Agendas, reports and minutes

Minutes of Meeting of the Community Planning Board held in the Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Thursday 30 June 2016 at 10.00 am.

Present:

Representing the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA):
Mr G Moir

Representing the Highland Council (HC):
Mrs M Davidson
Mrs I McCallum
Ms M Smith
Mr S Barron
Ms M Morris
Mr B Alexander
Mr S Black
Ms A Clark
Ms E Johnston
Mr P Mascarenhas

Representing Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE):
Mr J Gibbs

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

Representing High Life Highland (HLH):
Mr I Murray

Representing NHS Highland (NHSH):
Dr H van Woerden
Ms C Steer
Ms D Jones

Representing Police Scotland (PS):
T/Ch Supt P MacRae

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

Representing Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH):
Mr G Hogg

Representing the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI):
Prof C Mulholland

In attendance:
Mr A Nicolson, Head of Planning and Partnerships, HIE
Mr J MacDonald, Area Manager, SFRS
Ms A Macrae, Committee Administrator, Highland Council

Mrs M Davidson in the Chair

Business

1.  Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mr P Argyle, Mr A Rhind, Ms K Bateson, Ms C Wright, Mr J Wilson, Mr D McLachlan, Dr D Alston, Ms E Mead, Mrs J Baird, Dr M Foxley, Mr J Pryce, Mr I Ross, and Mr Devenney.

2.  Minutes of Meetings

i. Community Planning Board

There had been circulated, and were APPROVED, Minutes of the Community Planning Board held on 2 December 2016.

ii. Chief Officers’ Group

There had been circulated, and were NOTED, Notes of Meetings of the Chief Officers’ Group held on 2 February 2016, 21 April 2016 and 19 May 2016.

3.  Presentation on the Economy and City-Region Deal

The Head of Planning and Partnerships, HIE gave a presentation on the economy covering the economic outlook; economic characteristics in Highland; sectors of employment; and current challenges. He also provided an overview of Scotland’s economic strategy and focused on developments around digital connectivity and young people in the Highlands.

Thereafter, the Director of Development and Infrastructure, Highland Council gave a presentation on the City-Region deal which covered the rationale; vision; Head of Terms agreement; funding package; projects; impacts; leadership and governance structures; and next steps. 

The Chair thanked the officers for the presentation and requested that a copy be circulated to all members of the Board.

Following on from the above, the Chair referred to the vote to leave the European Union and emphasised the need for partners to work closely together on this matter. She requested that the Chief Officers Group consider the impacts in Highland and also any contingency plans partners may have in response.  

Discussion followed on the range of projects being progressed under the City/Region Deal and SNH’s involvement in the discussions around the Castle project going forward was emphasised in relation to natural heritage and the landscape. 

Thereafter, Professor C Mulholland provided an update on UHI’s plans for the next five years including a review of the curriculum with a focus on three sectors i.e. digital, renewable energy and the environment and health.  He also outlined proposals to create a regional health and social care school which would cover the Highlands. He indicated that the project was being jointly funded by the UHI, HIE, City/Region deal, and through European funding.

Professor Mullholland advised that the purpose of the above project was to provide opportunities to allow young people to remain in the Highlands and also to ‘grow our own’ professional groups. In addition the aim was to recruit young health professionals into the area by providing opportunities for career development and in relation to research and innovation. The UHI was therefore concerned to build the innovation and commercialisation elements of the school. The school would focus on the delivery of remote and rural health care and also on digital health and tele-medicine to support communities.  

In response to a question Professor Mullholland  explained that it was important the UHI served the Highlands by providing opportunities for young people from the area but also built on its reputation nationally and internationally in order to attract high calibre professionals into the Highlands, particularly in relation to research and innovation.  

Thereafter, the Board:-

i. NOTED the presentation and AGREED that a copy be circulated to all Members of the Board; and
ii. AGREED that in regard to the vote to leave the European Union, the Chief Officers Group consider the impacts in Highland and also any contingency plans partners may have in response

4.  Audit Scotland National Report: Community Planning – An Update

There had been circulated the Audit Scotland Report “Community Planning – An Update”.  

The Chief Executive, Highland Council, gave a verbal update on this item, during which he explained the report built on the joint Statement of Ambition in 2012 signed by the Scottish Government and COSLA in 2012. He advised that Audit Scotland noted there had been progress but that community planning partnerships were not currently delivering ambitious change in line with that ambition. 

The Chief Executive advised that the report noted leadership was improving as was priority setting. However community planning partnerships were criticised for not sharing, aligning or deploying resources. In addition to the above there was further criticism for not involving communities in community planning partnerships.

In response to the above the Chief Executive advised that it was intended the Board’s proposals for taking forward local community planning would genuinely involve communities. In terms of sharing, aligning and deploying resources he suggested the comments were fair and that to make progress towards that objective it was important to recognise the Community Planning Partnership as being the vehicle for Chief Executives and appropriate Board members. In this regard it was important that the five statutory partners fielded their Chief Executives at the Chief Officer Groups and the Board for all meetings He emphasised that it was important those who attended could commit their organisations in terms of the resources required.

The report also identified that there had been a lack of coordinated support from the Scottish Government, and a significant conflict between promoting outcomes and its recent practice of measuring short term targets. The Chief Executive commented this had been the Council’s experience on some aspects of the work. The report sought stronger national leadership and fundamental changes to the way public services were planned, delivered and held to account. It also looked for a streamlining of performance management and noted the need to balance the measuring of services with the required focus on outcomes, prevention and partnership. It also focused on the need for local leadership recognising the new opportunities of the Community Empowerment Act.

In conclusion the Chief Executive advised that were three recommendations for community planning partnerships which were to (i) target resources on a larger scale and focus on prevention, (ii) ensure strong voice for local communities, and (iii) recognise their role in leading public service reform.

The Chair advised that change was essential in terms of the Partnership to ensure resources were aligned and the focus was on delivering the required outcomes in communities. She reiterated the need for there to be a high level commitment in terms of attendance from partners. It was also important the leadership of the Board be reviewed with consideration been given to revolving the position of chair between the partners so that leadership was provided by all.   

Thereafter, the Board NOTED:-

i. the report, its findings and recommendations; and
ii. the verbal update.

5.  Implementing the Community Empowerment Act

i. Community Empowerment Act: Community Planning Partnership Consultation Responses

There had been circulated Report No CPB/01/16 dated 16 June 2016 by the Acting Head of Policy, Highland Council which provided a summary of each of the recent Scottish Government consultations on parts of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act, along with the responses agreed by the Chief Officers’ Group and submitted on behalf of the Community Planning Partnership.

The Board NOTED the responses submitted on behalf of the Partnership to the Scottish Government consultations on the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act.

ii. Taking Forward Local Community Planning

There had been circulated Report No CPB/02/16 dated 16 June 2016 by the Acting Head of Policy, Highland Council, which considered the proposals for developing local community planning arrangements.  This was within the context of the new duties contained in the Community Empowerment Act but also other local planning responsibilities contained within the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 and the Requirements for Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations 2013.

During discussion, the following comments were made:-

• the report was welcomed and the Acting Head of Policy and Sub Group were commended on their work in taking this forward;
• It was noted that the Highland Council was asking the Board to consider that 9 local community partnerships be established, on the basis there would be one partnership for Inverness as had been recommended by the City of Inverness Area Committee;
• in regard to Inverness and given the anticipated size of partnership it was recommended that a sub group approach be adopted to support the delivery of activity; it was recognised that further discussions with partners would be required in this regard;    
• the proposals in the report provided a platform and starting point for developing the new local community planning arrangements;
• in regard to the above it was important to recognise there was a significant amount of work still to be undertaken in terms of developing the overall planning framework and linking the Local Outcomes Improvement Plan to what was happening on the ground at a local level, 
• further work was also required around the detail of how the Partnership would be supported between the partners at Board, Chief Officer and local partnerships level and also around the links between the strategic and local partnerships;
• reference to the culture change which would be required amongst partners in terms of moving from the District Partnerships to chairing and supporting the new local partnerships where the focus would be on a much broader range of issues;
• in  supporting the proposed way forward it should be recognised there were challenges for those partners from national organisations;
• a main challenge in taking forward the proposals was how to ensure the local partnerships were not regarded as ‘talking shops’ and were relevant to and achieved meaningful engagement with local communities and were focused on actions;
• it was also important that the new framework be used to rationalise the number of forums and meetings within communities with the new local partnerships and any sub groups being the focus of partnership work;
• the new arrangements represented a step forward in terms of translating some of the community planning objectives into organisational objectives which had been a challenge in the past;
• in regard to the Cairngorm National Park it was important that the local partnerships added value and were aligned to the existing range of forums and partnerships which existed to avoid duplication; and
• in terms of next steps it was important that a common language was agreed between the partners and therefore it was proposed that a lexicon be produced for approval in this regard.

Thereafter, the Board:-

i. in relation to the geography for establishing local partnerships, AGREED that 9 local partnerships be established in Highland as follows:-

• Caithness
• Sutherland
• East Ross
• Mid Ross
• Skye, Lochalsh and Wester Ross
• Lochaber
• Inverness City Area
• Nairn 
• Badenoch and Strathspey

ii. in relation to how to resource community planning at a Board, Chief Officers’ Group and local partnership level, AGREED Option 4 – Lead Agency Approach as set out in section 5.2 of the report; and
iii. AGREED the initial guidance to support local partnerships as outlined in section 6 of the report.
Iii. SEP Index – Targeting Partnership Action

There had been circulated Report No CPB/03/16 dated 21 June 2016 by the Head of Health Improvement, NHS Highland, and the Acting Head of Policy, Highland Council, which updated the Board on further work undertaken in relation to the SEP Index and recommended how to utilise this index to target partnership action including locality planning.

In response to a point regarding the link with the National Park Partnership Plan it was confirmed that the Chief Officers Group had agreed that a detailed analysis of the data for Badenoch and Strathspey would also be undertaken. 

The Board:-

i. NOTED progress in relation to development of the SEP index for targeting inequalities in Highland;
ii. AGREED that the communities identified in Appendix 3 of the report be used to inform priorities for development of locality plans to meet the requirements of the Community Empowerment Act; and
iii. AGREED that discussions should take place with District Partnerships and any other relevant local structures to raise awareness of the SEP index and consider its uses to tackle inequalities.

6.  The Commission on Highland Democracy

There had been circulated, for information, the COSLA Commission report on Strengthening Local Democracy, “Effective Democracy: Reconnecting with Communities”.

The Chair advised that above document showed how centralised and divorced from communities democracy had become in Scotland.  In this regard the Council was in the process of establishing a Commission on Highland Democracy.  Mr Rory Mair CBE would both chair and lead on the work of the Commission and his return from illness was awaited prior to the timetable for taking this forward being confirmed. In the meantime she indicated that a draft paper on the proposed work of the Highland Commission had been prepared and once signed off would be circulated to the Board. In addition she invited any Board Member who may be interested in being part of the Commission as individuals to contact her in this regard.   

The Board NOTED the report and the verbal update.

7.  Community Planning Improvement Programme – Final Report

There had been circulated Report No CPB/04/16 dated 21 June 2016 by the Chief Officer, Highland Third Sector Interface, which explained that the Community Planning Improvement Process had now been completed and a Plan had been drafted for consideration and adoption by the Highland CPP.  The Plan had been considered at the Chief Officers’ Group on 21 April 2016.

In presenting the report, the Chief Officer advised that the Chief Officers Group had agreed in relation to Improvement 5 that ‘Engagement Strategy’ was a more appropriate description than ‘Marketing Strategy’.

The Board AGREED:-

i. to adopt the Plan in principle, subject to the comments made at the Chief Officers’ Group on 21 April 2016, as set out in the report;
ii. to support the approach set out in section 3.2 of the report with regard to the establishment of a working group and to receive updates on the progress of that work; and
iii. that the Chief Officers’ Group have general oversight of the progression of the Plan and commit the necessary time and resource to its realisation while reporting back to the Board on progress at appropriate intervals.

8.  Scottish Care Leavers Covenant

There had been circulated Report No CPB/05/16 dated 21 June 2016 by the Director of Care and Learning, Highland Council, which explained that the Scottish Care Leavers Covenant had been produced by an alliance of children’s organisations as “a bold step to make the changes needed to give care leavers the bright and better future they deserved.”  It set out a cross-sector approach to implementation of Part 10 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 by supporting corporate parents to deliver changes in action and practice to bring consistency to entitlement and support to young people.

The Board AGREED to sign up to and endorse the Scottish Care Leavers Covenant.

9.  Highland CPP Breakthrough Achievement for 2016/17

There had been circulated Report No CPB/06/16 dated 21 June 2016 by the Head of Health Improvement, NHS Highland, which explained that, at the Chief Officers’ Group on 2 February 2016, the Group considered options for a breakthrough achievement for 2016. Following further discussion at the Chief Officers’ Group on 21 April 2016 it had been agreed to recommend to the Board that a breakthrough achievement for 2016/17 should be to contribute to a campaign which aimed to reduce loneliness and social isolation in Highland.

The Board welcomed the report and NHS Highland was congratulated on the work undertaken on this breakthrough achievement to date and reference was made to the opportunities to build on this work going forward.

In discussion it was noted that the campaign would be promoted through partner websites and social media channels such as twitter, instagram and facebook, and through the press.  Reference was made to the need to focus on encouraging as many staff as possible to make a pledge to take action to help those who may need support within their communities.

Thereafter, a point was raised in regard to whether this initiative could be re-phrased to allow partner organisations to measure in future if the commitment they had given as a breakthrough achievement had been achieved. The Head of Health Improvement advised that she was content to have further discussions with partners in this regard.

In addition a point was also raised in regard to how after staff had signed up to the campaign how partners would know if they were delivering on their pledge.  The Head of Health Improvement advised that partners were asked to encourage staff to come back and share their actions and experiences online and on social media.  

The Board AGREED that a breakthrough achievement for 2016/17 would be to sign up to a campaign that would see 1 in 3 of staff in partner agencies sign a pledge to take action to reduce loneliness and social isolation.

10.  National Park Partnership Plan

The Chief Executive, CNPA, gave a presentation on the consultation being undertaken by the Authority on its next National Park Partnership Plan for 2017-2022 which he was explained provided the statutory context for all the work the Park was responsible for.  There would be a fourteen week consultation period from 27 June to 30 September 2016. The consultation was based around what was considered the 9 ‘Big Issues’ facing the Park in the next five years, details of which he provided. 

The Chief Executive summarised the proposed format of the consultation and highlighted that a number of different engagement tools would be used to encourage people to take part.  Following the consultation, a final Plan would be developed to commence in April 2017 that would set out the key policies and actions for the next five year period and the intention would be to bring that Plan to the Board around March 2017.  He sought the support of partners in encouraging people to get involved in the consultation and highlighted that the Plan might provide some useful ideas in relation to the local outcomes improvement plan.

The Board welcomed the approach being taken in regard to the consultation and reference was made to replicate this approach in future. In addition the links between the nine big issues in the Plan and health and wellbeing was also welcomed.

Discussion then followed on the approach to be taken in terms of the Community Planning Partnership response to the Plan. The Chief Executive, CNPA advised that it would helpful to have a response from the partnership in regard to how the Plan fitted with the new community planning arrangements including the local outcome improvement plan. 

The Chair requested that the Chief Officers Group consider and respond to the Plan in terms of the fit with the new community planning arrangements and that an update be provided to the next meeting of the Board.

The Board:-

i. NOTED the presentation; and
ii. AGREED that the Chief Officers Group consider and respond to the consultation in terms of the fit with the new local community planning arrangements, and that an update be provided to the next meeting of the Board.

11.  Consultation on Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Strategic Plan 2016-2019    

There had been circulated Report No CPB/07/16 dated 11 June 2016 by the Area Manager – Service Delivery, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), which explained that the SFRS was consulting with all stakeholders on its draft Strategic Plan for 2016-2019.

The Local Senior Officer, SFRS, gave a short presentation in support of the report and sought Board Members’ views and comments on the draft Plan with specific reference to the strategic outcomes, priorities and objectives.

During discussion, the following comments were made:-

• it was suggested that the SFRS was an excellent resource within communities in the Highlands and the invitation to comment on what the Service could do beyond their core activities to address local challenges was welcomed;
• it was important that as a national organisation the Service rural proofed all of its activities, with a view to removing obstacles which may exist for people in rural areas for example around training to ensure there was a good supply of recruits coming into the Service;
• a comment that there was a need to better reflect the proactive work undertaken in partnership in Highland in terms of prevention; the Local Senior Officer advised that the partnership working in this regard would be captured and reflected within the Local Plan for Highland;
• in regard to the above it was suggested that a link to prevention in terms of the Christie Commission’s recommendations may enhance the draft Strategic Plan;
• that the links with health be welcomed and reference was made to the importance of partnership working to secure enhanced community resilience; and
• it would be helpful to have the view of the SFRS either at a local or national level in regard to how the Community Planning Partnership could help the Service deliver its objectives. 

The Board NOTED the report and presentation and that Members’ comments would be fed back as part of the consultation process.

12.  Active Highland Strategy

There had been circulated Report No CPB/08/16 dated 22 June 2016 by the Head of Health Improvement, NHS Highland, which presented the final draft of Active Highland,  a refreshed framework of outcomes and commitments around promoting opportunities for physical activity and sport.  It replaced the Council’s Physical Activity and Sport Strategy.

Arising from the report it was emphasised that the document was the starting point and that delivery and development of an action plan would be the next stage in the process.

In response to a question the Head of Health Improvement advised that in terms of next steps it was proposed existing sub group would focus on developing a partnership approach to its implementation. 

In discussion it was suggested that the challenge in the implementation of the Strategy was to take forward the aspirations of communities.  Therefore it was important the sub group consider and report back on how the implementation of the Strategy was to be taken forward particularly in terms of consulting with and supporting local communities to achieve their aspirations.

The Board AGREED:-

i. to endorse the Active Highland strategy; 
ii. to commit to implementation of the Active Highland Strategy as appropriate, subject to the findings of Equality Impact Assessment; and
iii. that the Sub Group consider and report back on how the implementation of the Strategy was to be taken forward particularly in terms of consulting with and supporting local communities.

13.  Delivering Partnership Outcomes

The following updates had been provided by Responsible Officers on the current delivery plans for the Single Outcome Agreement (SOA), the partnership’s agreed strategic priorities and developing partnership working:-

i. Economic Growth and Regeneration

There had been circulated report by HIE, as lead partner on this theme, which summarised the progress that had been made in 2015/16 in relation to five high level indicators, namely, the number of jobs created or sustained through public sector interventions; the number of Business Gateway volume start up clients who have begun trading; the number of existing businesses accessing advisory services through Business Gateway; the number of VAT/PAYE registered enterprises per 10,000 population; and the percentage of working age population (16-64) in employment.

The Board was advised that data was awaited on a number of the indicators and therefore that consideration of the report be deferred until the meeting on 7 October 2016 when more complete information would be available. 

The Board AGREED to defer this item until the next meeting on 7 October 2016.

ii. Employability

There had been circulated report by the Council, as lead partner on this theme, which provided an overview of the unemployment situation in Highland as well as an update on progress in relation to the European Social Fund Programme 2014-2020, Scotland’s Youth Employment Strategy and the Skills Investment Plan.

The Board scrutinised and NOTED the update.

iii. Early Years/Children

There had been circulated report by the Council, as lead partner on this theme, which explained that the Council and NHS Highland had agreed a performance framework for children’s services, as outlined in For Highland’s Children 4 (FHC4), and set out the current situation in relation to those measures relating specifically to the early years.  The report also provided an update on the Early Years Collaborative.

The Director of Care and Learning Work provided an update on this item including on the work ongoing in regard to the formation of the Improvement Group to ensure it was as holistic and integrated around all aspects of early years as possible. He also commented on the national scene and provided an update on the review being led by the Scottish Government around aligning ‘stretch aims’ of both the early years and raising attainment for all and concerns around the significant programme of work in relation to children going through early years in Scotland. In addition the Scottish Government had confirmed that the Early Years Task Force, was to be stood down, noting that he and the Chief Executive, NHS Highland were members of the body, albeit it had not met in approximately one year. 

The Board scrutinised and NOTED the update.

iv. Safer and Stronger Communities

There had been circulated report by Police Scotland, as lead partner on this theme, which provided an update on the crime position and an overview of Safer Highland for the final quarter of 2015/16.  The report also included updates from the Safer Highland meeting held on 15 June 2016.

T/Ch Supt P Macrae provided a summary of the report and advised that there had been a slight increase in reported crimes in 2015/16 on the previous year but in terms of the last three and five year averages the overall trend was downwards.   He advised that within that an exception to this was relation to sexual crime, where there were two areas where an increase had been observed. The first was historical reporting of sexual offences which it was suggested had a positive aspect in that it reflected members of the public increased confidence in disclosing these matters to the Police. The second area was in relation to an increase in reporting of online child sexual exploitation and he referred to a number of approaches being taken in relation to this issue by Safer Highland and its sub groups, and through a media campaign and the National Action Plan. In addition a sub group had also been established in Highland to develop cross agency responses to child exploitation.

In addition the Board was advised that in in terms of the reporting of hate crime there had been 20% fall in Highland over the previous year. However there were concerns around increased reporting in light of recent events.

Thereafter, the Director of Care and Learning paid tribute to the five Highland schools who had won places in the Scottish Final of UK Rock Challenge at Dundee’s Caird Hall on 17 June, and in particular to Alness Academy on becoming the Scottish Champions for 2016. He thanked colleagues across the agencies for their contribution to the success of Highland schools.

In addition the Director of Care and Learning advised that both discussions were ongoing with the Police locally in relation to a strategy to manage knife incidents in schools. He advised that while knife crime was not a particular issue in Highland, a commitment had been given to work with other authorities across the north of Scotland on this issue and also in regard to dealing with and managing violent behaviour involving young people.

The Board scrutinised and NOTED the update.

v. Health Inequalities and Physical Inactivity

There had been circulated report by NHS Highland, as lead partner on this theme, which summarised progress in relation to self-assessment; research to inform development of an anti-poverty strategy; fuel poverty; and the Active Highland Strategy.

Arising from the report the Head of Health Improvement, NHS Highland reported that in terms of the improvement plan it was proposed that a report would be brought to the next meeting of the Board. In regard to the research ongoing to inform the development of an anti-poverty strategy it was hoped this work would be completed by the end of June 2016, and this would be considered by the theme Group at its next meeting.

The Board scrutinised and NOTED the update.

vi. Outcomes for Older People

There had been circulated report by NHS Highland, as lead partner on this theme, which provided updates on a number of areas of activity including housing-based models of care; TEC Service; dementia; The Highland Partnership Strategic Plan; community transport, the Reach Out campaign; and the Integrated Care Fund.

The Board scrutinised and NOTED the update.

vii. Environmental Outcomes

There had been circulated report by SNH, as lead partner on this theme, which summarised progress in relation to the identified environmental outcomes, namely, the environment will be managed sustainably in order to optimise economic, health, natural heritage and learning benefits; the effects of climate change will be minimised and managed; and people will have greater outdoor access and volunteering opportunities across Highland.

Mr G Hogg, SNH advised that the indications were that the quality of natural heritage in the Highlands been maintained or improved, and in this regard he also referred to recent events which had helped showcase the area, A significant achievement had been the establishment of the Highland PAW group, which was taking a partnership approach to raising awareness and encouraging the reporting of wildlife crime. 

He also referred to the challenges around achieving the SOA environmental outcomes in the context of current resource reductions. In particular and with the loss of the biodiversity officers within the Council there was a need to focus on coordinating and supporting partners across the spectrum of actions included within the biodiversity action plan. He also referred to the impact of the loss of the community health coordinator posts in relation projects being taken forward by the Merkinch network. He advised that in relation to the challenges around the green infrastructure project for the Merkinch area a sub group comprising SNH, NHS Highland and HIE and led by the Council had been established, and it was hoped this collaborative approach would allow the project to proceed to the application stage.

In conclusion Mr G Hogg expressed concern that that the issuing of contracts under the Environmental Co-operation Action Fund scheme which formed part of the Scottish Rural Development Programme had been put on hold by the Scottish Government while the implications of the vote to leave the European Union were assessed.
 
Thereafter, the Chair welcomed the collaborative approach taken in regard to the green infrastructure project as the way forward and referred to the need also to build capacity within communities so that they could take ownership of projects.  She suggested that in the current climate of budget reductions it would be helpful if the Highland Council and SNH had further discussions on issues such as the ranger service and long distance routes and she undertook to liaise with the Director of Development and Infrastructure on this matter.

The Board scrutinised and NOTED the update.

viii. Community Learning and Development

The Director of Care and Learning gave a verbal update on this item during which he advised that:-

• the Board’s agreement in relation to the new local partnerships to be known as ‘community partnerships’ would be significant in informing the work of the CLD Strategic Group going forward;
• there was a commitment that the next meeting of the Group in August 2016 would be the starting point for moving towards having one locality plan for each of the community partnerships, hopefully by the end of the year;
• the locality plans would be informed by the communities the Board agreed earlier in terms of the deprivation indicators across Highland, and that a separate briefing would be organised for the new partnership representatives on this matter;
• at the last meeting of the Group a consensus had been reached on the requirements for locality planning in terms of the CLD regulations and the Community Empowerment Act which hopefully would reduce duplication and provide further clarity; and
• further work was required to develop a combined data set from all the agencies to inform local community planning going forward.

The Board scrutinised and NOTED the update.

ix. SOA Development Plan

There had been circulated report by the Council which provided an update on progress in relation to the SOA Development Plan 2016.

The Acting Head of Policy highlighted that the development of the local community planning arrangements was enabling some of the areas for improvement identified in the Plan. 

In connection with this item a point was raised in regard to the challenges around developing the local outcome improvement plan which had to be in place by October 2017 and particularly in relation to how to engage the newly emerging local partnerships in the process. The Acting Head of Policy advised that it was anticipated the final guidance would be available around November/December 2016, and that in the interim the proposal would be use the draft guidance as a platform going forward. 

The Board scrutinised and NOTED the update.

14.  Date of Next Meeting

The Board NOTED that the next meeting would take place at 10.00 am on Friday 7 October 2016 in the Council Chamber, Highland Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness.

The meeting ended at 12.45 pm.