Agendas, reports and minutes

Note of Meeting of the Chief Officers’ Group held in Committee Room 1, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Thursday 13 August 2015 at 2.30 pm.

Present:

Representing the Highland Council (HC):
Mr S Barron 
Ms M Morris 
Mr B Alexander 
Mr W Gilfillan 
Ms C McDiarmid 
Mr G Hamilton

Representing Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE):
Mr M Johnson 
Mr R Kirk

Representing the Highland Third Sector Interface (HTSI):
Ms M Wylie

Representing High Life Highland (HLH):
Mr I Murray

Representing NHS Highland (NHSH):
Ms E Mead 
Ms C Steer

Representing Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS):
Mr S Hay

Representing the Scottish Government (SG):
Mr J Pryce (Teleconferencing)

Representing Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH):
Mr S Sandison

Representing University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI):
Ms F Larg 

Supporting the Chief Officers Group:
Ms E Johnston 
Mr P Mascarenhas

In attendance:

Mr S Dalgarno, Development Plans Manager, Highland Council 
Mr N Ross, Head of Community Growth, HIE 
Chief Inspector I MacLelland, Police Scotland 
Miss M Murray, Committee Administrator, Highland Council 
Miss J Green, Administrative Assistant, Highland Council

Mr I Murray in the Chair

Business

Preliminaries

It was highlighted that Mr M Johnson was moving on within HIE and this would be his last Chief Officers’ Group. On behalf of the Group, the Chair thanked Mr Johnson for his contribution.

1. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mr G Moir, Mr S Black, Mr D Yule, Dr H van Woerden, Mr K Oliver, Ch Supt J Innes and Mr G Hogg.

2. Chief Officers’ Group –Note of Meeting

The Note of Meeting of the Chief Officers’ Group held on 27 May 2015 had been circulated and was APPROVED.

3. Community Planning Board – Minutes of Meeting

The draft Minutes of the Community Planning Board held on 3 June 2015 had been circulated for comment and were NOTED.

4. Matters Arising from June Board

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

i. Living Wage arrangements - partners were asked to consider how to capture and report on progress.

The Group AGREED that HIE consult with partners to ascertain the current position and prepare a report for the next meeting of the COG/Board.

ii. Retained Firefighters – partners were asked to consider how to promote the retained firefighter service within CPP agencies.

The Group AGREED that the SFRS provide background information, for distribution by partner agencies, on the retained firefighter service, including training requirements and details of current vacancies to enable the areas with the greatest need to be targeted.

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.

The Group AGREED:-

i. that HIE present a report on the economic impact of the SFRS in Highland to a future meeting of the COG/Board; and

ii. that HIE facilitate a discussion, at a future meeting of the COG/Board, on economic activity within the CPP, how partners interacted and how best to strengthen future agendas in terms of economic priorities, taking into account the points raised regarding focusing on a particular district or area.

iv. Rural Index – COG to undertake further detailed work and consider how best to proceed.

The Group AGREED:-

i. that it be remitted to the Health Inequalities Group to develop proposals, taking into account the points raised during discussion regarding the Community Empowerment Act and links to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation; and 
ii. that information on the priority areas identified by the CPP, as per the report to the Board on 3 June 2015, be disseminated throughout partner agencies.

v. U.Lab Scotland - It was explained that, following discussions at the COG on 27 May 2015 regarding the U.Lab Scotland programme, the Chief Executives of both the Council and NHS Highland had attended a presentation in Edinburgh. It was considered that there would be some benefit to the CPP and an invitation to participate had been distributed, which partners were encouraged to consider.

The Group AGREED to consider the invitation.

5. Council Briefings for Partners

i. Changes to Council Leadership and Programme

The Chief Executive, Highland Council, provided a verbal update on recent changes to the Council’s leadership. The Strategic Committee structure was tabled, together with a document, “Highland First”, which set out the new Administration’s objectives. Officers would be working with Councillors to develop a composite Programme, for submission to the Council on 3 September 2015, based on Highland First, the previous Programme and a number of amendments agreed at the Special Meeting of the Council on 13 August 2015.

The Group NOTED the position.

ii. Inverness and Highland City/Region Deal

There had been circulated a briefing by the Director of Development and Infrastructure which updated colleagues on progress with the development of a City/Region Deal and requested that the Community Planning Partnership contribute to the overall governance of this project.

The Group:-

i. NOTED the briefing; and 
ii. AGREED to recommend to the Board that the Community Planning Partnership contribute to the overall governance of the project by monitoring progress and delivery.

6. The Community Empowerment Act

i. Scottish Government Presentation

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

The Group NOTED the presentation.

ii. CPP Approach to Participation Requests 
iii. CPP Approach to Asset Transfers

The Community and Democratic Engagement Manager, Highland Council, provided a verbal update on the CPP approach to participation requests and asset transfers. A note of the officer workshop on the CPP approach to participation requests had been circulated for information. It was explained that a series of meetings had been set up to examine participation requests and partners were asked to confirm that they were happy with the cross-partnership approach. In addition, it was highlighted that the Highland Third Sector Interface was running a serious of roadshows throughout August and September 2015. These would begin to shape the CPP’s response to the Community Empowerment Act and partners were encouraged to send local representatives.

The Group:-

i. NOTED the update; 
ii. AGREED to endorse the cross-partnership approach to participation requests and asset transfers; and 
iii. AGREED, in relation to the HIE Community Asset Team, that clarification be sought regarding the size of group it would support, the stage at which it would get involved and the areas covered.

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

The Director of Care and Learning, Highland Council, provided a verbal update on the Community Learning and Development Plan 2015-2018 which, it was explained, was a statutory requirement, had been prepared with CPP input and would be submitted to Education Scotland in September 2015. The draft Plan had been circulated for information.

The Group NOTED the position.

7. Renewing Local Democracy and Local Community Planning

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

The Chief Executive, NHSH, advised that she intended to take the proposals for local experiments to the NHSH Board in October 2015, given the impact on District Partnership arrangements. This timescale was NOTED for reports to be made to the Council and the CPP Board. No further qualifications were sought by partners.

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

There had been circulated Report No COG/19/15 by the Director of Development and Infrastructure, Highland Council, which sought 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 described steps already being taken to embed priorities from the Single Outcome Agreement in the Development Plan in Highland. It then outlined 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 aimed to provide the CPP and COG with a useful tool for monitoring the delivery of Local Development Plans and the SOA (and its successor).

The Group:-

i. NOTED the steps already being taken to embed community planning principles/SOA/LOIP outcomes and priorities in emerging Development Plans; 
ii. AGREED 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; and 
iii. AGREED that Action Programmes be used by the COG and CPP Board as guiding documents for coordinating the implementation of Development Plans and the delivery of public services.

9. SOA Performance Reporting 2014/15

There had been circulated Report No COG/20/15 by the Head of People and Performance, Highland Council, which explained that the CPP Board’s remit included ensuring and challenging the partnership’s delivery and performance against the SOA’s outcomes. The SOA had been agreed along with a development plan. This included 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:-

i. AGREED the content and timeline for lead officers to develop the 2014/15 SOA progress report to the CPP and the Scottish Government; 
ii. AGREED that performance reports on delivery plans would be submitted by each lead officer by 31 August 2015 for onward consideration at the CPP Board in September; and 
iii. NOTED the future developments and the invitation appended to the report in relation to a facilitated session on the Community Planning Outcomes Profile.

10. Prevention and Joint Resourcing

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

The Group:-

i. NOTED the progress being made with the work stream relating to prevention and joint resourcing in Merkinch; 
ii. NOTED feedback on the key issues and ideas emerging from the workshop and the next steps identified; 
iii. AGREED that there was value in endeavouring to quantify partners’ current resource deployed in the area and that it be remitted to the two groups of operational managers and strategic managers to develop proposals in that regard; and 
iv. AGREED that the report considered be fed back to the Scottish Government.

11. HIE Strategic Intervention on Reducing Poverty through Community Action

The Head of Community Growth, HIE, explained that HIE had been working with the Scottish Government, the Big Lottery Fund and Local Authorities to pull together a number of coordinated interventions to promote social inclusion and combat poverty. A handout was tabled which provided an overview of EU European Social Fund Priority Axis 2 as well as details of two interventions - Empowered Community Led Inclusion; and Growing the Social Economy.

The Group:-

i. NOTED the update; 
ii. AGREED that clarification be provided to third sector groups in relation to bridge funding arrangements; and 
iii. AGREED that discussions take place with community planning partners at an early stage regarding the operational plan.

12. The Work of the Highland Culture Strategic Board

There had been circulated Report No COG/22/15 by the Chief Executive, High Life Highland, which provided information on the current work of the Highland Culture Strategic Board (HCSB) and asked the COG to note that there would 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 NOTED:-

i. the current work of the HCSB; 
ii. that there would be an opportunity to comment in detail on alignment between the work of the HCSB and the CPP following the proposed workshop later in 2015; and
iii. that the increased involvement of UHI, HIE and the Highland Third Sector Interface had contributed to the revitalisation of the HCSB.

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

There had been circulated Report No COG/23/15 by the Head of Policy and Reform, Highland Council, which described the new Prevent duty on specified partners and made recommendations on how the CPP could support the duty effectively.

The Group:-

i. AGREED that an awareness raising session take place at the CPP Board on 11 September 2015 and that a report on the Prevent duty be submitted 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. NOTED the issues of structure and process as set out in paragraph 3.3 of the report.

14. Enabling Collaborative Leadership Programme

After three discussions about whether the Highland CPP should engage in the Government’s Programme, the COG was asked to decide whether it wished to engage and, if so, on which topic.

The Group AGREED:-

i. to engage in the Enabling Collaborative Leadership Programme; and 
ii. that the topic should be Local Democracy and Local Community Planning.

15. Potential Breakthrough Achievements

i. The Director of Care and Learning provided a verbal update in relation to the proposal by Chief Officers to offer employment to Highland’s care leavers. It was explained that some posts had already been identified within Police Scotland and work was ongoing with colleagues in the Council’s Employability Team and HR to develop a consistent scheme to support care leavers into employment within partner agencies.

Having endorsed the work being undertaken, the Group AGREED:-

i. that detailed proposals be presented to a future meeting of the COG; and 
ii. that discussions take place with partners regarding the possibility of fast-tracking those not in need of the supported employment scheme in to current vacancies. 
ii. At the COG on 26 March 2015, it had been agreed that Potential Breakthrough Achievements be placed on every second COG agenda. The Group was asked to propose potential achievements that all partners could collaborate on.

The Group AGREED that:-

i. the successful filling of retained firefighter vacancies through a partnership approach to recruitment would be a breakthrough achievement; 
ii. in addition to the provision of background information as agreed at item 4ii on the agenda, the SFRS offer prompts for affirmative action and, where appropriate, make officers available to attend team/staff meetings; and 
iii. consideration be given to how to minimise bureaucracy.

16. Future Agenda Items –Community Planning Board

The Group AGREED the following list of agenda items for the Community Planning Board on 11 September:-

• 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 (possibly under Matters Arising)
• Inverness and Highland City/Region Deal
• 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
• Breakthrough Achievements

17. Future Agenda Items –Chief Officers’ Group

The Group AGREED the following list of agenda items for future meetings of the Chief Officers’ Group:-

• Partnership Approach to Improvement Methodologies
• Update on Partnership action to increase Digital Inclusion
• 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
• Rural Deprivation and Inequalities
• Strengthening Local Democracy and Local Community Planning Arrangements

18. Date of Next Meeting

The Group:-

i. NOTED that the next meeting would take place on Wednesday 11 November 2015; 
ii. AGREED that the possibility of extending the meeting be explored; and 
iii. AGREED that HIE Chair the meeting.

19. AOCB

The Head of Health Improvement, NHS Highland, explained that Scotland had launched its Legacy 2014 Physical Activity Fund in July 2015 and the CPP Physical Activity Group had been preparing a bid for submission by the deadline of 20 August 2015. Only one bid was permitted per CPP and it had to build on existing activity. The maximum award was £70k and funding had to be used by September 2015. The bid focused on developing work on health walks and dance activities for young girls and, given the tight timescale for submission, partners were asked for their endorsement.

The Group:-

i. NOTED the position; and 
ii. AGREED to endorse the proposed bid.

The meeting ended at 5.30 pm.