Agendas, reports and minutes

A meeting of the Communities and Place Committee will take place REMOTELY on Wednesday, 12 May 2021 at 11:30 am.

Please note the later start time of the Committee due to the Members’ Workshop scheduled to take place at 9.30 am, details of which will be provided by the Service.

Webcast Notice: This meeting will be filmed and broadcast over the Internet on the Highland Council website and will be archived and available for viewing for 12 months thereafter.

You are invited to attend the meeting and a note of the business to be considered is attached.

Yours faithfully

Stewart Fraser
Head of Corporate Governance

Business

1. Apologies for Absence
Leisgeulan

2. Declarations of Interest
Foillseachaidhean Com-pàirt

Members are asked to consider whether they have an interest to declare in relation to any item on the agenda for this meeting. Any Member making a declaration of interest should indicate whether it is a financial or non-financial interest and include some information on the nature of the interest. Advice may be sought from Officers prior to the meeting taking place.

3. Good News/Staff Achievements
Naidheachdan Matha/Coileanaidhean Luchd-obrach

SUPPORTING COMMUNITY ACTION AND INVOLVEMENT
A’ CUR TAIC RI GNÌOMHACHD IS COM-PÀIRTEACHAS COIMHEARSNACHD

4. Community Asset Transfer Requests
Iarrtasan Gluasad So-mhaoin Coimhearsnachd

There is circulated Report No CP/11/21 dated 16 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to:-

(i)    agree the lease of Tougal public toilets and car park to Road to the Isles Facilities Group, for no annual rental charge, subject to the terms of the transfer at section 2.1 of the report; 
(ii)    agree the lease of Stac Pollaidh car park to Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland for £1 per annum, if asked, subject to the terms of the transfer at section 2.2 of the report;
(iii)    agree to homologate the decision by the Executive Chief Officer Communities and Place in consultation with the Chair of the Communities and Place Committee to vary terms of the economic development burden within the previously agreed asset transfer of Acharacle Community Centre;  limiting it to 5 years in duration; and  
(iv)    note the statutory timescale for responding to these transfers require consideration at the strategic committee and future community asset transfer requests can be programmed into the Area Committee cycle in keeping with the changes to the Scheme of Delegation agreed at Council in March 2021. Area Chairs affected by the transfers included in this report have been consulted and are in agreement.

5. Progress report on the Framework for Community Participation and Involvement
Adhartas agus gnìomh bhon Fhrèam airson Com-pàirteachas Coimhearsnachd
                                                                                                                             
There is circulated Report No CP/12/21 dated 22 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to:- 

(i)    consider the update against the Resilience Group Support Programme which includes the ongoing weekly written and virtual briefings, the community resilience networks and the ongoing food support to community groups;
(ii)    note the priorities identified in relation to developing sustainable models of food support in communities and the mental health and wellbeing resources under development to support individuals and community organisations;
(iii)    note the update on the progress against the participation and engagement framework including the shift in timescales due to the latest lockdown period, with a renewed focus for engaging with equality groups as lockdown lifts;
(iv)    note the recruitment of 10 Community Support Co-ordinators and the role these posts will have in supporting a better understanding of our communities and assisting in the identification of local priorities; 
(v)    note action underway on mental health and wellbeing supports including new signposting of resources, training and other tools for community groups and that a Member seminar with NHSH is programmed for June 2021 with invites to be issued; and
(vi)    note an update will be reported to the August meeting of this committee.

POLICY
POILEASAIDH

6. Equality Mainstreaming and Equality Outcomes Report 2021
Amalachadh Co-ionannachd agus Toraidhean Cho-ionannachdan

There is circulated Report No CP/13/21 dated 24 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer, Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to consider and agree the Equality Outcome and Mainstreaming Progress Report for the Highland Council (and incorporating the Education Authority and Licensing Board) as detailed in the report at Appendix 1.

7. Burial grounds and crematorium management rules
Cladhan agus riaghailtean stiùiridh luaithreachain

There is circulated Report No CP/14/21 dated 24 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer, Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to:- 

(i)    note the responses to the public consultation;
(ii)    agree the revised management rules for burials grounds as set out in Appendix 1 of the report shall come into force on 1st June 2021 and shall, unless revoked, continue in force for a period of 10 years from that date; 
(iii)    agree the revised management rules for Inverness Crematorium as set out in Appendix 2 of the report shall come into force on 1 June 2021 and shall, unless revoked, continue in force for a period of 10 years from that date; 
(iv)    agree that the Committee delegates powers to the Bereavement Services Manager to amend the rules for operational or legislative purposes; and
(v)    agree that in keeping with legislation, the next formal review is undertaken in 2030. 

Item 8 below will be considered at 2.00pm.

PERFORMANCE
COILEANADH

8. SFRS annual performance report – 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021
Aithisg choileanaidh leth-bhliadhnail SFRS

On behalf of the Local Senior Officer for Highland, Derek Wilson, there is circulated the Local Performance Report for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for the period April 2020 to March 2021.

The Committee is asked to scrutinise the Local Performance Report for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for the period April 2020 to March 2021.

9. Registration of Births, Deaths & Marriages – Annual report
Clàrachadh air Breith, Bàs & Pòsadh – Aithisg bhliadhnail

There is circulated Report No CP/16/21 dated 24 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer, Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to note:- 

(i)    the Registration team of 41.82 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) work across 22 locations recording around 6000 life events in the Highlands usually comprising around 2000 births, 2500 deaths and 1500 marriages and civil partnership each year, with around half of these marriages and civil partnerships undertaken by the team;
(ii)    the team undertake other important discretionary and income generating tasks including citizenship ceremonies (96 in 2019), the Identity and Passport Service (800 interviews in 2019/20) and the Family History Search Facility (around 600 annually);
(iii)    significant disruption across all Registrar services occurred in 2020, notably the temporary suspension of birth registration, marriages and civil partnerships and other discretionary services. The backlog of 400 birth registrations built up during the first lockdown was cleared in 4 months of recommencing the service. Arrangements for marriages and civil partnerships continue to evolve. Remote death registration was introduced through statute and this has proven to be more convenient to bereaved families;
(iv)    sadly, there have been 132 deaths registered in Highland where Covid was recorded on the death certificate from 1.4.20 to 26.4.21; 
(v)    staff have adjusted well to the new ways of working and ensured covid secure arrangements are in place for the safety of staff and customers. A review of incentives to encourage more staff to undertake the Certificate of Proficiency in the Law and Practice in Registration in Scotland is underway;
(vi)    there are potential risks associated with achieving the £533,240 income target for 2021/22. This will be monitored in-year an any budget pressures will be reported;
(vii)    service developments underway include preparing for mixed sex civil partnerships from end June 2021 and the new requirements for marriage visas for EU citizens from July 2021. Along with other functions in the Communities and Place (C&P) Service, the team will contribute to the C&P Service Performance Framework to be developed in 2021/22 drawing on a range of data, external reports and a programme of self-evaluation; 
(viii)    other potential developments may arise from legislation to enable remote or virtual appointments for both birth and death registration. A new project to digitise burial records is currently being scoped. Options for undertaking a new project to identify new products and services to celebrate and commemorate life events are being considered;

and, scrutinise performance based on the most recently published data which shows that for 2019:
a.    NRS examination of information recorded confirmed 97.4% accuracy, close to the national figure of 97.9% and is well placed within our family benchmark group.  The examiner’s report for each site is shown at Appendix 1 of the report. As well as providing assurance, this helps to identify good practice and areas for improvement across the region; 
b.    the Council’s performance is particularly strong given the relative resource invested in the service, as we are placed in the top quartile of all Councils for low cost (ranked 3rd lowest for net expenditure and 8th lowest for gross expenditure) and  ranked 2nd lowest cost within our family group of 8 Councils, based on Local Financial Returns data for 2018/19; 
c.    in the most recent survey of the Council’s Citizen’s Panel, the service was ranked 3rd highest for satisfaction out of 46 Council services, with a net satisfaction score of 73% and this has been consistently high for the past 5 years; and
d.    the team continues to achieve death registration in less time than the statutory period of 8 days of the medical certificate being received from the Certifying Doctor, with 2 days usually achieved.

10. Communities and Place Directorate Service Plan
Plana Seirbheis

There is circulated Report No CP/17/21 dated 28 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to agree the Directorate Service Plan attached for Communities and Place, noting the indicative budget at this time and that it is subject to review with any changes required reported back to Committee.

RESOURCES
GOIREASAN

11. Progress report on implementing the Visitor Management Plan
Aithisg adhartais mu bhuileachadh Plana Stiùiridh Luchd-tadhail

There is circulated Report No CP/18/21 dated 23 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer, Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to note:- 

(i)    the planned operational deployment of additional resources this year of £60k for public convenience provision by growing our comfort scheme of 37 providers and investing in six of the Council’s 75 public conveniences as described in paragraphs 5.5 and 5.6 of the report;
(ii)    the planned deployment of £180k for waste management through procuring and siting additional waste bins and increasing the frequency of collections in known hot spots supported by 8 new seasonal staff and supporting community litter picks as described in paragraphs 6.1 to 6.4 of the report;
(iii)    engagement with Members is underway through Ward Business Meetings and will continue throughout the season to deal with service issues and opportunities arising;
(iv)    that the service will apply for Better Places funding administered by NatureScot to enable further response; 
(v)    in responding to issues as they arise this could create budget pressures. To date this includes additional costs of roadside litter clearing. Any pressures will be monitored, reported and mitigated where possible and if necessary, opportunities for further investment will be submitted as part of the 2nd tranche of one-off investment possible this year at the Council meeting in June 2021; 
(vi)    the service will contribute to the proposed Tourism Infrastructure Plan and this will include the support from the community asset transfer process and reviewing public conveniences previously regarded as surplus to requirements or unaffordable to improve/repair;
(vii)    the service will continue to contribute to partnership and resilience meetings throughout the season; and
(viii)    the Environmental Health team will continue to support business in the tourism sector and in their Covid compliance.

12. Developing the approach to decarbonising the Large Good Vehicle Fleet
Dì-carbonachadh a’ Chabhlaich Thruim

There is circulated Report No CP/19/21 dated 23 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer, Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to note:- 

(i)    the national target set by local government to decarbonise fleets of cars and light commercial vehicles by 2025 and large goods vehicles by 2030 with the Council’s target for the region to be carbon neutral by 2025;
(ii)    from 2012/13 – 2019/20, emissions arising from Council fleet vehicles’ use of petrol, diesel and gas oil has decreased from 9,166tCO2e to an estimated 8,454tCO2e, a reduction of just under 8%.  There has been a corresponding reduction in consumption of diesel by the fleet of approximately 315,000 litres, or 10%, over the same timeframe;
(iii)    the Council has taken part in a study with other Councils and public sector partners to assess the optimum vehicle type for our various operations. This shows a shift to EV and hydrogen fuelled vehicles would be suitable for operations, although some petrol/diesel vehicles are likely still to be required due to distances travelled and rural challenges;
(iv)    the challenges around greening the LGV fleet are:
a.    higher costs of procuring Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEV) LGV.  The cost of LGVs powered by electric and hydrogen remain prohibitively high. Generally, electric vehicle (EV) costs are double and hydrogen costs are treble the cost of diesel vehicles;
b.    many manufactures are still at the prototype stage and this makes whole life costing, including estimating residual value of vehicles, difficult to predict; 
c.    while costs are expected to fall as technology improves and take up increases, budget provision and external funding are not yet identified to meet decarbonisation targets. However, work is underway to quantify the costs for a phased replacement programme and to identify all potential funding sources to inform future budget setting; and
d.    identifying a sustainable and secure supply of hydrogen is at an early stage. Potential providers are testing the market, trying to understand and estimate demand, before committing to investing in the region, although much work is being done by various organisations to produce, transfer and supply hydrogen; and
(v)    the opportunities being pursued to support greening the LGV fleet are:
e.    through the Council’s Transformation Programme, a 2-year post of Climate Change Coordinator (Transport) has been approved and is being recruited to bring in a level of expertise, and a programme management approach, approach including lobbying, to take the changes to fleet forward.    The post holder will sit within the Climate Change and Energy Team to ensure decarbonising the fleet sits within the wider Council climate change strategy;
f.    funding from Transport Scotland is provided to assist in installing infrastructure for publicly accessible charging and dedicated fleet charging. This amounted to £75,000 for fleet infrastructure in 2020. Implementing this will be an early priority for the post above.
g.    learning from Aberdeen City Council as a European leader in hydrogen ambition and accepting their offer of supporting the retrofit of hydrogen fuel tanks to Highland Council vehicles, depending on national funding being made available;
h.    building and developing partnerships with commercial operators and fuel providers to ensure the ULEV option is a viable one moving forward; 
i.    taking a joint approach to procurement with partner organisations in terms of vehicle demand to help the supply chain with manufacturers and fuel providers and through our shared procurement service with Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils; and
j.    work is underway to develop a hydrogen strategy for the Council and the links are being made with the feasibility into an Energy from Waste plant including the potential to convert energy generated to hydrogen for Council and other fleet use as part of the development of a hydrogen strategy for the region.

WASTE
SGUDAL

13. Minutes of the Waste Strategy Working Group
Geàrr-chunntas Buidheann-obrach Ro-innleachd Sgudail

There are circulated, for approval, the Minutes of the Waste Strategy Working Group held on 23 April 2021.

14. Waste Projects Update
Fios às Ùr mu Phròiseactan Sgudail

There is circulated Report No CP/20/21 dated 23 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to note:-

(i)    the positive progress in awarding two contracts to construct waste transfer stations in Inverness and Aviemore;
(ii)    the continuing efforts of officers to provide the opportunity to develop similar infrastructure in Fort William;
(iii)    the parallel efforts of officers to secure a new lease for the Household Waste Recycling Centre in Fort William; and 
(iv)    that the Members’ Waste Strategy Working Group was updated on these matters on 23rd April 2021, as reported separately in the minute to this Committee meeting.

15. Approach to appraising the options for the long-term management of residual waste
Dòigh-obrach a thaobh a bhith a’ measadh nan roghainnean airson rianachd fad-ùine sgudail iarmadaich

There is circulated Report No CP/21/21 dated 19 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to note:-

(i)    the Council currently invests approximately £11m per annum on waste disposal, including internal, external and landfill costs. Compared to other Councils our costs are relatively high (we are ranked 20/32 for low cost performance), the amount of household waste per person sent to landfill is the 2nd highest of all Scottish Councils at 0.27 tonnes per person. This creates 297,808 tonnes of CO2 emissions and places us 5th highest for carbon impact per person, with 1.26 tonnes of CO2 emitted per person. (Source: SEPA, Scottish Household Waste – Summary Data 2019); 
(ii)    costs have already increased this year with additional budget of £405k agreed at the Council meeting in March 2021. These will continue to increase annually unless a sustainable long-term solution can be found for Highland residual waste.; 
(iii)    four studies have now been concluded and three options remain for managing local authority collected waste: continue landfilling; contract with service providers in other parts of Scotland or in England to receive and treat Highland waste; or develop an Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility to serve the Highlands; 
(iv)    appraising these options will involve cost comparisons, with assumptions clarified given uncertainty on prices, markets and funding models, along with wider legislative and climate change duties and the scope for the Council to derive value from regional waste, contributing to economic recovery, asset management and poverty reduction; 
(v)    Members of the Waste Strategy Group will participate in study visits to one or two operating EfW sites in Tayside and Lothian as soon as possible and ideally during June if that can be made Covid secure; and
(vi)    alongside the study visits a desk-top review of how EfW plants in the UK have been funded to date will be commissioned. Different funding models and external funding could make this option more feasible or affordable and needs to be clarified;

and agree:-

(vii)    Appendix 1 of the report, agreed by the Member Waste Strategy Group, which sets out:
a.    the framework for critically appraising the pros and cons of the options;  and
b.    the proposed timeline for governance this year to decide on the preferred option.

16. Recycling Improvement Fund (RIF)
Maoin Leasachadh Ath-chuairteachaidh

There is circulated Report No CP/22/21 dated 23 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to note:-

(i)    that the Recycling Improvement Fund has been launched by the Scottish Government with the first call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) by 19 May 2021.  The fund is a five-year programme of £70m and it will operate on a rolling basis for EOI forms and Stage 2 applications from local authorities;
(ii)    the objectives of the fund, the funding availability and eligibility and the process for applying as described in sections 5-7 of the report;
(iii)    the Council requires support to improve recycling infrastructure given relative performance on recycling rates, waste landfilled and associated green-house gas emissions. The public show high satisfaction with refuse collection and recycling facilities and they are regarded among the most important services provided to the public.  If successful in gaining funding the Council will be able to improve services further, particularly in areas where services could be levelled up; 
(iv)    the initial list of proposals as set out in section 8 of the report. These were considered in the Members’ Waste Strategy Working Group on 23 April 2021, as reported separately in the minute to this Committee meeting. Feedback from the Committee is sought on the initial list of areas for improvement as set out in paragraph 8.1 of the report. Not all may be ready for the first EOI; 
(v)    discussion with Members in Ward Business meetings will be programmed over the period of the Fund to consider other potential service improvements and discussion on developing any stage 2 applications; and
(vi)    the Waste Management team will complete and submit the first initial EOI that is consistent with the eligibility criteria for the fund, with future updates brought to the Committee.

CONSULTATION RESPONSES
FREAGAIRTEAN CO-CHOMHAIRLE

17. Response to the Scottish Government’s discussion paper on the criminal law dealing with dangerous dogs
Freagairt do Phàipear Deasbaid Riaghaltas na h-Alba mun Lagh Eucorach a’ Dèiligeadh ri Coin Chunnartach

There is circulated Report No CP/23/21 dated 23 April 2021 by the Executive Chief Officer Communities and Place.

The Committee is invited to:- 

(i)    note the background information on dangerous dogs, dog control and roles of the Council and Police Scotland; and
(ii)    homologate the attached response of the report to the Scottish Government consultation on the criminal law dealing with dangerous dogs.