Action Note - North, West and Central Sutherland (Ward 1)

Agenda

 

Held on 12 April 2008 in Durness Village Hall

 

Attending
Cllr Linda Munro (Chair)
Cllr George Farlow
Ian Hargrave – CSER Area Corporate Manager
Andy Mackay – NW & C Sutherland Ward Manager
Janette Mackay – Strathy & Armadale CC
Sandra Munro – Bettyhill, Strathnaver & Altnaharra CC
Frances Gunn  – Tongue & Melness CC
Harry Bremner – Melvich CC
David Walker – Lairg CC
Irene Chisholm – Criech CC
Russell Taylor – Criech CC
Graham Nichols – CSER Area Manager, Education Culture & Sport
Bill Couston – CSER Senior Education Officer
Helen Allan – CSER Community Learning & Leisure Officer
Maurice MacIntyre – CSER Education Officer

 

Apologies
Cllr Robbie Rowantree
Inspector Neil MacKinnon – Northern Constabulary
Ros Summers – Secretary Assynt CC
Alasdair Wood – Scourie CC
Morag Macdonald – Lairg CC
Graham Wild – Kinlochbervie CC
Liz Cormack – Ardgay & District CC
Russell Smith – Criech CC
Morag Mackay – Melvich CC

 

Introductions and Welcome – Cllr Munro

 

Previous Action Note – All action points were included on this Forums Agenda.
The Chair, Cllr Linda Munro welcomed the Ward Forum members along with an audience of 8 people from the community, to the third North, West and Central Sutherland Ward Forum.

 

Item 1.  Action Note from previous meeting:

 

Item 2.  Matters Arising – None

 

Item 3 : Review of Ward Forums:  IH told members the Council had committed to a review and gave an update on the approach and urged Forum members to complete the forms that have been sent to them and to please complete and return them by the 30th April.

 

Item 4 : Mr Graham Nichols introducing his team, gave a presentation on the work of the ECS Service and described how that ECS service has the highest budget within the Council at £200m. He outlined the range of services provided across the area and how his responsibility is for Schools, Libraries, Leisure Centres, Community Centres, Art Galleries, Museums and Sports Pitches as well as providing support and funding to community groups and organisations.

 

He told the Forum how his service is routinely monitored and scrutinised by HMIE, Care Commission and Health and Safety and reports are produced on all inspections and are available for the public to read.

 

Questions were asked by the members of the Forum about the capital programme and with particular relation to Farr High School.  Mr Nichols said that the ECS Service is currently reviewing its programme with a report due to go to the Council in May.

 

Concerns were raised about the current position with Cluster Heads and how it degenerates opportunities for local employment and questions if it works in this area, the Tongue Cluster Head position and the process was given as an example of how it’s not necessarily working.  There were concerns raised about the Highland Council Policy, the consultation process the School and Parent Council went through and the demands put upon Head Teachers today under their new terms and conditions.

 

Mr Nichols answered saying that according to HMIE that Clustering is working and there has been particular difficulty with recruiting suitable applicants for the Tongue post but they are due to re-interview and hope soon to fill the post.  He explained that the Council Policy is being adhered to and that for the foreseeable future the Cluster Head arrangement is to remain as is, and but invited support from the Parent Council to become involved in advising and supporting the new Cluster Head when they take up their post.  He also acknowledged the demands on Head Teachers but that these are generally imposed by Central Government.  Mr Couston pointed out that the combined rolls of the schools in this cluster means that there is an entitlement for a Principle Teacher which is included as a part of the review.

 

Cllrs Farlow and Munro said that they would take forward to the Chair of ECS the consensus of the Forum and lobby for change to the Cluster Head arrangement on the North Coast and to attempt to change the policy but they advised that this would not happen overnight.  

 

Item 5.  Community Council Issues

 

Cllr Farlow gave an update on the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) situation and informed the Forum how he, Cllr Rowantree, Dr Hertsfurt and Alan Miller, SAS Area Manager met to discuss a potential pilot for the North Coast that could be the starting point to look at how this could be introduced within other areas.  He also thanked the GP’s across the Ward for their support for the single manning arrangements that had to be introduced across the Ward.
Action: Cllr Farlow said he would report back any developments at the next Ward Forum.

 

Concerns were raised about Police cover and problems with Youth in one or two areas which they felt more input from the Police and Youth Workers were needed.  Compliments were made on the work of Yvonne Mackay the Youth Worker for the North Area whose work has had a great impact on helping address youth issues in the Tongue, Melness and Bettyhill areas.

 

Local Plan Consultation the Forum - members said that the CC is having their representations to the plan acknowledged by the Planning service in writing.

 

The situation regarding the recruitment of Youth Development Workers across the Ward was explained and was awaiting the outcome of a review currently taking place on the YDO role which the Councillors have been asked to feed into before the recruiting of YDO can take place. 

 

Helen Allan congratulated the communities along the North Coast for their support and the Councillors for using the Ward Discretionary for the developments to support young people across the area.

 

Item 6.  Ward Discretionary Budget
Andy Mackay reported on the applications that had been approved and on those that required further investigating to meet the necessary criteria.

 

Item 7.  Standards of Community Engagement
Helen Allan introduced and gave copies of the Communities Scotland Toolkit and explained how if adopted that they can be used by the Forum and Community Councils to assist them in their work and their communities.

 

Item 8. Young Scot Presentation

 

A short presentation was given by Yvonne Mackay along with 3 young people, Lucy Laing, Miranda Macdonald and Karen Mackay, who recently gained Young Quality Scot Awards. Their work ranged from Karen attending Youth Voice Executive Committee, Miranda attending a trip to Auschwitz and setting up a Youth Café, Lucy for work she did supporting younger pupils during class time and her involvement in her local Community Council. 

 

They were unanimously acknowledged by the Forum for their work and were congratulated by Cllr Munro as being an asset to their communities.

 

Item 9. Police and Community Safety

 

Inspector Mackinnon gave his apologies and the Ward Manager read out his report of the following issues that he wished brought to the attention of the Forum.:
The Chief Constable has identified that an additional officer will be based at Bettyhill and one further officer at Lairg.  We have commenced the internal process of identifying the officers who will take up post in due course, and I would hope before Summer. 
Chief Inspector Andy Brown commences his new role as Area Commander at Wick on 31/03/08 and 1st April saw us officially move into our Superintendent led new divisional structure.  The North Division now comprises Shetland, Orkney, Caithness / Sutherland and Easter Ross (Tain).

 

Creich Community Council said they had invited the Inspector to a future meeting to discuss local issues and both Cllr Farlow ad Munro said they also wished to attend.

 

Item 10. Issues raised by Cllr Munro and Farlow

 

Cllr Farlow stated that the councillor input into strategic committees has been significant, took up a huge amount of time and welcomed Community Council input into those items of concern.  He said that the relationships with CC members is helping bridge consultation gaps and engage with all the communities.

 

The work and effort of the Cllrs was acknowledged by the Forum with them saying how they were happy with the responses they’ve had from all their local Councillors.

 

A question asked was to do with why they cannot get the support from the Cllrs on Planning issues which as a Community Council they may need.  Ian Hargrave answered this by saying that under the National Policy for Planning matters that Councillors cannot comment under the Planning Policy otherwise they would be disqualified from the planning committee when discussing a particular planning application.  He said that the CC’s have every right to invite the Planning Service into clarifying any issue as part of the process.

 

Cllr Munro - That there are concerns with care of The Elderly in NW & C Sutherland which we were to look at as part of this Forum. She said how the situation with Caladh Sona and Assynt needs explaining and that suggested a separate meeting be arranged with Social Work to discuss further the two homes but also suggested the next ward Forum Theme be on Social Work.

 

Cllr Farlow explained that this was also on the next agenda for the North Highland Community Health Partnership meeting being held at the Marine Hotel in Brora on June 17th which is a meeting that is held in public and that Ward Forum members would be able to attend if they desired.

 

Ian Hargrave reported back that some of the Social Work issues are for local and Ward meetings and he said how the Director of Social Work, Harriet Dempster apologised for not being included on the Ward Forum Agenda as previously requested, but also proposed that the next ward Forum would be more suitable to be themed on Social Work Service and Care for the Elderly.
From Mr Hargrave’s report, Mrs Dempster said that her reasons were because:

• Her Service will have feed back on the consultation exercise re joint older peoples strategy
• The Council will have reviewed the capital programme and the position beyond year 5 of the current programme and should be clearer
• That the communities would have results of a local consultation
• Her service would hope to be further down the road with joint working with NHS and there may be a clearer picture emerging re the implications for the west of the new build hospital at Bonar Bridge.

It was agreed by everyone that the next Ward Forum would be themed on Social Work and Care for the Elderly and a separate meeting was to be arranged with SW to discuss the position of Caladh Sona and Assynt to take place in Lairg at the end of May or beginning of June.
Action: Date to be arranged with the Director of Social Work to meet regarding Care Homes and also to be invited to the next Ward Forum as the Theme will be based  on Social Work.

 

12. Date and Venue of next Ward Forum
The next meeting will take place on Saturday 23rd August in Lochinver Community Hall and will start at 11am, it will last no more than 3 hours and will include a 30 minute break.