development On Target On Target Total Management & Support 2,050,595 790,721 2,050,595 0 310,839 0 46,964 46,964 217,029 (93,810) 0 (93,810) Housing Non HRA IMPROVEMENT GRANTS * 686,065 329,554 686,065 0 686,065 0 329,554 329,554 686,065 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Ongoing On Target On Target Total Housing Non HRA 686,065 329,554 686,065 0 686,065 0 329,554 329,554 686,065 0 0 0 Adults TRINDLEMOSS 4,608,078 4,586,323 4,608,078 0 46,804 0 25,049 25,049 46,804 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Total Older People 4,608,078 4,586,323 4,608,078 0 46,804 0 25,049 25,049 46,804 0 0 0 Young People RESIDENTIAL & RESPITE UNIT 5,720,000 5,214,446 5,579,718 (140,282) 628,264 0 122,710 122,710 487,982 (140,282) (140,282) 0 Complete Complete Snagging On Target On Target Underspend reported due to efficient project and financial management Total Young People 5,720,000 5,214,446 5,579,718 (140,282) 628,264 0 122,710 122,710 487,982 (140,282) (140,282) 0 Total Health & Social Care 13,064,739 10,921,044 12,924,457 (140,282) 1,671,972 0 524,277 524,277 1,437,880 (234,092) (140,282) (93,810) CAPITAL MONITORING 2022/23 2022/23 BUDGETSTOTAL PROJECT COMPLETION DATES CommentsProject Description DELIVERY STATUS 162
Page 163
PLACE MILESTONE Total Project Budget Cumulative Expenditure to date Total Project Forecast Projected Over/ (Under) Spend Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Year to Date Budget 2022/23 Actual Expenditure to 30 November 2022 Year to Date Variance 2022/23 Projected Expenditure to 31 March 2023 Actual Over/ (Under) Spend for 2022/23 True Over/ (Under) Spend Brought / Carry Forward to 2023/4 Original Target Revised Forecast Current Project Stage Delivery Status Financial Delivery Status Physical £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Roads ROADS IMPROVE/RECONSTRUCTION * 4,814,795 4,814,795 4,814,795 0 4,814,795 0 3,786,662 3,786,662 4,814,795 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Multiple Projects On Target On Target A737 DALRY BYPASS 210,000 210,000 210,000 0 210,000 0 49,454 49,454 210,000 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 In Development On Target On Target TRAFFIC CALMING 175,000 0 175,000 0 100,000 0 0 0 100,000 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 In Development On Target On Target VEHICLE RESTRAINT SYSTEM UPGRADE 100,000 0 100,000 0 100,000 0 0 0 100,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 In Development On Target On Target LIGHTING * 1,587,827 626,897 1,587,827 0 1,587,827 0 626,897 626,897 1,587,827 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Multiple Projects On Target On Target LED LIGHTING REPLACEMENT 695,000 167,170 695,000 0 492,190 0 167,170 167,170 492,190 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Multiple Projects On Target On Target A737 DALRY BYPASS LIGHTING 20,685 0 20,685 0 20,685 0 0 0 20,685 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Preparing Works PackagesOn Target On Target UPPER GARNOCK FPS 18,503,800 17,178,254 18,503,800 0 3,454,934 0 2,129,388 2,129,388 3,454,934 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Slightly off target Slightly off target The contractor did not achieve the programme before winter. The drainage and topsoiling/ seeding cannot be completed until next spring MILLPORT COASTAL FPS 48,599,796 1,285,080 48,599,796 0 4,000,000 0 20,283 20,283 3,000,000 (1,000,000) (1,000,000) 31-Aug-24 31-Aug-24 Construction Slightly off target On Target Delay the final construction tender award due to a challenge being received MILLBURN FPS 1,757,000 193,347 1,757,000 0 60,000 0 6,329 6,329 60,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-24 Design On Target Significantly off Delays in the design process MILLPORT PIER 500,000 150,080 500,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31-Mar-25 31-Mar-25 In Development On Target On Target BRIDGES INFRASTRUCTURE PROG * 1,000,000 538,753 1,000,000 0 1,000,000 0 538,753 538,753 1,000,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Multiple Projects On Target On Target LARGS PROMENADE SEAWALL 3,039,000 256,621 3,039,000 0 160,840 0 145,993 145,993 160,840 0 0 31-Oct-23 31-Oct-23 Design Slightly off target On Target Increased tender cost risks identified B714 UPGRADE 26,063,443 307,727 26,063,443 0 1,212,000 0 307,727 307,727 1,212,000 0 0 31-Mar-25 31-Mar-25 Outline Design On Target On Target LARGS CAR PARK INFRASTRUCTURE 60,000 54,467 60,000 0 5,533 0 0 0 5,533 0 0 30-Jun-22 30-Jun-22 Planning On Target On Target GALLOWGATE TOILETS 250,000 3,977 250,000 0 247,316 0 1,294 1,294 247,316 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target PARKING CHARGES & DPE 257,705 87,119 257,705 0 177,680 0 7,095 7,095 177,680 0 0 31-Mar-23 01-Jul-23 In Development On Target On Target Total Roads 107,634,049 25,874,285 107,634,049 0 17,643,800 0 7,787,043 7,787,043 16,643,800 (1,000,000) 0 (1,000,000) Streetscene CEMETERY EXTNS, WALLS & INFRA * 717,579 1,877 717,579 0 (8,900) 0 1,877 1,877 0 8,900 8,900 Holding Code Holding Code Holding Code Holding Code Holding Code LAMLASH CEMETERY EXTENSION 715,065 715,065 715,065 0 30,540 0 30,540 30,540 30,540 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete ARDROSSAN CEMETERY PLOTS AND WALLS 217,922 150,703 217,922 0 67,219 0 0 0 67,219 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete KILBIRNIE CEMETERY 623,833 34,605 623,833 0 9,220 0 9,223 9,223 9,223 3 3 31-Mar-25 31-Mar-25 Feasibility Works On Hold On Hold KILWINNING CEMETERY NEW 1,240,642 692,201 1,240,642 0 953,868 0 603,756 603,756 953,868 0 0 01-Sep-22 31-May-23 Construction On Target Significantly off Contractor appointed and work commenced KNADGERHILL CEMETERY EXTENSION 443,581 390,453 443,581 0 49,340 0 (3,787) (3,787) 49,340 0 0 01-Oct-22 01-Oct-22 Construction On Target On Target WEST KILBRIDE CEMETERY 349,622 218,694 349,622 0 310,902 0 187,481 187,481 310,902 0 0 25-Nov-22 25-Nov-22 Construction On Target On Target STEVENSTON CEMETERY 545,429 205,021 545,429 0 467,991 0 161,193 161,193 467,991 0 0 23-Dec-22 23-Dec-22 Construction On Target On Target BRODICK CEMETERY 12,000 7,021 12,000 0 7,021 0 7,021 7,021 7,021 0 0 Future years Future years Planning On Hold On Hold KILBIRNIE CEMETERY WALL 188,370 2,043 188,370 0 90,000 0 2,043 2,043 90,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 30-Apr-23 Feasibility Works On Target On Target BEITH CEMETERY-WALL REPAIRS 87,542 3,122 87,542 0 40,000 0 2,533 2,533 40,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 30-Apr-23 Feasibility Works On Target On Target ABBEY TOWER CEMETERY WALL 95,550 2,314 95,550 0 3,520 0 2,314 2,314 3,520 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Feasibility Works On Target On Target HAWKHILL CEMETERY-WALL REPAIRS 108,732 1,811 108,732 0 560 0 1,811 1,811 1,811 1,251 1,251 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Feasibility Works On Target On Target WEST KILBRIDE CEMETERY WALL 99,528 771 99,528 0 2,413 0 771 771 2,413 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Feasibility Works On Hold On Hold STREET FURNITURE IMPROVEMENT 0 34,091 0 0 0 0 34,091 34,091 0 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target PARK ENABLING WORKS 0 60,343 0 0 0 0 60,343 60,343 0 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target RENEWAL OF PLAY PARKS 235,000 109,288 235,000 0 235,000 0 109,288 109,288 235,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Construction On Target On Target Total Streetscene 6,580,996 2,630,025 6,580,996 0 2,258,694 0 1,210,495 1,210,495 2,268,848 10,154 0 10,154 Transport VEHICLES * 1,828,533 763,773 1,828,533 0 1,828,533 0 763,773 763,773 1,828,533 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Ongoing On Target On Target WORKPLACE CHARGERS 215,278 210,356 215,278 0 99,678 0 94,756 94,756 99,678 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Ongoing On Target On Target FLEET DECARBONISATION 2,500,000 29,160 2,500,000 0 750,000 0 29,160 29,160 750,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Ongoing On Target On Target Total Transport 4,543,811 1,003,289 4,543,811 0 2,678,211 0 887,689 887,689 2,678,211 0 0 0 Waste Services SHEWALTON LANDFILL 13,586,542 13,272,542 13,577,702 (8,840) 314,000 0 0 0 305,160 (8,840) (8,840) 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete The final purchase price was reduced Total Waste Services 14,853,343 14,539,343 14,844,503 (8,840) 314,000 0 0 0 305,160 (8,840) (8,840) 0 Renewable Energy SOLAR PV RETROFIT EXTENSION 120,000 41,795 120,000 0 78,205 0 0 0 78,205 0 0 31-Jul-22 31-Jul-22 Future years On Target On Target SOLAR PV INVESTMENT - NETHERMAINS 6,768,000 62,894 6,768,000 0 500,000 0 19,454 19,454 500,000 0 0 30-Apr-24 30-Apr-24 Work Ongoing On Target On Target SOLAR PV INVESTMENT - SHEWALTON 0 640 0 0 0 0 640 640 0 0 0 30-Oct-24 30-Oct-24 Work Ongoing On Target On Target NON DOMESTIC ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMME 1,000,000 890,890 1,000,000 0 63,589 0 (45,521) (45,521) 63,589 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Work Ongoing On Target On Target NATURE RESTORATION FUND 356,000 0 356,000 0 356,000 0 0 0 356,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target ELECTRIC VEHICLES INFRASTRUCTURE 646,392 653,562 646,392 0 69,574 0 76,744 76,744 69,574 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Various On Target On Target Total Renewable Energy 8,890,393 1,649,781 8,890,393 0 1,067,368 0 51,317 51,317 1,067,368 0 0 0 CAPITAL MONITORING 2022/23 Project Description TOTAL PROJECT 2022/23 BUDGETS COMPLETION DATES DELIVERY STATUS Comments 163
Page 164
PLACE MILESTONE Total Project Budget Cumulative Expenditure to date Total Project Forecast Projected Over/ (Under) Spend Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Year to Date Budget 2022/23 Actual Expenditure to 30 November 2022 Year to Date Variance 2022/23 Projected Expenditure to 31 March 2023 Actual Over/ (Under) Spend for 2022/23 True Over/ (Under) Spend Brought / Carry Forward to 2023/4 Original Target Revised Forecast Current Project Stage Delivery Status Financial Delivery Status Physical CAPITAL MONITORING 2022/23 Project Description TOTAL PROJECT 2022/23 BUDGETS COMPLETION DATES DELIVERY STATUS Comments Office Accommodation PROPERTY LIFECYCLE INVESTMENT * 132,290 0 132,290 0 132,290 0 0 0 132,290 0 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Mulitple projects On Target On Target PLI CENTRAL AVE STREETSCENE DEPOT* 93,203 59,914 93,203 0 93,203 0 59,914 59,914 93,203 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI BEITH CEMETERY 429 429 429 0 429 0 429 429 429 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI WEST KILBRIDE COMMUNITY CENTRE 100,000 98,575 100,000 0 100,000 0 98,575 98,575 100,000 0 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI WOODWYND HALL 2,000 0 2,000 0 2,000 0 0 0 2,000 0 0 0 21-Oct-22 21-Oct-22 Planning On Target On Target PLI PORTLAND PLACE 27,967 0 27,967 0 27,967 0 0 0 27,967 0 0 0 31-Dec-22 31-Dec-22 Planning On Target On Target PLI PADDOCKHOLM DEPOT 10,000 0 10,000 0 10,000 0 0 0 10,000 0 0 0 21-Oct-22 21-Oct-22 Planning On Target On Target PLI WEST BYREHILL DEPOT 160,513 28,295 160,513 0 160,513 0 28,295 28,295 160,513 0 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI GOLDCRAIGS DEPOT 134,000 14,024 134,000 0 134,000 0 14,024 14,024 14,024 (119,976) (119,976) 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-24 Planning On Target On Target PLI ANNICK PRIMARY SCHOOL 0 5,825 0 0 0 0 5,825 5,825 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI ARDEER PRIMARY SCHOOL 2,952 2,952 2,952 0 2,952 0 2,952 2,952 2,952 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI BLACKLANDS PRIMARY SCHOOL 210,000 190,944 210,000 0 210,000 0 190,944 190,944 210,000 0 0 31-Oct-22 31-Oct-22 Construction On Target On Target PLI CALEDONIA PRIMARY SCHOOL 15,000 3,886 15,000 0 15,000 0 3,886 3,886 15,000 0 0 30-Nov-22 30-Nov-22 Planning On Target On Target PLI DALRY PRIMARY SCHOOL 89,000 6,704 89,000 0 19,907 0 6,704 6,704 19,907 0 0 18-Aug-23 18-Aug-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI FAIRLIE PRIMARY SCHOOL 3,691 0 3,691 0 3,691 0 0 0 3,691 0 0 31-Dec-22 31-Dec-22 Planning On Target On Target PLI GLENCAIRN PRIMARY SCHOOL 175,759 155,088 175,759 0 175,759 0 155,088 155,088 175,759 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI PENNYBURN PRIMARY 415,450 0 415,450 0 35,000 0 0 0 35,000 0 0 31-Aug-23 31-Aug-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI ST BRIDGETS PRIMARY 5,500 0 5,500 0 5,500 0 0 0 5,500 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI SHISKINE PRIMARY 3,927 28 3,927 0 3,927 0 28 28 3,927 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI SKELMORLIE PRIMARY SCHOOL 83,500 0 83,500 0 8,500 0 0 0 8,500 0 0 31-Aug-23 31-Aug-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI ST JOHN OGILVIE PRIMARY SCHOOL 50,247 13,323 50,247 0 50,247 0 13,323 13,323 50,247 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI WEST KILBRIDE PRIMARY* 325 325 325 0 325 0 325 325 325 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI WOODLANDS PRIMARY 5,553 5,553 5,553 0 5,553 0 5,553 5,553 5,553 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI AUCHENHARVIE ACADEMY* 471,820 18,631 471,820 0 471,820 0 18,631 18,631 471,820 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI IRVINE ROYAL ACADEMY* 378,711 10,171 378,711 0 10,097 0 10,171 10,171 10,097 0 0 31-Aug-23 31-Aug-23 Pupil Toilets: Complete AW Pitches: TenderOn Target Significantly off target Resource pressures within PMI resulting in this project being delayed PLI KILWINNING ACADEMY 270,000 12,213 270,000 0 70,000 0 12,213 12,213 220,000 150,000 150,000 31-Aug-23 31-Aug-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI 6A KILWINNING ROAD 7,619 7,619 7,619 0 7,619 0 7,619 7,619 7,619 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete PLI LARGS LIBRARY 5,000 0 5,000 0 5,000 0 0 0 5,000 0 0 31-Dec-22 31-Dec-22 Planning On Target On Target PLI CUNNINGHAME HOUSE 98,273 3,482 98,273 0 98,273 0 3,482 3,482 98,273 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI H&SCP 47 WEST ROAD 10,000 0 10,000 0 10,000 0 0 0 10,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI GALT HOUSE 12,486 0 12,486 0 12,486 0 0 0 12,486 0 0 31-Jan-23 31-Jan-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI ACHNAMARA CHILDREN'S UNIT 25,000 0 25,000 0 25,000 0 0 0 25,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target PLI THE MEADOWS 4,044 0 4,044 0 4,044 0 0 0 4,044 0 0 31-Dec-22 31-Dec-22 Planning On Target On Target PLI GARNOCK CAMPUS 7,000 0 7,000 0 7,000 0 0 0 7,000 0 0 31-Dec-22 31-Dec-22 Planning On Target On Target Total Office Accommodation 3,011,259 637,981 3,011,259 0 1,918,102 0 637,981 637,981 1,948,126 30,024 0 30,024 Other Property INDUSTRIAL PORTFOLIO * 430,713 0 430,713 0 430,713 0 0 0 430,713 0 0 On Hold On Hold Multiple projects On Target On Target HOME 4,470,199 288,648 4,470,199 0 100,000 0 50,533 50,533 100,000 0 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 In development On Target On Target BUILD 284,086 45,049 284,086 0 247,284 0 8,248 8,248 247,284 0 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 In development On Target On Target EMERGENCY CONTROL CTR 158,000 1,220 158,000 0 158,000 0 1,220 1,220 158,000 0 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 In development On Target On Target GOLDCRAIGS REFURBISHMENT 509,000 0 509,000 0 25,000 0 0 0 25,000 0 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 In development On Target On Target WOODLANDS PRIMARY PLAYINGFIELD DRAINAGE 134,640 104,190 134,640 0 26,928 0 (3,523) (3,523) 26,928 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target Total Property 5,986,638 439,107 5,986,638 0 987,925 0 56,477 56,477 987,925 0 0 0 Other Housing CCTV REVIEW 350,000 0 350,000 0 350,000 0 0 0 350,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target Total Other Housing 350,000 0 350,000 0 350,000 0 0 0 350,000 0 0 0 164
Page 165
PLACE MILESTONE Total Project Budget Cumulative Expenditure to date Total Project Forecast Projected Over/ (Under) Spend Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Year to Date Budget 2022/23 Actual Expenditure to 30 November 2022 Year to Date Variance 2022/23 Projected Expenditure to 31 March 2023 Actual Over/ (Under) Spend for 2022/23 True Over/ (Under) Spend Brought / Carry Forward to 2023/4 Original Target Revised Forecast Current Project Stage Delivery Status Financial Delivery Status Physical CAPITAL MONITORING 2022/23 Project Description TOTAL PROJECT 2022/23 BUDGETS COMPLETION DATES DELIVERY STATUS Comments Regeneration TOWN CENTRE REGENERATION 1,290,257 1,055,769 1,290,257 0 416,774 0 182,287 182,287 416,774 0 0 30-Sep-22 31-Mar-23 Construction On Target On Target REPURPOSING PROPERTY GRANT FUND 330,000 24,771 330,000 0 329,320 0 24,091 24,091 329,320 0 0 30-May-25 30-May-25 In development On Target On Target STEVENSTON BEACH HUB 180,000 180,000 180,000 0 84,525 0 84,525 84,525 84,525 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete MILLPORT TOWN HALL REGENERATION 2,103,330 1,595,972 2,103,330 0 1,569,838 0 1,062,480 1,062,480 1,569,838 0 0 31-Dec-22 31-Mar-23 Construction On Target On Target MILLPORT TOWN HALL PHASE 2 509,450 0 509,450 0 509,450 0 0 0 509,450 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Construction On Target On Target ISLANDS PIT STOPS 540,000 0 540,000 0 540,000 0 0 0 540,000 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 In development On Target On Target ISLAND INFRASTRUCTURE FUND 259,000 94,915 259,000 0 259,000 0 94,915 94,915 259,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 In development On Target On Target PLACE BASED INVESTMENT PROGRAMME (PBIP) 240,000 325,475 240,000 0 209,223 0 294,698 294,698 209,223 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 In development On Target On Target PBIP 36 BANK STREET 780,000 63,274 780,000 0 751,400 0 34,675 34,675 751,400 0 0 31-Dec-24 31-Dec-24 In development On Target On Target IRVINE HIGH STREET 2,837,316 2,706,355 2,837,316 0 165,818 0 34,857 34,857 165,818 0 0 Complete Complete Defects Period Complete Complete MILLPORT CARS 255,611 231,239 255,611 0 255,611 0 231,239 231,239 255,611 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Construction On Target On Target MONTGOMERIE PARK MASTERPLAN 3,718,598 1,755,130 3,718,598 0 136,264 0 12,796 12,796 136,264 0 0 31-Mar-30 31-Mar-30 In development On Target On Target LOCHSHORE, KILBIRNIE 2,053,106 1,137,055 2,053,106 0 1,484,254 0 568,204 568,204 1,484,254 0 0 31-May-25 31-May-25 In development On Target On Target LOCHSHORE GARNOCK HUB 4,195,999 3,980,361 4,195,999 0 1,377,575 0 1,161,937 1,161,937 1,377,575 0 0 Complete Complete Complete On Target On Target VDLF - IRVINE KYLE ROAD SITE PREP* 1,421,369 1,421,110 1,421,369 0 439 0 180 180 439 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete VDLF - KYLE ROAD PHASE 2 267,066 148,395 267,066 0 245,893 0 127,222 127,222 245,893 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 In development On Target On Target VDLF - ANNICKBANK PH 3* 1,481,000 116,261 1,481,000 0 475,000 0 59,220 59,220 475,000 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Tender On Target On Target VDLF - DEVELOPMENT WORK* 345,000 76,602 345,000 0 150,000 0 27,340 27,340 150,000 0 0 30-Sep-23 30-Sep-23 In development On Target On Target VDLF - DALRY RD SALTCOATS* 5,125 4,153 5,125 0 2,220 0 1,248 1,248 2,220 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Delivery On Target On Target VDLF - STRATEGY 50,000 6,019 50,000 0 50,000 0 6,019 6,019 50,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 In development On Target On Target VDLF - TREE PLANTING 50,000 2,400 50,000 0 7,600 0 0 0 7,600 0 0 31-Dec-23 31-Dec-23 In development On Target On Target QUARRY ROAD PHASE 2 5,209,497 5,205,219 5,209,497 0 25,301 0 21,023 21,023 25,301 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete VDLF - GAS WORKS (DALRY)* 173,896 166,061 173,896 0 0 0 (7,835) (7,835) 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete CYCLING/WALKING/SAFER STREETS * 559,956 345,183 559,956 0 559,956 0 261,387 261,387 559,956 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Various On Target On Target ACCESS PATH NETWORK PROGRAMME * 199,257 199,257 199,257 0 199,257 0 25,892 25,892 199,257 0 0 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Various On Target On Target FAIRLIE COASTAL PATH 50,000 50,000 50,000 0 50,000 0 12,089 12,089 50,000 0 0 31-Dec-23 31-Dec-23 In development On Target On Target PENNYBURN ROUNDABOUT BUS LANE 15,420 123,668 15,420 0 15,420 0 0 0 15,420 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Feasibility On Target On Target IRVINE CYCLE FRIENDLY TOWN 250,000 251,050 250,000 0 250,000 0 1,050 1,050 250,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Various On Target On Target BRODICK TO CORRIE CYCLE PATH 50,000 35,212 50,000 0 50,000 0 0 0 50,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Design On Target On Target BUS CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS 204,955 74,955 204,955 0 130,000 0 0 0 130,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Various On Target On Target BUS ROUTE CONGESTION MEASURES 757,821 605,250 757,821 0 152,571 0 0 0 152,571 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Construction On Target On Target CUMBRAE FERRY & BUS STOP 408,690 35,410 408,690 0 385,000 0 11,720 11,720 385,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Design On Target On Target B714 ACTIVE TRAVEL IMPROVEMENTS 100,000 5,102 100,000 0 100,000 0 5,102 5,102 100,000 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Design On Target On Target B777 CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENTS 38,400 0 38,400 0 38,400 0 0 0 4,800 (33,600) (33,600) 31-Mar-24 31-Mar-24 Planning On Target On Target STTS U88 NORTH SANNOX 199,080 147,391 199,080 0 199,080 0 147,391 147,391 199,080 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target STTS ROSS ROAD ARRAN 203,840 127,519 203,840 0 203,840 0 67,613 67,613 203,840 0 0 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Planning On Target On Target Total Regeneration 31,496,037 22,359,534 31,496,037 0 11,379,029 0 4,553,366 4,553,366 11,345,429 (33,600) 0 (33,600) Ayrshire Growth Deal AYRSHIRE GROWTH DEAL 0 290,306 0 0 0 0 290,306 290,306 0 0 0 31-Mar-26 31-Mar-26 On Target On Target AGD - I3 DIGILAB PHASE 1 1,000,000 10,208 1,000,000 0 500,000 0 4,759 4,759 500,000 0 0 31-Mar-26 31-Mar-26 Design On Target On Target AGD - I3 DIGILAB PHASE 2 5,000,000 179,970 5,000,000 0 200,000 0 0 0 100,000 (100,000) (100,000) 31-Mar-26 31-Mar-26 Design On Target On Target AGD - I3 FLEXIBLE BUSINESS SPACE 15,000,000 247,568 15,000,000 0 208,000 0 8,886 8,886 208,000 0 0 31-Mar-26 31-Mar-27 Multiple Projects On Target On Target AGD - HUNTERSTON - CENTRE OF LOW CARBON ENERGY & CIRCULAR 18,040,001 198,695 18,040,001 0 200,000 0 12,575 12,575 200,000 0 0 31-Mar-26 31-Mar-26 Multiple Projects On Target On Target AGD - GH MARITIME MILE 14,017,799 410,516 14,017,799 0 417,800 0 114,198 114,198 400,000 (17,800) (17,800) 31-Mar-26 31-Mar-26 Multiple Projects On Target On Target AGD - ARDROSSAN (IMSE) 10,500,000 102,260 10,500,000 0 174,000 0 0 0 174,000 0 0 31-Mar-27 31-Mar-27 Design On Target On Target AGD - MARINE TOURISM ARDROSSAN 11,428,354 276,544 11,428,354 0 187,638 0 65,803 65,803 137,638 (50,000) (50,000) 31-Mar-26 31-Mar-26 Design On Target On Target AGD - MARINE TOURISM ARRAN 58,887 30,122 58,887 0 30,176 0 1,411 1,411 30,176 0 0 31-Mar-29 31-Mar-29 Design On Target On Target AGD - MARINE TOURISM CUMBRAE 66,747 35,972 66,747 0 32,186 0 1,411 1,411 32,186 0 0 31-Mar-29 31-Mar-29 Design On Target On Target Total Ayrshire Growth Deal 75,111,787 1,782,159 75,111,787 0 1,949,800 0 499,348 499,348 1,782,000 (167,800) 0 (167,800) Growth & Investment ARDROSSAN HARBOUR INTERCHANGE 4,077,112 389,956 4,077,112 0 92,748 0 247 247 50,000 (42,748) (42,748) 31-Dec-24 31-Dec-24 Design Slightly off target On Target Increased tender cost risks identified IRVINE ENTERPRISE AREA * 10,746,072 0 10,746,072 0 103,079 0 0 0 0 (103,079) (103,079) Ongoing Ongoing Multiple Projects On Target On Target LOW CARBON HUB 1,950,017 111,999 1,950,017 0 625,727 0 25,198 25,198 123,698 (502,029) (502,029) 30-Apr-24 30-Apr-24 Multiple Projects On Target On Target ARDROSSAN NORTH SHORE 26,765,478 2,526,650 26,765,478 0 392,000 0 229,127 229,127 501,647 109,647 109,647 30-Apr-24 30-Apr-24 In development Slightly off target Slightly off target Projected spend increased to include additional site investigations and service design costs. VDLF - HARBOUR MASTERS OFFICE 157,500 20,722 157,500 0 136,778 0 0 0 0 (136,778) (136,778) 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Design On Target On Target VDLF - I3 IRVINE ENTERPRISE 996,981 161,160 996,981 0 844,152 0 8,332 8,332 129,627 (714,525) (714,525) 31-Mar-23 31-Mar-23 Design On Target On Target Other Growth & Investment 44,693,159 3,210,487 44,693,159 0 2,194,484 0 262,903 262,903 804,972 (1,389,512) 0 (1,389,512) Total Economic Development & Regeneration 151,300,983 27,352,180 151,300,983 0 15,523,313 0 5,315,617 5,315,617 13,932,401 (1,590,912) 0 (1,590,912) Completed Projects BIOMASS RETROFIT PROGRAMME 3,378,163 3,360,181 3,378,163 0 0 0 (17,983) (17,983) 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete QUARRY ROAD PHASE 1 2,977,098 2,898,460 2,977,098 0 40,595 0 (38,043) (38,043) 40,595 0 0 Complete Complete Defects Period Complete Complete ARDROSSAN HOSTEL 0 0 10,203 10,203 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete CAR PARK STRATEGY 317,179 317,179 317,179 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Complete Complete Complete Complete Complete Total Completed Projects 8,994,855 8,898,234 8,994,855 0 40,595 0 (45,823) (45,823) 40,595 0 0 0 Total Place 312,146,327 83,024,226 312,137,487 (8,840) 42,782,008 0 15,900,796 15,900,796 40,222,434 (2,559,574) (8,840) (2,550,734) 165
Page 166
OTHER BUDGETS AE Total Project Budget Cumulative Expenditure to date Total Project Forecast Projected Over/ (Under) Spend Total Revised Budget 2022/23 Year to Date Budget 2022/23 Actual Expenditure to 30 November 2022 Year to Date Variance 2022/23 Projected Expenditure to 31 March 2023 Over/ (Under) Spend for 22/23 £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ FLEXIBILITY / IMPROVEMENT FUND 9,325,741 0 9,325,741 0 1,763,616 0 0 0 1,763,616 0 CORE INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT 608,000 0 608,000 0 608,000 0 0 0 608,000 0 Total Other Budgets 9,325,741 0 9,325,741 0 2,371,616 0 0 0 2,371,616 0 2022/23 BUDGETS CommentsProject Description TOTAL PROJECT 166
Page 167
HRA Capital Statement APPENDIX 2 For the Eight months to 30 November 2022 Description Approved budget 16 February 2022 Current budget including carry forwards Approved Revisions to programme Carry forward (to)/from future years Revised Budget 2022/23 Actual Spend to 31/10/2022 P8 Projection True Over / (Under)spend Delivery Status Financial Delivery Status Physical Comments £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Council House Build Programme Council House Building General 1,542 1,542 - - 1,542 (6) 1,542 - On Target On Target Acquisition Of Houses On Open Market 720 526 - 210 736 367 736 - On Target On Target New Build Corsehillhead 1,450 600 - - 600 34 600 - On Target On Target Expected completion Autumn/Winter 2023. New Build Brathwic Terrace 18 168 - - 168 54 168 - On Target Complete Completed - final properties were handed over in June 2022 New Build Flatt Road Phase 1 1,712 1,072 (648) - 424 102 424 - Slightly off target Complete Completed - final properties were handed over in December 2021. Remaining budget to be transferred to projects in Lots E and F for 2023/24. New Build Towerlands 25 160 - 20 180 18 180 - On Target Complete Completed - final properties were handed over in March 2022. New Build Kinnier Road 3 2 - (2) - - - - Complete Complete Completed - properties were handed over in October 2021. New Build St Colms 1,896 782 111 191 1,084 1,088 1,084 - Complete Complete New Build St Michaels Wynd - 592 104 106 802 903 802 - On Target Complete Completed - final properties handed over in August 2002. New Build Harbourside Irvine 6,460 6,000 - (237) 5,763 3,474 5,763 - On Target Slightly off target Expected completion March 2023. New Build Afton Court 910 1,080 - 24 1,104 24 1,104 - On Target Slightly off target Expected completion Spring 2023. New Build Caley Court 1,769 1,843 - (35) 1,808 1,496 1,808 - On Target Slightly off target Expected completion Autumn 2022. New Build Springvale Saltcoats - 133 - 7 140 8 140 - On Target Complete Completed - properties were handed over in November 2021. New Build Dalrymple Place - 101 - - 101 3 101 - On Target Complete Completed - properties were handed over in October 2021. New Build St Beya Millport 6 53 - - 53 51 53 - On Target Complete Completed - properties were handed over in July 2021. Garnock Academy Site 7,950 1,800 - - 1,800 - 1,800 - Slightly off target On Target Consultation stage. Expected completion Winter 2023. Budget to be carried forward to 2023/24. Largs police Station 1,908 1,600 116 (11) 1,705 360 1,705 - On Target Slightly off target Demolition complete. New completion date to be established. Ayrshire Central Site 9,497 1,500 - - 1,500 13 1,500 - On Target On Target Pre-planning stage. Expected completion 2024. Bourtreehill Village 2,000 25 - - 25 17 25 - On Target Slightly off target Pre-planning stage. New completion date to be established. James McFarlane ASN Site 3,050 2,250 - - 2,250 48 2,250 - On Target Slightly off target Consultation stage. New completion date to be established. James Reid ASN school 6,050 1,125 - - 1,125 103 1,125 - On Target Slightly off target Consultation stage. New completion date to be established. Stanecastle ASN School 3,300 1,850 - - 1,850 76 1,850 - On Target Slightly off target Consultation stage. New completion date to be established. Fullarton Street 4,090 25 - - 25 10 25 - On Target Slightly off target Delays to delivery due to rehousing of tenants, which has now been completed. Demolition contractor appointed and onsite, demolition expected to complete in Spring 2023. Expected completion 2025. New Build Montgomerie Park 10,900 1,500 - - 1,500 6 1,500 - On Target On Target Pre-planning stage. Expected completion Winter 2025. Glebe Place 10 50 - (50) - - - - On Target On Target Block of flats being utilised to rehouse Ukrainians as part of the settlement programme. Regeneration Project 1e 15 5 - - 5 - 5 - On Target On Target Pre-planning stage. Unallocated Regeneration Block 1 55 - - - - - - - On Target On Target Pre-planning stage. Laburnum Avenue (Regen 1a) 160 5 - 5 10 - 10 - On Target On Target Pre-planning stage. Newhouse Drive (Regen 1b) 175 5 - - 5 - 5 - On Target On Target Pre-planning stage. Regeneration Project 1d 360 5 - - 5 3 5 - On Target On Target Pre-planning stage. Contingency 1,163 8,820 (8,820) - - - - - CONNEL COURT (49) 49 - - (30) - - Complete Complete GARRIER COURT (56) 25 - (31) (33) (31) - Complete Complete Total For Council House Build Programme 67,194 35,114 (9,063) 228 26,279 8,189 26,279 - Improvement to Existing Homes - Building Services Window Replacement 325 364 11 - 375 8 375 - On Target On Target Bathroom Programme 75 75 183 - 258 571 258 - On Target On Target Kitchen Programme 2,610 4,450 - - 4,450 496 1,453 (2,997) On Target Slightly off target 200 units (£775k) will not be completed as programmed due to labour shortage. Additional underspend showing due to previous years underspend not required. Previous years uncompleted units were included in the revised business plan last year, therefore already accounted for. Bathroom Programme Voids - - 1,033 (9) 1,024 - 1,024 - On Target On Target Kitchen Programme Voids - - 1,243 54 1,297 - 1,297 - On Target On Target Door replacement programme 2,191 2,191 (2,191) - - - - - Significantly off target Significantly off target Door replacement programme - tender has been re-issued following specification review due to unviable costs. Balance of budget requires to be earmarked for 2023/24. Sheltered Housing Units 8,531 8,495 (5,745) (2,500) 250 114 250 - Significantly off target Significantly off target Projection reduced due to Procurement Issues and external contractor issues - remaining budget to be carried forward to 23/24. Spend this financial year will only be consultants and staff costs. Construction estimated to commence late 22/23. Tender for Barnett returned and checking quality. Saltcoats MSF Investment 4,767 1,881 (595) (68) 1,218 611 1,218 - On Target Slightly off target Additional works required. Expected completion Winter 2022. Total For Improvements to Existing Homes - Building Services 18,499 17,456 (6,061) (2,523) 8,872 1,800 5,875 (2,997) 167
Page 168
Improvement to Existing Homes - External Contractors Central Heating 2,524 4,442 (1,756) - 2,686 1,026 1,713 (973) On Target On Target Underspend showing due to previous years underspend not required. Previous years uncompleted units were included in the revised business plan last year, therefore already accounted for. Insulated Re-Rendering 421 865 1,756 - 2,621 - 3,294 673 On Target On Target Budget to be vired froofing & rerendering offset additional spend in insulated rerendering. Following contractor surverys some wall/floor render has been reprofiled as EWI and virement request is required. Electrical Rewiring 698 1,742 - - 1,742 101 210 (1,532) On Target On Target Underspend showing due to previous years underspend not required. Previous years uncompleted units were included in the revised business plan last year, therefore already accounted for. Also issues with contractor labour shortages and no access. Total For Improvements to Existing Homes - External Contractors 3,643 7,049 - - 7,049 1,127 5,217 (1,832) Refurbishment Schemes Roofing & Rendering 4,450 5,507 - - 5,507 2,102 3,355 (2,152) Slightly off target On Target Uncompleted units from previous years accounted for in future years. Previous years carry forward not required. Following contractor surverys some wall/floor render has been reprofiled as EWI and virement request is required. Demolition High Flats Irvine 6,780 3,000 (1,304) 2 1,698 145 1,698 - Slightly off target Slightly off target Tender received lower than budget estimate. Demolition contractor appointed and onsite, demolition expected to complete in Summer/Autumn 2023. Balance of budget requires to be earmarked for 2023/24. Kings Arms Project 265 600 - (440) 160 110 160 - On Target Slightly off target Consultation stage, construction is due to commence Winter 2022 Refurb Maress House - (12) 13 - 1 - 1 - On Target On Target HRA contribution to the project complete. Refurb Friars Lawn - 254 - (34) 220 23 220 - On Target Complete Final completion expected August 2022. Total For Refurbishment Schemes 11,495 9,349 (1,291) (472) 7,586 2,380 5,434 (2,152) - Other Capital Works Energy Efficiency Standard 5,362 5,488 - (5,309) 179 180 179 - On Target On Target Other Capital Works 726 712 - - 712 - 712 - On Target On Target Major Improvements 6 6 - - 6 - 6 - On Target On Target Parkhall & Kirkhall Asbestos - 17 - - 17 - 17 - On Target On Target Detection Equipment 458 1,463 (1,223) (40) 200 103 200 - Slightly off target Slightly off target Contractor continuing to work through addresses, forced entries process in place / limited capacity due to staff issues (contractors) will span 2 years. Balance of budget to be earmarked for 2023/24. Solar Panels 3,862 3,888 (26) 33 3,895 512 3,895 - On Target On Target Professional Management Charges 1,326 1,738 - - 1,738 523 1,738 - On Target On Target Estate Based Regeneration 1,287 2,190 (1,187) - 1,003 282 1,003 - Slightly off target Slightly off target Programme currently being revised. Proposals to Cabinet in Autumn/Winter 2022. Balance of budget to be earmarked for 2023/24. Nelson Street Regeneration 442 451 (426) - 25 - 25 - Significantly off target Significantly off target Final property obtained through CPO. Feasibility exercise being undertaken. Balance of budget to be earmarked for 2023/24. Health and Safety Works 207 207 - - 207 - 207 - On Target On Target Total For Other Capital Works 13,676 16,160 (2,862) (5,316) 7,982 1,600 7,982 - TOTAL EXPENDITURE 114,507 85,128 (19,277) (8,083) 57,768 15,096 50,787 (6,981) CFCR (12,209) (12,209) - - (12,209) (1) (12,209) - Capital Grants (14,175) (7,138) 3,962 1,409 (1,767) (87) (1,767) - Slippage in house building resulting in reduction in grant claims. Affordable Housing Contribution (1,596) (1,596) (1,596) - (1,596) - Prudential Borrowing (85,376) (63,034) 15,315 6,674 (41,045) - (34,064) 6,981 Council House Build Fund (1,151) (1,151) - - (1,151) - (1,151) - TOTAL INCOME (114,507) (85,128) 19,277 8,083 (57,768) (88) (50,787) 6,981 NET EXPENDITURE - - - - - 15,008 - - The following classifications have been used to highlight financial performance against budget On Target On Target (+0.5% of budget) On Target (up to 5% delay of original timescales) Slightly off target Slightly off target (+ 0.5% to 2% of budget, or £0.125m, whichever is less) Slightly off target (+ 5% to 10% of original timescales) Significantly off target Significantly off target (+2% or more of budget, or £0.500m, whichever is less) Significantly off target (+10% or more of original timescales) 168
Page 169
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Proposals for Community Investment Fund (CIF) Expenditure Purpose: To determine applications by Locality Partnerships to allocate CIF funding to proposed projects. Recommendation: That Cabinet: a) Reviews the enclosed applications from the Three Towns Locality Partnership in line with CIF criteria; b) Approves the CIF application in relation to CHAP; and c) Approves the CIF application in relation to the Ardrossan Community Sports Hub. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 Within its budget for 2017-18, North Ayrshire Council provided a funding allocation for the creation of an innovative fund to enable communities to address the priorities they have identified though Locality Planning Partnerships and within the context of North Ayrshire Community Planning Partnership’s Fair for All Strategy and the Council’s Community Wealth Building Strategy. In June 2021, Cabinet approved a further £1m top-up for the funding, with a further £2m added in November 2021. 1.2 Locality Partnerships have subsequently continued to work on their local action plans and are refining proposals for expenditure in line with their locally identified needs. This is a difficult process, and it is a testament to the dedication of the Locality Partnerships and their community partners that proposals are now emerging to provide creative approaches to addressing local challenges. 1.3 This report brings forward proposals which respond to the specific need of the local community, and which have been developed based on local circumstances and opportunities. 1.4 These proposals have been approved to be submitted to Cabinet through a process of collaboration and consensus by the Three Towns Locality Partnership. 2. Background 2.1 Within its budget for 2017-18, North Ayrshire Council provided an allocation for the creation of an innovative fund to enable communities to address the priorities they have identified though Locality Planning Partnerships and within the context of North Ayrshire Agenda Item 8 169
Page 170
Community Planning Partnership’s Fair for All Strategy and the Council’s Community Wealth Building Strategy. A further £3m was added to the funding in 2021, to be distributed among Localities as follows: 2.2 It was agreed that the CIF awards range between £5,000 and £100,000 for the community organisations, as defined in the CIF guidance, in order to support proposals and projects that connect with: • The North Ayrshire Fair for All Strategy, with consideration for how applications contribute to community support for the cost-of-living crisis; • The Community Planning Partnership and Locality priorities; • North Ayrshire Council’s values, priorities and business objectives; • The Community Wealth Building and Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategies; And will also: • Fulfil a compelling need and not duplicate existing services or facilities; • Provide long-term, sustainable, positive results for the greatest number of people possible; • Exhibit project and/or organisational innovation in their approaches to their work in their way of addressing community challenges and in their request to Locality Partnerships and the Council; • Come from (an) organisation(s) that is financially viable (can provide financial statements upon request) and efficiently and effectively managed. This can include an organisation to be created to deliver the project; • Include options or potential for NAC and CPP employee engagement and volunteering where possible; and • Include measurable outcomes and can report to NAC on outcomes on a regular basis. Locality Value of CIF from first funding allocation (2017-18) Expenditure to date Value of CIF from second funding allocation (June 2021) Value of CIF from third funding allocation (Nov 2021) Total balance available Irvine £754 000 £562 184 £290 000 £580 000 £1 061 816 Kilwinning £286 000 £286 190 £120 000 £240 000 £359 810 Three Towns £598 000 £616 206 £240 000 £480 000 £701 794 Garnock Valley £390 000 £341 805 £150 000 £300 000 £498 195 North Coast £468 000 £422 316 £170 000 £340 000 £555 684 Arran £104 000 £45 226 £30 000 £60 000 £148 774 TOTAL £2 600 000 £2 273 927 £1 000 000 £2 000 000 £3 326 073 170
Page 171
2.3 The proposal development and application process has been agreed as follows: • Locality Partnerships should continue to engage with their communities and stimulate interest in the CIF. Each Locality Partnership will then strategically assess the applications, make links and look at the funding ‘in the round.’ • If the partnership supports a bid then the group will be encouraged to submit a full application form, which they will decide upon before making a proposal to Cabinet for final approval. • The proposal will go to the next suitable Cabinet for final approval. 2.4 The enclosed applications have been developed by community partners and North Ayrshire Council officers and are now recommended for approval by Cabinet. The proposals are as follows: 2.5 The Three Towns Locality Partnership The Three Towns Locality Partnership CIF allocation to date £1 318 000 Ardrossan Community Development Trust £ 25 000 Three Towns Growers £ 100 000 The Training Station £ 50 000 Ardrossan Castle Heritage Hub £ 17 912 Raise Your Voice With Ardeer £ 100 000 Ardrossan Community Sports Hub £ 43 320 Winton Circus Play Park £ 48 288 Ardrossan Community Development Trust Community Development Officer £ 53 100 Raise Your Voice With Ardeer (increased costs for multi-purpose hub) £ 130 000 Ardrossan Community Centre (Whitlees) £ 48 586 Balance £ 701 794 Proposal: CHAP –Advice Outreach Services: £45 767 (Appendix 1) 2.6 CHAP is an OSCR registered charity and is a private limited company by guarantee, which has been operating in North Ayrshire for over 20 years, providing free, independent advice and advocacy services relating to housing, welfare rights, and debt issues. Following community engagement about the cost-of-living crisis, communities strongly expressed their need for support and a preference for outreach in community settings. This CIF funding is to provide a fully trained advice worker to be based within 3 different community-based locations within the Three Towns area one day a week (with the other 2 days each week being office based for case work, training, etc.). This will allow individuals in the Three Towns area to access services in various established and trusted environments throughout their local area. CHAP advice services will complement all the community work that is already taking place within the Three Towns area, including food provision services, the ‘warm hub’ at 171
Page 172
the Church of Nazarene in Ardrossan, West Coast Furniture and Ardrossan Community Sports Hub. CHAP will work with NA Foodbank, Better Off North Ayrshire (which is funded until June 2023), Locality Teams and Ardrossan Community Development Trust (which is a referring partner of ‘Children In Need), to reduce the levels of child poverty in the area. 2.7 Working with the Three Towns locality team, CHAP has undertaken a consultation with members of the community within the Three Towns to ensure that the proposed project is meeting the needs of individuals within the area, and as a result: • 97% indicated that they would prefer to access advice services in a community-based setting, rather than in traditional, formal office type buildings. • 97% of respondents also indicated that they are worried about the current cost of living crisis. 2.8 The staff induction and training process is aligned with the Scottish National Standards and Financial Conduct Authority requirements. The total cost of a CHAP advice worker’s annual salary is £45,767, including national insurance and pension costs and all associated overhead costs. 2.9 The Council’s Employability Services Senior Manager and Financial Inclusion Review lead have advised that this CIF request is well aligned with the proposed outcomes of that review and will be a welcome element of the ongoing work to ensure a holistic and effective approach to financial inclusion in North Ayrshire communities. The Three Towns Locality Partnership Proposal: Ardrossan Community Sports Winton Park 3G: £100 000 (Appendix 2) 2.10 Ardrossan Winton Rovers Junior Football Club (AWR) is a well-loved institution within the town of Ardrossan and is committed to developing further as a community club. Community use of the facilities at Winton Park, however, is constrained as the grass pitch is unable to take more intensive use. As a result of difficulties hiring facilities and the cost of travel and pitch hire, a project partnership was established to develop the business case and assemble funding to install a 3G synthetic surface at Winton Park. Ardrossan Community Sports Hub (ACSH) has taken the lead for the 15 teams which currently operate under the umbrella of Ardrossan Winton Rovers Youth Academy (AWRYA has more than 325 members). None of these 15 teams are actually able to play in Ardrossan itself. 2.11 The development of a new community asset would help give the AWRYA teams an identity and an affinity to the club and town – with a local survey establishing likely positive impacts on participation on sports and physical activity. 2.13 The strategic partnership plan includes the leasing of Winton Park to Ardrossan Community Sports Hub for 25 years by Ardrossan Winton Rovers Ltd. ACSH will be the lead partner in this project seeking capital funding to install the new 3G surface and procure and manage the works contract. Post installation ACSH will be responsible for overall facility management, financial management and marketing and promotion of the facility including managing pitch bookings via their software system. ACSH intend to enter into an Agreement with Ardrossan Winton Rovers CIC for the maintenance of the facility. 172
Page 173
2.14 CIF funding will act as match-funding, launching a capital funding package. Indicative cost estimates secured earlier in 2022 suggest this could be c £615,000 which includes provision for: • Replacement of the existing grass surface with a new 3g synthetic surface; • Associated drainage and substructure work; • Ball retention fencing and netting; • 3 sets of 7 a side and 1 set of full-size goals; • Allowance for new LED floodlighting system; • Installation of a modular changing facility with multipurpose room on site; • Professional fees and unrecoverable VAT. 2.15 Two focused consultation exercises were undertaken to inform the development of the proposals, including a wider community survey of 189 Ardrossan residents independently conducted by IBP Strategy and Research in April 2022 (for more information see Appendix 2). 2.16 The CIF funding will only be released on condition that the complete funding package is achieved. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Cabinet: a) Reviews the enclosed applications from the Three Towns Locality Partnership in line with CIF criteria; b) Approves the CIF application in relation to CHAP; and c) Approves the CIF application in relation to Ardrossan Community Sports Hub. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 CIF funding is allocated within existing resources. The CHAP proposal for financial inclusion services aims to increase the number of people with improved financial management skills and to increase in household income through income maximisation. The ACSH proposal, potentially, could provide leverage in excess of £500k in external funding to the Three Towns to upgrade local facilities. Human Resources 4.2 The CHAP proposal will provide employment opportunities. The Ardrossan Community Sports Hub offers skills development and volunteering opportunities. Legal 4.3 None. 173
Page 174
Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The purpose of Locality Planning is to reduce inequalities, increase community cohesion and advance community empowerment. Each of the CIF proposals is tested against that purpose before being presented to Cabinet. The CHAP application provides opportunities for increased community support for the cost-of-living crisis through financial inclusion advice and wider assistance. The Ardrossan Community Sports Hub offers opportunities for skills development, increased volunteering, community cohesion and wellbeing. The investment in the facilities at Ardrossan will provide local free access to physical activity and can lead to a far wider range of outcomes. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 Environmental and sustainability issues are considered in relation to each CIF application. The ACSH application will improve local facilities and upgrade the existing football pitch and facilities, encouraging families to become more engaged with outdoor activities. The strategic partnership between ASCH, AWR and AWRYA is aimed at encouraging increased physical activity for improved wellbeing. Key Priorities 4.6 The proposals contained within the report support the North Ayrshire Council Plan priorities: • Active and strong communities; • Inclusive, growing and enterprising local economy; and • People enjoy good life-long health and wellbeing. Community Wealth Building 4.7 The applications support the following pillars of community wealth building: • Creating volunteering and skills development opportunities; and Supporting local third sector businesses. 5. Consultation 5.1 The proposals contained within this report have been developed and approved by the Locality Partnership, through consultation with partners in Employability and Skills and local people, including young people. Audrey Sutton Executive Director (Communities & Education) For further information please contact Rhonda Leith, Head of Service (Connected Communities), on (01294) 324415. Background Papers Appendix 1: CIF Application: CHAP Appendix 2: CIF Application: Ardrossan Community Sports Hub 174
Page 175
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP The CIF will support proposals and projects that: • Connect with: o The North Ayrshire Fair for All Inequalities Strategy; o the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) and Locality priorities; and o North Ayrshire Council’s (NAC) values, priorities, and business objectives. • Fulfil a compelling need and do not duplicate existing services or facilities. • Provide long-term, sustainable, positive results for the greatest number of people possible. • Exhibit project and/or organisational innovation in their approaches to their work in their way of addressing community challenges and in their request to Locality Partnerships and the Council. • Come from (an) organisation(s) that is financially viable (can provide financial statements upon request) and efficiently and effectively managed. This can include an organisation to be created to deliver the project. • Include options or potential for NAC and CPP employee engagement and volunteering where possible; and • Include measurable outcomes and can report to NAC on outcomes on a regular basis. When to apply and how? • LPs should continue to engage with their communities and stimulate interest in the CIF. The Locality Partnership will then strategically assess the applications, make links, and look at the funding ‘in the round’. • If the partnership supports a bid then the group will be encouraged to submit a full application form (attached), which they will decide upon before making a proposal to Cabinet for final approval. • The finalised proposal will go to the next suitable Cabinet for final approval. • Forms should be returned to your Locality Officer, by email if possible: Colin Ferris Locality Officer (Three Towns) North Ayrshire Council St John's Primary School Morrison Avenue Stevenston KA20 4HH Email: colinferris@north-ayrshire.gov.uk Tel: 01294 475290 For more information see the guidance form here: http://www.northayrshire.community/wp- content/uploads/sites/60/2018/06/community-investment-fund-guidance-notes-17-12-17.pdf 175
Page 176
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 1. Details of your organisation Name of Organisation CHAP Postal Address for Correspondence T Name of Contact Person Debbie Alexander Position in Organisation Chief Executive Telephone Number Click or tap here to enter text. Email Address 2. Brief description of your organisation Please include its legal status, aims and objectives, activities or services provided and how long it has been in existence. CHAP is an OSCR registered charity and is a private limited company by guarantee, which has been operating in North Ayrshire for over 20 years, providing independent advice and advocacy services relating to housing, welfare rights, and debt issues. All services provided are free, impartial, and confidential; and are available to adults over the age of 16 who reside in North Ayrshire. All services provided by CHAP have in common the purpose of ensuring that individuals are not disadvantaged through a lack of awareness or information relating to their rights. CHAP’s support aims to assist individuals to deal effectively with their issues and move towards an outcome or resolution which helps to improve their overall quality of life. The ethos of all services provided supports and promotes social inclusion and social justice for all. CHAP supports those individuals most in need to receive much needed information and assistance to address issues that affect their everyday lives. The service we provide empowers individuals to have their views and opinions heard by the decision makers and overcome the barriers of literacy and communication difficulties. We will provide education and advice to individuals with the aim of preventing financial issues in the future. This will cover subjects such as income maximisation, budgeting, responsible borrowing, using credit unions to save, etc. This will instill good practice and give individuals the financial literacy which will empower them to make sound decisions, therefore avoiding problem debt, which has an ongoing negative affect on peoples’ mental health and wellbeing. Where individuals do present with issues 176
Page 177
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP which have already reached a stage which is causing them stress, CHAP can assist by providing real, practical steps that can be taken. By helping people to think differently about money and borrowing, this will help them to avoid getting into problem debt in the future, and in turn, avoid these issues having a negative impact on their mental health. Anything can happen to anyone at any time. People can suddenly find themselves in a vulnerable situation and may not know where to turn. By accessing the CIF funding, CHAP wants to make services more readily accessible throughout the Three Towns and in turn help as many people as possible. In our last financial year (ending Nov 21), we assisted 715 clients, and their families with a variety of housing, debt, and welfare rights issues. Our clients reported to us that we have helped to improve their confidence, finances, and quality of life, as well as assisting to reduce their stress levels. In the last year, 75% of individuals conveyed that their stress levels had reduced following assistance from CHAP, with 66% saying that their quality of life has improved and 58% saying that their confidence has increased. 3. Title and summary of proposal Tell us about your idea. Please describe in as much detail as possible, what the funding will be used for. Please include: • where it will be held / delivered • who is your target audience • who will benefit from it and how • any partners that are involved. ADVICE OUTREACH SERVICES CHAP believes that access to advice services should be readily available to everyone in the community and therefore want to remove any barriers that may prevent individuals from accessing our services. If successful, the funding from CIF will allow for a fully trained advice worker to be based within 3 different community-based locations within the Three Towns area one day a week (with the other 2 days each week being office based for case work, training, etc.). This will allow individuals in the three towns area to access our services in various established and trusted environments throughout their local area. We find that due to the stigma that remains attached to reaching out for assistance, especially in relation to money and debt issues, people are more likely to engage with our services if they are anonymised – by accessing assistance in busy and established community facilities, it is not automatically assumed that someone would be going there for help with money-related issues, as they could be accessing the premises for various reasons. 177
Page 178
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP The cost-of-living crisis is affecting everyone. There is a huge cohort of people who now require our services, who never would have previously. Individuals who have never faced financial difficulties are now experiencing their finances being stretched to unmanageable levels, mortgage prices are increasing, along with the cost of everything else; utilities, petrol/diesel, food, and household essentials. This culminates in financial crisis where people may feel forced into accessing unaffordable credit, leading to further financial distress. CHAP believes that education, early intervention, and prevention are key; and can offer this as part of a two-tonged approach along with crisis intervention where required. We have often heard people commenting that ‘if only I had known about CHAP’ during a difficult time in their lives, it would have made things a lot easier for them to cope with. At CHAP, we never want people to feel this way, we want everyone in the Three Towns to know that we are here to support them, and that we can do so in their local communities, in an already trusted environment. The evidence from the community engagement we have conducted has shown that 97% of the people who responded are worried about the current cost-of-living crisis. With things forecast to only get worse financially during the foreseeable future, CHAP wants to ensure that nobody is left without access to the services they require. The current crisis is affecting absolutely everyone, and it is concerning that there are people who have never faced financial difficulties previously, who are now struggling or finding themselves in financial distress, who do not know where to turn for support. By providing our services on an outreach basis, this will increase the number of people who hear about CHAP within local communities, which could provide that lifeline that someone is searching for. 97% of respondents also indicated that they would prefer to access advice services within a community-based setting, rather that in a traditional office environment. This demonstrates that people are still worried about the stigma that surrounds accessing advice services, and that individuals would rather be able to chat to someone in a trusted, familiar, and informal setting, which can be achieved through the community outreach delivery model that we are proposing. CHAP advice services will compliment all the community work that is already taking place within the Three Towns area. There are various community groups and organisations who are working to help people through the current crisis, including food provision services, the ‘warm hub’ at the Church of Nazarine in Ardrossan, West Coast Furniture and Ardrossan Community Sports Hub who are offering free gym memberships to individuals who are struggling financially, as well as running promotions where people can get a full membership for a month for £1 to kickstart their wellbeing journey. CHAP works in partnership with these organisations to ensure that all aspects of people’s circumstances are addressed, and support is put in place where possible. We will work with Ardrossan Community Development Trust who are a referring partner of ‘Children In Need’, to ensure that we are driving forward North Ayrshire Council’s priority to reduce the levels of child poverty in the area. 178
Page 179
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 4. What difference will this project make within the locality and to local services and programmes? Please include: • The outcomes you aim to achieve • How you will approach reducing inequality • How this proposal fits with the Locality Partnership priorities of 1. Economy and Tourism 2. Community Regeneration 3. Environment (Including civic pride and community engagement) Outcomes • Increased number of individuals accessing services from the ‘Three Towns’ area • Increased number of people with improved financial management skills • Increased confidence and overall better quality of life reported by individuals • Increase in household income through income maximisation • Reduction in reported stress levels In the Three Towns, there is an average child poverty rate of 22.5% (2020 SIMD), and this ranges from the highest level of 52.17% in Saltcoats Central, to the lowest 4.55% in Saltcoats Northwest. This demonstrates that there is a huge disparity between different areas (data zones), even within the same locality areas. As an example of this, within Saltcoats Central, there is an area which has a child poverty rate of 47.73% (between the Town Centre and Argyle). Comparatively, the adjacent area (along the shore front) has a child poverty level of 7.44%. According to research completed by Turn2Us, there was £10 billion in unclaimed benefits in 2018. This includes £3.5 billion of unclaimed Pension Credit, £4.2 billion in unclaimed Housing Benefit, and £2.4 billion in unclaimed Income Support, Income-related Employment Support Allowance. This equates to the following: • Pension Credit – average amount of £2,500 per year for each family missing out • Housing Benefit – average amount of £3,000 per year for each family missing out • Income Support/Income-related ESA – average amount of £4,500 per year for each family missing out This demonstrates that services which can help to maximise people’s income and put money directly into the pockets of individuals and their families is needed now more than ever. In 2022, CHAP has helped to achieve over £1.7 million in financial gains for our clients, £697,000 of this was for individuals from the Three Towns. This could be further increased by us having a presence within local communities in the area, as it will allow us to reach disengaged individuals with various accessibility challenges. 179
Page 180
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP As shown, CHAP is assisting to put more money in the pockets of individuals and families within the Three Towns, which not only has a positive impact on the people themselves; it has a larger benefit to community regeneration. If local people have more money coming into their households, this will allow them to spend more money locally, support local business, boost the economy and improve their wellbeing. Improving people’s wellbeing and confidence, as well as reducing their stress will enable them to move forward in their lives with things such as employment or training opportunities which will have positive long-term effects on their lives. Whilst CHAP are based in Ardrossan and are a key partner in the Better Off North Ayrshire project, the proposed outreach project stands apart from this. The Better Off service will end in June with discussions currently ongoing as to how services will be delivered in the future. However, there is an urgency to deliver support to individuals now as the cost of living crisis is exacerbating already deep rooted issues. Also, the Better Off project is currently based within the Michael Lynch Centre for Enterprise, which represents the ‘traditional office environment’ that 97% of survey respondents have stated they are less likely to access than community-based locations. Due to the current cost-of-living crisis, CHAP is already experiencing an increase to the demand on our services. To date in 2022, we have already seen a 30% increase in referrals to our services, compared to year ending November 2021 and without further funding this increase has the adverse effect of lengthening lead times to first interview. This in turn leads to despair and to many clients not engaging with us. This is expected to increase as we continue to feel the effects of the current economic climate, and families start to feel the real impact of this. 5. What engagement has taken place in relation to the project? Working with the Three Towns locality team, CHAP has undertaken a consultation with members of the community within the Three Towns to ensure that our proposed project is meeting the needs of individuals within the area, and as a result: • 97% indicated that they would prefer to access advice services in a community-based setting, rather than in traditional office type buildings. • 97% of respondents also indicated that they are worried about the current cost of living crisis. We also received valuable feedback in relation to where people in the area feel would be the best locations where advice services could be delivered from within the Three Towns. If successful in the CIF funding application, CHAP will consider this feedback whilst selecting locations to enable us to deliver our services within the area. This will involve further discussions with the managers of those facilities to gauge availability and suitability of the venues. We have developed a strong working relationship with the local Foodbank and are actively working with the Community Learning and Development team in North Ayrshire Council which has allowed us to begin a pilot project in the ‘warm hub’ based within the Church of Nazarine in Ardrossan. This gives individuals who are already engaging with the hub, which therefore indicates that they are facing challenges due to the current cost-of-living crisis, access to advice services. During the initial phase of this, there has been a good uptake in the services being offered, and the feedback from the community 180
Page 181
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP is very positive. The successes achieved through this project will continue to be monitored over the coming months. Learnings from this project will inform future service development, including the outreach being proposed for the Three Towns. Please see attached appendix for full details on how this project is being run and managed. 6. How will the project be managed? Please include: • How the finances will be managed • Does the proposed project contribute to volunteering or employment opportunities in Three Towns? Please include the number of volunteering opportunities and employment opportunities • If there are any staff requirements, please outline your HR plans Staff are responsible to the Service Manager and the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are cascaded into staff action plans which in turn, influence personal training plans. The Service Manager reports on KPI’s to the CEO on a regular basis, who is required to report to the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis on the outcomes achieved across the services. There is also a Service Support Officer who oversees the setup of new initiatives, reporting and quality assurance. The staff induction and training process is aligned with the Scottish National Standards and Financial Conduct Authority requirements. There are ongoing training procedures in place, with staff having dedicated training time incorporated into their working schedule. Each staff member has an individual training plan which highlights any skills gaps and to allow appropriate training to be sourced to assist them to develop the required technical knowledge. Staff are cross trained to maximise overall staff efficiency and flexibility, reducing the potential impact of a key member of staff being absent or leaving the organisation. Our accounts are outsourced to an external company, Alexander Sloans. We have a Virtual Finance Director which provides us with detailed accounts at individual project level. The management accounts produced are reviewed monthly by the CEO, quarterly by the board and annually by our auditors. Procedures are in place to ensure that all elements of the services remain inside the allotted budgets. The Chief Executive and the Virtual Finance Director liaise with each other, regularly discussing said budgets. Each service has its own individual budget sheet, and each budget heading is broken down monthly. The Chief Executive is responsible for ensuring that there is enough in the budget to cover any requests, such as staff training, etc. All company transactions are recorded by our Virtual Finance Director and a financial trail is kept for end of financial year auditing. Detailed quarterly management accounts are provided to the Board of Directors for scrutiny. 181
Page 182
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP Whilst CHAP does not currently have any active volunteers, this is something we are looking to develop and would welcome the support of volunteers in our community-based work in the role ‘peer supporters’. Other than the board of directors who are all volunteers, CHAP currently does not have volunteers involved in the delivery of services. However, this is something we are looking to develop and we would welcome the support of volunteers in our community based work in the role of ‘peer supporters’. 7. Amount of funding being requested Please supply details of funding being requested and any other funding you have had over the past 5 years, both financially and “in kind”. Amount of funding requested (£) £45,767 Please give a breakdown of cost and recent quotations where appropriate. £45,767 is the total cost of a CHAP advice worker’s annual salary including NI and pension costs and all associated overhead costs. In the last 5 years, CHAP has received the following funding: When Funding Body Purpose £ 2017 North Ayrshire Council Better Off North Ayrshire – Digital Access £70,800 2017 North Ayrshire Council Better Off North Ayrshire – Shared Tenancy £24,136 2017 North Ayrshire Council Housing Advice £130,514 2017 East Ayrshire Council Rent Deposit Scheme £61,368 2017 Scottish Legal Aid Board Ayrshire Homelessness And Prevention £123,710 2017 Scottish Legal Aid Board Money Advice Project £70,677 2017 SCVO Community Jobs Scotland £16,048 2017 North Ayrshire Council Modern Apprenticeship Scheme £6,955 2018 North Ayrshire Council Better Off North Ayrshire – Digital Access £372,231 2018 North Ayrshire Council Better Off North Ayrshire – Shared Tenancy £2,572 2018 North Ayrshire Council Housing Advice £131,890 2018 East Ayrshire Council Rent Deposit Scheme £61,782 182
Page 183
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 2018 Scottish Legal Aid Board Ayrshire Homelessness And Prevention £125,713 2018 Scottish Legal Aid Board Money Advice Project £74,298 2018 SCVO Community Jobs Scotland £14,190 2018 North Ayrshire Council Modern Apprenticeship Scheme £2,838 2019 North Ayrshire Council Better Off North Ayrshire – Digital Access £440,792 2019 North Ayrshire Council Housing Advice £137,031 2019 East Ayrshire Council Rent Deposit Scheme £61,781 2019 Scottish Legal Aid Board Ayrshire Homelessness And Prevention £125,714 2019 Scottish Legal Aid Board Money Advice Project £70,560 2019 SCVO Community Jobs Scotland £5,263 2019 Nationwide Community Awards £44,635 2020 North Ayrshire Council Better Off North Ayrshire – Digital Access £91,960 2020 Scottish Government Benefit Uptake Fund/Communities Rec Fund £16,411 2020 North Ayrshire Council Housing Advice £140,874 2020 East Ayrshire Council Rent Deposit Scheme £62,609 2020 Scottish Legal Aid Board Ayrshire Homelessness And Prevention £128,602 2020 Scottish Legal Aid Board Money Advice Project £79,065 2020 SVCO Community Jobs Scotland £9,365 2020 Scottish Government Supporting Communities £15,220 2020 SCVO (Scottish Gov) Wellbeing Fund £14,224 2021 North Ayrshire Council New Better Off £108,148 2021 Scottish Government Benefit Uptake Fund/Communities Rec Fund £24,473 2021 North Ayrshire Council Housing + Money Advice £94,664 2021 East Ayrshire Council Rent Deposit Scheme £62,609 2021 Scottish Legal Aid Board Ayrshire Homelessness And Prevention £129,769 2021 Scottish Legal Aid Board Money Advice Project £78,736 2021 SCVO Employment Initiative £2,410 2021 Scottish Legal Aid Board Debt Advice Journey £54,515 183
Page 184
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 8. Monitoring and evaluation process Please include detail on the monitoring and evaluation processes planned or in place. CHAP has a robust monitoring and evaluation process in place in relation to all our projects. This includes a recording and reporting programme where we record all of our client’s information, and this is updated at every stage of the support the receive from CHAP. This allows us to capture • Number of clients referred • % of clients engaged • Issues clients need support with • Successful outcomes • Financial gains We also have an evaluation process in place which allows us to capture how the support we provide has impacted our clients’ lives. We have a flexible approach to this, where clients can provide feedback directly over the phone, and we also have an online form which is sent to individuals who have an email address so that they can provide feedback anonymously. The evaluation captures various elements, including: • Satisfaction with the overall service received • Did they feel at ease with their advisor • How easy did they find it to access our services • Was their appointment method suitable • Has our service improved any of the following for them Finances Health Improving Confidence Quality of Life Reducing Stress Social Circle/Activities Employment Education • Any other comments regarding the service We conduct service user focus groups in order to speak to clients face to face and generate a discussion around what we could potentially improve on, and what clients feel we do well, and could do more of. By capturing this information, it allows us to demonstrate the impact that the work we do has on individuals, their families, and the overall community. 184
Page 185
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 185
Page 186
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND THREE TOWNS LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP Overview of CHAP Assistance to Foodbank Warm Hub CHAP will have a worker based in the ‘warm’ hub at Church of the Nazarene, Ardrossan, for a few hours each week (between the months of November and February) offering assistance on housing, welfare rights and debt issues to those individuals requiring this. This assistance includes, but is not limited to: • Completing benefit and housing applications • Appealing benefit decisions and providing representation at tribunals where required • Negotiating with creditors/landlords • General income maximisation • Advice on budgeting and debt options • Private tenancy issues • Rent/mortgage arrears This is part of CHAP’s efforts to take advice services into the heart of the community, ensuring that they are accessible to all within trusted environments across North Ayrshire. The learnings from this pilot outreach project within the three towns will inform future community-based initiatives in the locality. Individuals accessing the hub are likely to be experiencing financial difficulties and we want to encourage them to seek assistance at as early a stage as possible, to prevent trauma and a crisis situation arising. The aim of CHAP’s services is to ensure that individuals are not disadvantaged through a lack of awareness or information regarding their rights. 186
Page 187
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP The CIF will support proposals and projects that: • The North Ayrshire Fair for All Strategy, with consideration for how applications contribute to community support for the cost-of-living crisis; • The Community Planning Partnership and Locality priorities; • North Ayrshire Council’s values, priorities and business objectives; • The Community Wealth Building and Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategies; And will also: • Fulfil a compelling need and not duplicate existing services or facilities; • Provide long-term, sustainable, positive results for the greatest number of people possible; • Exhibit project and/or organisational innovation in their approaches to their work in their way of addressing community challenges and in their request to Locality Partnerships and the Council; • Come from (an) organisation(s) that is financially viable (can provide financial statements upon request) and efficiently and effectively managed. This can include an organisation to be created to deliver the project; • Include options or potential for NAC and CPP employee engagement and volunteering where possible; and • Include measurable outcomes and can report to NAC on outcomes on a regular basis. When to apply and how? • LPs should continue to engage with their communities and stimulate interest in the CIF. The Locality Partnership will then strategically assess the applications, make links and look at the funding ‘in the round’. • If the partnership supports a bid then the group will be encouraged to submit a full application form (attached), which they will decide upon before making a proposal to Cabinet for final approval. • The finalised proposal will go to the next suitable Cabinet for final approval. • Forms should be returned to your Locality Officer, by email if possible: Name Colin Ferris Locality Officer (Three Towns Locality) North Ayrshire Council St John’s Primary School Morrison Avenue Stevenston KA20 4HH Email: colinferris@north-ayrshire.gov.uk Tel: 475912/212 Mob: 0758461250 187
Page 188
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP For more information see the guidance form here: http://www.northayrshire.community/wp- content/uploads/sites/60/2018/06/community-investment-fund-guidance-notes-17-12-17.pdf 1. Details of your organisation Name of Organisation Ardrossan Community Sports Hub Postal Address for Correspondence Name of Contact Person Eddie Gibb Position in Organisation Trustee Telephone Number Click or tap here to enter text. Email Address 2. Brief description of your organisation Please include its legal status, aims and objectives, activities or services provided and how long it has been in existence. Ardrossan Community Sports Hub are a Registered Charity (SC049582) who were created in 2019 to promote a healthier Ardrossan where people are more active more often and where physical activity and sport helps bring about positive benefits for individuals and our community, including a sense of wellbeing, resilience and civic pride. We have 4 key objectives that we aim to deliver within Ardrossan: • To promote excellent physical and mental health through participation in person-centred sport and physical activity. • To promote a strong, resilient, sustainable, and supportive community which has pride in its achievements. • To develop skills for life, learning and work through volunteering and employment. • To improve access to sport and physical activities facilities and environments. 188
Page 189
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP We have 133 members and beyond this our gym membership numbers stand at 340. Our 8 member Board are well connected with trusted community organisations such as Ardrossan Castle Heritage Society, Ardrossan Community Development Trust, Winton Rovers CIC, and local Primary and Secondary Parent Councils. To develop our activities we’ve consulted extensively with local people and groups using social media with over 1400 Facebook followers. During 20/21 ACSH took over a 7500q ft private gym in Ardrossan which had shut down during COVID – bringing a redundant building back to life, resurrecting this as a community asset and operating it as a community gym. Since the gym opened in May 2021; • more than 340 members have been signed up to take advantage of affordable, low cost gym membership generating membership income to provide the building block for a longer term sustainable community enterprise. • 5 staff have been employed and sustained to operate the facility, creating valuable employment opportunities for residents • several grant awards were secured to provide sporting activities for children and purchase equipment to enable local people facing financial hardship to access on line services and encourage children and parents to interact inside and outside during lockdowns. • a large external grass area was developed following a request from Winton Youth Academy to provide a turfed area suitable for their youngest teams to train and play games. Given ACSH’s status as a Registered charity, our track record in resurrecting a redundant gym and success in quickly establishing a significant membership and community profile, it is envisaged that we will take the lead role in the Winton 3G project. 189
Page 190
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 3. Title and summary of proposal Tell us about your idea. Please describe in as much detail as possible, what the funding will be used for. Please include: • where it will be held / delivered • who is your target audience • who will benefit from it and how • any partners that are involved. Project Title – Winton Park 3G Background Ardrossan Winton Rovers Junior Football Club (AWR) are a well-loved institution within the town of Ardrossan and are committed to developing even further as a community club. Community use of the facilities at Winton Park, however, is constrained as the grass pitch is unable to take more intensive use. Ardrossan Community Sports Hub (ACSH) have a growing reputation and profile after resurrecting a Community Gym of the town in 2021 – operating now as a local social enterprise with more than 340 members and a track record in securing grant funding for projects. 15 teams currently operate under the umbrella of Ardrossan Winton Rovers Youth Academy (AWRYA), with more in the pipeline, with more than 325 youngsters registered within the Academy. Current Situation & Project Proposal A significant majority of AWRYA teams report great difficulty in hiring training facilities and a pitch for home games in Ardrossan – with none of the 15 playing in Ardrossan itself. Academy Managers reported difficulties travelling to train or play home games - both logistically and in terms of costs, with lower turnouts when travel is involved as a result. Significant expenditure (c £50-70k pa) is made by the AWRYA teams outside of Ardrossan in facility bookings and ancillary spend whilst teams travel for home games and training – representing leakage from the local community. Ardrossan contains significant pockets of deprivation with low income and poverty being a barrier to participation in sport. In health terms 45% of Three Towns data zones are in the top 15% most health deprived in Scotland, the highest rate for any local authority. Despite this there is obvious under provision of facilities within Ardrossan and the Three Towns when mapped against those available in other North Ayrshire towns such as Kilwinning, Irvine, Dreghorn and Kilbirnie. There are no Astroturf facilities within the Three Towns that are suitable in size or surface to accommodate 11 aside league games on. As a result a project partnership has been established to develop the business case and assemble funding to install a 3G synthetic surface at Winton Park. The development of a new community asset 190
Page 191
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP would help give the AWRYA teams an identity and an affinity to the club and town – with a local survey establishing likely positive impacts on participation on sports and physical activity. Project Partnership The project involves a delivery partnership with key roles for each of the three parties involved • Winton Park is owned by Ardrossan Winton Rovers Ltd, essential a holding company the shares in whom are wholly owned by Ardrossan Winton Rovers CIC – who are the legal vehicle for Ardrossan Winton Rovers Junior football team. Ardrossan Winton Rovers Ltd will retain ownership of Winton Park will lease the pitch to Ardrossan community Sports Hub for 25 years. Winton Park will remain the home ground of AWR who will have priority access to the facility for home matches and training. AWR will continue to operate the Supporters club, Hospitality Suite and changing rooms whilst making these available to the wider community. • With a 25 year lease for Winton Park in place, Ardrossan Community Sports Hub would be the lead partner in this project seeking capital funding to install the new 3G surface and procure and manage the works contract. Post installation ACSH will be responsible for overall facility management, financial management and marketing and promotion of the facility including managing pitch bookings via their software system. ACSH intend to enter into an Agreement with Ardrossan Winton Rovers CIC for the maintenance of the facility. • Ardrossan Winton Rovers Youth Academy teams would populate the facility for training and home games, providing sufficient income to make the facility financially sustainable and play a key role in managing and promoting wider community use. What will the Funding be Used for CIF funding will contribute to the capital funding package we are assembling for the project. Indicative cost estimates secured earlier in 2022 suggest this could be c £615,000 which includes provision for replacement of the existing grass surface with a new 3g synthetic surface, associated drainage and substructure work, ball retention fencing and netting, 3 sets of 7 a side and 1 set of full-size goals, allowance for new LED floodlighting system, installation of a modular changing facility with multipurpose room on site, professional fees and unrecoverable VAT. A detailed specification of the works involved is contained in the Business Plan, with an elemental cost breakdown shown in Section 7 of this application. 191
Page 192
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 4. What difference will this project make within the locality and to local services and programmes? Please include: • The outcomes you aim to achieve • How you will approach reducing inequality • How this proposal fits with the Locality Partnership priorities of *** Outcomes In developing the proposals set out in this application the project partnership will look to deliver the following activities and outcomes within the local community • Develop and operate a sustainable 3G facility that is able to meet the requirements of the wider local community as well as the Ardrossan Winton Rovers Youth Academy for a safe, welcoming and accessible venue • To promote excellent physical and mental health through participation in football, sport and physical activity. • Enable more children and young people engage in and enjoy positive sporting and diversionary activity. • Increase the number of players, coaches and clubs playing football and progressing through recognized national pathways. • Design and deliver specific programmes for a range of different groups within the community and link with related clubs and promote the new facility as a venue for local social and leisure events • Create employment and volunteering opportunities, developing skills for life, learning and work. • To improve access to sport and physical activities facilities and environments. • Increase the level of community engagement with the Winton Park facility and establish a reputation for quality and good practice. • To promote a strong, resilient, sustainable, and supportive community which has pride in its achievements. • Provide opportunities for participation in football and wider sports to local residents from underrepresented groups. Tackling Inequality Ardrossan with a population of c10,500, has quite significant challenges in relation to inequality, with numerous issues affecting the local population such as: low income, poor health, high unemployment, substance abuse and a lack of proper infrastructure in the town: 192
Page 193
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP Some of the statistics below paint a rather daunting picture with regards to some of the issues affecting our local Ardrossan residents. • 7 out of 13 Ardrossan data zones, accounting for 55% of the population, rank within the 20% most deprived in Scotland • In terms of income deprivation, 5 of Ardrossan’s 13 data zones are in the worst ten percent in Scotland with 6 of the data zones having income deprivation levels twice the Scottish average. • Ardrossan remains an unemployment blackspot. The neighbourhood of Ardrossan Central ranks the highest for both adult (9%) and youth (11%) unemployment in North Ayrshire. 7 of Ardrossan’s 13 data zones are in the worst 20% for employment deprivation in Scotland. • In health terms within Ardrossan 7 of 13 data zones are in the worst 20% in Scotland. • Ardrossan Central has the lowest male life expectancy in North Ayrshire (68.2 years versus 75.3 years) and the third lowest female life expectancy (75.2 years versus 80.1 years) This level of deprivation translates into significant inequalities in terms of being able to access and participate in sport and fitness activity – particularly for young people. This is compounded by the marked absence of local provision for sport and fitness within Ardrossan, where KA Leisure don’t operate any facilities. Despite overall increases in sports participation across the country in recent decades research indicates that those living in the most deprived areas – such as those prevalent within Ardrossan - continue to maintain an especially low level of participation. In March 22 we surveyed officials from the Ardrossan Winton Youth Academy about their experience of how the lack of facilities locally impact on young people’s participation. Feedback received included: • Ardrossan has no 11 aside Grass or Astroturf pitches or goals. There are 10,600 people in Ardrossan, and they all must travel to Saltcoats or Ardeer Rec in Stevenston to get use of grass playing facilities, which in Winter are either swamped due to poor drainage or ice has made the ground unplayable. Not to mention travelling miles to get there and at cost using public transport or cars. • I believe some of our boys pick and choose games depending on where it is based. • Travel/time/expense are definite barriers to us at AWRYA and applies to a lot of our players. • We must play all our home games away from home 9.5 miles away in Irvine - this proves to be a logistics problem most weeks trying to get 20-30 kids and parents that distance puts a strain on the coaches/parents and families. Also incurs additional costs as almost every week the team is having to travel away from its hometown to access decent quality facilities. • Some Girls can’t pay the expense so unfortunately miss out. It’s a real issue. • Some kids miss out as they wont or don’t travel to the home games due to parents lacking transport or the distance/cost to get there. This feedback has been crucial in convincing our project partnership to develop our proposals for a new 3g facility at Winton Park. ACSH commissioned a community survey in April 22 to test residents’ views on the 3G proposals which included their opinions about the potential wider community impacts. The feedback received from residents emphasised that the project would definitely play a 193
Page 194
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP role in addressing these inequality – with very large majorities expecting the project to have a positive impact on participation on sports and physical activity generally (92%) and on the health and wellbeing of people in the community (92%) whilst 89% felt it would improve the quality of life generally. Three Towns Locality Partnership Priorities The Winton 3G project will impact on the priorities of the Three Towns Locality Partnership in the following ways: Promoting the Local Economy and Tourism The project will lever significant new funding into Ardrossan from a range of public and Trust funders, leading to the creation of a significant new community asset. In funding the upgrade of Winton Park this investment will, in turn, help stem the leakage of expenditure from Ardrossan. Our survey work with our Winton Youth Academy teams earlier in 2022 established that these teams make significant expenditure (c £50-70k pa) outside of Ardrossan in facility bookings, travel and other ancillary spend whilst teams travel for home games and training – representing leakage from the local community. As local teams are able to play home games at the facility this will be reduced, with resultant benefits in terms of refreshment spend in local shops - not only from expenditure incurred by Winton players/parents but also from the resulting increase in visitor footfall to Ardrossan from opposition teams. Within our business plan we estimate that once the facility is up and running we will have around 66000 visits to Winton Park from over 1100 participants over the course of a year (including players, coaches, volunteers, youth and community groups). More directly the project will create 3 jobs in managing and operating the facility which will provide paid employment opportunities for local residents – with 2 of these posts targeted specifically on unemployed young people. Over a longer period we expect increasing sessional employment opportunities to be created from the delivery of coaching and other skill development programmes which will take place at the facility Regenerating Community Facilities The Winton 3G proposals fit directly with North Ayrshire Community Wealth Building objectives. The Development Partnership we have put together involves collaboration to best effect between a local Community Interest Company (Ardrossan Winton Rovers), an existing SCIO (Ardrossan Community Sports Hub) and an aspiring SCIO (Ardrossan Winton Rovers Youth Academy) – all managed by voluntary Boards / Committees made up of local residents. Use of Winton Park is currently limited to accommodating home games and training for Ardrossan Winton Rovers. A ‘typical’ weekly usage profile indicates that around a maximum of 8 hours activity 194
Page 195
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP per week takes place in the summer months – with this dropping further in Winter weather conditions as training requires to be moved off site to protect the surface. Ardrossan Winton Rovers as a community club would like to be able to offer more community use of the facility, but this isn’t possible with the existing grass pitch which could not sustain further use given prevailing weather conditions and the maintenance regime required to keep the pitch in good condition. The project will, therefore, upgrade the facilities at Winton Park, creating a new modern facility with a synthetic surface and associated facilities which will allow much more intensive use of Winton Park by the community. The facility will be available for use over 85 hours across 7 days per week not only by the clubs within the Winton Youth Academy structure but also for walking football, by local schools, community session (e.g. unemployed groups, walking clubs, youth groups) use by Ardrossan Community Sports Hub gym activities (e.g. boot camps, aerobics etc), and coaching courses. Increasing Civic Pride and Community Engagement The survey work we undertook to establish the local community’s perceptions of the project established that a very significant proportion are supportive, with 80% expressing a positive view and only 3% expressing a negative view - with a significant majority of respondents (62%) very positive. Some of the benefits identified by those commenting included creating more of a focus for people in the local community to come together; improving social cohesion; and the facility being seen as good for the community generally. Feedback from the coaches surveyed within the Winton Youth Academy also stated benefits of this kind: • Better facilities will be a great community asset ....... that the Ardrossan Community can use which in turn helps social isolation, mental health, physical health, and fitness. • Bringing back some Civic Pride to our town by establishing a proper community club in the heart of an underprivileged area. • A home ground would give us girls an identity and an affinity to the club and town. We are forced miles away and are essentially nomadic. • Keeps a lot of money in the town and helps local businesses and shops who otherwise are losing trade as the 15 teams never actually play in Ardrossan. • We are buzzing as an academy that this site is being looked at as a potential new Astroturf facility, we think it would give the town a better community spirit, as well as a financial boost. Improving Community Wellbeing Sport and physical activity are not the sole answers to widespread health issues – issues of diet, lifestyle and poverty are central to many of these. Nevertheless, there are clear health gains to be obtained by a general increase in regular participation in sport and other physical activity which will be facilitated for Ardrossan residents by this project. Physical activity has significant direct health 195
Page 196
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP benefits – making a significant contribution to the control and reduction of obesity and increased cardio-respiratory fitness reducing the risk of coronary heart disease mortality in particular. It’s well documented that a positive experience of sport and physical activity at a young age can contribute to a lifetime of participation in sports. The availability of the Winton 3G facility will make it much easier for young people and adults to participate in the recommended level of physical activity per week. Improved self-esteem, confidence, self-efficacy, and perceived competence result from long-term participation in sporting activities and team sports. The appeal of sport and sports-related employment can also be used within the education curriculum to engage disaffected pupils and improve academic performance and commitment to continuing education. Football governing bodies across Europe have undertaken a lot of work in recent years to demonstrate that an investment in grassroots football can generate positive societal impacts by stimulating inclusion and integration as well as improved health and wellbeing for those playing. Using Social Return on Investment models, UEFA worked with several top academics and practitioners in the field to quantify both the positive social consequences of football and its overall economic impact. In addition to obvious direct economic and employment benefits resulting from investment in football facilities the largest impacts are derived from “implied benefits” relating to education, integration, reduced crime rates, improved wellbeing, and reduced risk of type II diabetes and heart disease. There’s also evidence of impact on mental health, in terms of anxiety and depression and social benefits such as a reduced likelihood of people getting involved in the criminal justice system , in terms of people’s greater propensity to be employed and in terms of improved educational performance. We are confident that the development of a Winton 3G facility will have similar associated benefits for our community. 196
Page 197
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 5. What engagement has taken place in relation to the project? Please include the number of people who have been engaged with or consulted as well as the range of people. Two focused consultation exercises were undertaken to inform the development of our proposals In March 2022 Ardrossan Community Sports Hub undertook a survey of the 15 teams playing under the umbrella of the Ardrossan Winton Rovers Youth Academy (AWRYA) – and representing 325 young people aged 5 to 20 years old. The aim of the survey was to gather information on the facilities currently used for training and playing home matches and to gauge the views of the Team Management on the adequacy of the these. Key findings included: • The 15 youth academy teams undertake 30 training sessions a week – with only 8 of these taking place in Ardrossan. 12 out of 15 AWRYA teams reported it to be very difficult to hire training facilities in Ardrossan • Similar numbers reported it to be Very Difficult to hire a pitch for home games in Ardrossan – with none of the 15 playing in Ardrossan itself, the majority playing elsewhere in the Three Towns and 6 of the teams travelling as far as Kilwinning (6.2 miles), Irvine (8.6 miles) and Kilbirnie (11.1 miles) to play home matches. • St Matthews, despite training on it out of necessity, is very poor surface predominantly for Hockey with sand based low generation Astroturf which has been there for years. This facility is also prone to surface water flooding. • There are no Astroturf facilities in the Three Towns that are suitable in terms of size or surface to accommodate 11 aside league games on. Despite only having 6,000 more people than Ardrossan Kilwinning has 3 full size Astroturf pitches. Kilwinning is half the size of the three towns locality and has 3 times the amount of suitable all weather Astroturf facilities for anyone playing over age 12 • The survey went on to ask Team Managers about how they might use any new 3G Astroturf facility which could be created at Winton Park in Ardrossan. All 15 teams expressed a wish to train and play at the facility. This was followed up by a wider community survey an independent survey of 189 Ardrossan residents conducted by IBP Strategy and Research in April 2022 on the impact which a new facility would have locally - not only on participation levels but also in wider community terms. Those commenting positively referred to benefits such as increasing participation in physical activity generally; providing quality facilities to allow sports people to fully develop their potential; positive impact on pride in the area; and providing greater opportunities for participation amongst young people. A smaller proportion indicated that they felt the project would have a substantial impact on reducing crime and anti-social behaviour in the area whilst almost 9 in 10 felt it would improve the 197
Page 198
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP quality of life generally. These very positive views were reflected across all identified demographic groups. Further consultations have taken place with key stakeholders. North Ayrshire Council are proposing to redevelop the vacant site adjacent to Ardrossan Marina at North Shore. Following public consultation the development of the North Shore site is part of a wider £150M regeneration programme including Ardrossan Harbour, 130-150 new housing units, an extended marina, and a community campus which includes sports pitches for school and community use. The development is not likely to be completed until 2025. The development framework for the site notes that sports pitches will be mainly used by the schools in school hours, with the pitches required to meet the needs of school curriculums but should be available for community use outside these times. Consultations took place with North Ayrshire Council staff in early June 2022. During the meeting it was emphasized that the Winton 3G facility and the new pitch within the Campus in North Shore would be able to dovetail to provide significant new capacity within the Town as follows: • The proposals outlined in our business plan demonstrate significant demand (amount to c75% of peak period capacity and 40% of overall capacity) from teams within the Ardrossan Winton academy structure. This would be sufficient to financially sustain the facility, with room for additional peak time use by other teams outside the Winton family and would be almost exclusively free to be used during off-peak periods by the Community. • In contract the new schools pitch within the North Shore Campus would have significant planned use during the day, Monday to Friday – which is effectively the off-peak period – with capability for use by the wider community in the evenings and weekends, including from teams who aren’t able to access the Winton 3G facility at these times due to excess demand. On this basis discussions took place regarding the range of potential funding opportunities both within and external to North Ayrshire, with local authority staff happy to provide further inputs and offer support for the proposals to strategic funders such as Scottish Football Association and Sport Scotland. Consultations have also taken place with Cameron Watt, Football Facilities Manager at the Scottish Football Association, the potential key funder for the project. The SFA indicated their awareness of Winton 3g proposals dating back to 2013/14, understood the basis of a potential submission and confirmed that the project would be likely to be eligible to apply under Phase 3 of the Grassroots Pitches Fund in Autumn 2023. 198
Page 199
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 6. How will the project be managed? Please include: • How the finances will be managed • Does the proposed project contribute to volunteering or employment opportunities in Three Towns? Please include the number of volunteering opportunities and employment opportunities • If there are any staff requirements, please outline your HR plans ACSH Board Facilities Management As the lead partner within the project, Ardrossan Community Sports Hub will have the following roles and responsibilities Financial Responsibilities ● Managing Winton 3G cash flow and ensuring it meets all its financial obligations and undertakings and that money received and spent is properly accounted for. ● Ensuring effective financial record keeping and procedures and production of regular financial reports as required to funders, members and stakeholders. People Responsibilities ● Provision of line management, support and supervision of employees. ● Exercising duty of care to employees, volunteers, service users and visitors or visiting their premises. Premises / Facilities ● Overall responsibility for the state, use and security of its premises, particularly in relation to legal uses and health and safety. ● Ensuring employer liability, public liability, building and contents insurance provision, compliance with fire and safety regulations, public health requirements and planning consents and regulations. Legal / Governance Issues ● Ensure compliance with the relevant charity and company law ● Make decisions on and exercising general and legal responsibility for all contracts to be entered into by the organisation. ● Ensuring funding is used as per conditions of grant Reviewing And Monitoring ● Ensuring regular review of performance against the terms and targets of contracts, grant awards and other funding 199
Page 200
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP ● Ensure key stakeholders and funders are updated regularly on performance and progress and effectively manage relationships with them Business and Project Development ● Developing and monitoring the Business Plan and its implementation ● Developing a Marketing and Promotion plan for the Winton 3G Hub and ensuring a strong brand within the local community ● Identifying new development opportunities and sourcing business development support as required Financial Management Ardrossan Community Sports Hub Board will be responsible for financial management of the facility and to this end have prepared 5 year financial projections for the facility which are set out within our business plan. The main source of earned income for the facility will come from 3G pitch hire with peak period pitch fees projected to contribute 54% of income in Year 1 rising to 56% in Year 5 and determined by benchmarking with KA Leisure. Occupancy levels are based on known requirements by Winton Youth Academy teams together with prudent assumptions concerning use of the facility by local amateur teams, other youth football clubs and the general public hiring the pitch for their own leisure use We have included grant funding contributions at reducing levels towards staff costs which we believe is realistic given the known availability of revenue grant funding from various sources and ACSH’s track record to date in securing similar funding awards. Staff Costs are the main cost item for the Winton 3G Hub over the life of this Business Plan – followed by the Sinking Fund provision required to be made to enable replacement of the artificial carpet surface after Year 8. Within Overhead Costs we have insured increased provision is made for Heat and Light cost given the recent and future predicted pattern of energy costs. We have set out realistic and attainable income and expenditure targets which can deliver modest annual surpluses whilst ensuring key funder requirements such as Sinking Fund provisions to secure the longevity of the facility and sustain funder investments can also be met. Proposed Staffing Arrangements Ardrossan Community Sports Hub will employ a Facility Manager to manage the facility – supported by 2 Facility Assistants recruited via Employability programmes. Pitch bookings and payments will be made using industry standard on line software, minimizing the need for staff administration time. It is intended that these staff will provide cover the facility during Peak operating hours – from 4.30 pm to 10om Monday to Friday and during the weekends. 200
Page 201
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP During Off Peak periods in a typical week – essentially Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30 pm – it is envisaged that the facility will be used primarily for wider community use and access for these purposes and associated supervision will be provided for by Gym staff who are located within the nearby Ardrossan Community Sports Hub Community Gym. The Facility Manager will have the following management and development roles and responsibilities • Oversee the daily operations and management of Winton 3G Hub and its facilities including ensuring the safety and quality of playing surfaces and the safety of those using the facilities. • Prepare annual budgets for Board approval and manage resources within budget • Take the lead in proposing pitch hire, membership, room hire and other facility fees for Board approval • Line manage, support and develop the Facility Assistants • Work within specific guidelines, e.g. equal opportunities, health and safety and child protection • Identify and develop sport, recreation and health initiatives and develop partnerships to develop initiatives and implement them • Attend meetings, seminars and conferences and liaise with schools, partners and other Clubs to develop new opportunities and partnerships • Ensure the facility is effectively marketed to ensure high useage rates and engagement within the local community – using social media, specific events and other relevant activities • Identify potential opportunities to secure external funding • Raising local public awareness of health and fitness issues and promote participation in sport, particularly amongst underrepresented groups • Evaluate and monitor activities and projects using performance indicators The Facility Assistants will have the following roles and responsibilities • Act as first contact for sports facility visitors, dealing with enquiries. • Maintaining admin procedures for the Winton 3G Hub and deal with cash handling as required • Organize and schedule events as required. • Assist the Facility Manager as required in the marketing of the Hub and its facilities including use of social media • Assist in the set up / take down of sports equipment as required. • Ensure that the safety and behaviour of the public is controlled to prevent injury, misuse and damage to facilities. • Provide first-aid cover, and act as a Fire Warden ensuring that the appropriate documentation is completed • Carry out routine facility checks and completion of relevant documentation • Carry out general cleaning duties of the facility, including changing rooms, toilets and external areas. Volunteering Opportunities 201
Page 202
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP All three organisations involved in this project have volunteers at the core of their operations. Ardrossan Community Sports Hub have 8 Trustees who act on a voluntary basis across various roles to champion Ardrossan and make sure the Town secures the best resources possible. Ardrossan Winton Rovers CIC have a voluntary board of Trustees and facilitate volunteering opportunities currently mainly around Ground/Stadium Maintenance, fundraising and administration of the football teams. Ardrossan Winton Youth Academy have a volunteer Committee and have 15 teams with 32 coaches who train, coach and facilitate the Youth Academies games on a weekly basis. A further 44 volunteers are involved in the teams in other roles such as secretary, treasurer, and first aid/ safety officers. With the new facility the deliver partnership will likely create further volunteering opportunities as the Youth Academy are expected to grow further so will need further coaches and off field voluntary support. They will likely also want to increase their board. ACSH and AWR will seek help with maintenance of new facility and will aim to upskill potential trainees or volunteers to allow more voluntary contribution to this new community facility. 202
Page 203
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 7. Amount of funding being requested Please supply details of funding being requested and any other funding you have had over the past 5 years, both financially and “in kind”. Amount of funding requested (£) £100,000 Please give a breakdown of cost and recent quotations where appropriate. Cost Breakdown In April 2022 a set of indicative capital costs for the installation of a 3G pitch at Winton Park with associated works were secured from Sportslabs. These are appended at the end of this application for information. The summary elemental costs, in the region of £615,000, are shown in the table below. Estimated 3G Capital Costs Element Estimated Costs Prelims £25,622 Site Preparations £34,888 Drainage £12,357 Sub Base £93,314 Shock Pad & Synthetic Turf £200,673 Fencing £17,022 Reinstatement £2,197 Equipment £9,966 Floodlighting £50,000 Maintenance £2,200 Modular Changing Room £50,000 Sub Total £498,239 Key Stage Inspection Fees & Testing £4,420 Sportslabs Consultants Project Management Fees £10,250 Net Total £512,909 20% VAT £102,582 Total £615,491 203
Page 204
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP Current Funding Plan One For The Team CIC conducted a review of key potential funding sources for a Winton 3G project in October 2022. A summary of key and possible funding sources for the project is set out in the table below. It is anticipated that ACSH will require to secure assemble a capital funding package between October 2022 and March 2024 to enable 3G installation between May – June 2024 - with contributions from between 6 and 8 funders required to meet the indicative Capital Costs set out above. ACSH will continue to monitor the funding environment to identify new suitable funding opportunities as they arise. Funding Body Comments Scottish Football Association • Scottish FA Grassroots Pitch & Facilities Fund was created in 2021 using UK Government money. • Initially the money was used to support the replacement and enhancement of existing 3G pitches across Scotland, but mostly focused on areas identified in Deciles 1-6 of SIMD areas. • This fund in 2023 will open to applicants looking to transform grass pitches into Synthetic and will meet up to 50% (c£300,000 - £350,000) towards the cost on installation of pitch. • This has been identified as a Key Funding Source by ACSH and having spoken to SFA Football Facilities Manager, he feels Winton 3G are positioned well to apply at the next funding round in October 2023. Sport Scotland • Sport Facilities Fund (SFF) aims to support capital projects that create or improve places where people take part in sport and physical activity. • Sport Scotland have set 2 deadlines each year for this fund: the 1st of April and the 1st of September. The next deadline is 1st of April 2023. • Successful applicants can secure up to £100,000 towards their project if they successfully demonstrate that their project will meet Sport Scotland’s key funding criteria (Increasing Participation and Progression) North Ayrshire Council – Community Investment Fund (CIF) • North Ayrshire Council have a Community Investment Fund which can provide Grants of up to £100,000 for projects which connect with identified local strategies. • The Three Towns Locality have already approved the Expression of Interest submitted by ACSH, to allow a full application for up to £100,000 to be developed. 204
Page 205
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP • The Full Application will be submitted in early November 2022 to be considered at the next meeting of The Three Towns Locality. Garfield Weston Foundation • Garfield Weston Operate 2 grant schemes – one for under and one for over £100,000. • Themes Garfield Weston are looking to fund includes: Arts, Education, Youth, Health, Museums & Heritage, Community, Environment, Faith, and Welfare. • However, in practice Capital Grants are unlikely to be more than 10% of the total project cost (£50,000 or under) and are made when ACSH can demonstrate that they have raised funds locally, that their project is valued by the community, and they have identified approximately half the costs of the project already. Suez Landfill – Primary Fund • Up to £50k available from their Primary Fund, after successfully applying via Suez 2 stage application process. Which can take up to 6 months. • SUEZ Communities Trust consider projects which focus on physical improvement at an identified site. • To be eligible, your project site must be in Scotland. and in the vicinity of a landfill site or transfer station. ACSH are eligible. • Before SUEZ Communities Trust can release funding, a supported project must arrange a payment called the Contributing Third Party (CTP) payment – equal to 11.5% of the grant amount. ACSH willing to arrange this. Additional funders who can be targeted include Barcapel Foundation; Postcode Trust; and Valencia Landfill Community Fund. Previous Funding Support ACSH have a good track record of levering in grant funding resources to enable delivery of our activities. Recent funding secured since 2019 is set out in the table below. Grant Funding Received since 2019 by ACSH Funder Amount Date Received Purpose of Grant Funding Sport Scotland £9,800 April 2019 Grants to provide local children with sporting activities and purchasing of required Sporting Equipment to do so. 205
Page 206
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP Corra Scotland £5,730 May 2020 Funding secured to help ACSH through the COVD 19 pandemic Foundation Scotland The Community Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund £5,000 June 2020 To fund the purchase of resources to encourage interactions between children and parents inside and outside the home during times of social distancing (board games, arts and crafts materials, books, etc.), and to enable people facing financial hardship to access online services. National Lottery Awards for All £9800 March 2020 Funding to allow ACSH to take young people to sporting events and provide a range of sports activities. The project aim is to inspire people in Ardrossan to participate in sport and give them access to new opportunities. Corra Scotland - Winter Support Small Grants Fund £3,390 December 2020 Funding to help families with Christmas gifts, food and fuel costs. North Ayrshire - Community Investment Fund £43,000 January 2021 Full contribution to wages for 1 year of a Fulltime Gym Manager and 1 Part Time Assistant Coach role. National Lottery – Community Led Fund £92,639 June 2022 Grant money obtained over three years to contribute towards salary of the Gym Manager and Coaching Assistants as well as for further cardio equipment within the ACSH gym. North Ayrshire Ventures Trust Fund £30,000 August 2022 Grant money obtained over three years to contribute towards Gym Manager salary cost. 206
Page 207
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 8. Monitoring and evaluation process Please include detail on the monitoring and evaluation processes planned or in place. Ardrossan Community Sports Hub will ensure an effective monitoring and evaluation programme is in place to provide the feedback necessary to allow us to run the facility effectively and secure the impacts we want to deliver for the community. This will include: Area What Will be Monitored Use of the facility Weekly recording of: • No of Games and Training Sessions • No of Players/Participants • % Occupancy levels in Peak and Off Peak periods Use of information to monitor uptake as per business plan projections and to identify excess demand / access problems Beneficiaries Weekly recording of sociodemographic information on participants including age, gender, residence, disability, protected characteristics. Use of information to test who is using facility, ensuring maximum penetration within local community; help guide marketing and promotion activity to underrepresented groups; and identify need for creation of specific initiatives to address any issues arising. Financial Sustainability • Monthly financial reports noting Peak and off peak income from facility hire; event income; grant revenue funding received – all against target • Monthly financial reports noting expenditure against budget Use of information to monitor financial position, identify variances against budget and need to take remedial actions where required. Satisfaction Levels Quarterly surveys of facility users to gain feedback on services provided – from booking systems, access arrangements and affordability to quality of surface, changing rooms, spectator areas and refreshment facilities. Use of information to address concerns and review any policies or procedures necessary to ensure safe, welcoming, affordable and accessible facility Coaching Infrastructure 6 monthly monitoring of: • Nos and Characteristics of coaches; qualifications obtained; progress through recognised national pathways 207
Page 208
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP and Volunteering • Nos and Characteristics of volunteers; no of volunteer hours; types of volunteering opportunities • Questionnaires gathering information from coaches/volunteers on impact of these opportunities on skill levels, confidence, self-esteem and future aspirations Use of information to ensure facility is creating necessary non-playing infrastructure and opportunities which are vital to long term success and supporting the development of volunteers. Wider Community Use Monthly recording of amount and type of use by different groups within the community including social and leisure use e.g. walking football, by local schools, community sessions (e.g. unemployed groups, walking clubs, youth groups), boot camps, aerobics, coaching courses etc. Use of information to gauge level of wider use made of facility by community and associated satisfaction levels. Impacts Anticipate carrying out annual survey work with facility users/participants, member clubs, wider community clubs and other community users. Use of information to test if facility has: • improved access to pitches for training and home games and resolved current barriers • increased participation levels for different groups • impacted positively on teams/participants affinity and association with Ardrossan and Winton • Impacts on participants physical and mental health and wellbeing Beyond this at the end of Year 3 we would anticipate commissioning a wider, independent community survey to establish: • residents perceptions of the facility; • how well it has been received by local people; • the contribution it has made in terms of terms of increasing opportunities for participation in football and wider physical activities and in delivering health benefits; • and whether it has impacted on overall quality of life and pride in the community. 208
Page 209
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT FUND LOCALITY PARTNERSHIP 209
Page 210
210
Page 211
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Community Asset Transfer – Toilet Block and adjacent land at Ardrossan South Beach Purpose: To seek approval, in principle, for a 25-year lease of the toilet block and adjacent land at Ardrossan South Beach to Ardrossan Community Development Trust. Recommendation: That Cabinet: a) Agrees, in principle, to the 25-year lease of the Toilet Block and adjacent land at Ardrossan South Beach between North Ayrshire Council and Ardrossan Community Development Trust, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of the Council’s Community Asset Transfer process, including the requirements detailed in paragraph1.3; b) Approves the recommended terms of transfer on this occasion as a £6,000 in annual rental fee (a total of £150,000 over the 25-year period of the lease); and c) Authorises officers to conclude the associated legal and community asset transfer processes with regard to the lease. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The report proposes agreement that a lease should be developed, under the community asset transfer process, of the existing toilet block and adjacent land at Ardrossan South Beach, South Crescent Road, Ardrossan between Ardrossan Community Development Trust and North Ayrshire Council. 1.2 The lease to Ardrossan Community Development Trust (ACDT) will allow the area to be developed with funding secured from The National Lottery Communities Fund, Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, North Ayrshire Council and other funders. This will enable ACDT to progress works, for which planning permission has been granted, in order to enhance local facilities including the creation of a new children’s play facility and beach visitor facilities. 1.3 This report is being brought to Cabinet at an early stage in the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) process because of the time-critical nature of the funding. It recommends that Cabinet agrees, in principle, to the lease subject to the satisfactory completion of the CAT process including: Agenda Item 9 211
Page 212
• Locality Officers’ assessment of the full application; • Assessment by Legal Service of the full application, including assessing ACDT governance documents in line with the CAT requirements of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015; • Assessment by Financial Services and Property Maintenance and Investment teams to ensure that the public interest is protected and that the organisation can maintain the assets; • Assessment of the ACDT Business Plan by Council’s Business Team to ensure that the organisation is a ‘going concern’ and can meet the financial implications of the CAT; • Agreement with Planning, Regeneration, Roads, PMI, Streetscene and CPP partners, as appropriate, to ensure that the public safety and access is protected; and • Delivery of the full statutory public consultation and any subsequent objections satisfactorily concluded. 1.4 It is recommended that a £6,000 annual rental fee (a total of £150,000 over the 25- year period of the lease) be applied to this CAT, reflecting the investment to date and the potential social return on investment. 1.5 Once the assessment is completed and is satisfactory, it is requested that Council Officers are authorised to progress through the full stages of the CAT process, with any outstanding issues brought back to Cabinet for decision. 2. Background 2.1 Under the terms of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, community asset transfer provides an opportunity for people to be involved in developing and providing opportunities or services for their local communities. It may also allow groups to develop commercial ventures, which will support community benefit. Asset transfer may also mean that public assets get used more frequently and more effectively. Furthermore, community-led ownership may allow additional opportunities for groups to secure extra funding or resources. Ardrossan Community Development Trust 2.2 Following the Three Towns’ Charrette in summer 2017, Ardrossan Community Development Trust was established in 2019 to take forward the local ideas and to engage in activities that benefit and support the community of Ardrossan. ACDT works to attract funding to resource local projects and activities and administer those funds in accordance with their constitution. ACDT works towards increasing local opportunities, endeavours to improve the physical environment, attract more visitors and revive the sense of pride in the town. Their key aims (benefiting principally the community of Ardrossan) are: • The advancement of community development including the advancement of urban/rural redevelopment; • The maintenance, regeneration and improvement of the community’s physical economic, social and cultural infrastructure; and • The advancement of education, training, arts, culture, heritage, sports, recreation, environmental improvement, social and economic wellbeing. 212
Page 213
2.3 The Trust was established to succeed the National Lottery’s Our Place programme and continue with community development within Ardrossan, including the completion of the proposed playpark for the town. This secured the £250,000 investment from National Lottery’s Our Place programme and the preferred site is on land owned by North Ayrshire Council at Ardrossan South Beach. ACDT has a full Board and recently secured Community Investment Funding from The Three Town’s Locality Partnership for a Community Development Officer. The Trust has held consultations and public engagement and is now one of the largest Community Development Trusts in Scotland with over 400 members. ACDT is supported by both the Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS), CEIS and the Connected Communities team to strengthen and develop the skills and expertise of Directors. A new engaging and informative website was launched in 2020 and provides detailed information on projects being developed within Ardrossan and can be found at www.ardrossantrust.org. Ardrossan South Beach Proposals 2.4 While the planning for the playpark has been developing, two further projects were launched: • Deckchair loans, which is part of the objective to develop ideas and actions to help coasts and waters, including being more resilient to climate change: and • Beach-accessible wheelchair loans. A container was installed beside a disused toilet block to house the free deckchair and wheelchair services. 2.5 A proposal was also put to the Council to re-purpose the toilet block to provide modern beach visitor facilities, including a café, and planning permission was granted. A Scottish Government Regeneration Capital Grant Fund award of £748,000 was secured for this project. In August 2022, planning permission was granted to demolish the toilet block and re-build with a more environmentally sustainable building within the same footprint as the existing building. 2.6 The lease of the toilet block and adjacent land at Ardrossan South Beach (Plan of Ardrossan South Beach Toilet Block and adjacent land – Appendix I) will provide a sustainable base for local community activity that meets the aims of ACDT. 2.7 The proposed improvements will be completed in a phased approach: 2.7.1 Phase 1 – July 2023 • A hub area will be created on the grounds of the existing toilet block creating a focal point for visitors to the promenade. The hub will include public toilet facilities and will be fully accessible with an additional changing place facility. • The hub will also include a new café area giving the wider community a new space where they can meet and interact. • At the rear of the hub there will be a storage space to service the crazy golf and hire of the free to use Hippocamp wheelers and deckchairs. • The new area will include Swing Play, adding accessible basket swings and a wheelchair accessible swing. • Rotating play equipment will include roundabouts accessible to people in wheelchairs. • The former 18-hole crazy golf course will be fully reinstated with 2.4metre flagpoles in bright colours. 213
Page 214
• Beach Huts will be constructed of steel cladded in painted timber to be used by community groups and for social enterprise • A Hedge Maze will add play value and provide some shelter. 2.7.2 Phase 2 – dependent on future funding • The creation of an Events Area is a future phase which is not yet funded. ACDT have secured Planning Permission for this development and any changes will be made in partnership with Council officers and subject to public consultation as part of securing new Planning Permission. 2.8 The advice of Streetscene has been provided with regard to on-going grounds maintenance, sustainability and the suitability of planting in salt winds. ACDT has adjusted its proposals as a result of this. Streetscene has agreed to work with ACDT to ensure that within the terms of the lease the ongoing maintenance is in line with the existing Streetscene standard and will be subject to annual review. 2.9 The project will deliver transformational change for Ardrossan, improving the appearance and attractiveness of the promenade. The creation of a new play facility will bring accessible facilities for disabled users, especially those who are wheelchair ambulant. It will include wheelchair swings and roundabouts and additional accessible features. This additional swing park area will complement the existing playpark. The existing playpark will remain within Streetscene’s remit. ACDT is working with Streetscene regarding the regulatory weekly inspection of the play equipment. 2.10 The addition of new beach huts will create new community assets, promoting social enterprises and providing a place on the promenade where local businesses can provide services to the community and its residents. 2.11 Full Planning Permission has been granted, however ACDT does not intend progressing the following elements on the advice of the Council’s Streetscene team due to the intensive and costly maintenance: • The Wavefield • Climbing Boulders (to complement the Wavefield) • Ship Wind Vanes • Mini Castles on the Mound • What’s Washed up on the Beach. The revised phased approach is detailed in Appendix 2. Community Asset Transfer Process 2.12 The community asset transfer process will not transfer from the Council. Leasing under the community asset transfer process permits the Council to exercise its rights under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to evaluate its Best Value duty in terms of social value, rather than monetary best value. Granting a lease in this way means that the community organisation is not charged commercial rates, as the Council recognises that the greater opportunity is for the community to benefit from local community operational management. This CAT will facilitate the development of range of events and activities within the enhanced area, encouraging a wider range of people 214
Page 215
to get involved, giving opportunities for local volunteering and stimulating involvement in shaping and regenerating community life, building self-esteem and confidence. In addition, the creation of the beach huts will support local business enterprise, with profits being used to sustain ACDT’s projects. 2.13 Although Ardrossan South Beach attracts a significant number of visits, especially in the height of summer, there are currently limited facilities on the promenade to support visitors. The planned projects will regenerate the area and will not only give the local community a sense of pride in their promenade but provide a place where they can meet and be active. The facilities will encourage tourism to the local area and in turn improve the local economy, increase social enterprise and employment opportunities. 2.14 Securing ownership through a 25-year lease, enhancing the assets and increasing the range of events and activities within an improved facility will encourage a wider range of people to get involved. Participants will benefit from being more physically active and engaged in sport. This will support several strategic and policy areas relating to the delivery of North Ayrshire’s Active Communities Strategy, the Local Outcome Improvement Plan’s Wellbeing priority, the National Performance Framework’s priorities of physical activity and positive mental health and wellbeing, and Public Health Priority 6, Diet and Healthy Weight. Opportunities for local volunteering will increase, stimulating involvement in shaping and regenerating community life, building self- esteem and confidence. Alignment with Strategic Plans 2.15 The Regeneration Delivery Plan sets out the Council’s Plans for delivering on the ambitions of the Council Plan and Community Wealth Building Strategy. This seeks to redevelop strategic regeneration sites, working in partnership with communities. The CAT will therefore contribute to the delivery of the Regeneration Delivery Plan themes of: • Strengthening Communities; • Inclusive and Green Economy; • Placemaking; and • Enabling Infrastructure. 2.15.1 It will contribute to the objectives of the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Strategy by supporting the creation of a sustainable place, created through and supported by a holistic and collaborative approach. 2.15.3 The development will contribute to the priorities of Scotland’s Economic Strategy by prioritising investment to ensure that Scotland protects and nurtures its natural resources and captures the opportunities offered by the transition to a more resource efficient, lower carbon economy. It will contribute to achieving the outcomes outlined in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2021-22 of: “We value, enjoy, protect and enhance our environment; We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe; We are healthy and active; and We tackle poverty by sharing opportunities, wealth and power more equally.” 2.15.4 It will deliver against the key priorities of Town Centre Action Plan of town centre 215
Page 216
first, town centre living, vibrant local economies, enterprising communities and accessible public services. In doing so it accords with the Town Centre First Principle by putting town centre health at the heart of decision making and seeking to deliver the best local outcomes to support vibrancy, equality and diversity. The project aligns with the North Ayrshire Local Development Plan aspirations to support delivery of community priorities, sustainable tourism opportunities and enhancement of local landscape. 2.15.5The proposal demonstrates the delivery on the ground of the Place Principle as it will promote a shared understanding of place for the Promenade. It will be delivered through a collaborative approach to achieve better outcomes for users and local communities. This will result in the facilities becoming more flexible and able to respond to and be used for local needs and aspirations. This will contribute to achieving the full potential of the seafront including the identified buildings in line with the CWB Strategy. 2.15.6 The rebuilding of the toilet block accords with the Climate Change Plan and North Ayrshire Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy. It will contribute to achieving the target of net-zero carbon emissions by: • Utilising sustainable construction methods and materials to minimise the impact of the works • Making the former toilet block more energy efficient thereby reducing energy consumption and waste • Bringing a current unused / underutilised resource back into positive use and management • Promoting and supporting active travel for journeys to and from South Beach and across Ardrossan • Improving the awareness and understanding of local communities and visitors on sustainability, climate change and the transition to net-zero. The regenerated facilities will be utilised to showcase and raise awareness of this agenda. This aligns with the recently adopted North Ayrshire Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy and will contribute to the delivery of its workstreams. 2.16 The project and proposed approach to delivery accords with the Community Empowerment Act and aligns with Part 5 of the Act to buy, lease, manage or use land and buildings belonging to Local Authorities. The project contributes to the delivery of the Capacity Building Priority in the North Ayrshire Community Learning and Development Strategic Plan 2021-24. This aims to support community organisations and groups seeking to secure local management/control of community assets, through lease, ownership, or management. Partnership approach 2.17 A strong working relationship has existed between ACDT and the Council since the Trust’s inception. The Three Towns Locality Partnership and Community Planning Partnership, local Elected Members and the Council have been supportive of the developments at Ardrossan South Beach. This has led to the support in principle for Community Investment Funding to support the project and the Trust. The Three Towns Locality Officer and Community Development officers provide day to day support to the group and are fully supportive of the project. This has been further augmented with 216
Page 217
officer resource from the Regeneration Team to assist in the preparation of funding applications and the delivery of the project. The commitment to this support will be sustained by the Council throughout the delivery of the project. 2.18 The Trust also works in partnership with a range of local regional and national organisations including Sustrans, Cunninghame Housing Association, Whitlees Centre, Ardrossan Community Association, Ardrossan Castle Heritage Society, and the local branch of the British Legion. The Trust also incorporates the Ardrossan Christmas Lights Committee who have helped improve infrastructure and better seasonal lighting. Public Consultation 2.19 In February 2020 an external consultancy, Wave Particle, carried out a two day, community workshop to discuss how the community could use green spaces for a playpark and crazy golf course. In addition, in August and September 2021, ACDT and its project partners organised a Community Engagement Day event. The event encouraged residents of Ardrossan and South Beach to see the plans for the regenerations of the area, ask questions, raise any concerns and meet with key project partners to get a clear idea of the regeneration proposals. A total of 194 people attended the event. ACDT also commissioned IBP research to carry out a survey within the community to ascertain what the community wanted for the promenade. The feedback from these events and activities have helped shape the planned developments. 2.20 Based on a survey of 438 local people carried out in September 2021: • 89% believed that Ardrossan would become a more attractive place to live and work when the South Beach Regeneration is completed, whilst 92% believed it would deliver better facilities and amenities for the people of Ardrossan. • 77% thought that the focus on providing people with opportunities to be more active would lead to increased physical health and fitness. With links between outdoor activity and mental health well established, 82% of people said the project will lead to improved mental health and wellbeing. • Most people (89%) said the physical regeneration of the South Beach promenade and the investment made in the town, would increase people’s pride of living in Ardrossan. • 95% said that the development will increase the use of the beach and its facilities by disabled people, making Ardrossan a better place to live for people with disabilities and sensory impairments - with the opportunity to access the beach and use the promenade for leisure increase the potential to improve physical and mental health of disabled people. • Most respondents (87%) thought that the redevelopment of South Beach will have a positive impact on the safety of the local area whilst 89% acknowledged South Beach was a great place for the community to meet and socialise, and the project would therefore help increase community cohesion. • Although the current playpark is well-used by children, it is perceived to be not very attractive and lacking excitement. 82% of interviewees believe new and improved play facilities will challenge children and young people to become more active and learn by doing so. 217
Page 218
• Economically the benefits envisaged from the project will also be significant. 91% believed that the project will attract more visitors to Ardrossan for leisure purposes who will spend money on their visit – with residents of Ardrossan similarly more encouraged to stay locally for leisure purposes rather than go elsewhere. • 92% of people believed that the development would act as a catalyst for further investment and funding from elsewhere. 2.21 To better understand the transformational nature of the project and the potential value created for its stakeholders of the impacts set out above, a Social Return On Investment (SROI) forecast was commissioned for from Social Value Lab. SROI provides a framework for measuring and accounting for the full social, economic and environmental impact of activities, including finding ways to put a monetary value on these impacts and calculating a ratio of return for those organisations that are contributing to create the changes which the project is enabling locally. 2.22 This SROI forecast covers the capital investment of the first phase of the South Beach Promenade Regeneration project. The study examined the research and stakeholder consultation and mapped the anticipated range of outcomes against the Scottish Government’s regeneration outcomes defined in the “Achieving A Sustainable Future” Regeneration Strategy. SROI uses financial proxies to establish a monetary value of intangible outcomes and then expresses the Social Return value as a ratio, with the value of the impact divided by the value of the investment. The study concluded that for every £1 of investment in the project £5.68 of Social Value would be created. The Community Empowerment Act 2.23 The Community Empowerment Act provides that while relevant authorities have a duty to secure Best Value in their operations, including when disposing of or letting property, it has long been recognised that best value does not always mean the highest possible price. All authorities have the ability to dispose of property at less than market value where there are wider public benefits to be gained. This is set out in the Disposal of Land by Local Authorities (Scotland) Regulations 2010, and in the Scottish Public Finance Manual for other relevant authorities. The financial and non-financial impacts, both positive and negative, of the different options must be balanced. The price proposed reflects the investment the Trust plans to make, and full community ownership will facilitate the implementation of comprehensive business plan proposals for envisaged development. 2.24 All Community Asset Transfer agreements are safeguarded with ‘claw-back’ provisions. Other safeguards will be set out in the lease and any additions to plans will require new Planning Permission, including public consultation. 2.25 This report is being brought to Cabinet at an early stage in the Community Asset Transfer (CAT) process because of the time-critical nature of the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant funding, which needs to be committed before the end of March 2023. That requires the tender process to be complete, and the lease must be 218
Page 219
secured in order to start tender processes. The increase in building costs adds a second time imperative with the need to act swiftly on quotations to avoid cost escalation. Concluding the Community Asset Transfer Process 2.26 It is recommended that a £6,000 annual rental fee (a total of £150,000 over the 25-year period of the lease) be applied to this CAT, reflecting the investment to date and the potential social return on investment. 2.27 Once the officer assessment has been satisfactorily completed, it is requested that Council Officers be authorised to progress through the full stages of the CAT process. 2.28 Any outstanding issues will be brought back to Cabinet for decision. 3. Proposals 3.1 It is proposed that Cabinet: a) Agrees, in principle, to the 25-year lease of the Toilet Block and adjacent land at Ardrossan South Beach between North Ayrshire Council and Ardrossan Community Development Trust, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of the Council’s Community Asset Transfer process, including the requirements detailed in paragraph 1.3; b) Approves the recommended terms of transfer on this occasion as a £6,000 in annual rental fee (a total of £150,000 over the 25-year period of the lease); and c) Authorises officers to conclude the associated legal and community asset transfer processes with regard to the lease. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 Through the transfer of the assets, the Council will achieve an income of £6,000 per annum for the 25-year period of the lease. This totals £150,000 over the 25-year period. There is loss of income to NAC in relation to the transfer of these assets due to the loss of the direct income to the Council from the fair ground operator and other ad hoc events. In addition, in partnership with NAC, ACDT have already attracted RCGF funding totalling £748,000 to fund the hub. Legacy Big Lottery (now The National Lottery Communities Fund) funding totalling £249,584 towards the play area has been secured and North Ayrshire Council has allocated funds of £10,416 towards Active Travel infrastructure. Human Resources 4.2 None. Legal 4.3 The approval is subject to satisfactory assessment by Legal Services and the support of the Legal Services team in relation to the development of a lease. The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 places a statutory obligation on the Council to obtain the best price or the best rent when it disposes of any asset by sale or lease. These 219
Page 220
regulations permit a disposal at less than the best price achievable where either (a) the property is valued at less than £10,000, or (b) the Council has compared the financial cost of transfer against the community benefits and determined that the transfer is reasonable and promotes either economic development or regeneration, health, social well-being or environmental well-being. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 There will be considerable socio-economic benefits from the community asset transfer of the toilet block and adjacent land and these are outlined in the feedback from local people. The sum proposed reflects the community benefits. These include a variety of positive impacts, for the community of Ardrossan and the surrounding area. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The transfer seeks to provide sustainable community facilities outlined at paragraph 2.15.4. The initiatives, which the CAT will support, encourages the Active Travel network and includes the building of a more environmentally sustainable building with integrated roof-mounted solar panels. Key Priorities 4.6 The proposals contained within the report support the following North Ayrshire Council Plan priorities: • Active and strong communities; • Inclusive, growing and enterprising local economy; • People enjoy good life-long health and wellbeing; and • Vibrant, welcoming and attractive places. Community Wealth Building 4.7 This proposal supports the following pillars of community wealth building: • Advancing community enterprises; • Advancing local ownership of underused land and buildings; and • Supporting local business activities and increasing the variety of ownership models. 5. Consultation 5.1 Officers have sufficient confidence that there is public and Council services support to bring this CAT request at an early stage because of the amount of consultation already carried out. This will facilitate the delivery of the project. The initiation of ACDT and the projects in this report stemmed from The Towns Charrette with local people in 2017. Further specific consultation and engagement has been carried out and is detailed in the report. The statutory public consultation required in terms of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 for a community asset transfer application is currently ongoing. 5.2 Elected Members have been briefed and are supportive. 220
Page 221
5.3 Consultation is currently taking place with Economic Development, Streetscene, Finance, Estates, Property Maintenance and Investment, and Legal Services regarding operational implications and the development of the lease. All parties are supportive of the proposal for the listed assets. Streetscene’s advice has been welcomed by ACDT and has informed changes to proposals to ensure that grounds maintenance stays within current Streetscene affordability and is annually reviewed. Audrey Sutton Executive Director (Communities & Education) For further information please contact Rhonda Leith, Head of Service (Connected Communities), on (01294) 324415. Background Papers Appendix 1: Plan of Ardrossan South Beach Plan Appendix 2: Ardrossan South Beach Phased Approach 221
Page 222
222
Page 223
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Providing Affordable Warmth - ECO4 Flex Purpose: To seek Cabinet approval for proposals to enable access to ECO4 Flex funding for eligible households within North Ayrshire. Recommendation: That Cabinet (i) approves the introduction of ECO4 Flex in North Ayrshire on the terms outlined in paragraph 2.8, and (ii) delegates authority to the Executive Director (Place) to publish an updated Statement of Intent following completion of the Prior Information Notice and subsequent assessment of eligible contractors. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) programme is a national four year programme worth £4 billion to support those on low incomes, and who are fuel poor and vulnerable to the cold, to assist these households to increase the energy efficiency of their properties. 1.2 To support the Council’s ongoing commitment to the cost-of-living crisis, a specific component of ECO4 - referred to as ‘Flex’- has been identified as an opportunity to further support affordable warmth in owner occupied and privately rented homes, as well as complementing our ‘Energy Smart’ programme. 1.3 A proposed delivery mechanism for access to ECO4 Flex is provided within this report to maximise this external funding opportunity to further support affordable warmth measures across North Ayrshire. The delivery model is a proposed new scheme for the Council, involving a partnership approach with external contractors to enable access to ECO4 Flex funding for eligible households. 1.4 Details of how the scheme would be introduced and administered are provided at paragraph 2.8. Agenda Item 10 223
Page 224
2. Background 2.1 The Energy Company Obligation (ECO), first introduced in 2013, is a national energy efficiency scheme that places legal obligations on energy suppliers to deliver energy efficiency and heating improvement measures to domestic premises. This aims to reduce heating costs for low-income, fuel poor and vulnerable people, and usually incorporates the replacement or upgrade of inefficient heating systems, installation of insulation, and/or installation of renewable technologies. ECO funding has been delivered in successive rounds over the years, with the most recent iteration being ECO4. 2.2 The latest four-year ECO4 scheme is worth £4 billion nationally and will run to March 2026. The main objective of the scheme is to reduce household heating costs by improving the least energy efficient housing stock occupied by low income and vulnerable households. The delivery funds for ECO4 are generated from energy suppliers with more than 150,000 domestic customer accounts, and minimum supply volumes of 300 GWh/year electricity and 700 GWh/year gas. 2.3 ECO4 has two main routes to support eligible households: ECO4 ‘Help to Heat Group’ and ECO4 ‘Flex’. Help to Heat Group funding allows independent installers to access funding for private owners or tenants in receipt of income derived benefits and has no local authority involvement. 2.4 While a variation of ECO Flex has been available in previous rounds of ECO funding, the new ECO4 Flex scheme encourages the delivery of multiple measures for a ‘whole house’ approach to the least efficient homes. The criteria for accessing ECO4 funding is more stringent however more funding is available under the new scheme for those that are eligible. 2.5 Under ECO4 Flex, a participating local authority can enable access to funding for private tenure households that are living in fuel poverty or on a low income and vulnerable to the effects of living in a cold home. 2.6 Owner occupied homes with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band of D- G may be eligible for the ECO4 Flex scheme. Separately, private rented homes with Energy Performance Certificate band of E-G may also be eligible for the ECO4 Flex scheme. There is a minimum delivery requirement of improving band F or G homes to at least band D, and band D or E homes to at least a band C. This requirement is to encourage the delivery of multiple measures in a home to a more complete upgrade of the least energy efficient homes. 2.7 The maximum number of potentially eligible properties in North Ayrshire is approximately 21,700 owner occupied properties with an energy efficiency rating of D, and a further 12,900 owner occupied or private rented properties with an energy efficiency rating of band E, F or G. 2.8 A summary of how ECO4 Flex would work in North Ayrshire is as follows: • A Statement of Intent (SOI) is a document published by a local authority to set out criteria for access to ECO funding in the authority area. We currently have a published SOI which is used to enable access to ECO funding for our annual 224
Page 225
‘Energy Efficiency Scotland: Area Based Scheme’. The SOI would be updated with details of selected contractors identified as suitable to install measures under ECO4 Flex. Only contractors named on the SOI will be able to access ECO4 Flex funding for eligible households. A copy of the proposed SOI is provided at Appendix 1. In accordance with OFGEM’s guidance, households must meet at least one of the following four available funding access routes: 1. EPC bands D-G households with an income less than £31,000. This cap applies irrespective of the property size, composition, or region. 2. EPC bands E-G households that meet a combination of two additional criteria available in the OFGEM guidance. 3. EPC bands D-G households that have been identified by their doctor or GP as low- income and vulnerable, with an occupant whose health conditions may be impacted further by living in a cold home. These health conditions may be cardiovascular, respiratory, immunosuppressed, or limited mobility related. 4. EPC band D-G households that are referred under ‘Bespoke Targeting’. Suppliers and local authorities can apply to BEIS where they have identified a low income and vulnerable household that is not already eligible under the existing routes. Bespoke targeting is provided as a safety net and would be an exceptional case identified that is not eligible under the existing routes. • The process of identifying contractors would be informed from responses to a Prior Information Notice (PIN) undertaken to test market interest and identify potential contractors. Once the PIN responses have been returned, the Council would engage with suppliers to apply a number of quality tests (see further information below) before the contractor is added to the SOI. The contractor will also be expected to sign a Minute of Agreement setting out terms and conditions that the contractor will require to meet to participate in the scheme. As part of our Community Wealth Building approach, it is proposed that contractor participation is restricted to Ayrshire based contractor(s), unless such geographically based contractors do not express interest, or do not meet our quality criteria or do not sign the Minute of Agreement. • Once the new SOI is published, the contractors will engage directly with households deemed to be eligible. The Council is not required to generate leads for the contractors; however, the scheme would be widely publicised both internally and with external agencies who interact with households that may be eligible in order to generate additional referrals and maximise reach. • Once the contractor has engaged with the household and sought the relevant evidence to meet the criteria within the SOI, a declaration will be provided to the Council for approval. Officers would then assess the declaration and submitted evidence to make sure the funding criteria have been met, and then sign the declaration and return it to the contractor. The contractor then notifies OFGEM and the ECO4 supplier for final approval. Measures are then installed in the property by the contractor. 2.9 The key next steps and timeline, subject to Cabinet approval of the proposal, would be: 225
Page 226
• Assessment of PIN exercise including quality checks: February 2023 • Signature of Minute of Agreement with contractor(s): March 2023 • Publication of updated SOI: end March 2023 • Promotion of the ECO4 Flex scheme by contractor(s) and across Council channels: April 2023 onwards 2.10 Ensuring quality as part of the ECO4 Flex programme is an important consideration for a number of reasons, including: • To provide a positive customer experience • To ensure measures installed are appropriate, of the required quality standard, and are installed correctly to maximise effectiveness • To ensure adequate protection, as referrals can involve working with vulnerable families For these reasons, contractors added to our SOI would be required to be Trustmark and PAS 2030/35 accredited, to ensure high quality workmanship. The scheme would include key performance indicators to ensure roles and responsibilities are clear and commitments are adhered to. Officers will also consider other assessment checks to ensure the customer journey is of a high quality. 2.11 In order to provide the required declarations as part of the scheme, contractors must submit various documents including personal and special category data of a sensitive and personal nature. A data sharing platform will be established with the Council’s ICT Service, to safely share and store documentation. Appropriate data sharing protocols and agreements will be required, and Information Governance will be consulted throughout the development of the programme. 2.12 Separately, the Council is investing £2.176m through the Energy Smart scheme to support residents impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. The programme includes the installation of physical energy efficiency measures for homes. This programme offers an additional route for access to ECO4 Flex funding, for eligible properties, and officers would refer such properties to SOI contractors where relevant in order to maximise the reach of the original £2.176m funding package. 2.13 In addition, the Council receives annual funding to support energy efficiency measures in hard-to-treat private sector domestic premises. These are properties where traditional energy efficiency measures are more difficult to implement, typically, properties of certain construction types, for example 'no-fines' construction. As noted above, the Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme (EES: ABS) has in the past utilised ECO Flex funding through the appointed EES:ABS contractor to support additional measures. However, the new iteration of ECO4 no longer allows this cross funded approach. ECO4 Flex funding can however be used either as a replacement funding source for properties otherwise eligible for EES:ABS or to provide additional measures that government funded programmes such as EES:ABS cannot support. For example, if the limit of grant funding for EES:ABS has been reached, then we could complete the additional measures such as windows replacement. Only the EES:ABS contractor named on the SOI would be able to access ECO4 Flex funding. This helps to both maximise 226
Page 227
available funding and reflect a ‘whole house approach’ to energy efficiency upgrades. 2.14 A final consideration which will be kept under review is the potential for a Managing Agent agreement to be put in place to administer ECO4 Flex declarations on behalf of the Council. A specialist company could be appointed to manage the scheme via a Minute of Agreement, with ongoing costs to be meet through contractor referral fees. It is anticipated that at present the administration of the scheme can be undertaken with the resource available inhouse; and resource requirements will be kept under review as the scheme develops. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Cabinet (i) approves the introduction of ECO4 Flex in North Ayrshire on the terms outlined in paragraph 2.8, and (ii) delegates authority to the Executive Director (Place) to publish an updated Statement of Intent following completion of the Prior Information Notice and subsequent assessment of eligible contractors. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The Council is already investing £2.176m in energy support for those impacted by the cost-of-living crisis. This proposal provides an opportunity to lever-in significant external funding for eligible properties to support affordable warmth in owner occupied and private rented homes across North Ayrshire. Human Resources 4.2 It is anticipated that the administration of the scheme can be delivered from existing resources, however, this will be monitored in response to demand once the scheme is operational. Legal 4.3 As part of the ECO4 Flex scheme there is an obligation to ensure the quality and integrity of the partnerships to ensure customer satisfaction and minimise reputational risk. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The proposal utilises external investment to support those living in fuel poverty or on a low income and vulnerable to the effects of living in a cold home, in our most energy inefficient properties. It further supports our climate change ambitions, provision of fair green jobs and a green economic recovery. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The proposal aims to: • make a positive contribution to national carbon reduction targets by improving affordable warmth and making homes more energy efficient. 227
Page 228
• contribute to the North Ayrshire Council Climate Emergency declaration commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030. The proposals would also contribute to the delivery of the North Ayrshire Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change Strategy (ESCCS) Affordable Warmth workstream. Key Priorities 4.6 The proposals contained within the report support the North Ayrshire Council Plan priorities: • Active and strong communities • Inclusive, growing and enterprising local economy • A sustainable environment; and • People enjoy good life-long health and wellbeing Community Wealth Building 4.7 As noted at paragraph 2.8, the ECO4 programme would be delivered in accordance with Community Wealth Building aims of creating a fairer local economy central to our aims of tackling climate change, poverty and inequality. 5. Consultation 5.1 Consultation was undertaken with ICT and Democratic Services in the preparation of this report. RUSSELL McCUTCHEON Executive Director (Place) For further information please contact David Hammond, Head of Sustainability, Corporate Property & Transport, on 01294 324514. Background Papers 228
Page 229
DRAFT North Ayrshire Council ECO4 Flexible Eligibility Statement of Intent Local Authority name: North Ayrshire Council Publication Date: XX/XX/2023 Version number: V.1 Publication on web site: www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk This statement sets out North Ayrshire Council’s flexible eligibility criteria for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme to March 2026. The ECO4 scheme will focus on supporting low income and vulnerable households. The scheme will improve the least energy efficient homes helping to meet the Government’s fuel poverty and net zero commitments. The flexible approach for Local Authorities (LAs) to identifying fuel poor and vulnerable households who may benefit from heating and energy saving measures is referred to as “ECO4 Flex”. The Council welcomes the introduction of the ECO4 Flex eligibility routes as it helps the Council achieve its plans to improve the homes of those in fuel poverty or vulnerable to the cold. The Council is publishing this Statement of Intent (SoI), on the XX/XX/2023 to confirm that each of the households declared will adhere to at least one of the four available routes outlined below: Route 1: SAP bands D-G households with an income less than £31,000. This cap applies irrespective of the property size, composition, or region. Route 2: SAP bands E-G households that meet a combination of two of the following proxies: Proxy 1) Homes in Scotland in Area 1-3 of Index of Multiple Deprivation for 2020, published by the Scottish Government1 Proxy 2) Householders receiving a Council Tax reduction (based on low income only). Proxy 3) Householders vulnerable to living in a cold home as identified in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidance. Only one from the list can be used, excludes the proxy ‘low income’. Proxy 4) A householder receiving free school meals due to low-income. Proxy 5) A householder supported by a LA run scheme, that has been named and described by the LA as supporting low income and vulnerable households for the purposes of NICE Guideline. 229
Page 230
Proxy 6) A household referred to the LA for support by their Energy Supplier or Citizen's Advice or Citizen’s Advice Scotland, because they have been identified as struggling to pay their electricity and gas bills. Route 3: SAP bands D-G households that have been identified by their doctor or GP as low- income and vulnerable, with an occupant whose health conditions may be impacted further by living in a cold home. These health conditions may be cardiovascular, respiratory, immunosuppressed, or limited mobility related. This is because the Council has identified a positive correlation between households who suffer from long-term health conditions and living off a low-income, with living in poorly insulated homes. Route 4: SAP band D-G households that are referred under Route 4: Bespoke Targeting. Suppliers and LAs can submit an application to BEIS where they have identified a low income and vulnerable household, who are not already eligible under the exiting routes. Guidance Notes Route 1 - P60 and P45 documentation must be provided for all members earning income in household. 3 wage slips only will not be permitted as they do not reflect annual salaries. Such documents are available at UK Gov website link P45, P60 and P11D forms: workers' guide: P60 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for all household members. Route 2 - Proxies 1 & 3 cannot be used in combination with each other. Route 3 - evidence must be submitted using OFGEM template. Any corresponding email must be sent from NHS registered email. No other format will be accepted Route 4 – currently not available. North Ayrshire Council reserve the right to implement this route and update its SoI accordingly. 1 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) Household contact Households interested in ECO4 flex should contact Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 to check their eligibility for this scheme as well as other Government programmes. Households can also contact ECO4 Flex installers assessed to work within North Ayrshire, the approved contractor list is published on the council website www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk. Declaration To access ECO4 Flex funding, North Ayrshire Council is required to complete a Local Authority Declaration for eligible households. The final decision on whether a household receives ECO support is made by the energy suppliers and therefore inclusion within a declaration will not guarantee installation of measures. The final decision will depend on: • The survey carried out on the property and the installation costs calculated. • The energy savings that can be achieved for a property. • There is adequate funding to support ECO funding for the installation of the energy efficiency measures. 230
Page 231
• Whether ECO obligated parties have achieved their targets or require further measures to meet their ECO targets. Compliance ECO installers will be responsible for collecting eligibility data on behalf of North Ayrshire Council to determine if the householder meets ECO4 Flex eligibility criteria as detailed within this SoI. This data will be collected through the completion of a Household Energy Efficiency Survey. An individual file for each household requesting assistance will be securely transferred to the Council for evaluation. All applications and supporting documentation must be on the appropriate OFGEM application templates. Any applications/evidence/amendments not on the correct forms will be rejected. On agreement, declarations will be provided to the contractor to allow funding to be sought via obligated suppliers. All evidence, as set by OFGEM, will be accepted on face value as being accurate and all risks and liabilities reside with the contractor to ensure those submitted are true and accurate. ECO installers will liaise with North Ayrshire Council and energy suppliers with regards to eligibility and the measures that are proposed to be installed. ECO installers will cooperate with North Ayrshire Council fully with any audits or investigations and provide access to all relevant paperwork at any time during ECO4 to ensure regulatory compliance. Failure to do so would result in a temporary ban and review to determine continued eligibility to deliver this scheme in North Ayrshire. Privacy Notice All information supplied to North Ayrshire Council will be transferred and held securely in line with Council policies and procedures. Each household will be provided with the contractor’s OFGEM approved, fair privacy notice, detailing how the contractor will process information. Please refer to the Council’s ECO4 privacy notice v1. Further information about how the Council manages personal information can be found within our privacy policy, Privacy Policy (north-ayrshire.gov.uk). The officer below will be responsible for checking and verifying declarations and associated evidence submitted on behalf of the local authority: Name: David W Hammond Job Title: Head of Sustainability, Corporate Property & Transport Telephone: 01294 320000 Email: energyandsustainability@north-ayrshire.gov.uk CEO or dedicated responsible person mandatory signature North Ayrshire Council will administer the scheme according to BEIS’ ECO4 Order and will identify eligible households via Ofgem’s application process. The CEO of the Council will oversee the process of identifying eligible households under ECO4 Flex. The eligibility information will be stored securely in line with the Council’s data protection policy, 231
Page 232
Information Commissioner’s Office Data Sharing Code, and BEIS guidance. Signature: XXXXXX Name: Craig Hatton Job Title: Chief Executive Date of signature: XX/XX/2023 For any general enquires relating to this SoI, please contact energyandsustainability@north- ayrshire.gov.uk. 232
Page 233
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: North Ayrshire Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS) Purpose: To seek Cabinet approval of a proposed North Ayrshire Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme. Recommendation: That Cabinet:- i. approves the proposed Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS); and ii. agrees to receive a future update on the CREGFS. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 North Ayrshire Council declared a climate emergency in June 2019 and has committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. 1.2 The Council developed its third Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change Strategy 2021-2023 (ESCCS 3) as a roadmap to achieving this emission reduction target and one of the aims within the Strategy is to maximise access to affordable renewable energy technology. 1.3 The Council is progressing with two large solar PV farm projects and is also undertaking feasibility studies to identify the potential for additional solar and wind energy at i3 Strategic Investment Campus. These projects are anticipated to make a contribution to community investment from the surpluses generated. 1.4 Alongside climate change and sustainability, Community Wealth Building is at the heart of the Council’s decision-making process. Opportunities have been considered to encourage community renewable energy generation to support community groups to either generate income and/or reduce property running costs for any buildings that they are responsible for. 1.5 A community renewable energy grant funding scheme proposal has been developed to support the feasibility and delivery of community-based renewable energy generation projects, aligned to the above objectives. Agenda Item 11 233
Page 234
1.6 Cabinet, at its meeting on 15 June 2021 approved the allocation of £0.350m from the Council’s Investment Fund as part of a participatory budgeting approach to enable crowdfunding for environmental works. It is proposed this allocation be utilised to deliver the proposed Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS). 1.7 The funding scheme would be managed via an open call for applications, promoted by Connected Communities’ Locality Teams through Locality Partnerships, and various other Council channels, with groups signposted to Community Energy Scotland for support to develop and implement their projects, and to the Council’s Sustainability Service, Locality Teams and other appropriate partners for any additional, complementary support required. 2. Background 2.1 In June 2019, North Ayrshire Council declared a climate emergency, committing to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. 2.2 The third Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change Strategy 2021-2023 (ESCCS 3) was published in May 2021. The Strategy provides a roadmap of actions to achieve net-zero carbon status by 2030 and two of the aims within the strategy are to: - inspire positive low carbon behaviour, raising awareness of the sustainability and climate change agenda, and - maximise access to affordable renewable energy technology. 2.3 The strategy's vision of a sustainable, climate ready North Ayrshire is one where everyone plays their part, including the local authority, local businesses, and members of the community. 2.4 Alongside climate change and sustainability, Community Wealth Building is at the heart of the Council’s decision-making process and North Ayrshire Council is committed to strengthening North Ayrshire communities and providing opportunities for all. 2.5 Community renewable energy generation is about taking a new approach to the supply of energy and putting generation in the hands of communities. It embraces local engagement and action and will enable community groups to contribute to the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2030 while generating income (or reducing costs) to invest in goods and services delivered by communities or indeed to provide wider community benefit. Furthermore, community groups are well placed to understand their local areas and to bring people together for a common purpose of creating a fairer and more inclusive local wellbeing economy. By empowering community energy generation, we are ensuring that the benefits of the energy transformation are shared widely. Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS) 2.6 To meet the above aims and achieve the 2030 net zero target as part of a just 234
Page 235
transition, it is proposed that a Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS) is established in North Ayrshire. 2.6.1 The intention of the scheme is to support communities in North Ayrshire to undertake renewable energy initiatives that reduce North Ayrshire wide carbon emissions. 2.6.2 Grants will be considered per initiative to support various stages of the community renewables project, such as feasibility, business case, planning, development, and installation stages. 2.6.3 The aims of the CEGFS are to: Increase the level of local community owned renewable energy generation opportunities Support North Ayrshire’s target of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 Accelerate community benefit from local renewable energy generation 2.6.4 The following sets out of the main criteria for the proposed CREGFS: Applications must be from constituted community groups located within North Ayrshire; Local groups will be given a priority; national organisations will only be considered if their application demonstrates a direct benefit to the communities of North Ayrshire; It is expected that any surplus, profit or reduced energy costs delivered by the scheme will be used entirely for the benefit of the community group and/or wider community; Applications can only be accepted for renewable energy generation projects. Examples of the types of technologies which may be considered given their ability to reduce carbon emissions are as follows (this is not an exhaustive list): Solar photovoltaic (PV) Wind turbines Hydropower Heat Pumps Green Hydrogen This is a competitive fund and applications will be agreed on merit, rather than setting a minimum or maximum limit; Applications will be expected to include match funding wherever possible. All match funding for the project secured from other sources, for example the National Lottery Community Fund (Scotland) or the Scottish Government’s 235
Page 236
Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), must be transparently declared in funding applications and any changes notified to the Council; Funding will be treated as one off contribution; The funding award cannot be used to cover costs incurred prior to the funding offer (the funding offer will not pay for goods or services that have already been purchased or provided); The scheme can provide funding to support various stages of the community renewables project, such as feasibility, business case, planning, development, and/or installation stages. 2.7 The Council’s Connected Communities’ Locality Teams already offer ongoing support to local community organisations including as part of encouraging and supporting bids to the Community Investment Fund. Support also includes access to other funding opportunities through a specialist Funding Officer and training through the Community Leadership Collective. 2.8 Community Energy Scotland (CES) is a charity which provides independent practical and technical support for community renewable energy projects. The Council are engaging with CES to collaborate on support available for community organisations in North Ayrshire. CES have experience in supporting community organisations using their expertise in wind, solar, hydro, storage, transport and heat technologies, and a proposed partnership is being discussed to focus this expertise across North Ayrshire. 2.9 The proposed Community Renewable Energy Grant Funding Scheme would be managed via an open call for applications, promoted by Connected Communities’ Locality Teams through Locality Partnerships, and the Council’s usual media channels. Groups would be signposted to Community Energy Scotland for support to develop and implement their projects, and to the Council’s Sustainability Service, Locality Teams and other appropriate partners for any additional, complementary support required. An update on the Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS) will be brought to a future Cabinet. 2.10 The fund total available is £0.350m, which will utilise funding previously allocated by Cabinet on 15 June 2021 from the Council’s Investment Fund as part of a participatory budgeting approach to enable crowdfunding for environmental works. Projects would be invited from all localities, with no minimum or maximum value on an application value to allow a range of different proposals to be considered on their own merits. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Cabinet: i. approves the proposed Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS); and ii. agrees to receive a future update on the CREGFS. 236
Page 237
4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS) will be delivered from existing resources. Cabinet previously approved an allocation of £0.350m on 15 June 2021 from the Investment Fund as part of a participatory budgeting approach to enable crowdfunding for environmental works which will be utilised for the CREGFS. Human Resources 4.2 Administration of the proposed CREGFS will be managed from within existing resources. Legal 4.3 None. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The proposal will assist in meeting the Council’s socio-economic duty as set out in the Fairer Scotland Duty and will help to create a fairer and more inclusive local economy. The scheme will also serve to increase local renewables knowledge, skills and awareness within the community. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The proposal aims to: make a positive contribution to national carbon reduction targets contribute to the North Ayrshire Council Climate Emergency declaration commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030 Key Priorities 4.6 The proposals contained within the report support the North Ayrshire Council Plan priorities: Active and strong communities Inclusive, growing and enterprising local economy A sustainable environment; and People enjoy good life-long health and wellbeing. Community Wealth Building 237
Page 238
4.7 The Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS) supports Community Wealth Building aims of creating a fairer local economy central to our aims of tackling climate change, poverty and inequality. 5. Consultation 5.1 Engagement has taken place with Connected Communities to confirm the capacity of the Locality Teams to support community organisations with their proposals for the Community Renewable Energy Generation Funding Scheme (CREGFS). RUSSELL McCUTCHEON Executive Director (Place) For further information please contact David Hammond, Head of Sustainability, Corporate Property & Transport, on 01294 324514. Background Papers 0 238
Page 239
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Town Centre Fund Update Purpose: To provide an update on the delivery of the approved Town Centre Fund projects and seek approval for the reallocation of the balance of funding. Recommendation: That Cabinet: (a) Notes the progress made on the implementation of the agreed Town Centre Fund projects, and the remaining balance of £147,092 which requires to be allocated (b) Approves the proposals for the remaining balance of the Town Centre Fund as detailed at Appendix One; and (c) Provides delegated authority to the Executive Director (Place) to agree any future changes to the funding allocations in consultation with the Portfolio Lead if required 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The Scottish Government’s Town Centre Fund was developed to enable Local Authorities to support their high streets to be more diverse, sustainable and successful in the face of changing and evolving retail patterns. Local Authorities received direct allocations under the Fund, with North Ayrshire Council receiving a total of £1.925m over two allocations. 1.2 Cabinet approved the acceptance of the allocations in May 2019 and December 2020 and the expenditure of the allocations on a range of projects in Dalry, Kilbirnie, Millport and Stevenston. The approved projects are substantially complete, resulting in a remaining balance of funding of £147,092 that requires to be reallocated to maximise the spend under the Fund. The remaining balance is substantially comprised of unrequired contingency allocations for the identified projects and a proportion of the asset acquisition fund. The latter was not utilised due to the private sale of a site resulting in purchase not being progressed. This report provides an update on progress on the projects and seeks approval of the proposed reallocation of the balance of funding. 2. Background 2.1 The Town Centre Fund was launched in 2019/20 as part of the Scottish Government’s economic recovery stimulation package to support town centres to become more Agenda Item 12 239
Page 240
vibrant, enterprising and accessible. It was developed to enable Local Authorities to stimulate and support a wide range of investments which would encourage town centres to diversify and flourish and create an increase in footfall through local improvements and partnerships. 2.2 The Fund encouraged a balance of larger scale interventions, together with support for some smaller projects, recognising that splitting funds equally amongst all centres would dilute potential impact. It recommended that town centre audits, charrettes and local knowledge inform the process of identifying appropriate projects. 2.3 North Ayrshire Council received an initial award of £1.418m and a further award of £0.507m. Cabinet approved the expenditure of these allocations in May 2019 and December 2020 on a range of projects in Dalry, Kilbirnie, Millport and Stevenston. The projects identified were informed by: - The Fund’s conditions and guidance; - A qualitative scoping exercise informed by town centre audits, conservation area management plans, charrettes, SIMD data, locality and community priorities and an assets review; - Consultation with Elected Members; - The deliverability of projects within the Fund timescales; - Consideration of previous and planned investment in town centres; and - Alignment with the developing actions in the then emerging Regeneration Delivery Plan. 2.4 The projects are now predominantly complete. A summary of the full list of projects including an update on progress and the budget position on each is provided at Appendix One. This has resulted in a balance of £147,092 in the Fund. This is substantially comprised of unrequired contingency allocations for the identified projects and a proportion of the asset acquisition fund. The latter allocation was part utilised for the purchase of a car park in New Street, Stevenston and a long term vacant property at 2 Main Street, Kilbirnie but not fully utilised due to the private sale of a proposed further acquisition site in Stevenston which resulted in the purchase by the Council not being progressed. 2.5 The balance of funding therefore requires to be utilised or financially committed within the current financial year. It is proposed that the remaining £147,092 be reallocated as set out below. Further details on each of the projects and the purpose of the reallocations is provided in the Appendix One: ‒ Dalry Play Links: £30,000 to support the delivery of the Lochshore Play Links project in the Garnock Valley. This will see the installation of three unique play features in Beith, Kilbirnie and Dalry which are reflective of the unique heritage connections between each town and Lochshore. These have been designed through co-design workshops with residents of each town. They will act as signposts between each town and Lochshore, encouraging new visitors to Lochshore to explore the wider area; ‒ Dalry Active Travel Improvements: £91,306 to support the upgrade of the Lover’s Walk link to Dalry Station to improve active travel and support the B714 Upgrade project; ‒ Stevenston Shopfronts: Additional £5,786 to support works to the Pop Inn, thereby expending a total of £286,500 on the 100% funded Shopfront Improvement 240
Page 241
Scheme in Stevenston town centre. Initial scoping work and consultation identified strategic areas of focus to address the poor condition of town centre buildings.; and ‒ Stevenston Beach Hub: Supporting the creation of the new multi-functional community hub located adjacent to Stevenston shore. The hub, operated by Raise Your Voice with Ardeer (RYVA), facilitates new indoor and outdoor activities to the benefit of local communities and promote Stevenston beach as a destination. An additional £20,000 is being allocated to support accessibility and environmental improvements at the Hub. 2.6 This approach aligns with the previous Cabinet approvals and accords with and contributes to the Regeneration Delivery Plan. It is also proposed that delegated authority be provided to the Executive Director (Place) to agree any further changes to the funding allocations in consultation with the Portfolio Lead if required. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Cabinet: (a) Notes the progress made on the implementation of the Town Centre Fund projects; (b) Approves the proposals for the balance of the Town Centre Fund as detailed at Appendix One; and (c) Provides delegated authority to the Executive Director (Place) to agree further changes to the funding allocations in consultation with the Portfolio Lead if required. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The balance of the Town Centre Fund requires to be expended or financially committed by 31 March 2023. The cost of the identified projects will be met by this allocation alongside identified match funding. Human Resources 4.2 The identified projects will be delivered through the existing Regeneration Team resource. Legal 4.3 The legal implications of the projects will be considered through their development and progress in compliance with the grant conditions. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The identified projects will assist in meeting our socio-economic duty as set out in the Fairer Scotland Duty. The projects and Town Centre Fund seek to reverse economic, social and physical decline and reduce socio-economic disadvantage. They also aim to build community wealth and tackle local deprivation through the regeneration of our communities by maximising the potential of our land and assets. An initial screening 241
Page 242
will be undertaken to establish if an Equality and Children’s Rights Impact Assessment is required for projects on a case by case basis. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The identified projects align with the Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy workstreams of: Green Economy; Transport and Travel; Natural Environment; Sustainable Operations; and Carbon Absorption. The climate change and carbon impacts of the projects will be assessed on a case by case basis to minimise the potential impacts in line with best practice. Key Priorities 4.6 The identified projects have been informed by the priorities identified within the Local Outcomes Improvements Plan and Locality Partnership priorities. The implementation of the projects will contribute to achieving the Council Plan priority outcomes and will contribute to the ambitions for: an inclusive, growing and enterprising economy; North Ayrshire to be well-connected with effective infrastructure; and for a sustainable, vibrant, welcoming and attractive environment. Community Wealth Building 4.7 The identified projects will contribute to delivering on the ambitions on the Community Wealth Building Strategy Land and Assets pillar. Their delivery will have a positive impact on the Council’s ambitions, particularly across the pillars of: - Land and Assets: by supporting equitable land development and the development of underutilised assets for community use. - Procurement: through the inclusion of appropriate community benefit from supplier clauses within projects; and by considering local supply chain opportunities and support delivery by smaller scale and local contractors where appropriate. - Financial Power: by investing in localities and leveraging external national investment into North Ayrshire. 5. Consultation 5.1 The proposal for the balance of the Town Centre Fund was informed by the assessment process outlined at Section 2.3 and the Regeneration Delivery Plan. The Regeneration Delivery Plan was the subject of extensive consultation including workshops with Council Officers; workshops with Elected Members; reports to and feedback from North Ayrshire Ventures Trust and the Community Wealth Building Expert Panel; and public engagement via Consul. It was also informed by the Locality Partnerships’ priorities and previous public consultation exercises including Charettes. Russell McCutcheon Executive Director (Place) 242
Page 243
For further information please contact Louise Kirk, Senior Manager Regeneration, on 01294 324766. Background Papers Cabinet Report – Town Centre Fund, May 2019 Cabinet Report – Town Centre Fund, December 2020 243
Page 244
Appendix One: Town Centre Fund Update Project Description Current Position Current Budget Allocation Proposed Budget Allocation Change Dalry Dalry Building Improvement Grants Delivery of a 100% funded grant Building Improvement Scheme in Dalry. Initial scoping work and consultation identified strategic areas of focus to address the poor condition of buildings within the town, several of which are at key entrances and provided a poor impression of the town centre. Majority of works are complete, with weather dependant decoration to be undertaken. Proposed reallocation of unused contingency. £177,065 £159,806 -£17,259 Dalry Streetscape Improvements Town centre improvement works to provide an improved pedestrian environment further to the opening of the Dalry bypass and a substantial reduction in traffic numbers. Removal of low level railing and relining works are outstanding and being progressed. £120,883 £120,883 £0 Dalry Park Improvements Improvements to Dalry Public Park to enhance the Town Centre including works to the Pavilion and drainage improvements. Complete, retention outstanding. £255,454 £255,454 £0 Dalry Events & Marketing Support for town marketing and events. This included: Christmas Lights; Hilltap Toon Launch and a Digital Marketing Project. Complete, no retention required. £16,198 £16,198 £0 Dalry Play Links The installation of three unique play features in Beith, Kilbirnie and Dalry which are reflective of the unique heritage connections between each town and Lochshore. These have been designed through co- design workshops with residents of each town. They will act as signposts between each town and Lochshore, encouraging new visitors to Lochshore to explore the wider area. New project – Proposed allocation to support delivery of Community Play Links project in Garnock Valley. This additional funding will be distributed equally between the three towns. N/A £30,000 £30,000 Dalry Active Travel Improvements Upgrade of the Lover’s Walk link to Dalry Station to improve active travel and support the B714 Upgrade project. New project – Proposed allocation to support active travel improvements. N/A £91,306 £91,306 Dalry Total £569,600 £673,647 £104,047 244
Page 245
Stevenston Stevenston Shopfront Improvement Grants A 100% funded Shopfront Improvement Scheme in Stevenston town centre. Initial scoping work and consultation identified strategic areas of focus to address the poor condition of town centre buildings. Proposed additional funding to support further works to local business premises Pop Inn. £280,714 £286,500 £5,786 Stevenston Beach Park Pavilion Supporting the creation of a new multi-functional community hub c.70m2 located adjacent to Stevenston shore. The hub, operated by Raise Your Voice with Ardeer (RYVA), facilitates new indoor and outdoor activities to the benefit of local communities and promote Stevenston beach as a destination. Proposed additional funding to support accessibility and environmental enhancements at the Hub. £50,000 £70,000 £20,000 Stevenston Streetscape Improvements Works to provide an improved pedestrian environment, through increasing pavement widths, environmental improvements, changes in traffic management and funding to support purchase of strategic site for car parking. Comprised of New Street and Mill Dam Route Improvements. Works complete, proposed reallocation of contingency. £345,276 £303,660 -£41,616 Stevenston Total £675,990 £660,160 -£15,830 Millport Millport CARS Project Funding to the support ongoing CARS initiative due to additional costs arising as a result of Covid19. Funding allocation complete. £120,000 £119,699 -£301 Millport Total £120,000 £119,699 -£301 Kilbirnie Town Centre Projects Kilbirnie 2 Main Street: The purchase of a long-term vacant building that was in a state of significant disrepair and blighted Kilbirnie town centre for years Kilbirnie Garnock St. Carpark Improvements: An opportunity to improve visitor parking and the public space surrounding Stoneyholm Mill. Complete, proposed reallocation of contingency. £118,500 £111,022 -£7,478 Kilbirnie Total £118,500 £111,022 -£7,478 245
Page 246
West Kilbride West Kilbride Shopfront Improvement Grants Phase 1 of a 100% grant funded Shopfront Improvement Scheme in West Kilbride. Initial scoping work and consultation identified strategic areas of focus to address the poor condition of buildings within the town, several of which are at key entrances and provide a poor initial impression. Phase 1 Complete and Phase 2 underway funded by PBIP in 2022/23. £93,426 £93,426 £0 West Kilbride Total £93,426 £93,426 £0 Beith Town Centre Projects Beith Main Street Public Realm improvements: to improve the street as the northern gateway to the Beith conservation area and the setting of existing listed buildings. Beith Christmas Lights: Beith Town Centre Initiative organise the annual switch on of the Christmas Lights, the Parade and general festivities for the town and visitors. Additional lighting fixtures were purchased to support the initiative. Complete, no retention required. £83,731 £83,731 £0 Beith Total £83,731 £83,731 £0 Kilwinning Town Centre Projects Kilwinning Bridgend Improvements: Major public realm improvements were undertaken c.2010 to deliver an improved streetscape. In the interim period elements of infrastructure have failed and additional areas were identified. These works were undertaken to improve the longevity and impression of the streetscape. Kilwinning McGavin Park Improvements: Given the proximity to the town centre, the park was identified as an asset that could be improved both for the local community and to attract visitors. An alternative solution to replacement setts for Bridgend improvements is required and being progressed by Roads. McGavin Park works are complete. £52,950 £ 52,950 £0 Kilwinning Total £52,950 £52,950 £0 246
Page 247
Irvine Town Centre Projects Irvine Christmas Lights: Irvine Special Events Forum organise the annual switch on of the Christmas Lights and general festivities for the enjoyment of the people of the town and visitors. To support the activities, additional lighting fixtures were purchased. 36 Bank Street: Funding to support the development of a feasibility study for a Town Centre living pilot Complete, no retention required. £15,900 £15,900 £0 Irvine Total £15,900 £15,900 £0 Other Acquisitions Funding to identify the development potential and viability of sites identified through ongoing elected member and public engagement. Shortlisted site sold privately, proposed reallocation of funds. £135,437 £55,000 -£80,437 Valuations & Ownership Searches Undertaking valuations and ownership searches on priority sites. Complete. £8,269 £8,269 £0 Project Officer Employment of Town Centre Officer. Complete. £51,197 £51,197 £0 Other Total £194,903 £114,466 -£80,437 Total No change to overall project total Town Centre Fund spend. £1,925,000 £1,925,000 £0 247
Page 248
248
Page 249
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 24 January 2023 Cabinet Title: Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme Purpose: To seek approval for the proposed North Ayrshire Council submission to the King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer consultation on the proposed new Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme Recommendation: That Cabinet approves the submission of the proposed consultation response to the Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme provided at Appendix Two. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer has launched a consultation on the proposed new Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme. Views were sought until 16 December 2022. A response has been issued to the consultation, noting this was subject to Cabinet giving approval in January 2023. The consultation response submitted noted that confirmation would be provided by officers following Cabinet’s consideration of the proposed response. This report seeks approval for the proposed response as provided at Appendix Two. 2. Background 2.1 In Scots Law, the Crown can claim ownerless property. The legal term for ownerless property is bona vacantia. The King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (KLTR) is the Crown’s representative in Scotland with authority to deal with ownerless land and buildings. The main source of properties referred to the KLTR were formerly owned by dissolved companies. These include problematic sites such as open cast coal mines, harbours and landfill sites. 2.2 The KLTR does however encounter sites with greater potential for public interest, commercial use or redevelopment such as industrial property, woodland, retail property and undeveloped land. The KLTR received around 190 referrals for properties in the last financial year, many of which may have the potential to deliver community benefit. Historically the KLTR has sought to sell such properties at full market value. 2.3 Informed by the Scottish Land Commission’s 2020 report on Transforming Scotland’s Approach to Vacant and Derelict Land, a more proactive approach has been developed in recent years. This recognises the pivotal role of the KLTR in bringing land and buildings back into positive use. The Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme (OPTS) has been developed to reshape the KLTR’s approach and aims to better facilitate disposals for public benefit. Views were sought on the scheme until 16 December 2022. Agenda Item 13 249
Page 250
2.4 The OPTS has been informed by a series of pilots across Scotland. It has also been informed by engagement with Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Local Authorities, public bodies such as the Scottish Land Commission and representative organisations such as Community Land Scotland. 2.5 The OPTS would allow the KLTR to transfer ownerless land to another public body at below Market Value or at a nominal value to either: • Use that land itself for local public benefit; or • Transfer it to an appropriately constituted community body demonstrating purposes aligning with local aspirations. 2.6 The scheme envisages that the receiving public body would ordinarily be the Local Authority but recognises that other public bodies may be more appropriate in some cases. The proposed two stage scheme approach is outlined at Appendix One. Stage One would offer the property or land to a public body or local authority to enable them to take ownership of and use the property directly. 2.7 Stage 2 would be undertaken if there was a community proposal for the property, but the public body or local authority decided not to take ownership. In this case, the KLTR would only transfer a property to a community body under the OPTS process where it has the support of the local authority or relevant public body. 2.8 The OPTS would not alter the Council’s responsibilities in relation to dangerous buildings under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. This includes the powers to recover costs or compulsorily purchase the building and/or its site under Section 45 of the Act. 2.9 The proposed response provided at Appendix Two was issued to the KLTR on 16 December 2022, subject to Cabinet approval. The submission noted that an update would be provided following Cabinet’s consideration of the proposed response. Key points from the proposed response include outlining the: • Need to align the OPTS with the current processes in place through the Community Empowerment Act including existing Community Asset Transfer arrangements; • Resource implications of the OPTS for local authorities and communities and the need for proportionate financial support, including the need for dedicated funding for the preparatory legal and technical work within the local authority or for community groups to progress through the transfer process; • Need for an independent valuation to ensure compliance with Best Value obligations for local authorities; • Need for a 5 month period, as opposed to the proposed 3 month period, for local authorities to make a decision on ownership of an ownerless property; • Need for a clear mechanism to ensure that the intended community benefits are achieved; • Need for a clear, neutral and independent appeals process; • Suggestion that a legislative amendment be progressed to extend the time limit for the KLTR to disclaim a property; and • Need for the consideration of further criteria for the OPTS for example in relation to the extent and nature of community support for proposals and the impact of the proposed development on the asset. 250
Page 251
3. Proposals 3.1 It is proposed that Cabinet approves the submission of the proposed consultation response on the Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme provided at Appendix Two. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 The OPTS proposes to transfer properties at a nominal or discounted value. The proposed response outlines the need for an independent valuation to meet Best Value obligations. It also notes that a nominal value may exceed the market value of the property. The Council need to be satisfied as to both the market value and the costs incurred by the KLTR to ensure that proceeding with the acquisition accorded with the criteria for the OPTS. The draft scheme does not provide confirmation of funding for the preparatory legal and technical work within the local authority or for community groups to progress through the transfer process. The proposed response outlines the need for dedicated funding for these purposes. Human Resources 4.2 The OPTS would effectively create new non-statutory responsibilities for local authorities to consider whether to approve community proposals for ownerless property and, where appropriate, to decide between competing community proposals. Officer time would be required to undertake these activities with input being required from a range of Council Services. Legal 4.3 The OPTS would effectively create new non-statutory responsibilities for local authorities to consider whether to approve community proposals for ownerless property and, where appropriate, to decide between competing community proposals. Robust decision-making processes will require to be developed and implemented to reduce the risk of decisions being challenged. The OPTS would not alter the Council’s responsibilities in relation to dangerous buildings under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The OPTS aims to tackle long-term vacant and derelict land and buildings thereby reducing their levels and impact on communities. Significant socio-economic benefits will be derived from transfers for community benefit. This will contribute to the reversal economic, social and physical decline and reducing socio-economic disadvantage. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The OPTS process requires proposals for properties to have addressed the environmental benefits in the longer term. The public body and/or local authority will be responsible for ensuring that sustainable development issues are considered in detail where required. This would require to be considered on a case by case basis. 251
Page 252
Key Priorities 4.6 The OPTS will contribute to achieving the Council Plan outcomes under the Inspiring Places and Aspiring People themes. It will contribute to the ambitions for: active and strong communities; an inclusive, growing and enterprising economy; and for a sustainable, vibrant, welcoming and attractive environment. Community Wealth Building 4.7 The OPTS will contribute to the Land and Assets Pillar of the Community Wealth Building Strategy by supporting equitable land development and the development of underutilised assets for community use. This aligns with the priorities and ambitions outlined in the Council’s Regeneration Delivery Plan and complements the objectives of the Repurposing Property Grant Fund. 5. Consultation 5.1 The consultation response has been informed by input from the Council’s Legal, Connected Communities, Finance and Economic Development and Regeneration Services. RUSSELL McCUTCHEON Executive Director (Place) For further information please contact Louise Kirk, Senior Manager Regeneration on 01294 324766. Background Papers Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme (OPTS) Consultation Paper 252
Page 253
Appendix 1 – Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme Summary A two stage process is proposed for the scheme. The OPTS will allow the KLTR to transfer ownerless land to another public body at below Market Value or at a nominal value: either to use that land itself for local public benefit, or to transfer to an appropriately constituted community body demonstrating purposes aligning with local aspirations. It is envisaged that the receiving public body would ordinarily be the local authority, but the scheme recognises that other public bodies may be more appropriate in some cases. Stage One At this stage, the property will be offered to public bodies and local authorities. Public bodies will be given one month to inform KLTR of interest in property. These bodies will be covered by the Scottish Public Finance Manual’s (SPFM) trawl process. If there is no interest, the local authority will be provided with three months to consider ownership of the property for a public interest, community use or to offer to a suitable, appropriately constituted community group. KLTR will advise local authority of any other interested parties at this stage. The draft scheme proposes that the KLTR will work collaboratively with Highlands and Islands Enterprise to identify potentially suitable community groups to purchase the property. The flow chart below summarises Stage One of the scheme: 253
Page 254
Stage Two This stage would be undertaken by the KLTR where there is a community proposal for the property, but a public body or local authority does not intend to take ownership. In this case, the KLTR would only transfer a property to a community body under the OPTS process where it has the support of the local authority or relevant public body. The KLTR would then transfer the property to the community body for nominal value, in line with the SPFM. Where a community’s proposal is not supported, the KLTR will decide whether to put the property to auction or to disclaim it. That will depend on the potential open market value of the site and liabilities associated with it. Valuation and Transfer The KLTR will make available any valuation, building, structural or condition surveys, title information and environmental reports to all parties involved in the OPTS process. This will not prevent any party from seeking their own valuation or title examination and would require to be discussed with the relevant funders. The draft scheme states that it intends that any survey provided for the KLTR should be sufficiently independent to avoid unnecessary duplication of costs, particularly for public funders. This aims to ensure that the OPTS process is as cost-effective as possible for all involved. SPFM requirements will apply to all transfers under the OPTS and normally require property to be transferred at Best Value. The OPTS will provide opportunities for properties to be transferred to other public bodies at less than market value where it is in the public interest to do so and when the KLTR’s Accountable Officer is content that the requirements and aims of 254
Page 255
the scheme are being met. The transfer value applied by the OPTS in such cases will, therefore, be nominal value or discounted value. Nominal value will normally be achieved on a cost recovery basis, with the KLTR recovering professional costs only, such as legal and valuation fees plus any additional expenses relating to surveys. This will not include administrative costs. Where a property is then transferred from a public authority to a community body, Best Value principles will again apply. It will be for the public authority to determine the onward sale value under their own policies. Nominal value will also apply to properties transferred direct from the KLTR to an appropriately constituted community body where a public body and/or local authority supports the proposals. Where there is no public authority support, the property will be put to auction or disclaimed. Where a public body, local authority or another third party intends to use the property for purposes where the OPTS criteria are not deemed to be satisfied, then market value would apply. This will also apply where potential onward purchasers are private sector, where advertising on the open market or auction will be the preferred route. Private treaty may also be considered. To ensure that public and local community interests are considered as a priority over commercial gain, the KLTR may consider placing conditions on the transfer of ownerless property, similar to those in section 14 of the Community Asset Transfer Guidance or those used in the planning system to ensure the intended use is complied with. He may also consider “clawback” or “overage” provisions where, for example, a proportion of any commercial financial gain is returned to the KLTR. There will be a requirement to make annual returns placed on those receiving property through the OPTS. The KLTR’s solicitors will facilitate the transfer to the new owner at either stage. The draft scheme notes that the KLTR cannot provide legal advice to other parties. Building (Scotland) Act 2003 The OPTS would not alter the Council’s responsibilities in relation to dangerous buildings under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. Under Section 29 of the Act, the local authority has a duty to act should it become aware of a building that constitutes a danger to persons in or about the building, to the public generally or to adjacent buildings or places. The local authority must carry out such work (including, if necessary, demolition) as it considers necessary to prevent access to the dangerous building and to any adjacent parts of any road or public place which appear to be dangerous because of the state of the building. Any other work considered necessary for the protection of the public and persons or property in places adjacent to the dangerous building must also be carried out. This covers such matters as installing any necessary temporary shoring. The local authority may recover from the owner of a dangerous building any expenses reasonably incurred in carrying out work in relation to the building. The normal methods of debt recovery apply. When a local authority has carried out such work, it may make a charging order and register it in the appropriate land register to help them recover their expenses. Under Section 45 of the Act, if the local authority has incurred expense but cannot find the owner to recover the costs it can seek authorisation from Scottish Ministers, via the Building Standards Division, to compulsorily purchase the building and/or its site. The costs 255
Page 256
not recovered may be offset against the compensation that would normally be payable as a result of compulsory purchase. Also, where a dangerous building is demolished by a local authority, Section 46 of the Act permits the authority to sell the materials arising from the demolition. 256
Page 257
Appendix Two: Response to Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme (OPTS) Consultation paper Q1. Do you agree that Highlands and Islands Enterprise is the appropriate body to provide advice to the KLTR on potentially suitable community groups? If not, who would you suggest and why? No. Whilst the team at Highlands and Islands Enterprise have substantial experience and resource, they do not have the necessary local relationships in place. National bodies are not best placed to understand the complexities and interdependencies of local community groups, or the long local narratives relating to property at a local level. Local authorities are better placed to provide the required local knowledge and advice. Any proposals under the OPTS should align with the current processes in place through the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. This would therefore benefit from the existing working relationships across Council Services including Planning, Communities, Business, Regeneration, Roads and Grounds Maintenance teams. The existing cross-Council working in relation to Community Asset Transfer (CAT) processes should be optimised. Local authorities should be offered first refusal of ownerless assets within their administrative boundary to assess local needs in context of Local Development Plans. Where the assets are not required by the local authority, use should be made of existing approaches and processes like local authorities’ published lists of surplus property, local networks and community partnerships and Community Asset Transfer. However, it would not be for local authorities to sell property which was ownerless or the burden of upkeep and associated responsibilities would be seen to transfer to them The sites in question often carry significant responsibilities and requirements for ongoing maintenance, potentially for an indefinite period of time. The proposal does not identify funding for the preparatory legal and technical work for the OPTS process or ongoing funding for community groups to develop and implement proposals. This leaves the Public and Local Authorities exposed to the risks associated with potentially dilapidating buildings. It is noted that the OPTS process does not intend to place the KLTR in conflict with local decision making or effectively acting as a route of appeal. Local authorities do not have the time, statutory responsibility or resources to resolve competing interests over ownerless assets. They cannot be both the key administrator and the appeals body. Consideration should be given for the mechanism for appeal for example via an arm’s length, neutral advisory body to the process. It would be beneficial if the KLTR recorded and published a list of ownerless property and any properties disclaimed across local authority areas. This would help to inform and support the OPTS process. Q2. Do you agree that a valuation and other reports undertaken by the KLTR are sufficiently independent to avoid duplication of cost for all involved in the OPTS? If not, why not? No, this method of valuation does not take account of the actual Market Value. The cost recovery value is defined as the total of the costs incurred by the KLTR in relation to the asset prior to the transfer date. To ensure compliance with our Best Value obligations, North Ayrshire Council would still require an independent valuation to be completed at Market Value to ensure that the Cost Recovery Valuer does not exceed the Market Value. 257
Page 258
It is noted that where the criteria for the OPTS have been met a transfer may be made at nominal value, however the KLTR’s costs may in some cases exceed the market value of the property. North Ayrshire Council would therefore need to be satisfied as to both the market value and the costs incurred by the KLTR in order to ensure that proceeding with the acquisition accorded. Q3. Do you think three months for the local authority to decide whether or not it wishes to take ownership of an ownerless property is reasonable? If not, how long would you suggest and why? No, 5 months potentially would be more appropriate. The acquisition of land would have to be considered and approved by Cabinet and 3 months is insufficient to obtain the necessary permissions. Q4. Do you agree that the above process is reasonable and workable? If not, how would you improve the process? Yes, however sufficient scope and flexibility for review and amendment of any implemented process will be required. Q5. Do you agree that the property transfer value for OPTS should be at “nominal value” as described above? If not, what value do you think should apply and why? We agree that it would be beneficial for communities to have the opportunity to transfer land at a nominal value directly from KLTR. A potential challenge is around the transfer value where there is not a Public Authority or Local Authority supportive and the mechanics of demonstrating best value. Further guidance would require to be issued to address these circumstances. Q6. Do you think the KLTR should place conditions on the transfer of OPTS property to ensure the intended benefits to local communities are delivered? Where property is transferred to a community body it may be appropriate to place conditions on the transfer to ensure that the intended benefits are delivered. The Scheme needs to be clear on the mechanisms for this for example using conditions similar to those already used in the Community Asset Transfer process or the planning system to regulate the use of a property. This could include entering into a clawback agreement whereby if the community group or a subsequent owner sells the property onward for a profit, then a share of that profit would be payable to the KLTR. This could be achieved by securing a standard security against the property. Such conditions are already used in other situations and should not deter a community group from acquiring a property for community benefit. North Ayrshire Council would not expect conditions to be necessary where property is transferred to a local authority, given that there is democratic oversight of the local authority’s decisions. Once property has been transferred to a local authority it is to be expected that the property shall be used to benefit the local community. It is not envisaged that oversight by the KLTR of the local authority should be required to achieve this. Q7. Do you think a recognised public authority should retain a property to allow an appropriately constituted community body to raise the necessary funds, etc.? If so, should a timescale be set for raising the funds? 258
Page 259
It is noted that a mechanism to facilitate additional time for community organisations to raise funding would be beneficial as this has proved a challenge to date. However, the proposed solution of transferring ownership of the property to a recognised public authority (or indeed to a local authority) would create several challenges. The proposal to transfer property to a different recognised public authority would result in additional legal costs associated with the transfer. The receiving authority would acquire liability for any costs associated with the property while the community body is raising funds. It is not clear from the consultation paper how these costs would be financed given the restricted resources available to the KLTR and the constraints on public authority budgets. Some form of indemnity or funding would be required to cover any costs associated with the property during this time. If the community body failed to raise the required funds or if the proposal fell through for any other reason, then the public authority may continue to be responsible for any liabilities associated with the property. It may not be possible for the public authority to identify another interested purchaser. A mechanism whereby the public authority could transfer the property back to the KLTR would be required to address this. Given the cost implications of each transfer of property North Ayrshire Council considers that a more appropriate solution to the disclaimer time limit would be for a legislative amendment to extend the time limit for the KLTR disclaiming property in certain circumstances. The KLTR is the only body we are aware of with the power to disclaim an interest in property and it would therefore seem appropriate that the KLTR be given additional powers to enable it to carry out the function of holding property for long enough to facilitate the OPTS. Q8. Do you think the OPTS should apply to all properties as described or should it be restricted to certain types of properties? If the latter, which types? Yes – all types of land and properties should apply. Working through Local Authorities means that a strategic and partnership approach can support the best outcome for local communities. The inclusion of an ownerless town centre property, for example, can be incorporated into Strategic Housing Investment Plans while still offering Housing Associations the opportunities to take ownership for conversion to social housing. Each opportunity to bring back an ownerless asset into purposeful community use is individual and needs to be taken forward within a consistent local approach, bringing together local partnerships to find the right solution. Q9. Do you agree that the above proposals provide an opportunity for ensuring community interests are considered as early as possible? If not, why not? Working through Local Authorities is the best way of ensuring that communities are made aware of the opportunities regarding local ownerless assets. This utilises the existing networks for communication, such as Community Councils, Locality Partnerships, community organisations and local social media. Q10. Do you agree that the above criteria should apply to the OPTS? If not, what criteria do you think should or should not apply and why? Yes, however it would also be beneficial to consider the nature of the community organisation for example: when it was established; if it is constituted; its level of membership; and its purpose and main objectives to ensure that it aligns with the purpose of the redevelopment of the property. It would also be beneficial to establish the extent of interest in the asset such as the proportion of the asset that the organisation wish to acquire. Consideration should also 259
Page 260
be given to whether or not there are any other organisations interested in ownership or affected by its ownership. The extent and nature of the support for the request from the local community should be considered. Restrictions on or the impact of development of the asset should also be considered for example for any environmental or biodiversity implications. Q11. Do you agree that the OPTS should ensure the wider public interest is considered before private interest? If not, why not? Advice should be taken from the local authority on competing private and public interests. Local authorities are best placed to advise on resolving the issue of ownerless assets within their area boundary that can best contribute to improving social, environmental and economic wellbeing locally. This depends on an assessment of local needs in context of community planning, locality planning, local place plans and the Local Development Plan. Resolving competing interests in assets is difficult and time-consuming and clear processes, with a right of appeal need to be put in place, along with timescales and funding for the full cost-recovery of officer time for this new area of responsibility. Q12. Do you think the public interest is defined reasonably for the purposes of the OPTS? If not, how should it be defined? The current proposals do not contain a definition of public interest. Given the KLTR’s desire to take a high level approach, The North Ayrshire Council would expect there to be limited and clearly defined circumstances in which the KLTR would substitute its own view of the public interest for that of the relevant local authority. The KLTR should only substitute its own view of what is in the public interest in very limited circumstances. It may be preferable for the KLTR to publicise guidelines of what would not be considered to be in the public interest, given the emphasis on the importance of local knowledge. The criteria used by the KLTR in assessing whether a proposal is in the public interest should be sufficiently clear to allow local authorities to anticipate with reasonable certainty whether their assessment of the public interest for their local area in any given case will be accepted by the KLTR. Consideration must also be given to the approach to be taken in circumstances where only part of a title could be utilised in the public interest. It is our understanding that the KLTR’s default position is that a title should only be transferred in its entirety. North Ayrshire Council has experienced situations in the past where land could not be utilised in the public interest because it formed part of a wider title which was associated with significant liabilities which the local authority could not take on. Due to KLTR’s policies, this resulted in the entire expanse of land remaining ownerless and the potential public benefit was wasted. To truly facilitate the transfer of land in the public interest it is submitted that a more flexible approach requires to be taken by the KLTR to disposing of part of a larger title. Q13: Do you agree that the KLTR should take a high-level approach to sustainable development issues, as above, in order to allow further scrutiny and transparency at local level? If not, why not? Agree. The KLTR’s role in sustainable development should be high level and the local authority process will scrutinise economic, social and environmental benefits for the longer term. This will be aligned to Scottish Government’s sustainable development goals as Planning, Regeneration, Connected Communities and Business Support and Development teams are all working within that overarching context. 260
Page 261
Q14: Do you consider there are specific circumstances in which the KLTR should never deal with dissolved company property when a company remains within its 6-year restoration window? As there is no intention of passing on the risk under s1034 of the Companies Act to the disponee, The North Ayrshire Council considers that this would be a matter for the KLTR. Q15. In addition to the above, do think any other financial controls or safeguards are required? If so, please describe how and why. Information about the KLTR’s fees should be provided upfront to enable the local authority to assess whether the price to be paid is equal to or less than the market value of the property, to allow compliance with Best Value obligations. The aspiration of KLTR to have a ‘light touch’ approach around monitoring is understood however a lack of ‘penalty’ in some areas of the Community Empowerment Act has led to poor outcomes for communities and local authorities alike. The use of clawback conditions or similar could offer a good approach to ensure successful delivery. Q16. Do you think the KLTR’s approach to liability and risk is acceptable? If not, how could this be improved? The liability and potential risks of the individual properties requires to be fully understood alongside any revenue obligations to inform the decision making process. Acquiring property even if at a low or nil cost can immediately present significant liability and direct costs in terms of making safe or other actions. It is noted that long term unoccupied land and properties in disrepair present an uninsured risk to the responsible party. Q17. Are there any other ways you think the OPTS may be monitored? If so, in what way? The monitoring role for local authorities and communities to raise concerns should be addressed by the working group and contribute to KLTR’s monitoring. There may be a need to think about how concerns are raised directly with KLTR, in the event of a stakeholder working group failing to be representative of local views. Q18. Do you agree that penalties for non-delivery of aspirations are unnecessary, as above, and that local accountability should be sufficient to ensure delivery of agreed aspirations? Local government enforcement resources are stretched at present. If local accountability is the only means of ensuring delivery, these need to be financially supported to a proportionate level. Q19. Which of the further measures above do you think should be applied to the OPTS? Adding further measures may prove limiting and disincentivise the process, reducing the potential to achieve the overall objective of bringing ownerless assets back into productive roles in communities. The interest in Community Asset Transfer has demonstrated an appetite for a wide variety of assets. The scale of the projects varies, so setting an arbitrary cap on value would be counterproductive. The key for community ownership is securing sufficient capital funding, without annual spending restrictions, which makes aligning the 261
Page 262
multiple funding packages required for larger projects challenging. Q20. Do you think properties within the 6-year restoration window should be excluded from OPTS or do you agree that a criteria-based policy approach, as described above, is the best way of addressing this? A balance requires to be achieved between frustrating the overall objective and managing risk, so support and monitoring mechanisms need to be in place to do that, rather than a blanket exclusion. Q21. Are there any other measures you think should be taken to safeguard those involved in the OPTS process? The checks and balances within a healthy democracy mean that a fair and transparent right of appeal process should be put in place. Local authorities do not have the time, statutory responsibility or resources to resolve competing interests over ownerless assets. They cannot be both the key administrator and the appeals body. Careful consideration needs to be given to the timescales for the processes so that assets do not lie neglected or to hold up the use of time-critical funding. Public consultation should form an obligatory part of the initial decision by a local authority or community group to take on ownership of an asset and the appeals process. Q22. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation might impact, positively or negatively, on island communities in a way that is different from the impact on mainland areas? No Q23. Are you aware of any examples of particular current or future impacts, positive or negative, on young people, (children, pupils, and young adults up to the age of 26) of any aspect of the proposals in this consultation? No Q24. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation may impact, either positively or negatively, on those with protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation)? No Q25. Are you aware of any examples of potential impacts, either positive or negative, that you consider any of the proposals in this consultation may have on the environment? No Q26. Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation might impact, positively or negatively, on groups or areas at socioeconomic disadvantage (such as income, low wealth or area deprivation)? No 262
Page 263
Q27. Are you aware of any potentially unacceptable costs and burdens that you think may arise as a result of the proposals within this consultation? Where property is to be transferred on a costs recovery basis, we are concerned that it may not be possible for a local authority to accurately anticipate at the outset of a transaction what these costs are likely to be. Without this information upfront it would be impossible to assess whether proceeding with the acquisition adheres to Best Value obligations, as the costs may exceed the value of the property, particularly if there are significant liabilities associated with the property and/or a significant level of professional input is required. This risk may be mitigated by the KLTR confirming a fixed fee for a transaction at the outset of the process. There could be significant resource implications for local authorities in meeting their proposed obligations under the Scheme. While local authorities are not obliged to acquire land in their area, they are required to consider community proposals for land use and reach a decision as to whether to support any of the proposals. This function could result in a significant administrative and potentially financial burden. Resources would require to be invested in developing robust decision-making procedures to limit a local authority’s potential exposure to judicial review proceedings if a community body disagrees with the decision made. Before a property can be considered for the OPTS it is necessary for the notifying person to gather and provide evidence that a property is ownerless. There can be significant costs associated with collating this evidence. Based on our understand of the proposals, a local authority or community body may invest resources in collating such evidence with a view to acquiring property through the OPTS only for the property to be acquired by another public body, or for their proposal to be refused by the KLTR as not meeting the relevant criteria. Consideration should be given to how these risks can be minimised, for example by facilitating early communication between the notifying party and the public bodies who will be given the first right of refusal, and by developing an advance authorisation process to reduce the risk of outlays being incurred only for a proposal to be rejected by the KLTR. Q28. Are you aware of any impacts, positive or negative, of the proposals in this consultation on data protection or privacy? No 263
Page 264
264