Agendas, reports and minutes

A meeting of the Chief Officers’ Group will take place in Committee Room 1, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Thursday 13 August 2015 at 2.30 pm.

You are invited to attend the meeting and the business to be considered is noted below.

Business

1. Apologies for Absence

2. Chief Officers’ Group – Note of Meeting

There is circulated for approval Note of Meeting of the Chief Officers’ Group held on 27 May 2015.

3. Community Planning Board – Minutes of Meeting

There are circulated for comment draft Minutes of the Community Planning Board held on 3 June 2015 together with, for reference, the Action Note previously circulated by email.

4. Matters Arising from June Board

The Group is asked to consider the following matters arising:-

i.  Living Wage arrangements - partners are asked to consider how to capture and report on progress. Since the
    Board, the UK Government has made commitments.
ii. Retained Firefighters – partners are asked to consider how to promote the retained firefighter service within CPP
    agencies.
iii. Actions for HIE to lead: Analysis of economic impact of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in Highland; and how
    to strengthen future agendas in terms of economic priorities.
iv. Rural Index – COG to undertake further detailed work and consider how best to proceed.

5. Council Briefings for Partners

i. Changes to Council Leadership and Programme

The Chief Executive, Highland Council, will provide a verbal update.

ii. Inverness and Highland City/Region Deal

There is circulated a briefing by the Director of Development and Infrastructure which updates colleagues on progress with the development of a City/Region Deal and requests that the Community Planning Partnership contributes to the overall governance of this project.

The Group is asked to note the briefing.

6. The Community Empowerment Act

i. Scottish Government Presentation

There are circulated a presentation and accompanying notes by the Scottish Government on the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act and what it means for Community Planning.

ii. CPP Approach to Participation Requests

There is circulated a note of the officer workshop on the CPP approach to participation requests.  The Community and Democratic Engagement Manager, Highland Council, will provide a verbal update.

iii. CPP Approach to Asset Transfers

The Community and Democratic Engagement Manager, Highland Council, will provide a verbal update.

iv. Supporting Community Empowerment - Community Learning and Development Plan 2015-2018

The Director of Care and Learning, Highland Council, will provide a verbal update on the Community Learning and Development Plan 2015-2018.  The draft Plan is circulated for information.

7. Renewing Local Democracy and Local Community Planning

There is circulated to COG Members only Report No COG/18/15 by the Head of Policy and Reform, Highland Council which sets out proposals for discussion with the COG, noting further discussions are needed with the Council’s leadership before recommendations are made to Council and the CPP Board.

The Group is asked to discuss the proposals in the report.

8. The Role of the Development Plan in Co-ordinating Public Service Delivery

There is circulated Report No COG/19/15 by the Director of Development and Infrastructure, Highland Council, which seeks approval for the Community Planning Partnership and Chief Officers Group to play a central role in key stages of the preparation of the Council’s Development Plan and in coordinating their delivery.

It describes steps already being taken to embed priorities from the Single Outcome Agreement in the Development Plan in Highland.  It then outlines proposals for the CPP and COG to foster greater ownership of the Development Plan, to be regarded as key documents communicating the shared vision for shaping communities and delivering public services.  This approach aims to provide the CPP and COG with a useful tool for monitoring the delivery of Local Development Plans and the Single Outcome Agreement (and its successor).

The Group is asked to:-

i.  note the steps already being taken to embed community planning principles/ SOA/LOIP outcomes and priorities in
    emerging Development Plans;
ii. agree the roles and responsibilities for the CPP Board and COG in reviewing the Council’s Local Development Plans
    at key stages, as set out in Appendix 2 of the report, including the adoption of Local Development Plans as
    corporate and partnership documents for the future of the Highlands;
iii. agree for Action Programmes to be used by the COG and CPP Board as guiding documents for coordinating the
    implementation of Development Plans and the delivery of public services; and
iv. offer any views on the detailed mechanics of this approach, including the relationship with the Council’s Capital
    Programme and partners’ investment programmes.

9. SOA Performance Reporting 2014/15

There is circulated Report No COG/20/15 by the Head of People and Performance, Highland Council, which explains that the CPP Board’s remit includes ensuring and challenging the partnership’s delivery and performance against the SOA’s outcomes.  The SOA was agreed along with a development plan.  This includes performance reporting and agreement that delivery plans for the seven themes within the SOA would be updated and systems put in place for performance data to be gathered, base-lines set, data analysed and reported as part of the new governance arrangements for the CPP.

The Group is asked to:-

i.  agree the content and timeline for lead officers to develop the 2014/15 SOA progress report to the CPP and the
    Scottish Government;
ii. confirm performance reports on delivery plans from each lead officer by 31 August 2015; and
iii. note the future developments and the invitation appended to the report.

10. Prevention and Joint Resourcing

There is circulated Report No COG/21/15 by the Head of Policy and Reform, Highland Council, which provides feedback to the COG on work underway in the CPP to improve its approach to prevention and joint resourcing.

The Group is asked to:-

i.   note the progress being made with the work stream relating to prevention and joint resourcing in Merkinch;
ii.  provide feedback on the key issues and ideas emerging from the workshop and the next steps identified;
iii. confirm if partners can see value in committing time to quantify their current resource deployed in the area;
iv. agree how to respond to the request from the Scottish Government on progress made on joint resourcing in
     Highland.

11. HIE Strategic Intervention on Reducing Poverty through Community Action

The Head of Community Growth, HIE, will provide a presentation/verbal update.

12. The Work of the Highland Culture Strategic Board

There is circulated Report No COG/22/15 by the Chief Executive, High Life Highland, which provides information on the current work of the Highland Culture Strategic Board and asks the COG to note that there will be an opportunity to comment in detail on the Board’s future work-plan following a workshop to be held later in the year.

The Group is asked to note:-

i.  the current work of the Highland Culture Strategic Board; and
ii. that there will be an opportunity to comment in detail on alignment between the work of the Culture Board and the
   CPP following the proposed workshop later in 2015.

13. Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015: the Prevent Duty and implications for the Highland CPP

There is circulated Report No COG/23/15 by the Head of Policy and Reform, Highland Council, which describes the new Prevent duty on specified partners and makes recommendations on how the CPP can support the duty effectively.

The Group is asked to:-

i.  agree that a report on the Prevent duty be submitted to the CPP Board in September recommending that the
    CONTEST structure be reflected in the CPP structure and that appropriate references be made in the SOA (and its
    successor plans) to the CONTEST implementation plan; and
ii. consider the issues of structure and process as set out in paragraph 3.3 of the report to ensure the CONTEST and
    Prevent work is properly aligned to, and supported by, CPP structures and processes.

14. Enabling Collaborative Leadership Programme

After three discussions about whether the Highland CPP should engage in the Government’s Programme, the COG is asked to decide whether it wishes to engage and, if so, on which topic.  The new programme manager description of the approach required is set out below and may assist with identifying a topic.

“Part of being a pioneer is to have courage, not to do things the familiar and comfortable way, but to stay in space of uncertainty and disruption, stay present with what is there, explore the unfamiliar and try to name the habits of mind, the patterns and conditions that keep our thinking and practice from changing.”

15. Potential Breakthrough Achievements

i. The Director of Care and Learning will provide a verbal update in relation to the proposal by Chief Officers to offer
   employment to Highland’s care leavers.

ii. At the COG on 26 March 2015, it was agreed that Potential Breakthrough Achievements be placed on every second
   COG agenda.  The Group is asked to propose potential achievements that all partners could collaborate on.

16. Future Agenda Items – Community Planning Board

Agenda items proposed for the Community Planning Board on 11 September are listed below:-

• Delivering Partnership Outcomes – Annual Performance Reports 2014/15 for all CPP themes
• Presentation: Proposed Cairngorm and Glenmore Strategy
• Strengthening Local Democracy and Local Community Planning Arrangements
• The Role of the Development Plan in Coordinating Public Service Delivery
• HIE Strategic Intervention on Reducing Poverty through Community Action
• Community Empowerment Act update and implications
• Highland Culture Strategic Board Feedback
• “Prevent” – National programme and new legal duties to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism
• Enabling Collaborative Leadership Pioneer Programme

17. Future Agenda Items – Chief Officers’ Group

Agenda items proposed for future meetings of the Chief Officers’ Group are listed below:-

• Partnership Approach to Improvement Methodologies
• Update on Partnership Action to Tackle Digital Exclusion
• The Future of the Highland Compact – recommendations from the short-life Working Group
• Food and Drink – how it cuts across a number of SOA themes
• Briefing on Child Sexual Exploitation
• Proposals for Conference on CPP Anti-Poverty Strategy – recommendations
• The scope for a salary sacrifice scheme for HLH Membership
• HIE Youth Survey

18. Date of Next Meeting

Group Members are reminded that the next meeting will take on Wednesday 11 November 2015 at 2.30 pm.