Present

• Councillor Marie Burns (MB), Leader of North Ayrshire Council (Chair)
• Louise Kirk (LK), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer, CWB Commission)
• Emma McMullen (EMcM), North Ayrshire Council 
• Mhairi Paterson (MP), North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Anthony Gurney (AG), North Ayrshire Council
• Caroline Cameron (CC), North Ayrshire Health & Social Care Partnership
• Councillor Margaret Johnson (MJ), North Ayrshire Council
• David Davidson (DD), Ayrshire College
• David Hammond (DH), North Ayrshire Council
• George Hunter (GH), South Ayrshire Council
• Karen Craib (KC), Scottish Enterprise
• Jude King (JK), Ayrshire Growth Deal (representing Graham Saunders)
• David McDowall (DMcD), East Ayrshire Council
• Stephen McGovern (SMcG), Police Scotland
• Councillor Maureen McKay (MMcK), East Ayrshire Council
• Ian McMeekin (IMcM), Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Councillor Bob Pollock (BP), South Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon (RMcC), North Ayrshire Council
• Sheila Cowan (SC), NHS Ayrshire & Arran (representing Lesley Bowie)
• Grace Hutchison (GrH), North Ayrshire Council

Apologies

• Craig Hatton, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council
• Lesley Bowie, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Richard Grieveson, East Ayrshire Council
• Graham Saunders, Ayrshire Growth Deal (AGD)
• Kaileigh Brown, The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT)
• Councillor Drew Filson, East Ayrshire Council

1. Welcome, Introductions and Apologies

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting and noted apologies submitted.

2. Minutes from previous meeting

The minutes were approved unanimously.

3. Lead Officer Working Group Update

LK provided an update on the Lead Officer Working Group. Two meetings have taken place since the previous Commission meeting on 5 December 2023.

Meetings were held on 21 February and 21 May this year and have covered items including:

• A presentation from Dr Fiona Scott, Public Health Scotland consultant, who is undertaking research to understand the public health outcomes associated with CWB. The research findings aim to provide recommendations on how CWB could be implemented to maximise potential co-benefits to health, equity and inclusion.
• NHS Ayrshire and Arran provided an overview of their CWB and Anchors Strategy which was published earlier this year.
• An overview of NAC’s recently refreshed CWB Strategy which aligns CWB as a key mechanism for achieving a wellbeing economy within North Ayrshire

The Land & Assets workstream is being taken forward on an interim basis by Emma Mulholland within NAC’s Estates team. Meetings of the Land & Assets workstream have been held in March and May this year.

• The workstream has been working to improve data consistency within the Surplus Property Mapping Portal which combines information on surplus properties from the Ayrshire Anchor Institutions. Scottish Enterprise are hosting and leading on the management of the Surplus Property portal, and it has been agreed that Anchors will have a 3 monthly review of data on the portal to ensure it is accurate and relevant.
• The workstream is also looking to develop a Community Wealth Building Transfer Policy to provide guidance to support with embedding CWB principles within property transfer policies for Ayrshire Anchor Institutions. Work is still in the early stages with positive engagement across all members to develop a policy appropriate for all Anchors.

The Procurement workstream is awaiting the release of spending figures for 2023/ 2024. Once the data is available an analysis of the local spend figures for the Anchor Institutions will be produced. This can then be compared to previous year’s figures.

The Fair Employment workstream continues to meet to develop and share good practice approaches to Fair Work across Ayrshire. The Scottish Enterprise Fair Work Employer Support Tool is currently being promoted to create new and improved workplace practices.

• It was acknowledged there was significant crossover between the activities of the Fair Employment workstream and actions within the Fair Work theme of the Regional Economic Strategy. Work is underway to streamline activities and avoid duplication.
• The alignment of CWB to regional economic development activities was discussed with the LOWG in May. Officers agreed this provided a good opportunity to deepen and further develop CWB across Ayrshire.
• The next meeting of the CWB LOWG will be in August.

A discussion raised the following points:

MB: How are workstream updates disseminated?

LK: Updates are shared through the Lead Officer Working Group. The Regional Economic Strategy governance review will improve and simplify communications.

IMcM: SFRS is part of the Tri-Service collaboration group. What is being done to simplifying activities and avoid duplication of effort? It was noted that the Governance review of regional economic development will avoid duplication when sharing communications.

BP: Procurement is a key strand for external companies.

Action: LOWG minutes to be circulated to members

4. Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Programme – Project Update

EMcM provided an update on the AGD CWB Programme. The project continues to perform exceptionally well, all the impacts and outputs have been met and most have been exceeded, with 9 months to go until the programme ends:

• Total enterprises engaged currently - 125%
• Employers undertaking Fair Work action plans - 300%
• Enterprises receiving financial assistance - 108%
• Youth enterprises supported - 169%
• Enterprises registered on Public Contracts Scotland - 109%
• Enterprises supported in the creation/transition into employee ownership or cooperative - 159%.

Since the departure of the Programme Manager in February, the programme has been supported by CWB Locality Officers and led by NAC’s Economic Policy Team.

Outstanding activities include a podcast with Ayrshire College and the final video in the CWB video series, focusing on the Fair Work Ayrshire programme.

SG has approved an external evaluation of the project using programme funds, recognising the significance of the project in raising awareness of CWB amongst enterprises and the potential learning for both the AGD, and wider deals across Scotland.

5. Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy – CWB governance and alignment with regional economic development activities

EMcM provided an overview of the Regional Economic governance review and alignment:

• The overall aim of the review is to simplify the regional approach to economic development by aligning existing activity and creating better opportunities for reporting into the Ayrshire Economic Partnership Board and the Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee.
• There is currently one sub-committee of the Economic Joint Committee – the Ayrshire Skills Investment Fund. Work is currently underway, supported by NAC Legal Services, to turn the RES Delivery Group into a second sub-committee and the CWB Commission as a third sub-committee. These sub-committees will allow for a refreshed Terms of Reference, aligning the workstreams and simplifying reporting lines whilst encouraging collaboration to improve delivery of the strategy actions.
• The review has highlighted changes required to the Commission, including widening its membership to include relevant regional partners (e.g. Skills Development Scotland & UWS) and aligning the Commission workstreams to the existing Regional Economic Development workstreams.
• The Lead Officer Working Group would become a Regional Economic Development workstream, allowing for collaboration across other workstreams and to take a CWB lens to areas of Aerospace, Visitor Economy, Food & Drink, Clean Growth and Skills & Digital workstreams.
• The RES Delivery Group has agreed to these changes and intends to present them to the Partnership Board before taking them to the Joint Committee for approval – date TBC, following recess.

A discussion raised the following points:

MB: The governance review will ensure a continuation of work and strengthen the Commission, not dilute it by ensuring greater linkages. Welcomes the prioritisation of health, wellbeing and resilience of our communities to achieve CWB.

MMcK: Are there areas of risk that have emerged through the governance review?

EM: It will be important to ensure that the good work, engagement and momentum developed through the pillar workstreams continues as we transition to applying CWB across the wider regional workstreams.

GH: The review allows us to consider CWB in a wider context across different LAs. SAC sees CWB as integral to the economy and has embedded CWB across wider services. The diagram doesn’t capture local approval boards however, strategy changes will continue to require Cabinet sign-off.

MB: NAC have also embedded CWB throughout their services.

LK: Each LA has taken a slightly different approach NAC have funded through alternative resources. The governance restructure is not replacing the Council approval process however, governance across all partners is required.

DMcD: CWB is embedded through EAC using the AGD, linking officers, businesses and communities and drawing services together using Community Plans and the Strategic Plan.

IMcM: Does the Scottish Regulators Strategic Code of Practice sit within the governance review diagram?

The Commission agreed to the proposed Regional Economic Development governance restructure regarding the request to seek approval from the AEJC to position the CWB Commission as a sub-committee. It was also agreed that the Commission work plan and activities of the Lead Officer Working Group could be developed to align more closely with Regional Economic Development workstreams.

Action: EM to pick up with IMcM and SC separately re: governance review diagram.

6. CWB Practitioners Network for Scottish Local Authorities

GrH presented on the newly established CWB Practitioners Network:

• NAC have set up and will chair the CWB Practitioners Network for its first year, with support from the SG. Brings together CWB practitioners from Scottish LAs, facilitating a safe space to learn, share experience, drive progress and work through barriers faced whilst progressing CWB.
• 42 officers from 28 other LAs attended the first meeting. A Working Group has been set up with representatives from 7 LAs and a SG official to drive the Network’s progress and assist with organisation.
• The majority of LAs in attendance had or were developing a CWB Strategy or were integrating CWB into existing strategies. Most were yet to publish a strategy.
• A SG official provided an update on the CWB legislation progress, with consultation responses currently being investigated and checked for feasibility. In line with the SG’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation, officials are also in the process of reviewing the support available to inclusive businesses with a report on its findings due to be published in the coming months.
• Several suggestions of topics that could be covered in future meetings were offered that Ayrshire can both contribute to and learn from.

A discussion raised the following points:

MP: NAC intend to host ‘open sessions’ in addition to the closed LA sessions, involving other Anchor partners on particular topics. The LOWG will be kept updated on the Practitioners Network, especially meetings that will be relevant for other officers to attend

DD: Have colleges been engaged at a sector-level across Scotland or is the Network progressing on a local-basis at the moment?

MP: Network is currently progressing at a local level but can host wider conversations and invite partners to allow national engagement.

EMcM: NAC already engage with the College Network via Angela Cox. We can take this forward when exploring regional skills and how we can bring CWB into this discussion.

Action: GrH to circulate presentation.

7. Partners Update

A discussion raised the following points:

GH: SAC have been exploring how their HSCP can assist Scotland’s ageing population. An opportunity has arisen to work with GrowBiz to support micro-enterprises in the care sector. Establishing a service-level agreement to allow GrowBiz to roll out training and development. The project is anticipated to support 100 clients via 121 sessions, integrating CWB into day-to-day work.

8. AOB

Date of Next Meeting: Monday 9 September 2024, 10am to 12pm with Tom Arthur, Minister for Employment and Investment.

Present

• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of North Ayrshire Council (Chair)
• Councillor Anthony Gurney, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Margaret Johnson, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Tom Marshall, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Maureen McKay, East Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Louise Kirk, Head of Service (Economic Development, Growth and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Emma McMullen, Senior Manager, Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• David McDowall, Head of Economic Growth, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Mark Greaves, Coordinator – Places, South Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• David Davidson, Assistant Principle for HR and OD, Ayrshire College
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director, The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT)
• Stephen McGovern, T/Superintendent - Partnerships, Police Scotland
• Ian Burgoyne, East Ayrshire Council
• David Alexander, Procurement Service Lead, South Ayrshire Council
• Emma Mulholland, Team Manager (Estates), North Ayrshire Council

Secretariat

• Mhairi Paterson, Economic Policy Manager, North Ayrshire Council
• Grace Hutchison, Policy Officer, North Ayrshire Council

Apologies

• Councillor Bob Pollock, South Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Drew Filson, East Ayrshire Council
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities and Education), North Ayrshire Council
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health and Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• George Hunter, Assistant Director Communities, South Ayrshire Council
• Derek McCrindle, Head of Place, Scottish Enterprise
• Richard Grieveson, Depute Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council
• Graham Saunders, Interim Strategic Manager and Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal
• Jude King, Programme Manager (Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Programme), North Ayrshire Council (Observer)

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes from the Previous Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 14 June 2023 were approved with no further matters arising.

3. Lead Officer Working Group Update

Louise Kirk provided an update on recent activity of the Lead Officer Working Group. Two meetings of the LOWG had taken place since the previous Commission meeting – 30 August and 15 November. Agenda items included updates on the CWB workstreams, Ayrshire Growth Deal CWB Programme, and the Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy. Additional agenda items included a presentation and discussion on the Scotland Loves Local Programme, overview of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Post Non-Domestic Incident Response Pilot as well as consideration of the Regional Economic Strategy Delivery Plan and alignment of actions with the work of the CWB Commission.

It was noted that North Ayrshire Council will take on the interim lead of the Land and Assets workstream which was previously led by Scottish Enterprise. The recommencement of the workstream and a new lead was welcomed by the Chair.

4. Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy – Delivery plan alignment with CWB Commission

Emma Mc Mullen provided an update on the Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy (RES). It was noted that the Year 1 Delivery Plan for the RES was launched in October and included 45 actions for the delivery by September 2024. Options are being developed for a project management resource to coordinate activity in 2024.

The RES has six priority themes, three of which are being prioritised within year one: Support for Enterprise, Fair Work and Innovation. It was questioned why Good Health and Wellbeing was not being considered a priority theme in year one. It was clarified that activities under all themes were still underway however there was a need to focus activity due to limited capacity. There was an agreement for Emma and Louise to meet with NHS Ayrshire and Arran officers to prepare for year two actions under the Good Health and Wellbeing Theme.

It was noted that an exercise to map the RES actions against the CWB pillars had been undertaken. The exercise demonstrates how the RES actions relate to CWB objectives and are developing our regional approach to CWB by driving forward regional activity under more of the pillars. CWB is further supported by a cross-cutting theme with three actions under this theme being taken forward by NAC in year one.

5. Fair Employment Workstream update

Ian Burgoyne provided an update on the recent activities of the Fair Employment workstream. It was noted that the terms of reference for the group are clear on some but not all aspects of Fair Work, however it is useful as a baseline to further develop areas of focus for the group. Three sub-groups looking to progress activity around recruitment, apprenticeships and volunteering have been underway however it was suggested that the sub-groups have not worked as well as they could with challenges around Officer capacity and focussing on specific outputs.

An in-person workstream development session was held on 29th September. It provided an opportunity to share good practice from various partners e.g. Skills for Life and Equal Programme (NAC), Skills and Learning 33 (SL33) (EAC), Care Experienced Recruitment (SAC) and Third Sector Interventions (East Ayrshire CVO). A representative from NHS Lanarkshire attended to present on their employability programmes, providing valuable insights which has been used to develop a joint proposal from the Ayrshire LEPs to NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

6. Procurement Workstream update

David Alexander provided an update on local procurement data analysis for 2022/23. Seven anchors have been included in the analysis – EAC, SAC, NAC, Scottish Enterprise, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and NHS AA. The three local authorities have the highest local spend of all partners. It was noted that the total local spend across all 7 partners was 28.16% which was considered to be an excellent achievement particularly for more rural local authorities. All anchors have increased their proportion of local spend and number of local suppliers used compared to the previous year figures.

The following points were raised during discussion:

• A question was raised regarding whether it was possible to record the number of sub-contractors who are local organisations. It was noted that currently it is not possible to do this due to the way information is collected from contractors and it would require a change in the process and type of data that is collected.
• There was interest in understanding the benefits to local communities as part of community benefit clauses. It was noted that Community Benefit Wish Lists (such as one developed by NAC in 2021) provide an opportunity to link more closely with the needs of communities.
• A suggestion that procurement decisions could be based on scoring related to CWB principles.
• There was interest in understanding whether local spend figures could be broken down into those which have been delivered via Quick Quote or via tender. This relates to the ability for councils to be more flexible in relation to contracts which are under the Quick Quote threshold.
• The increase of local spend across the organisations was welcomed however it was noted that national organisations have limited control due to being restricted by national contracts. It was suggested that the Supplier Development Programme delivers events and training opportunities which can support local suppliers who may wish to deliver national contracts.

7. Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Programme update

Emma McMullen provided an update on the Ayrshire Growth Deal CWB Programme on behalf of Jude King. The programme organised and hosted an Ayrshire Gathering event in September at Troon Town Hall in South Ayrshire. There were over 160 attendees in total including from the private, third and public sectors across Ayrshire. There was excellent feedback on the event with the procurement session noted as being particularly interesting.

Other recent events include an Ayrshire Meet the Buyer event led by EAC and a job fair organised by the Fair Work Ayrshire service which was attended by 380 job seekers. It was noted that the programme has now surpassed its targeted of supporting 900 unique enterprises. Future activities include a podcast collaboration with Ayrshire College, developed of a final video demonstrating programme impacts and achievements and plural ownership training. Discussions are also underway with the PMO regarding a programme extension request.

8. AOB

No further matters were raised and the meeting was closed.

Present

• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of North Ayrshire Council (Chair)
• Councillor Anthony Gurney, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Margaret Johnson, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Bob Pollock, South Ayrshire Council (online)
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities and Education), North Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Louise Kirk, Interim Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• David McDowall, Head of Economic Growth, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• George Hunter, Assistant Director Communities, South Ayrshire Council
• Mark Greaves, Coordinator – Places, South Ayrshire Council (Observer) (online)
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director, The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) (online)
• Graham Saunders, Interim Strategic Manager and Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal (online)
• Derek Frew, Ayrshire Division Partnership Lead Officer, Police Scotland (online)
• Jude King, Programme Manager (Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Programme), North Ayrshire Council (Observer)

Secretariat

• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council

Guests

• David Hammond, Head of Sustainability, Corporate Property & Transport
• Jennifer Wraith, Acting Service Manager, Sustainability, North Ayrshire Council

Apologies

• Councillor Tom Marshall, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Jim McMahon, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Maureen McKay, East Ayrshire Council
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health and Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• David Davidson, Assistant Principle for HR and OD, Ayrshire College
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Derek McCrindle, Head of Place, Scottish Enterprise
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Emma McMullen, Senior Manager, Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes from the Previous Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 24 March 2023 were approved with no further matters arising.

3. Lead Officer Working Group Update

Louise Kirk provided an update from the latest meeting of the Lead Officer Working Group on 22 May which included the following items: updates on the Fair Employment, Land and Assets and Procurement workstreams, Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Programme, the Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy and a discussion on the Scotland Loves Local programme and CWB and Climate Action.

It was noted that the NAC Step In Business Programme demonstrates the value of Anchor partners working together to provide placements and recruitment pathways for parents entering or returning to the labour market.

There was a request for a presentation and update on the Land and Assets workstream at a future meeting which demonstrates the exercise undertaken to map existing land and assets of Anchor partners in Ayrshire. It was noted that there are issues relating to ensuring consistency in the level and categorisation of data between partners.

4. Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy

Louise Kirk provided an update on the Regional Economic Strategy for Ayrshire on behalf of Emma McMullen. The Strategy will be formally launched later in June however a series of events have been organised to support action planning and the development of a delivery plan for the Regional Economic Strategy. This included an enterprise session hosted at Ayrshire College for businesses and Third Section enterprises on 5 June. A separate session for Third Sector engagement was held on 13 June. Following this engagement a draft action plan is currently being developed.

5. Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Programme update

Jude King gave an update on the progress of the AGD CWB Programme and noted that over 700 unique enterprises have been engaged through the programme so far and it is likely that the programme will exceed its target of supporting 900 unique enterprises. A review of the programme is currently underway which includes surveys with programme recipients to understand the benefits of the programme to enterprises. One of the most beneficial aspects of the programme was considered to be the grant support available to enterprises as well as the one-to-one procurement support workshops. Forthcoming events include a Meet the Buyer event in October, a pan-Ayrshire CWB event delivered by the programme and hosted in South Ayrshire at Troon Town Hall on 27th September. It was also noted that for the first time there would a CWB category as part of the Chamber of Commerce Business Awards in October.

6. CWB and Climate Action

At a previous Commission meeting there was a request to consider the links between CWB and Climate Action. Mhairi Paterson outlined the relationship to delivering a Wellbeing Economy and a Just Transition to ensure that people and places are not left behind in the transition to a more sustainable future. It was noted it presents an opportunity to use CWB principles to simultaneously deliver on climate targets while reconfiguring the local and regional economy to ensure communities and people benefit from initiatives. Some examples of places applying a CWB lens to the climate agenda include a community owned wind turbine on the Isle of Lewis and Samsø Island in Demark which is the world’s first renewable energy island.

David Hammond, Head of Sustainability, Corporate Property & Transport noted North Ayrshire’s commitment to becoming Net Zero by 2030 and provided an overview of the work currently underway including two solar farm projects, the Community Carbon Net Zero Fund, regional Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure project and the development of an Energy Masterplan for Ayrshire.

Partners were given the opportunity to note any climate focussed projects currently underway which could benefit from a CWB lens. Projects noted include:

• A number of Ayrshire Growth Deal projects aim to integrate environmental sustainability to their approach.
• The 9CC group in Cumnock and Doon Valley have a strategic plan which aims to enhance the local employability offer and address fuel poverty.

A discussion raised the following points:

• What kind of investment has there been within Samsø Island and where did it come from.
• Challenge of scaling up energy generation; large scale developments can take several years to bring together. Small scale community energy generation projects provide an opportunity to start this journey.
• There are some challenges associated with renewable energy generation in terms of varying the energy output and some places lend themselves better to renewable energy projects due to their geographical conditions.
• The was interest in how Samsø Island engaged with communities and brought them along in the journey. It was noted that providing communities with an economic stake in the projects was key to building momentum and gaining buy-in and support.
• It was suggested there is untapped potential for councils to pursue energy generation opportunities however grid capacity is an issue for several projects and requires investment at a national scale to overcome.
• It was noted that inward investment inquiries often have significant energy requirements. However this could be an opportunity to create greater security around their commitment to an area if they are investing heavily in wind farms or solar farms.
• It is important to consider training opportunities to develop new green technologies and skills and ensuring alignment with Ayrshire College. It was agreed that further progress updates and opportunities for developing links between climate action and CWB would be brought to a future Commission meeting when appropriate.

7. AOB

No further matters were raised and the meeting was closed.

Present

• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of North Ayrshire Council (Chair)
• Councillor Anthony Gurney, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Margaret Johnson, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Jim McMahon, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Maureen McKay, East Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Louise Kirk, Interim Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health and Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• David McDowall, Head of Economic Growth, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• George Hunter, Assistant Director Communities, South Ayrshire Council
• Mark Greaves, Coordinator – Places, South Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Graham Saunders, Interim Strategic Manager and Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Derek Frew, Ayrshire Division Partnership Lead Officer, Police Scotland
• David Davidson, Assistant Principle for HR and OD, Ayrshire College
• Jude King, Programme Manager (Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Programme), North Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Lynn Sproat, Senior Programme Manager Community Wealth Building, NHS Ayrshire and Arran (representing Lesley Bowie)

Secretariat

• Emma McMullen, Senior Manager, Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council

Guests

• Mr Tom Arthur, Minister for Public Finance and Community Wealth, Scottish Government (first hour)
• Julie McLachlan, Community Wealth Building Legislation and Policy Manager, Scottish Government (first hour)

Apologies

• Councillor Tom Marshall, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Bob Pollock, South Ayrshire Council
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities and Education), North Ayrshire Council
• Katie Kelly, Deputy Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director, The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT)
• Derek McCrindle, Head of Place, Scottish Enterprise

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Introduction from Mr Tom Arthur and overview of CWB Legislation Consultation

Mr Arthur welcomed the opportunity to engage with the CWB Commission and introduced the CWB Legislation Consultation. The consultation should be seen as an opportunity to identify barriers to advancing CWB across all five pillars of CWB and learn from areas like Ayrshire who are leading the way. It was noted there is a role for Scottish Government in supporting and facilitating the right conditions for CWB however it was acknowledged that CWB needs to be driven from a local perspective and any duty resulting from the consultation should be considered an enabler for progression.

3. CWB Legislation Consultation discussion

A discussion on key aspects of the consultation followed. Points noted included:

• Some commission members noted Option C as a preferred option for the duty as it is in line with current activity.
• The AGD CWB Programme has provided valuable resource and acts as a catalyst for change. Funding support to continue the programme would be welcome.
• CWB is delivered by Economic Development teams however this is not a statutory service and capacity varies across local authorities. The wider role of national agencies in supporting CWB should also be considered.
• It is a challenge for Anchor organisations to adopt CWB activities within current capacity arrangements as resources are extremely stretched.
• Embedding CWB requires culture change which takes time and resources.
• Competitive funding opportunities require resources to prepare and submit bids, putting significant pressure on local authorities and can be a drain on resources, particularly if bids are unsuccessful.
• Empty properties within town centres / other vacant and derelict land can be problematic and a potential barrier to CWB. Funding to tackle vacant and derelict land isn’t available to all local authorities.
• Community Asset Transfer approach is very different across councils. It is important to ensure links with communities and businesses through social enterprises and business development teams.
• National procurement frameworks can be restrictive with few opportunities for local suppliers.

Mr Tom Arthur and Scottish Government officers departed the meeting. 

4. Minutes from Previous Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 26 October 2022 were approved with no further matters arising.

5. CWB Commission response to CWB Consultation

There was a discussion on the process of preparing and submitting a CWB Commission response to the consultation. It was agreed that partners would share their position on the consultation questions when available and North Ayrshire Council Economic Policy team would prepare a collective response.

6. Lead Officer Working Group Update

Louise Kirk provided an update from the latest meeting of the Lead Officer Working Group on 23 February which included the following items: updates on the Fair Employment, Land and Assets and Procurement workstreams, Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building project, the Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy and a discussion on the Scottish Government CWB Legislation Consultation.

7. Procurement workstream update

David Alexander from South Ayrshire Council provided an update on the Procurement workstream. Recent activities include:

• A quarterly list of potential collaborative procurement opportunities across Ayrshire Anchor partners
• Public bodies are uploading their annual spend data for 2022 to 2023 to the Scottish Government portal (Spikes Cavell). This will allow mapping of spend data and comparisons between 2021 to 2022 and 2022 to 2023.
• Preparation of a procurement wave plan for the next 2 years which can be used to help target local spend within forthcoming procurement opportunities.
• It was noted that analysis of spend across Anchors is extremely resource intensive and would benefit from a collective resource to drive this.
• David provided a recorded presentation for the AGD CWB Programme Gathering Event on 23 March 2023. The Procurement Pillar CWB update recording is available to view.

8. Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy update

Emma McMullen noted that action planning for the Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy is now underway. A series of workshops were facilitated by CLES in March and will be followed by a workshop in partnership with the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce to engage directly with businesses. It was noted that 3rd Sector enterprises would also be invited to attend the Chamber event. A further event organised by the Economic Recovery Group is currently being planned and will bring together key partners to focus on delivery, governance and resourcing of the strategy.

9. AOB

No further matters were raised and the meeting was closed.

Present

• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of North Ayrshire Council (Chair)
• Councillor Anthony Gurney, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Margaret Johnson, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Jim McMahon, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Maureen McKay, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Bob Pollock, South Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health and Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director, The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT)
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Derek Frew, Ayrshire Division Partnership Lead Officer, Police Scotland
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• David Davidson, Assistant Principle for HR and OD, Ayrshire College
• Derek McCrindle, Head of Place, Scottish Enterprise
• Katie Kelly, Deputy Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• David McDowall, Head of Economic Growth, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Jude King, Programme Manager (Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Programme), North Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Margaret Scott, Community Wealth Building Locality Officer, South Ayrshire Council (deputising for Mark Greaves)
• Brian Connolly, Specialist – Partnerships (Innovation and Place), Scottish Enterprise (guest)
• Lynn Sproat, Senior Programme Manager Community Wealth Building, NHS Ayrshire and Arran (guest)

Secretariat

• Emma McMullen, Senior Manager, Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council

Apologies

• Councillor Tom Marshall, North Ayrshire Council
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities and Education), North Ayrshire Council
• Allison Craig, Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal
• Mark Greaves, Coordinator – Places, South Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Jane Bradley, Director Strategic Change and Communities, South Ayrshire Council

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes from Previous Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 26 October 2022 were approved with no further matters arising.

3. NHS Ayrshire and Arran Update

Lynn Sproat, Senior Programme Manager for CWB, provided a presentation on the CWB approach within NHS Ayrshire and Arran. It was noted they are the first health board in Scotland to appoint a CWB Programme Manager, demonstrating the commitment of the organisation to embedding CWB. Several priorities for the organisation were noted including developing a CWB Programme Board and ensuring appropriate internal governance for CWB, a CWB communication and engagement plan, completion of a CWB self-assessment and development of a CWB strategy and action plan. A discussion noted the following points:

• The importance of appointing a dedicated programme lead adds capacity and ensures a coordinated approach.
• The leadership demonstrated by NHS AA in appointing a CWB programme lead and the ambition to take forward and embed CWB within the organisation is impressive.
• It was noted that NHS AA procurement spend within Ayrshire is quite low and a number of areas were being considered to improve this including analysis of local spend and procurement wave-planning, potential lotting of contracts and working with the Supplier Development Programme and local suppliers. However the limited capacity of staff within the procurement team is a challenge.
• Important to think strategically about how to increase local spend for Ayrshire Anchors which involves consideration of barriers that can feed into a consultation on the CWB Act. It is important to look at prominent sectors within the local economy and think about a collaborative approach to maximising opportunities. Activity in relation to procurement relates to the Regional Economic Strategy and the Plural Ownership pillar of CWB. We should seek to scale up local activity through cooperative or consortium bids.
• A regional and sector approach is essential and putting capacity into this is important and investments will be required to ensure connections between activities. A network of dedicated staff may be required to work across Ayrshire and avoid duplication.
• It was noted there are a wide range of career opportunities within NHS AA and there is a programme of work underway to engage young people about opportunities through schools and colleges.
• The role of the Supplier Development Programme is important and should be considered within future procurement workstream meetings.

4. Lead Officer Working Group Update

Emma McMullen provided an update on the Lead Officer Working Group (LOWG) and noted the most recent meeting was held on 15 November 2022. The agenda included updates on the Land and Assets, Fair Employment and Procurement workstreams, Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building project, the Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy and a presentation from NHS Ayrshire and Arran on their CWB approach and activities. LOWG officers highlighted a need to increase understanding and awareness around the Plural Ownership pillar to allow Anchors to support development of this pillar and grow more diverse businesses. To help address this need a Plural Ownership workshop is being planned for LOWG officers in January. The following points were raised during discussion:

• It was noted that plural ownership is a really important tool, particularly in the current economic climate as diverse ownership models can be more resilient to economic shocks. It is incumbent on business advisory teams to be familiar with different models and communicate to businesses.
• Understanding the plural ownership pillar can be a challenge, however it has the potential to be transformational. It may be that diverse business models are more suited to some sectors than others.
• There are links between the ownership and land & assets pillars when considering the reuse and repurposing of assets. There are opportunities for support through Community Shares Scotland and the Plunkett Foundation.
• It is important to align ownership to needs of the community and should be closely linked to placemaking.
• Example of Newmarket Street in Ayr with business owners working with Cooperative Development Scotland and considering development of a consortium to enhance business resilience.

5. Land and Assets Update

Brian Connolly provided an overview of the work undertaken by Scottish Enterprise to map surplus assets in Ayrshire. It was noted that Scottish Government are also looking at mapping assets nationally and this should be considered to avoid duplication. There are challenges around different definitions of surplus / under-utilisation across Anchors and to ensure a consistent approach it will be necessary to rationalise definitions as well as ensure data is regularly updated. A dedicated “broker role” would add value by working across Anchors to link opportunities. Discussion points included:

• Case studies would be useful here to demonstrate best practice and encourage a more proactive approach. Examples from elsewhere in Scotland or the UK could be helpful. 
• It was noted there is significant opportunity within this pillar however Scottish Enterprise do not have the local knowledge and detail so an alternative organisation may be more suited to leading.
• Community Asset Transfer is a focus of activity in East Ayrshire and can link to Regeneration Capital Grant Funding (RCGF).

6. Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy

Emma McMullen, Senior Manager for Economic Policy at North Ayrshire Council provided a progress update on the development of a Regional Economic Strategy for Ayrshire. The vision of creating an inclusive and wellbeing economy via the principles of CWB was outlined and linked to enablers including the Ayrshire Growth Deal, CWB Commission and Recovery and Renewal Workstreams. Workshops for action planning will take place in the new year.

• The significant progress in development of the strategy was welcomed and acknowledged that case studies are very useful in communicating success and best practice.
• Good quality, higher paid employment was acknowledged as a key route out of poverty and has important links to the strategy.
• It was noted that support for enterprise and communities are important however quality jobs within the 3rd Sector can be a challenge.
• Transport was noted as a key challenge and it will be important to lobby Scottish and UK governments.
• Digital connectivity can also pose a challenge and there may be opportunities to improve and enhance through the AGD.

7. Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Fund – Project Update

Jude King provided an overview of a session with CWB locality officers which gathered their thoughts and reflections on the programme so far. Learnings from the session will be used to inform how the programme develops. Following on from a previous request to breakdown the numbers of 3rd sector organisations supported by the programme, it was noted that a total of 66 3rd Sector organisations had been supported so far which equates to 13% of all organisations supported by the programme. A total of 36 3rd Sector organisations have received financial assistance through the programme (equates to 23% of all organisations which have received financial assistance). It was noted that a mid-term review and evaluation of the programme will take place in the new year. An in-person gathering for the programme will be held at Ayrshire College in Kilmarnock in February/March and will include CWB experts and examples of programme activity. Discussion points included:

• The information regarding 3rd Sector organisations was helpful. A summary of support provided to 3rd Sector would be useful to share with the sector.
• Activities of the programme should become business as usual which the Regional Economic Strategy could seek to embed over the longer term.
• Case studies and examples across different workstreams/activities are helpful to illustrate progress.

8. Anchor Partners Updates

East Ayrshire Council

• A CWB Annual Report will be taken to cabinet in in January.
• The pan-Ayrshire Food and Drink Framework which has been broken down into seven lots was highlighted to South and North Ayrshire Councils.
• The Clean Growth workstream is finalising procurement for a regional energy masterplan.

South Ayrshire Council

• Procurement is the biggest lever with aspirations to grow local spend further. A Community Benefits Wish List has been developed.
• Noted that plural ownership is most challenging and takes time however some examples starting to develop here (e.g. Newmarket Street, Ayr)

Police Scotland

• Meetings arranged with HR to develop Modern Apprenticeship approach.
• Staff will move out of Ayr Police Station in March. There is an opportunity to consider the future of the old Ayr Police station.
• Kilwinning Police Station will be available for CAT and willing to consider opportunities for this.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

• Successfully procured world’s first electric engine from Emergency One in Cumnock. There is an opportunity to promote skills like this in Ayrshire.
• A cardiac arrest strategy has been developed through community benefits in procurement with 900 members of the public trained.

The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT)

• A Third Sector Forum is to be developed in NAC to ensure alignment with economic development.
• Suggested a consistent messaging approach to CWB across the Anchor partners.

9. Future Commission Meetings – frequency and format

It was agreed future meetings should be hybrid and continue to be held quarterly. Future items include:

• CWB Legislation Consultation and development of a CWB Commission response.
• RES should be a standing item.
• Standing item on relevant case studies.

10. AOB

No further matters were raised and the meeting was closed.

Present

• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of North Ayrshire Council (Chair)
• Councillor Tom Marshall, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Anthony Gurney, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Margaret Johnson, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Maureen McKay, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Bob Pollock, South Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Jane Bradley, Director Strategic Change and Communities, South Ayrshire Council
• Louise Reid, Assistant Director of Place, South Ayrshire Council
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director, The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT)
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Derek Frew, Ayrshire Division Partnership Lead Officer, Police Scotland
• Derek McCrindle, Head of Place, Scottish Enterprise
• David McDowall, Head of Economic Growth, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Mark Greaves, Coordinator – Places, South Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Kirstin Dickson, Director of Transformation and Sustainability, NHS Ayrshire and Arran (deputising for Lesley Bowie)
• Jude King, Programme Manager (Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Programme), North Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• David Alexander, Service Lead Procurement, South Ayrshire Council (Guest)

Secretariat

• Emma McMullen, Senior Manager, Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council

Apologies

• Councillor Jim McMahon, East Ayrshire Council
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities and Education), North Ayrshire Council
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health and Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• Allison Craig, Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Michael Breen, Vice Principal, Ayrshire College
• Brian Connolly, Scottish Enterprise
• Katie Kelly, Deputy Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes from Previous Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 17 March 2022 were approved with no further matters arising.

3. Procurement workstream Update

David Alexander, Service Lead for Procurement at South Ayrshire Council recently took on the role of workstream lead following a hiatus. David met individually with each of the Anchor Procurement leads and convened a group meeting of the workstream on 25 October. A key focus of forthcoming months will be analysis of 2021 to 2022 local spend data including a focus on opportunities and gaps. It was noted the group had agreed to share local supplier lists and tender wave plans to support potential collaborative working and wider Anchor procurement activity.

The Commission welcomed the update and recommencement of activity. A question was posed whether there was opportunity to learn about future opportunities within different sectors and if spend could be targeted. It was noted that annual spend can fluctuate substantially according to the goods or services being procured and there is more flexibility for directing spend locally at Quick Quote level.

4. Lead Officer Working Group Update

Emma McMullen provided an update on the recent activity of the Lead Officer Working Group (LOWG) and noted that meetings of the LOWG had taken place in June and August. Due to Brian Connolly from Scottish Enterprise being unable to attend, Emma gave a brief update on the Land and Assets workstream:

• Scottish Enterprise have been leading on this workstream over the past year. The aim of this workstream is to ensure land and property assets owned by Anchors are used productively and to the benefit of communities and enterprises.
• A map of surplus and underutilised assets across the Ayrshire Anchors has been developed as a starting point to identify potential opportunities for maximising the use of underutilised local assets. Work is underway and ongoing to determine the demand for assets – CWB Business Locality Officers in each council have a survey which captures any needs from businesses and a survey is currently being developed to capture the demands within the 3rd Sector.
• The policy landscape regarding the Land & Assets pillar is extremely complex. Future steps for the workstream will require partners to analyse current policy in relation to asset use and identify where this can be improved or enhanced and potentially supported by a dedicated resource.

An update on the Fair Employment workstream was provided and noted that the previous workstream lead Michael Breen (Ayrshire College) has since moved on to a new role. Laura Neill, Employability Senior Manager for North Ayrshire Council has agreed to lead the workstream in the interim however another relevant Anchor will be expected to step forward to lead in the coming months1. It was noted that the Fair Employment workstream has been divided into three key sub-groups which focus on addressing particular challenges and opportunities associated with: Inclusive Recruitment, Apprenticeships, and Volunteering. Members and leads for these sub-groups have recently been assigned with representation from across the Anchor partners. The next meeting of the Fair Employment workstream will take place on 1st November.

It was noted that previous feedback from NAC CWB Expert Advisory Panel on the progress of Anchors in relation to the Anchor Charter pledges had suggested Anchors should be bolder and more ambitious in relation to meeting the pledges. In response to this an Ambition Setting template was developed which encourages Anchors to think about their longer-term CWB aspirations, potential targets and metrics for measuring progress. The Anchors were asked to complete the Ambition Setting template over the summer months and following this, a discussion was held at the LOWG meeting in August. All Anchors welcomed the template and acknowledged that although challenging to think over the longer term, it is a helpful stimulant. It was noted that some Anchors find certain pillars challenging e.g. plural ownership and this will be the subject of further discussions at future meetings.

Commission members welcomed the progress update.

5. Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Fund Project Update

Jude King, Programme Manager for the Ayrshire Growth Deal (AGD) CWB Project provided an update on recent activity. This included an overview of recent milestones such as the official Programme Launch Gathering in June 2022 which over 120 people attended and a visit from Mr Tom Arthur, Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth in August who met with various businesses and 3rd Sector organisations across Ayrshire who had been supported by the programme. An update on programme outputs was provided, noting that to date, over 500 unique enterprises had received support from the CWB Programme and 75 businesses had been referred to the Fair Work Ayrshire programme. Some programme insights from officers were shared, noting that collaboration across Ayrshire and skills sharing was considered a strength, however it was also acknowledged that the current cycle of economic crises can threaten the aims of the programme due businesses becoming focussed on reactive measures rather than proactive.

The Commission welcomed the update and insights and provided some thoughts:

• It was noted that the language around CWB theory and practice can be challenging however recent programme videos communicating CWB have been helpful.
• There was a request for data on how many 3rd sector enterprises have received support from the programme. It was noted this data could then be used to target further support to the 3rd sector.

6. Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy

Emma McMullen, Senior Manager for Economic Policy at North Ayrshire Council provided an update on recent activity related to the development of a Regional Economic Strategy for Ayrshire. It was noted that the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES) have been commissioned to develop the strategy. A socio-economic baseline and literature review of national, regional and local policies has been undertaken. Engagement with stakeholders including councils, statutory bodies, private sector, third sector and the NAC CWB Expert Advisory Panel has taken place with further engagement with young people planned and a session for Elected Members scheduled for 11 November. Final drafts of the strategy will be presented to stakeholders later in the year, followed by endorsement from the Ayrshire Economic Partnership Board and Ayrshire Councils.

7. Scottish Government CWB Engagement

It was noted that Scottish Government announced in Septembers Programme for Government that it would launch a consultation on CWB legislation. Caitriona McAuley sits on a CWB Bill Steering Group was which was established by Scottish Government earlier in 2022. A series of workshops exploring each CWB pillar were recently hosted by the SG CWB team. Caitriona McAuley delivered a presentation for the Land & Assets workshop describing activities in North Ayrshire in relation to this pillar as well as the work of the Land & Assets regional workstream within the LOWG.

It is expected that a consultation on the CWB legislation is expected later this year and a coordinated response from the Commission was proposed. In preparation for this, Anchors were encouraged to think about how legislation could be used to create further opportunities for CWB as well as address any specific barriers or challenges.

Commission members welcomed the update and agreed to a coordinated consultation response.

8. AOB

No further matters were raised and the meeting was closed.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building (Chair)
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of the Opposition, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Alex Gallagher, Cabinet Member for Post-Covid Renewal, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Robert Foster, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care Partnership and lead member for Poverty, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Peter Henderson, Council Leader, South Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Jim McMahon, Deputy Leader of East Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities and Education), North Ayrshire Council
• Louise Reid, Assistant Director of Place, South Ayrshire Council
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director, The Ayrshire Community Trust
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Derek Frew, Ayrshire Division Partnership Lead Officer, Police Scotland
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Michael Breen, Vice Principal, Ayrshire College
• Gillian Adam, Interim Head of Partnerships, Scottish Enterprise
• David McDowall, Head of Economic Growth, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Katie Kelly, Deputy Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Mark Greaves, Coordinator – Places, South Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Jude King, Programme Manager (Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Fund), North Ayrshire Council (Observer)

Secretariat

• Emma McMullen, Senior Manager, Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council
• Pamela Gilbert, Secretary, North Ayrshire Council

Apologies

• Paul Doak, Head of Service, Health and Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health and Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• Allison Craig, Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal
• Councillor John McGhee, Leader of the Labour Group, East Ayrshire Council

Guests

• Tom Arthur, Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth in the Scottish Government
• David Fitzpatrick, Scottish Government
• Tracy Jackson, Scottish Government
• Stephen White, Scottish Government
• Neil McInroy, Scottish Government
• Joe Dickson, Scottish Government
• Vikki Kewney, Project Manager, Scottish Enterprise

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting. A special welcome was given to Mr Tom Arthur, Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth in the Scottish Government.

The Chair gave a brief introduction to the history of the CWB Commission, membership and the Commission aims and achievements so far. The Lead Officer Working Group (LOWG) was noted as taking forward the Commission work plan with an initial focus on three CWB pillars: Procurement, Land and Assets, and Fair Employment.

2. Introduction from Mr Tom Arthur MSP

Mr Tom Arthur thanked the Chair for the welcome and invitation to attend the Ayrshire CWB Commission. Mr Arthur provided an overview of his portfolio and acknowledged that within his planning remit, a draft of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) is currently out for consultation and includes reference to CWB.

Mr Arthur outlined his commitment to supporting Local Authorities who are adopting CWB strategies and is keen to understand lessons and challenges which will inform the development of CWB legislation. The legislation is considered a key vehicle for enabling CWB at a local level and the Scottish Government are open to hearing ideas about how legislation can support CWB activities. The Scottish Government are working to a timeline of presenting a bill to Parliament in November 2023, with a formal policy consultation taking place during summer 2022.

3. CWB and Strategic Context in Ayrshire

a. CWB in Ayrshire – Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy and Ayrshire Growth Deal

Caitriona McAuley provided further context on CWB in Ayrshire, including acknowledgement of the Ayrshire Inclusive Growth Diagnostic which paved the way for CWB as a practical means of achieving an inclusive and wellbeing economy in Ayrshire. The Ayrshire Growth Deal was noted as a significant opportunity to take CWB forward in Ayrshire, and in particular the £3m CWB project which has provided essential resource to directly support local communities and businesses.

The Ayrshire Regional Economic Partnership recently agreed to develop a new Regional Economic Strategy for Ayrshire which will have a strategic focus on creating an inclusive wellbeing economy for Ayrshire. Fundamental to this is ensuring that CWB is firmly embedded within the strategy.

b. CWB and NHS Ayrshire & Arran

Lesley Bowie, Board Chair of NHS Ayrshire and Arran, provided context on how CWB is being embedded within the organisation and linked to the Caring for Ayrshire Transformation Programme. It was acknowledged the organisation is committed to reducing inequalities and deprivation and working closely with economic development partners is essential. Strategic links to CWB have been developed within the organisation including identification of an executive lead for CWB and agreement to form an internal CWB working group.

4. Examples of CWB Good Practice across Ayrshire Anchor institutions

Mhairi Paterson provided a presentation and overview of examples of CWB across Ayrshire and aligned to each of the pillars. These examples illustrated the broad range of activities already underway in Ayrshire and demonstrate partners working together. Some examples included:

• Fresh and Organic Food: A pan-Ayrshire framework led by EAC awarded to various local suppliers
• Fair Work Ayrshire: Creation of a pan-Ayrshire service to support businesses to become Fair Work employers
• North Ayrshire officers exploring the feasibility of Community Banking.
• Land and Assets Regional Workstream - led by Scottish Enterprise, Anchors working collaboratively to ensure the productive use of land and assets for the benefit of communities and enterprises.
• Council owned renewable energy generation – solar panels installed at two former landfill sites in North Ayrshire.

A short discussion followed, with the following further examples of good practice noted:

• It is important that legislation breaks down barriers and silo working by encouraging teams to work closer together towards the same goals – this is already underway within the Ayrshire local authorities.
• The hydroelectric power scheme based on the River Ayr next to Ayrshire College is a good example of Anchors working with a local charity to develop the scheme, which will supply the College with green energy. Any excess energy will be sent to the grid with the proceeds of the sale used to fund projects which reduce fuel poverty in the local area.
• Strong partnerships in Ayrshire are a key enabling feature for taking forward CWB and linking across projects.

The discussion also raised some challenges to expanding CWB:

• In relation to renewable energy generation projects, it was noted by several Commission members that grid connections are a challenge for green agendas and present significant barriers to local authorities and community organisations. Mr Arthur agreed to raise this with Mr Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport.
• Animating local suppliers is a challenge for national bodies and national frameworks.
• On Arran a lack of affordable housing and unreliable ferry service are barriers to CWB. To work effectively, CWB requires good infrastructure to be in place.

5. CWB Barriers and Challenges

a. Summary of challenges for Ayrshire Anchor Institutions

Emma McMullen outlined some of the challenges and barriers faced by Ayrshire Anchor Institutions in implementing CWB actions. Four key challenges which cut across CWB pillars and relate to broader challenges for Anchor Institutions were presented:

1. Embedding a culture of CWB across an organisation cannot be underestimated; it requires a step-change, is resource intensive and takes time. Support and resources are required for developing action plans and effecting organisational change. This has been identified as a common challenge by all Anchors and often the work required to support the embedding of CWB principles across an organisation cannot be completed effectively by existing teams due to resource challenges.
2. In relation to procurement, financial power and plural ownership pillars, well-resourced economic or business development teams are required to engage directly with local enterprises to support with tender responses, business growth and plural ownership. Some Anchors do not have economic or business development teams and rely on procurement teams who have limited capacity or knowledge of the local enterprise landscape. Funding and resources to help build the capacity of local authority business support teams to support Anchors to grow their local supply base would be welcomed.
3. National Procurement Frameworks can present barriers to local suppliers. Many Anchors use procurement frameworks and due to the scale of some tenders, these organisations are encouraged to use national and sectoral frameworks. Whilst these represent value for money, they can act against CWB ambitions to encourage local suppliers to bid, because they are not on the frameworks. Further work is required to understand how to respond to procurement challenges and cooperation and engagement at a national level would assist.
4. There is a need to better understand the capacity and aspirations of the Third Sector so that support can be provided to ensure organisations of all sizes can benefit from CWB opportunities. Anchors representing the Third Sector are approaching the CWB pillars from a different perspective than other institutions. It is essential to ensure that Third Sector organisations are fully aware, prepared and supported to benefit from CWB opportunities created by other Anchors.

b. Challenges within Land and Assets Pillar

Vikki Kewney from Scottish Enterprise provided a brief overview of her role in leading the regional Land and Assets workstream and the activities undertaken so far. Vikki noted that the complexity of the land and assets policy landscape is a key challenge within the work so far. The workstream is keen to understand existing processes and support the development of improved process in relation to three key areas: Supply of under-utilised assets from public bodies; the demand for assets from the community, businesses and Third Sector; and funding required to meet aspirations. Navigating the current policy landscape within these three areas is challenging and could be stream-lined within a CWB context.

In response Mr Arthur noted that the 2021 to 2022 Programme for Government committed to the development of a new Land Reform Bill which will include measures to address the concentration of land ownership in Scotland.

Mr Tom Arthur and Scottish Government officers departed the meeting at 10am. The Chair thanked Mr Arthur for his attendance and participation in the meeting.

6. Minutes from Previous Meeting 11 January

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 11 January 2022 were approved with no further matters arising.

7. Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Fund – Project Update

Jude King, Programme Manager for the Ayrshire Growth Deal (AGD) CWB Project, provided a brief introduction to the project and an update on current activities. The project is a three year programme and over its lifespan will develop an Ayrshire approach to CWB that will enhance wealth, ensure fair and meaningful work and create successful places. The programme has 3 key dimensions to enable successful delivery:

• CWB Locality Officers – 3 Locality Officers per local authority.
• Fair Work Ayrshire (FWA) – Programme Manager and 2 Fair Work Officers. engaging local employers to improve recruitment processes and provide fair work
• Business Support Fund - £1m split between the 3 local authorities to support the work of the locality officers and the principles of the CWB Pillars.

All 3 Ayrshire local authorities have engaged local businesses through the programme providing one to one support, holding CWB pillar focussed workshops and providing financial assistance though the CWB Business Support Fund. So far over £100,000 has been given to support 30 businesses, in the form of small grants to support eligible CWB activity, with a view to helping approximately 265 local businesses in this way.

The Fair Work Ayrshire Programme Manager has opened the programme for business referrals and the number of referrals is expected to rise as the recruitment of additional Fair Work Officers take up post.

Next steps include the development of a formal programme launch due to take place in June 2022 and planning for a CWB Conference later in the year.

The Commission agreed this was a good and informative update of the project. The following points were noted:

• Commission members were supportive and welcoming of a CWB Conference which illustrates good examples of CWB in practice and what it means to local businesses and residents
• The potential opportunities for the Third Sector were noted with acknowledgement of the need to collaborate across the wider Ayrshire Third Sector.

8. Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy

Emma McMullen provided context on the Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy, which the Ayrshire Regional Economic Partnership had previously agreed to develop. A tender process is currently underway to identify suitable consultant(s) to produce a strategy focussed on creating an inclusive wellbeing economy for the region and accompanying two-year action plan. A separate commission has been advertised for a suitably experienced consultant to embed CWB principles into the RES by working closely with the consultants appointed. It is hoped a draft of the strategy will be produced by the end of September 2022.

9. Lead Officers Working Group (LOWG) Update

Caitriona McAuley provided an update on the Lead Officers Working Group (LOWG) which has been created to take forward the CWB Commission work plan. It is expected that over the next quarter new projects and ways of working will start to develop. The LOWG has representation across all the Anchor partners who are committed to driving CWB forward. At the next meeting a workshop will held to support Anchors to embed CWB within their organisations.

The following points were raised by the Commission:

• A question was raised as to why only three workstreams were being focussed upon out of the five CWB pillars. It was noted that when agreeing the Commission work plan there was a need to focus on priority pillar areas due to capacity, with aspirations to address further pillars at a later date. The three pillars chosen were those which Commission members noted to be a key priority for taking CWB forward.
• It was noted that awareness and education of CWB was important and this should be considered within the induction for new Elected Members following the May local election.
• Progress within the Land and Assets workstream was praised and case study examples of positive outcomes for local communities were welcomed when available.

10. AOB

The following point was raised in within AOB:

• Cllr Peter Henderson noted it is important to build consideration of CWB into the consultation responses for National Planning Framework 4. It was also proposed to look at legislation for empty homes.

There were no further matters arising and the meeting closed at 10.40am.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building (Chair)
• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of the Opposition, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Alex Gallagher, Cabinet Member for Post-Covid Renewal, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Robert Foster, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care Partnership and lead member for Poverty, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Peter Henderson, Council Leader, South Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor John McGhee, Leader of the Labour Group, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Jim McMahon, Deputy Leader of East Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Rhona Arthur, Head of Service, Connected Communities, North Ayrshire Council (representing Audrey Sutton)
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service, Economic Development and Regeneration, North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director, The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT)
• David McDowall, Head of Economic Growth, East Ayrshire Council
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Derek Frew, Ayrshire Division Partnership Lead Officer, Police Scotland
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Michael Breen, Vice Principal, Ayrshire College
• Vikki Kewney, Project Manager, Scottish Enterprise
• Paul Doak, Head of Service, Health and Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• Katie Kelly, Depute Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Mark Greaves, Coordinator – Places, South Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Jude King, Programme Manager (Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Fund), Economic Policy

Secretariat

• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council
• Emma McMullen, Senior Manager, Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Pamela Gilbert, Secretary, North Ayrshire Council

Guests

• Sarah Deas, Trustee, Wellbeing Economy Alliance (Scotland) and Chair of North Ayrshire CWB Expert Advisory Panel
• David Fitzpatrick, Scottish Government
• Tracy Jackson, Scottish Government
• Laura Bremner, Scottish Government
• Stephen White, Scottish Government
• Neil McInroy, Scottish Government

Apologies

• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Tom Arthur, Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth in the Scottish Government
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health & Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• Allison Craig, Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal
• Gillian Adam, Interim Head of Partnerships, Scottish Enterprise
• Caroline Amos, Executive Director (Communities), North Ayrshire Council
• Louise Reid, Assistant Director of Place, South Ayrshire Council
• Hazel Borland, Interim Chief Executive, NHS Ayrshire & Arran

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 22 September 2021 were approved with no matters arising.

3. Community Wealth Building in Ayrshire

Caitriona McAuley gave a brief overview of the Community Wealth Building (CWB) context in Ayrshire, including the history of the CWB Commission. It was noted that in summer 2020, the CWB Commission welcomed South and East Ayrshire Councils and became an Ayrshire wide Commission. The Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building project is underway and will facilitate the expansion of CWB activities in Ayrshire. The publication of North Ayrshire Council’s CWB Annual Report in October 2021 provides insight to current activities and highlights future plans. As part of outlining their commitment to CWB in Ayrshire, the following Anchor Institutions provided an update on their key CWB achievements, aspirations and opportunities:

• NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Ayrshire College
• Scottish Enterprise
• South Ayrshire Council
• East Ayrshire Council
• Police Scotland
• Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT)

The Chair invited Scottish Government to contribute to the discussion. Stephen White provided an update regarding the proposed Community Wealth Building Act, noting that any Act would likely be in the middle of the current parliamentary session. An Act would seek to cut across various portfolios, with links across Government. Officers are committed to listening to Local Authorities who are taking forward CWB and acknowledge it is a significant part of economic recovery plans. They are interested in learning about good practice and the challenges associated with delivering CWB and whether barriers are policy or legislation.

The following points were raised during discussion:

• Need to be clear on the overall aim of a CWB Act and that these are shared by all partners. It is important to be clear on the definition of CWB and what it involves.
• Funding does not usually support new legislation however this would make it difficult to take forward in practice. Ring-fenced budgets make it difficult to do things differently.
• Plural Ownership is often the most difficult pillar to address, even if Anchors have dedicated Economic Development teams to directly support businesses. Some Anchors do not have these teams and will find it more challenging. Need to be clear on whether there is a lack of culture around diverse forms of ownership or if there are legislative issues presenting barriers. The role of Cooperative Development Scotland is important in supporting these aspirations.
• Ensuring the productive / alternative use of privately held land is a particular barrier and the current Local Authority powers are not sufficient to address these issues.
• There is a need to look at existing legislation closely though a CWB lens to consider where blockages exist and if these can be overcome. A new piece of legislation could have the unintended consequence of reinforcing silos rather than breaking them down.

4. Learning from Ayrshire Anchor Institutions: Progress against Anchor Charter Pledges

a. Key highlights from the Anchor Charter progress updates

Mhairi Paterson noted the Ayrshire Anchor Charter was launched in October 2020 and includes 16 pledges aligned across 5 CWB pillars and a 6th Climate Action pillar. Seven Anchors have signed the Charter and more recently, all three Ayrshire Integration Joint Boards signed the Charter. Progress on the Charter pledges is monitored annually, with the first round of monitoring completed in October 2021. A summary of progress was presented to the Lead Officer Working Group (LOWG) and the North Ayrshire CWB Expert Advisory Panel in November. Key highlights from the monitoring exercise include:

• Charter pledges help focus and direct Anchor activities, particularly in relation to regional workstream activities across Procurement, Fair Employment and Land & Assets.
• The monitoring process helped Anchors to better understand each other, their strengths and challenges and where added value through collaboration can take place.
• There is appetite to support Anchors to implement processes which direct lower value contracts (under £50K) to local suppliers.
• The £3m CWB AGD project provides much needed resource and focus across a range of pledges and is closely aligned to Anchor CWB activity to ensure value is added. For example, the Fair Work Ayrshire Service which is part of AGD CWB project is closely aligned to the Fair Employment regional workstream.
• Anchors have undertaken Keep it Local campaigns and recognise the need emphasise ethical aspects of shopping locally.
• Good examples of activities in relation to climate action across all Anchors such as reducing carbon emissions and sustainable energy generation. Examples include Ayrshire College Hydro-electric scheme, North Ayrshire Solar PV Farms located on former landfill sites and NHS are planning to install a wind turbine at Ayr Hospital.

b. Challenges and barriers faced by Anchors in progressing CWB

It was noted that Anchors’ commitment to the Charter represents a significant step forward for CWB in Ayrshire however it needs to be acknowledged that embedding CWB is challenging and complex, especially within existing resources. The review of Anchor Charter progress also provided an opportunity to consider the barriers and challenges associated with delivering CWB. Mhairi Paterson summarised some of these challenges:• Important to recognise inherent differences between Anchor Institutions e.g. national Anchors have particular challenges and strengths and the Third Sector Interface approaches CWB differently than other Anchors. • Some Anchors do not have Economic Development teams which can limit their ability to support and grow the local business base, particularly in relation to the Plural Ownership pillar. • National procurement frameworks and lack of flexibility can present barriers for engaging more local suppliers.• Some CWB leverages extend beyond the capacity of a single Anchor (or even collaboration). For example opportunities for community and ethical banking requires support from regional and national organisations including the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) to support CWB through local investment opportunities.

c. Feedback from CWB Expert Panel and next steps

Progress on the Anchor Charter pledges was presented to the North Ayrshire CWB Expert Advisory Panel in November. Sarah Deas, chair of the Panel, noted that Ayrshire Anchor Institutions are still in the early stages of developing CWB activities however we have excellent foundations to build upon. Following the Panel review of Anchor Charter progress, Sarah provided feedback based around three key elements and areas of focus:

1. Importance of setting ambition: There is a need to be ambitious in our endeavours including setting targets to ensure progress can be measured. Vision is important and needs to recognise the need for local level systems change.
2. Partnership working is key: We need to embrace new ways of thinking and working to ensure sustainable change. Need to recognise complementary skills and resources across the network for example Cooperative Development Scotland (CDS) and Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs) working with each Anchor to support and develop plural forms of ownership.
3. Move from discussion into Action: Implementation of activities is key and should be the focus moving forward. Given the wide remit of CWB, it is important to prioritise activities and track progress.

The Commission welcomed this feedback and gave their support to take the recommendations posed by Sarah Deas back to the Lead Officers Working Group (LOWG) to direct future activities.

5. Lead Officers Working Group Update

Caitriona McAuley gave a brief update on the recent work of the LOWG and advised that discussions were ongoing regarding a lead organisation and officer to take forward the procurement workstream. The next meeting of the LOWG will take place in February 2022.

It was questioned whether the LOWG was being adequately supported by all Anchor Institutions. Caitriona McAuley advised that all Anchors are represented on the LOWG however it is important to recognise resources and capacity are limited. Good progress is being made by the Land and Assets and Fair Employment workstreams and it is hoped the Procurement workstream will recommence soon.

6. AOB

The following items were raised under AOB:

• Cllr Peter Henderson encouraged early consultation regarding a potential CWB Act. Scottish Government officers agreed to notify of any forthcoming consultation.
• Scottish Government officers noted Mr Tom Arthur was interested in attending the next meeting of the CWB Commission. The Chair welcomed this request and agreed to extend an invitation to the Minister.

The next meeting of the CWB Commission will take place on Thursday 17th March 2022, 9am to 11am.

There were no further matters arising and the meeting closed at 12.50pm.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building (Chair)
• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of the Opposition, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Alex Gallagher, Cabinet Member for Post-Covid Renewal, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Peter Henderson, Council Leader, South Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Jim McMahon, Deputy Leader of East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor John McGhee, Leader of the Labour Group, East Ayrshire Council
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health & Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• Louise Reid, Assistant Director of Place, South Ayrshire Council
• David McDowall, Head of Economic Development, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director (Third Sector), The Ayrshire Community Trust
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Derek Frew, Ayrshire Division Partnership Lead Officer, Police Scotland
• Michael Breen, Vice Principal, Ayrshire College
• Gillian Adam, Interim Head of Partnerships, Scottish Enterprise
• Allison Craig, Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal
• Caroline Amos, Executive Director (Communities), North Ayrshire Council (substituting for Audrey Sutton)
• Elaine Young, Senior Manager for Health Promotion, NHS Ayrshire & Arran (substitute for Lesley Bowie and Hazel Borland)
• Steven Corrigan, Station Commander, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service (Observer)

Secretariat

• Julie McLachlan, Senior Manager – Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council
• Pamela Gilbert, Secretary, North Ayrshire Council

Guests

• Gemma Campbell, Scottish Land Commission

Apologies

• Councillor Robert Foster, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care Partnership and lead member for Poverty, North Ayrshire Council
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities), North Ayrshire Council
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Hazel Borland, Interim Chief Executive, NHA Ayrshire & Arran
• Katie Kelly, Depute Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council (Observer)

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 11 June 2021 were approved noting the following comments.

Cllr John McGhee raised the matter of the unsuccessful bid to the Health Foundation, Economies for Healthier Lives funding stream and asked if any further feedback had been received. Julie McLachlan advised that a strong bid had been submitted but there was substantial competition from other bidders. It was noted we have built up strong relationships with the Health Foundation for future bids and the Commission will be updated if any subsequent bids are submitted.

3. Chair and Partners Update

On behalf of North Ayrshire Council it was noted a call with Mr Tom Arthur MSP for Planning, Public Finance and Community Wealth had been scheduled for the Council Leader and Chief Executive. The Annual Report on the CWB Strategy is scheduled to be considered by Cabinet on 28th September with the intention it would be launched during Challenge Poverty Week in October.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran noted officers had participated in Scottish Government workshops to consider the role of NHS and Social Care as Anchor Institutions. NHS Ayrshire and Arran are firmly committed to CWB and the CWB Charter and are currently seeking approval to establish an internal CWB network covering employability strategy, sustainability strategy and the new NHS Community Benefits Gateway.

East Ayrshire Council noted a review of policy and procedures related to the Anchor Charter pledges was currently underway with progress reported to Cabinet every six months. A recent procurement exercise identified an opportunity for Ayrshire Councils to increase spend with local food and drink suppliers. This would be progressed through the Food and Drink Workstream of the Regional Economic Partnership.

Police Scotland advised the Chief Constable had been briefed on CWB and intended approach within the organisation. The briefing is currently awaiting decision by the Chief Financial Officer.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service noted the Interim Director of Finance has prepared a briefing on CWB and are considering the use of fire stations for community use. A report will be submitted to the senior leadership team to seek agreement to sign the Ayrshire Anchor Charter.

Scottish Enterprise noted the lead officer for the Land & Assets workstream has returned from sick leave and is progressing activity.

Ayrshire College are focusing on their procurement activities and mechanisms to support local businesses. It was noted the Future Skills Hub in Kilwinning may provide an opportunity to pilot and test improved procedures e.g. community benefits approach.

South Ayrshire Council advised the Ayrshire Growth Deal CWB project team were all now appointed. A review of Community Centres and halls had been undertaken, with CWB promoted and already receiving interest from communities.

Caroline Cameron noted a report encouraging the North Ayrshire Integration Joint Board to sign the Anchor Charter will presented to the IJB on 23 September. It is expected to be fully supported with East and South Ayrshire IJB’s also confirming their support in coming weeks.

The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) noted continued support of the Lead Officer Working Group and associated workstreams. It was noted the Third Sector Interfaces in South Ayrshire (VASA) and East Ayrshire (East Ayrshire CVO) would join TACT in supporting the Lead Officer Working Group. A piece of research is currently being commissioned to scope the capacity of the Third Sector within North Ayrshire and identify areas of strength, potential collaboration and specific opportunities aligned to the CWB pillars. When complete, the research outputs will be reported to the Commission.

4. Scottish Land Commission – Presentation and Discussion on CWB and Land and Assets

The Commission welcomed Gemma Campbell, Land Rights and Responsibilities Manager from Scottish Land Commission to give a presentation on the role of the Scottish Land Commission and why the fair, inclusive and productive ownership, management and use of land delivers greater benefit for all the people in Scotland.

Gemma outlined the progress of the SLC since establishment in 2017 and their key priority areas of work for 2020 to 2023:

• Reforming land rights – who owns and uses land
• Responsible land ownership – how it is owned and used
• Reforming land markets – how land is transferred, developed and used productively

The connection between CWB and the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS) was outlined. Land Rights and Responsibilities are about owning, managing and using land in a fair way that benefits everyone, including a more diverse pattern of ownership. The SLC are working with a steering group (which includes officer representation from North Ayrshire Council) to develop guidance which relates the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement to the principles of the Land & Assets pillar with CWB. The guidance will set out practical actions that can be taken in the short and long term to support an inclusive, sustainable, and empowered local economy, where land is used and managed productively and in the public interest. Six headline areas for action have been identified within the guidance:

• Sharing Information
• Positive management of Land and Assets
• Collaboration and Partnership
• Supporting Economic Growth and Community Aspirations
• Supporting net zero ambitions and sustainable development
• Productive reuse of land and buildings

The guidance will be shared through workshops in the new year and is expected to be published in February during Land Re-use Month.

The presentation was concluded by noting the Land Connection 2021 Conference would take place from 4th October to 6th October including a Webinar on ‘How NHS Land and Estates can deliver Community Wellbeing’ on 6th October.

Points raised following the presentation included:

• The presentation was well received by the Commission, including the links to CWB via the LRRS;
• There was interest in a land ownership register, which Gemma Campbell indicated was due to be completed in 2024

5. Update from Lead Officers Working Group (LOWG)

Caitriona McAuley reiterated the role of the Lead Officers Working Group and provided a brief update on the activities of the three workstreams currently being taken forward (Fair Employment, Procurement and Land & Assets). An appendix detailing officers assigned to the LOWG and workstreams accompanied the update report. It was advised that officers from South Ayrshire Council had since been appointed to the workstreams.

It was noted that the Third Sector Interfaces for East and South Ayrshire (EA CVO and VASA respectively) have been welcomed to join the LOWG and encouraged to participate in maximising the potential of CWB opportunities for the Third Sector. The value of sharing any learnings from the research being undertaken by TACT in North Ayrshire to scope the Third Sector capacity with a focus on procurement was reiterated.

October 2021 marks one year since the launch of the Ayrshire Anchor Charter during Challenge Poverty Week. It was advised that as per agreement of signing the Charter, signatories would be contacted by the Secretariat in coming weeks to discuss progress against the pillar pledges. Progress will then be shared with the CWB Expert Advisory Panel and an update provided to the CWB Commission.

The update was accepted by the Commission with no further questions.

6. Update on Fair Employment Workstream by Ayrshire College

Michael Breen from Ayrshire College advised that during July and August, one to one meetings had taken place with all workstream members. A meeting of all workstream members was held in August, with lots of positive engagement. At the meeting it was suggested there was opportunity to focus on and further explore good practice in relation to recruitment approaches, as well as consider longer term workforce planning strategies and availability of local skills. Further workstream meetings will be required to distil ideas into actions and these will be reported back to the Commission at a future date.

Points raised from the Commission included:

• Actions relating to Community Learning & Development Programmes could also be considered by the workstream.
• There is a need to consider mechanisms for increasing employment diversity at a local level and the crossover with the procurement pillar e.g. could Community Benefits Clauses be used to open up employability opportunities for hard to reach groups?
• Need to consider the employment barriers for some e.g. transport links and place-related opportunities and location of potential staff.
• Staff wellbeing as part of recruitment and retention should also be considered. There is also an opportunity to improve promotion of Ayrshire as a good place to live and work.

7. Update on the Community Wealth Building Act

A summary of the discussion from the June Commission meeting regarding the CWB Act was provided. It was reiterated that Ayrshire is in a strong position to provide evidenced feedback to help guide development of the CWB Act.

Commission members received a draft letter to Mr Tom Arthur MSP for Planning, Public Finance and Community Wealth inviting him to attend the next Commission meeting in December and hear the experiences of Ayrshire Anchor Institutions taking forward CWB. Some points raised during discussion included:

• Need for additional capacity in driving and supporting CWB locally;
• CWB objectives should not be diluted as part of a CWB Act, CWB needs to be seen as economic development and not community empowerment;
• The language associated with CWB needs to be consistent e.g. CWB and community wellbeing are commonly misused.

The Commission agreed the content of the letter and for it to be sent to Mr Arthur.

8. Ayrshire Growth Deal, Community Wealth Building Fund Update

Recruitment of officers into the positions as part of the AGD CWB Fund project is a key area of focus and it was noted this is not without its challenges. Most positions have been appointed with the exception of:

• Third CWB Locality Officer within East Ayrshire Council has been re-advertised
• CWB Fund Programme Manager which has been re-advertised (Update as of November 2021 – a Programme Manager was appointed in November)

The Fair Work Ayrshire Programme Manager was commenced employment in early September and has made good progress in engaging with staff across the three councils and developing a process for engaging with local businesses.

An update on the project and case studies where Fund spend is benefitting local communities will be provided at a future Commission meeting.

9. AOB

No further matters arising and meeting closed at 15.55pm.

The next meeting of the Commission will be held on 11th January 2022.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building (Chair)
• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of the Opposition, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Alex Gallagher, Cabinet Member for Post-Covid Renewal, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Peter Henderson, Council Leader, South Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor John McGhee, Leader of the Labour Group, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Jim Roberts, East Ayrshire Council
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities), North Ayrshire Council
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health & Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Donald Gillies, Director of Place, South Ayrshire Council
• Jim Johnstone, Economy & Regeneration Coordinator, South Ayrshire Council (in attendance)
• Zoe Fance, Procurement Service Lead, South Ayrshire Council (Procurement Workstream Lead)
• David McDowall, Head of Economic Development, East Ayrshire Council (in attendance)
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director (Third Sector), The Ayrshire Community Trust
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Derek Frew, Ayrshire Division Partnership Lead Officer, Police Scotland
• Brian Connelly, CWB Specialist, Scottish Enterprise (substitute for Gillian Adam)
• Allison Craig, Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal
• Miriam Brett, Director of Research and Advocacy, Common Wealth (Guest)
• Sarah McKinley, Director of European Programs and Next System Project European Representative, The Democracy Collaborative (Guest)

Secretariat

• Julie McLachlan, Senior Manager – Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council
• Pamela Gilbert, Secretary, North Ayrshire Council

Apologies

• Councillor Robert Foster, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care Partnership and lead member for Poverty, North Ayrshire Council
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Councillor Elena Whitham, Deputy Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Katie Kelly, Depute Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council
• Michael Breen, Vice Principal, Ayrshire College
• Gillian Adam, Interim Head of Partnerships, Scottish Enterprise

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting. The Chair welcomed guest speakers Miriam Brett from Common Wealth and Sarah McKinley from The Democracy Collaborative who joined the meeting to facilitate a discussion on Ayrshire and the CWB Act.

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 29 March 2021 were approved noting the following comments. Councillor John McGhee raised the matter of the unsuccessful bid to the Health Foundation, Economies for Healthier Lives funding stream and asked who had been successful what we could learn going forward from this. Julie McLachlan advised that Glasgow City Region had progressed into the next round of application however as yet there has been no confirmation on successful bids. As a result of the large number of applicants there has been no feedback received from the Health Foundation. Alternative methods of exploring support for the proposal are being considered and the Commission will be updated on any developments.

3. Chair and Partners Update

On behalf of North Ayrshire Council, it was noted they are preparing the first Annual Report on the Council’s Community Wealth Building strategy. To mark the first anniversary of the strategy, a press release was published on 14 May 2021. The Annual Report will be considered by the Council’s Cabinet at the end of September and the Commission will be informed of the key highlights and case studies.

South Ayrshire Council advised they have established a member officer working group to take their CWB strategy forward.

Police Scotland noted three officers for the Lead Officer Working Group pillar workstreams have been identified and will be involved in activities going forward. Police Scotland have also expressed an interest in signing the Ayrshire Anchor Charter and have scheduled a meeting with North Ayrshire Council to discuss next steps.

East Ayrshire Council advised a scoping analysis of current work is underway which will be developed into a CWB Action Plan. CWB approaches have already been embedded within Community Plans.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran advised officers have been assigned to each of the three pillar workstreams and are fully committed to supporting the work.

Scottish Enterprise noted an internal audit on current engagement on CWB approaches was currently underway.

Scottish Fire and Rescue have identified and assigned officers for each of the three pillar workstreams. They expressed an interest in looking further at the Anchor Charter and how it links to their activities.

The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) advised they were looking forward to presenting alongside Voluntary Action South Ayrshire (VASA) at the next meeting of the Lead Officers Working Group in August.

4. Ayrshire and CWB Act – Facilitated Discussion

Sarah McKinley (The Democracy Collaborative) and Miriam Brett (Common Wealth) introduced and facilitated a discussion on the needs of Ayrshire from a potential national Community Wealth Building Act and ways to influence the development of the Act.

Ayrshire is well-placed to inform the development of a CWB Act and provides an opportunity to recommend how the Act could be structured to support and empower local ‘on the ground’ CWB activity. It was noted that the experience of areas who are currently delivering CWB (including Ayrshire) must be valued and changes at national level should be focussed on facilitating local activity.

The scope of a CWB Act is not yet known, however it is likely that if the Act is based on all five CWB principles it will cross multiple ministerial portfolios. It was noted that any Act should remain firmly committed to the principles of CWB and should not be ‘watered down’.

Commission members were asked to consider the following seven discussion questions. Points raised in relation to these questions have been listed below.

1. What has been effective in advancing our CWB approach locally and how could that be supported more effectively by Scottish Government and be advanced in other places across Scotland?
   • Introduction of the Ayrshire Anchor Charter was praised for its use in encouraging partners to take ownership of CWB activity.
2. What national policy or legislative changes are required to support the delivery of CWB at a local and regional level?
   • Important to ensure local and national governments are using the same language and clear about definitions to ensure everyone is working to the same goals.
   • There may be merit in a CWB Act incorporating taxation and enhanced fiscal powers. New tax raising powers could be explored, such as a Land Value Tax.
3. What are the capacity requirements to ensure a holistic and transformative place-based CWB approach can be delivered?
   • In delivering a CWB Act there will be a high level of resource requirement within economic development. However, it was noted that economic development is not a statutory requirement and will require additional resource.
4. What are the barriers preventing more local spend and the development of local supply chains?
   • It was acknowledged requirements of a CWB Act may impact upon economies of scale and will require engagement and cooperation of national procurement bodies.
   • There may be a lack of understanding of what CWB means in practice. A toolkit for community activists would be helpful to improve knowledge and understanding. Sarah McKinley noted that CLES and the Democracy Collaborative are developing CWB toolkits to support on-the-ground engagement.
   • A reform of national procurement legislation is required to support national organisations to procure more locally.
5. What is required to ensure the maximisation of land and assets for the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of local communities?
   • Greater transparency of the goals within land and assets and how this relates to specific place-based opportunities.
   • It will be important to address the issue of land banking multi-national corporations who own high street / town centre land and properties. Increased powers are required for local authorities to acquire land/property if there are no development proposals. An approach to Common Good land would need to be carefully considered.
6. How can a CWB Act further the development of fair work, inclusive ownership models, and progressive finance initiatives that benefits local communities?
   • There needs to be increased alignment between CWB and the wider landscape and measurement of a wellbeing economy and clarity on what a wellbeing economy aims to achieve.
   • The importance of fair employment in economic recovery as well as the positive impacts on health and wellbeing must be acknowledged.
   • There needs to be greater acknowledgement of the role of support organisations e.g. Cooperative Development Scotland (CDS) upskilling local authority business advisors on cooperative ownership models.
   • The role of national organisations is important and should not be underestimated in their ability to influence fair work principles, plural ownership and progressive procurement.
   • Could tax breaks be used as an incentive to encourage plural ownership models?
   • Is there a way of progressing the fair work agenda through local supply chains?
   • Embedding fair employment must be a priority.
   • The role of pension funds must be explored in relation to supporting local projects.
   • To ensure full participation in the CWB agenda, the perspective and challenges faced by national organisations must be acknowledged.
7. How can Ayrshire best influence and shape the development of a CWB Act?
   • There was consensus that the CWB Commission must firmly grasp this opportunity and be ambitious in recommendations for a CWB Act. It is important to recognise the transformational nature of CWB and the power of this should not be underestimated.

In terms of next steps, it was agreed a note of the discussion would be collated and further engagement on the needs from a CWB Act would be undertaken with the Lead Officers Working Group at its subsequent meeting in August.

A letter to Scottish Government with recommendations on a CWB Act will be drafted and shared at the September Commission meeting.

5. Update from Lead Officers Working Group

The second meeting of the Lead Officers Working Group (LOWG) was held on 19 May 2021 chaired by Caitriona McAuley. The agenda included a guest presentation from Conrad Parke, Anchor Network Co-ordinator employed by the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES)and working on behalf of the Birmingham Anchor Network. Other items included an update on the Procurement workstream which is being led by South Ayrshire Council. An introductory outline of the next steps of the Land and Assets workstream was given by Scottish Enterprise. Michael Breen of Ayrshire College introduced himself as lead of the Fair Employment workstream.

A draft template to capture annual progress on the Anchor Charter pledges was shared with the LOWG. The first review of progress will be collated from signatories in the autumn, marking one year since the Charter was launched. A draft of the template was provided to the Commission. Anchor Charter progress will be reported to the Commission at its December meeting.

The next meeting of the LOWG will take place in August 2021. Progress updates from each of the three workstreams will be provided at the meeting. It has been agreed that Kaileigh Brown from The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) (North Ayrshire Third Sector Interface) and Norah Williamson from Voluntary Action South Ayrshire (VASA) (South Ayrshire Third Sector Interface) will present on the opportunities and challenges for the Third Sector in relation to Community Wealth Building.

The update was accepted by the Commission with no further questions.

6. Update on LOWG procurement pillar workstream from South Ayrshire Council

South Ayrshire Council provided an update on progress of the Procurement workstream. Zoe Fance thanked officers on the workstream for their contributions and engagement, noting that all one-to-one meetings with contributing organisations had taken place. The meetings proved to be informative and valuable with an opportunity to focus on increasing local spend in low value contracts which are not part of a framework and are typically worth under £50,000. The Commission agreed to support the workstream to continue to explore options to increase the local spend within low value contracts, including learning from Councils who have already made adjustments to their Quick Quote processes.

Next steps will be to host a workshop of all procurement workstream representatives to review forthcoming procurement wave plans of each organisation with the aim of identifying potential collaborative opportunities.

Members of the Commission acknowledged the good progress of the workstream and thanked officers for their engagement.

7. Ayrshire Growth Deal, Community Wealth Building Fund Update

Due to the delay in approval of the project by Scottish Government, commencement of the CWB project has taken slightly longer than anticipated, however the recruitment process is now underway. Interviews for the three locality officers based at East Ayrshire Council are currently underway (week beginning 7th June) and interviews for locality officers at South Ayrshire Council are anticipated to be held the week beginning 14th June. It is hoped that locality officers will be in post by the end of summer and Programme Managers by September. It was noted that in addition to the funding for resources, the project also includes a £1m grant and consultancy fund to support local enterprises to deliver CWB activities.

This update was welcomed by the Commission with no further points raised.

8. AOB

There were no further matters arising and the meeting closed at 12.50pm.

The next meeting of the Commission will be held on 22nd September 2021.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building (Chair)
• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of the Opposition, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Alex Gallagher, Cabinet Member for Post-Covid Renewal, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Peter Henderson, Council Leader, South Ayrshire Council
• Councillor John McGhee, Leader of the Labour Group, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Elena Whitham, Deputy Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities), North Ayrshire Council
• Donald Gillies, Director of Place, South Ayrshire Council
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Lesley Bowie, Board Chair, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Gillian Adam, Interim Head of Partnerships, Scottish Enterprise
• Kaileigh Brown, Executive Director (Third Sector), The Ayrshire Community Trust
• Barbara Hastings, Chief Executive, The Ayrshire Community Trust
• David McDowall, Interim Head of Planning and Economic Development, East Ayrshire Council (in attendance)
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Gavin Cockburn, Service Lead – Director Support Place Directorate, South Ayrshire Council
• Jim Johnstone, Economy & Regeneration Coordinator, South Ayrshire Council (in attendance)
• Zoe Fance, Procurement Service Lead, South Ayrshire Council (Procurement Workstream Lead)
• Derek Frew, Ayrshire Division Partnership Lead Officer, Police Scotland
• Allison Craig, Programme Manager, Ayrshire Growth Deal

Secretariat

• Julie McLachlan, Senior Manager – Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council
• Pamela Gilbert, Secretary, North Ayrshire Council

Apologies

• Councillor Robert Foster, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care Partnership and lead member for Poverty, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Caroline Cameron, Director, Health & Social Care Partnership, North Ayrshire Council
• Michael Breen, Vice Principal, Ayrshire College
• Katie Kelly, Depute Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting. The Chair gave a special thanks to Barbara Hastings for her work and support representing The Ayrshire Community Trust on the CWB Commission and wished her all the very best in her retirement. He also welcomed Kaileigh Brown to the meeting and for the future representation. Barbara thanked everyone for their support over the years and wished everyone well for the future.

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 10 December 2020 were approved with no matters arising.

3. Chair and Partners Update

No further updates were provided.

4. Lead Officers Working Group Update

The first meeting of the Lead Officers Working Group (LOWG) was held on 25 February 2021 chaired by Caitriona McAuley. The LOWG group was created to take responsibility for the Commission work plan and progress actions as directed by the Commission.

At the meeting lead partners were identified to take ownership for workstreams focussing on three key pillars:

• Procurement workstream – led by South Ayrshire Council
• Land and Assets workstream – led by Scottish Enterprise
• Fair Employment workstream – led by Ayrshire College (agreed 26 March 2021)

Work is already underway on the Procurement workstream, an update on which was provided by South Ayrshire Council. Initial discussions have taken place with Scottish Enterprise and Ayrshire College and it is anticipated work on the Land and Assets and Fair Employment workstreams will be underway soon.

The role of the LOWG was discussed, alongside governance arrangements and consideration of the next steps of the procurement workstream. Additional items included an overview of a funding bid submitted by North Ayrshire Council to the Health Foundation and the £3m Ayrshire Growth Deal Community Wealth Building Project.

The next meeting of the LOWG will take place in May 2021 where the agenda will include Conrad Parke, Anchor Network Co-ordinator who is employed by CLES and working on behalf of the Birmingham Anchor Network.

A template to capture the progress of Anchor Charter signatories will also be shared at the next meeting and will be used to capture the progress against the pledges for reporting to the Commission as planned.

The update was noted by the Commission with no further points raised.

5. Presentation on LOWG Procurement Pillar Workstream from South Ayrshire Council

Zoe Fance from South Ayrshire Council provided a comprehensive and detailed presentation on the Procurement workstream laying out the purpose of the pillar, the objectives and an outline of planned engagement with Anchor Institutions.

South Ayrshire Council will have 1:1 meetings with each of the Anchors to discuss local procurement spend and aspirations for progress. Following these discussions, a full meeting of workstream representatives will take place. An engagement session and workshop will be held in the summer to agree a new work plan of activity.

The following comments and questions were noted:

• In terms of removing barriers to progressive procurement it was noted that businesses need to be competitive to be able to bid for contracts. A question was posed on how the Procurement workstream will make sure that businesses are in the correct place and ensure that they are in the best position to bid. In response it was noted that close working relationships between procurement and business development staff would be required. It was noted organisations such as NHS Ayrshire & Arran which do not have economic development teams may have to rely on council business development teams for support and guidance.
• It was suggested there is a need to focus on data which indicates gaps in what the Ayrshire public sector procures and what Ayrshire businesses are able to supply and whether there are any higher value opportunities.
• The importance of considering joint procurement opportunities to meet energy needs, including through energy generation was noted as a way of contributing to net zero and sustainability targets.
• A question was posed on whether any analysis is undertaken on the local suppliers that have not been successful via a tender exercise. Anchors were asked to analyse their own data on spend, including suppliers who have not been successful.
• It was noted that long term procurement wave planning is essential to prepare businesses for forthcoming opportunities. It was suggested a procurement wave plan in respect of the Ayrshire Growth Deal would be particularly useful to ensure businesses are made aware of forthcoming opportunities.
• The importance of supporting existing companies, ensuring they remain competitive and are not displaced in the wake of Covid-19 was noted. It was suggested that the Supplier Development Programme are engaged in the procurement workstream to support this work.
• Caitriona McAuley advised that North Ayrshire Council has a specified individual allocated to the Business Support team to help get businesses market ready and to be in a stronger position to tender.
• In discussion of the barriers facing the Procurement workstream team, it was noted there would be challenges in working collaboratively while still taking individual needs into account.
• Lesley Bowie shared that NHS Ayrshire & Arran are tied into national contracts which can act as a barrier to increasing local spend. However, it was noted that where there are opportunities to pursue flexible spend, they would try to keep it local.

The presentation and work plan was well received by the Commission who praised the detail and the work undertaken thus far.

6. Health Foundation: Economies for Healthier Lives Funding – Expression of Interest

Mhairi Paterson advised the Commission that in January, a bid had been submitted to the Health Foundation, Economies for Healthier Lives funding stream. The proposal outlined an approach to unite local economic development and public health objectives across Ayrshire through partnership between the Council, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, and Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES).

One arm of the project was to explore and maximise the potential of a health partner as a major Anchor institution by undertaking a CWB diagnostic assessment of NHS Ayrshire and Arran. The second arm was to establish an Ayrshire Anchor Institution Network and develop a programme of collaborative action to embed CWB and amplify the economic potential of institutions to create a fairer and more inclusive economy.

It was a highly competitive bid and unfortunately the proposal was unsuccessful. Cllr Joe Cullinane and Russell McCutcheon acknowledged the strength of the bid and expressed support for maintaining discussions and exploring further options to pursue the proposal.

7. Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee Update

The Final Business Case for the Ayrshire Growth Deal £3m Community Wealth Building Fund project was approved by the Ayrshire Economic Joint Committee in February.

The project is pan-Ayrshire and will take place over three years, providing additional capacity to engage and work with Anchor Institutions, private sector businesses and the social economy to support CWB activity. It will focus on four CWB pillars: procurement, fair employment, land and assets and plural ownership. Specifically, it will establish a dedicated Fair Work Ayrshire team who will work closely with Ayrshire Anchor Institutions and major employers to establish Ayrshire as a Fair Work region.

Following confirmation by Scottish Government, the project will move to implementation and recruitment phase.

The update was well received by the Commission with no further points raised.

8. AOB

There were some points raised under AOB:

• Cllr Peter Henderson advised that there is still European funding to be spent by local councils before 2023.
• Gavin Cockburn wanted to raise awareness of the ‘Ayrshire Meet the Buyer’ event on 28 April 2021 9.30am to 12pm. This is a great event for businesses to raise awareness, network and exhibit themselves. There will be Tier 1 contractors giving advice free of charge.
• Kaileigh Brown requested to extend an invite to Third Sector Interfaces’ in South and East Ayrshire. Caitriona McAuley noted the importance of having the right representation at Commission meetings with people who can bring a practical focus. It was agreed that a further discussion on TSI representation would take place.

The meeting closed at 16.15pm.

The next meeting of the Commission will be held on 11th June 2021.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building (Chair)
• Councillor Robert Foster, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care Partnership and lead member for Poverty, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Alex Gallagher, Cabinet Member for Post-Covid Renewal, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of the Opposition, North Ayrshire Council
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Mark Newlands, Head of Partnerships, Scottish Enterprise
• Brian Connolly, CWB Specialist, Scottish Enterprise (Observer)
• Michael Breen, Vice Principal, Ayrshire College
• Barbara Hastings, Chief Executive, The Ayrshire Community Trust
• Kaileigh Brown, Operations Manager, The Ayrshire Community Trust (Observer)
• Chief Inspector Brian Shaw, Police Scotland
• Inspector Alison Wilson, Police Scotland (Observer)
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Councillor Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Elena Whitham, Deputy Leader, East Ayrshire Council
• Councillor John McGhee, Leader of the Labour Group, East Ayrshire Council
• David McDowall, Interim Head of Planning and Economic Development, East Ayrshire Council (in attendance)
• Councillor Peter Henderson, Council Leader, South Ayrshire Council
• Gavin Cockburn, Service Lead – Director Support Place Directorate, South Ayrshire Council
• Jim Johnstone, Economy & Regeneration Coordinator, South Ayrshire Council (Observer)

Secretariat

• Julie McLachlan, Senior Manager – Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council

Apologies

• Kenneth Hankinson, Group Commander, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Donald Gillies, Director of Place, South Ayrshire Council
• Alison Sutherland, Head of Service (Children, Families and Criminal Justice), North Ayrshire Council
• John Burns, Chief Executive, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Audrey Sutton, Executive Director (Communities), North Ayrshire Council

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 25th September 2020 were approved with no matters arising.

3. Chair and Partners Update

Councillor Joe Cullinane provided an update on regional activities since the previous meeting, including the launch of the Anchor Charter on 5th October during Challenge Poverty Week. The Charter has been signed by seven Commission members – North Ayrshire Council, South Ayrshire Council, East Ayrshire Council, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Ayrshire College, Scottish Enterprise and The Ayrshire Community Trust.

The Ayrshire Growth Deal was signed on 19th November by the three Ayrshire Council Leaders and is a significant milestone in transforming the Ayrshire Economy. Signing the deal marks a step closer to delivery of the £3m Community Wealth Building fund. Julie McLachlan advised that a joint meeting of the three Ayrshire Councils regarding the project was held in November and they were currently awaiting feedback on the business case from Scottish Government. It was agreed an update on the fund would be given at the next meeting of the Commission in March 2021.

It was noted Councillor Cullinane and Julie McLachlan had presented on CWB at various events including the CLES CWB Summit in November and the Industrial Communities Alliance. Councillor Peter Henderson noted the positive reaction and feedback to the presentation at the Industrial Communities Alliance meeting.

4. Refresh of CWB Commission Terms of Reference

Caitriona McAuley noted that with the expanded membership of the Commission and increased opportunities for Ayrshire wide collaboration, an update to the Commission Terms of Reference was appropriate. Caitriona noted the following updates:

• The updated Terms of Reference (ToR) recognises the addition of South and East Ayrshire Councils to the membership and proposes an indicative work plan for the Commission, which focusses on areas where collaborative working can add value and drive forward regional change.
• The establishment of a Lead Officer Working Group is recommended to progress the workstreams and actions of the Commission. Meetings of the working group were proposed to occur quarterly and attendance from officers with relevant skills and expertise will be essential to maintain momentum. Members were asked to nominate the relevant officers for the Lead Officer Working Group and the relevant workstreams.
• It was noted that where relevant, wider regional Anchor Institutions may be brought in to support the workstream activities, however it was suggested consideration is given to the establishment of an Anchor Network, which recognises the commitment and engagement of other organisations which are not members of the Commission.

In reference to the proposed amendments to the ToR, the following points were made:

• It was noted that it is important to maintain a focussed group of Commission members to ensure momentum and progression of actions however the proposal of a wider Anchor Network was supported and encouraged.
• Named substitutes who are fully briefed and prepared to contribute to Commission meetings are necessary to ensure continuity and momentum.
• There was some caution noted in respect of the quarterly meetings of the Commission and whether this allowed sufficient time for the Lead Officer Working Group to progress actions between Commission meetings. It was noted this situation would be monitored closely as work progresses.
• The need for wider Councillor and staff awareness of CWB was observed. It was noted that within North Ayrshire Council, wider staff engagement and communications on CWB will be undertaken in the new year.
• While the positive feedback at external presentations and events was welcomed, it was noted the opportunity for additional learning and added value to our own work should also be considered when engaging in these sessions. It was noted events are useful in building networks and relationships with various organisations including pension funds and think tanks and provide insight to activities underway elsewhere.
• It was suggested that the impact on CWB should be considered within Council cabinet papers. North Ayrshire already does this and agreed to share the template with South and East Ayrshire Councils for their reference.

The proposal for the updated Terms of Reference was agreed subject to any updates to the individuals named on the membership list.

5. Proposed Work plan for the Commission

At the previous meeting on 25 September, it was noted that the Secretariat would meet with each Commission member to consider a work plan of priority areas and focus for the Commission. Julie McLachlan thanked all members for their time and contributions and noted that the discussion had informed the proposed work plan. The Secretariat also met with Skills Development Scotland and noted their willingness to contribute and add value to the workstreams where relevant. The work plan aligns to the Community Wealth Building pillars, with specific workstreams identified as priority areas which are relevant to all Commission members. The proposed workstreams are: Procurement, Fair Employment, and Land and Assets.

It was noted that although the work plan focusses on areas of joint working, work in relation to the other pillars (Financial Power and Plural Ownership) would still take place and would be reflected in the Procurement workstream as well as via Ayrshire Growth Deal activities.

It was proposed that a lead organisation would be sought for each of the three workstreams and Commission members asked to recommend officers with relevant expertise and skills to join the Lead Officer Working Group in taking forward the work plan. Once the Lead Officer Working Group was formed, the phasing and prioritisation of workstreams and actions would require consideration and Commission feedback was invited on the potential phasing of workstreams.

Feedback on the proposed work plan included:

• It is important to consider climate change and the environment across all workstreams. It was noted this would be an overarching theme for all activities for example shorter supply chains within Procurement and relating to the Regional Economic Partnership Clean Growth workstream that is considering an energy masterplan which would relate to Land & Assets.
• South Ayrshire Council offered to lead the Procurement workstream. The offer was gratefully accepted by the Commission.
• In respect of Land & Assets and Fair Employment, Scottish Enterprise offered to lead whichever workstream was deemed most appropriate to their role. It was agreed a follow up discussion would be held to consider which workstream would be led by Scottish Enterprise.
• The potential impact and contribution of NHS Ayrshire and Arran to Community Wealth Building objectives was noted as significant and further exploration of the opportunities were encouraged. It was noted the new Caring for Ayrshire strategy would be highly relevant to the Land & Assets and Fair Employment pillars.
• There is value in linking up respective climate change officers across the member organisations in order to collaborate and share learning including on carbon budgeting.
• In the spirit of collaborative working, it is important for all member organisations to share details of other work relevant to CWB objectives.

The work plan was agreed by the Commission.

6. Scottish Fire and Rescue CWB Update

Ian McMeekin provided a comprehensive and detailed presentation on the role of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as an anchor organisation and their approach to CWB. Although SFRS is viewed by the public as a response organisation, it was noted there are a number of transformational opportunities in relation to CWB. Although a national organisation, the importance of maintaining a local focus was emphasised. Assessed against each of the CWB pillars, an overview of the key areas of challenge and opportunity were given.

The Commission praised the detailed and comprehensive presentation and welcomed the perspective from a national organisation. The following comments were noted:

• The community focussed approach was praised, which referred to the value of taking preventative actions in relation to improving safety, but also addressing inequalities.
• It was acknowledged there were challenges for national organisations, however SRFS had demonstrated how local opportunities could be maximised.
• It was noted that the CWB lens provides challenge to SRFS activities and is an opportunity to consider new ways of doing things which add value for other community partners.

7. AOB

There were no other areas of business raised.

The next meeting of the Commission will be held on 29th March 2021.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Wealth Building (Chair)
• Councillor Robert Foster, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care Partnership and lead member for Poverty, North Ayrshire Council
• Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of the Opposition, North Ayrshire Council
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive, North Ayrshire Council
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), North Ayrshire Council
• Audrey Sutton, Interim Executive Director (Communities), North Ayrshire Council
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration), North Ayrshire Council (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Alison Sutherland, Head of Service (Children, Families and Criminal Justice), North Ayrshire Council (Substitute for Stephen Brown)
• Mark Newlands, Head of Partnerships, Scottish Enterprise
• Brian Connelly, CWB Specialist, Scottish Enterprise, (Observer and presenter)
• Inspector Alison Wilson, Police Scotland (Substitute for Brian Shaw)
• Ian McMeekin, Area Commander, Local Senior Officer for Ayrshire, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
• Kenneth Hankinson, Group Commander, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service Councillor
• Douglas Reid, Council Leader, East Ayrshire Council Councillor
• Elena Whitham, Deputy Leader, East Ayrshire Council Councillor
• John McGhee, Leader of the Labour Group, East Ayrshire Council
• David McDowall, Interim Head of Planning and Economic Development, East Ayrshire Council (in attendance)
• Councillor Peter Henderson, Council Leader, South Ayrshire Council
• Donald Gillies, Director of Place, South Ayrshire Council
• Gavin Cockburn, Service Lead – Director Support Place Directorate, South Ayrshire Council
• Sarah Deas, Trustee of the Wellbeing Economic Alliance (Scotland) and Chair of the NAC CWB Expert Advisory Panel (Observer)

Secretariat

• Julie McLachlan, Senior Manager – Economic Policy, North Ayrshire Council
• Pamela Gilbert, Secretary (Place), North Ayrshire Council (Minutes)

Apologies

• Michael Breen, Vice Principal, Ayrshire College
• Stephen Brown, Director, North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership
• John Burns, Chief Executive, NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• Councillor Alex Gallagher, Cabinet Member for Post-Covid Renewal, North Ayrshire Council
• Barbara Hastings, The Ayrshire Community Trust Chief
• Inspector Brian Shaw, Police Scotland
• Mhairi Paterson, Community Wealth Building Coordinator, North Ayrshire Council

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting. He extended this welcome to the new members of the Commission, East Ayrshire Council and South Ayrshire Council, and Commission Members provided a short introduction.

2. Minutes

The Minutes of the last meeting held on 23rd June 2020 were approved with no matters arising.

3. East Ayrshire Council and South Ayrshire Council Membership & Early stage CWB Ambitions

Councillor Douglas Reid noted that East Ayrshire Council were delighted to be part of the Commission. Cllr Reid outlined the positive joint working on inclusive growth across the region through the Ayrshire Growth Deal and expressed a particular interest in the CWB land and asset workstreams Councillor Peter Henderson welcomed this joint Ayrshire approach to Community Wealth Building. Cllr Henderson noted the opportunity around building on the work of the Supplier Development Programme, more local food systems and town centre regeneration.

4. CWB Strategy Update

Caitriona McAuley advised that this is the fifth meeting of the CWB Commission, and she wanted to acknowledge the contribution made by Heads of Service from across various North Ayrshire Council services who have now stood down from the Commission as it has expanded its membership and focus has shifted from strategy development to Anchor collaboration and delivery phase. Their contribution and continued support is much appreciated.

Caitriona presented an update report focused on:

• The strategy is receiving significant regional, national and international attention. The Leader of North Ayrshire Council and officers have engaged and delivered presentations on the strategy to a range of stakeholders interested in supporting the approach as well as facilitating discussions with local groups on how we can support them to co-produce and deliver Community Wealth Building.
• We are now moving forward to the delivery of the strategy with the new Community Wealth Building roles and stakeholder mapping underway to develop place-based Community Wealth Building support across business development, employability, regeneration and community development, as well as linking with the third sector interface (TACT). North Ayrshire Council are finalising the recruitment process for the additional roles with eight new members of staff already appointed, as well as a new post within Connected Communities for a Community Economic Development Officer The Appendices to the report include CWB highlights so far, three case studies on CWB and the North Ayrshire Economic Recovery and Renewal Approach.

The following points were noted:

• Within South Ayrshire Council, officers from Economic Development, Finance and Health and Social Case Partnership spend some of their time co-located to enhance communication and collaboration.
• There are opportunities for collaboration on the Councils’ fleet, community transport and town centre living.

5. CWB Anchor Charter

Julie McLachlan presented a report containing the final draft of a CWB Anchor Charter. Julie advised that a key action within the Community Wealth Building strategy is to develop an Anchor Charter to embed CWB across the Anchor Institutions in the region. The Ayrshire Charter is aligned to the five pillars of CWB and includes a sixth pillar on the environment focused on achieving net zero. Julie noted that it was proposed that the Charter would be launched as part of Challenge Poverty Week commencing 5 October 2020.

The discussion focused on the feedback on the Charter’s content and the proposed launch, and the following points were made:

• It was agreed that Trade Union representation should be noted within the Fair Employment pillar.
• Noted that the Charter was a great piece of work and one of the next steps was exploring the potential for a social license to operate for businesses supplying the public sector, recognising the importance of fair work.
• Commend the work on the Charter specifically the format and structure.

The Charter was agreed by the Commission subject to the inclusion of ‘access to Trade Union membership’ under the Fair Employment pillar. It was agreed that the Charter would be launched at the start of Challenge Poverty Week, and we should promote this widely given it is a significant document. Members of the Commission would be contacted to make arrangements for the signing and launch.

6. Scottish Enterprise CWB Update

Mark Newlands advised that Scottish Enterprise have developed their thinking on how they bring CWB to life and set out what their approach to CWB is. Brian Connelly provided a presentation covering Scottish Enterprise’s thinking on CWB and outlined areas for further discussion and exploring. Specific initiatives included a Fair Work diagnostic to be launched in October and the development of a Regional Asset Map.

It was agreed that the approach set out was very good as a first step with the following comments noted:

• A focus on action with a few projects selected to demonstrate a changed approach. For example, Scottish Enterprise could be well placed to lead on supply chain analysis and development linked to Account Managed companies. The Fair Work diagnostic tool could be piloted in Ayrshire. This could support work underway to develop a pan-Ayrshire business support offer.
• SE’s on-going support for Lochshore to facilitate this being developed as a major CWB project.
• All organisations should be considering the assets they own and the potential for community ownership. Important that community capacity building is considered and supported as part of this.
• Impact on land and assets of recent flooding guidance issued by SEPA would be worth having a collective view on.
• Issues in re-developing and re-using nationally owned public buildings.
• Tree planting was a potential opportunity, and the role EA Woodlands can play to support this.

It was agreed by the Commission that there should be a focus on delivery and sharing best practice at future meetings was important.

7. Community Bank

Cllr Cullinane and Julie McLachlan delivered a presentation introducing the concept of a Community Bank and why we are exploring the feasibility of this.

Feedback on the presentation included:

• It is important for people to understand what a Community Bank means.
• Important to assess if the potential to invest in the green economy would appeal to enough people.
• It is right to explore the feasibility of a Community Bank. Outlining the demographics of the region and the potential customer base would be important in developing a feasibility study.
• Important to set out that a Community Bank would be an economic as well as financial tool.
• The Cumnock Municipal Bank was used in the past for Minerals Trust funding

It was agreed that a draft business case being considered by the CWB Expert Advisory Panel would be shared with the Commission at a later stage.

8. Commission Next Steps/Priorities for Next Meeting

Caitriona McAuley noted that the Commission Secretariat would meet with each Commission member over coming months ahead of the December meeting to agree a work plan for the Commission including specific pillars of focus and leads to take this forward. We will also consider the possibility of including additional Anchor Institutions and future membership of the Commission.

9. AOB

Cllr Henderson raised an opportunity that the three Ayrshire Councils could jointly sponsor an upcoming social enterprise awards ceremony and it was agreed that this would be explored.

Cllr McGhee noted the opportunity of joint transport projects and Caitriona McAuley has engaged Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) on CWB. It was highlighted that the CLES CWB Summit is coming up in November.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 10th December 2020.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader (Chair)
• Councillor Marie Burns
• Councillor Robert Foster
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place)
• Audrey Sutton, Interim Executive Director (Communities)
• Caitriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration) (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Fiona Walker, Head of Service (People and ICT)
• Rhona Arthur, Interim Head of Service (Connected Communities)
• Mark Boyd, Head of Service (Financial and Customer Services)
• Chief Inspector Brian Shaw (Police Scotland)
• Barbara Hastings (The Ayrshire Community Trust)
• Michael Breen (Ayrshire College)
• Mark Newlands (Scottish Enterprise)
• Yvonne Baulk, Head of Service (Physical Environment)
• Ian McMeekin (Scottish Fire & Rescue)
• John Burns (NHS Ayrshire and Arran)
• Matt Strachan, Senior Manager (Business Support and Development)
• Alasdair Laurenson, Senior Manager (Regeneration)
• Pamela Gilbert, Secretary (Place) (Minutes)

Secretariat

• Julie McLachlan, Senior Manager Economic Policy
• Mhairi Paterson, Policy Officer (Economic Development & Regeneration)

Apologies

• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive
• Councillor Alex Gallagher
• David Hammond, Interim Head of Service (Commercial)
• Stephen Brown, Director of North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2020 were approved.

Matters arising from the Minutes:

Caitriona McAuley advised that we are still looking for a lead for the Short Life Working Groupon Procurement. This is key and we are keen for other parties who are not part of the Commission to get involved. Caitriona asked again if Commission attendees could speak to their organisational lead who attended the Procurement meeting to see if they would be interested in taking on this role and advised that the Council would provide support to the group.

Caitriona also advised that there has been good feedback from Chris Watson’s presentation on the Procurement pillar at the last meeting and some success stories. One example of this is the vehicle maintenance contract and a case study on this will be shared with the Commission.

3. CWB Strategy Update – Julie McLachlan

Julie McLachlan presented an update report focused on:

• Successful launch of CWB strategy and communications, including plans for a ‘Keep it Local’ campaign.
• NAC are developing an ‘inclusive economy’ dashboard which will support the monitoring and evaluation of the strategy.
• Additional CWB investment in staffing resource including nine new jobs and CWB funds.
• Initial plans for an inclusive and green economic recovery.
• The formation of a CWB Expert Advisory Panel.• An update from the Ayrshire Regional Partnership – including confirmation that East and South Ayrshire Councils would join the CWB Commission.

Cllr Cullinane commented that the report highlights the great progress made to date and the Commission discussed the importance of getting traction now and ensuring a strong link to the feedback from the Expert Advisory Panel. The TSI are receiving significant interest in the NA approach from other TSIs in Scotland and are considering a new post to support work on CWB.

This update paper was noted by the Commission.

4. Supporting CWB: Stakeholder Mapping – Matt Strachan

Matt Strachan delivered a presentation on the mapping exercise taking place across Communities, Business Development, Regeneration and Employability services, including with links to the TSI. The Commission noted that Locality Charters are under development and there will be an opportunity to give localities input to what CWB looks like, supporting them to play a key role in its delivery.

5. Land and Assets Pillar – Regeneration – Alasdair Laurenson

A presentation on the initial approach to the Land and Assets pillar focused on regeneration was received by the Commission. The discussion that followed focused on the following points:

• The Regeneration Delivery Framework will be a key document within the delivery of the Land and Assets Pillar.
• Given the current Covid-19 situation and work and travel patterns there may be opportunities for further collation.
• The importance of public space and consideration of planning, climate and active travel.

6. Developing an Anchor Charter – Initial Discussion – Julie McLachlan

Julie McLachlan presented on the initial thinking around the development of an Anchor Charter which is a key action within the CWB strategy. The Commission discussed the following areas:

• The Pillar approach as the right approach and climate should be included, most anchors are already working towards actions on net zero.
• It was agreed that the language through the proposed charter where the word ‘explore’ was used would be better changed to ‘working towards’ which would give more forward momentum and would show commitment to the principles of CWB.
• Skills Development Scotland are looking at their offering and how best they can respond to increased demand for vocational training and reskilling.
• Organised and more effective use of volunteering is an opportunity.
• NHS A&A expressed their support for what was presented on the Charter, it fits with their strategic direction and plans for Climate Change, as well as the Caring for Ayrshire plan under development.
• Noted the work of the Health Foundation on health institutions as anchors which contains suitable principles and actions for NHS A&A.

7. Priorities for Next Meeting

The priorities for the next meeting were agreed by the Commission as:

• A draft Anchor Charter for discussion.
• A presentation on the achievements of the first six months of CWB strategy.

The Commission noted that East and South Ayrshire Councils would be joining for this meeting.

It was agreed that it is important to not lose momentum giving the pace of work thus far.

It was previously agreed by the Commission that each Commission meeting would be focused on a different CWB pillar, and the Secretariat will consider which should be covered in light of recovery planning.

8. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 24th September 2020.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader (Chair)
• Councillor Marie Burns
• Councillor Alex Gallagher
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place)
• Audrey Sutton, Interim Executive Director (Communities)
• Catriona McAuley, Head of Service (Economic Development and Regeneration) (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• Fiona Walker, Head of Service (People and Transformation)
• David Hammond, Interim Head of Service (Commercial)
• Rhona Arthur, Interim Head of Service (Connected Communities)
• Mark Boyd, Head of Service (Financial and Customer Services)
• Chief Inspector Brian Shaw (Police Scotland)
• Barbara Hastings (The Ayrshire Community Trust)
• Michael Breen (Ayrshire College)
• Mark Newlands (Scottish Enterprise)
• Chris Watson, Business Growth Manager (Business Support & Development)
• Pamela Gilbert, Secretary (Place) (Minutes)

Secretariat

• Julie McLachlan, Senior Manager Economic Policy

Apologies

• Councillor Robert Foster
• Ian McMeekin (Scottish Fire & Rescue)
• John Burns, NHS Ayrshire and Arran
• Yvonne Baulk, Head of Service (Physical Environment)
• Stephen Brown, Director of North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership
• Matt Strachan, Senior Manager (Business Support and Development)

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed Chris Watson for coming to present on procurement and business development. A photographer was in attendance for this part of the meeting and the group photo will appear in the published version of the strategy.

2. Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 22 January 2020 were approved.

Matters arising from the Minutes:

We are still looking for a lead for the Short Life Working Group on procurement. Caitriona McAuley asked if Commission attendees could speak to their organisational lead who attended the Procurement meeting to see if they would be interested in taking on this role and advised that the Council would provide support to the group.

3. Procurement Pillar: Progress so far – Presentation from Chris Watson

Chris Watson presented an update on progress within the Procurement pillar. The presentation covered the Council commitment to substantially increase local spend, a revised ‘Quick Quote’ process to allow greater opportunity for local businesses, proactive work on supplier development, benefits of departmental collaboration and the next steps for this, and case studies of local businesses who have benefited from the Quick Quote process or enhanced supplier developed support from the Business team.

Discussion covered the following areas:

• Welcoming the successes and case studies so far and that focus should now move to higher value contracts. Importance of getting smaller companies onto the larger project supply chains. When we are not clear where there are flexibilities, the Council could take legal advice on this.
• It was noted that turnover criteria applied to certain procurement opportunities however these were broken down to lots.
• The Business Development team are working with local businesses to help grow turnover as well as provide supplier development support so that local businesses can bid for contracts in other regions and wider public sector bodies as well as North Ayrshire Council.
• Following the Council budget agreement in March, the Council are putting significant resources into the Business Development team to help support businesses, social enterprise, and wider forms of business through a Community Wealth Building lens.

4. Developing a CWB Strategy for North Ayrshire: Final Draft and Feedback on Engagement

Julie McLachlan advised that the March Council budget resulted in significant resource being allocated – this will help expand work in supplier development, social enterprise, developing cooperatives, maximising community benefits and community regeneration. Julie McLachlan presented a report on the Final Draft of the North Ayrshire CWB strategy. This including an outline of the feedback from the engagement on CWB including with Locality Partnerships, online via Consul and with the Youth Executive Committee. The report included the Final Draft strategy which is embargoed until the launch. Julie outlined plans for a CWB Summit that was being developed to take place in March to engage a wider audience with the CWB plans, Commissions members would receive invites. The Final Draft strategy will be presented to NAC Cabinet for approval on 28th April 2020 and to the CPP Board on 9th June 2020. Subject to agreement by NAC Cabinet, the strategy will be promoted at the Summit.

Discussion covered the following areas:

• Scottish Enterprise are very interested in CWB and keen to share the strategy further when possible.
• The presentation style works well, and the strategy will be understandable to Locality Partnerships and communities.

The Commission agreed that the Final Draft of the strategy was an excellent piece of work and is suitable to be taken into the approval stage.

5. Formation of Expert Advisory Panel

The Council Leader and Caitriona McAuley provided an update on plans for the formation of an Expert Advisory Panel to advise and challenge the implementation of the CWB strategy and the work of the Commission in the delivery phase of CWB. Amongst other areas, the Panel will offer specific expertise on Plural Ownership.

It was agreed that a group of Expert Advisors was a sensible approach but how we meaningfully engage with the Panel moving forward will be important.

6. Ayrshire Growth Deal CWB Project Update

Julie McLachlan provided an update on the AGD CWB project. The update noted that an Outline Business Case (OBC) was submitted to Scottish Government in January 2020, with feedback from across relevant Scottish Government policy areas received and a revised OBC submitted in March 2020. It was noted that the Scottish Government are very enthusiastic about the project and a number of other regions are in touch to learn more.

Discussion covered the following areas:

• Moving forward we would look to sign up partners across the Ayrshire Regional Economic Partnership (REP).
• It is important the principles of CWB apply across all of the total £251 million Growth Deal.
• This approach has to be embedded across Ayrshire and that CWB is Ayrshire’s unique selling point.

7. Priorities for Next Meeting

The priorities for the next meeting were agreed by the Commission as:

• Feedback from the CWB Summit.
• Update the Commission on moving to delivery stage of CWB strategy and how additional resources will be utilised.
• The meeting’s focus would be on Land and Assets pillar and regeneration.
• Update on the development and appointment of an Expert Advisory Panel.

It was agreed moving forward each Commission meeting would cover a specific CWB pillar.

8. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 23rd June 2020.

Present

• Councillor Joe Cullinane, Council Leader (Chair)
• Councillor Marie Burns
• Councillor Alex Gallagher
• Councillor Robert Foster
• Craig Hatton, Chief Executive
• Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place)
• Audrey Sutton, Interim Executive Director (Communities)
• Catriona McAuley (Lead Officer – CWB Commission)
• David Hammond, Interim Head of Service (Commercial)
• Rhona Arthur, Interim Head of Service (Connected Communities)
• Mark Boyd, Head of Service (Financial and Customer Services)
• Ian McMeekin (Scottish Fire and Rescue)
• Chief Inspector Brian Shaw (Police Scotland)
• Barbara Hastings (The Ayrshire Community Trust)
• Lynne McNiven (NHS Ayrshire and Arran) (substitute for John Burns)
• Angela Little, Committee Services Officer (Minutes)
• Pamela Gilbert, Secretary (Place) (Minutes)

Secretariat

• Julie McLachlan, Senior Manager Economic Policy

In Attendance

• Laura Worku, Scottish Government (Observer)
• Rachel Kelly, Scottish Government (Observer)

Apologies

• John Burns, NHS Ayrshire and Arran (Lynne McNiven substituting)
• Michael Breen (Ayrshire College)
• Fiona Walker, Head of Service (People and Transformation)
• Yvonne Baulk, Head of Service (Physical Environment)
• Stephen Brown, Director of North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership
• Mark Newlands, Scottish Enterprise

1. Welcome and Apologies for Absence

The Chair noted the apologies submitted and welcomed the representatives from the Scottish Government to the meeting.

2. Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2019 were approved.

3. Update on CWB Activities

The Leader of the Council and Caitriona McAuley, Lead Officer CWB Commission, provided a presentation on Community Wealth Building activities to date and highlighted:

• The draft Strategy has been developed and will be discussed today, and the significant national and international interest in our approach
• Further positive discussions with the Scottish Government on the £3m Ayrshire Growth Deal project
• The Leader and officers presented at several conferences and learning events
• Peer learning from international experts including the Democracy Collaborative
• An overview of the Commission procurement meeting and actions (minutes shared under AOB) were shared and partners were invited to nominate a Procurement Lead to Chair a Short-Life working group that would take forward key actions agreed, supported by the Council
• CWB workshop took place at Council’s Staff Leadership Conference to introduce CWB to Managers and enable Managers to feed into the Strategy and positive feedback that had been received
• The introduction of a new key steps to the Council’s Quick Quote procurement process that have increased opportunities for local businesses
• Elected Member Training took place in December 2019 and an eLearning video on CWB has been produced for Elected Members. Looking to share the video with partners once the technological issues are resolved
• The next steps include working with our local and regional anchors via the CWB

Commission to deliver bold ambitions and build on relationships with thought leaders and networks including the consideration of an Expert Advisory Panel that would provide guidance to the Commission and direction on the activity being developed.

The Commission agreed that:

a) the CPP partners would consider if their Procurement Lead could volunteer to lead a short-life working group to take forward actions from the workshop with support from NAC

b) the CWB learning video, or other CWB training opportunities could be shared more widely with department to promote understanding of CWB to a range of staff.

4. Developing a CWB Strategy for North Ayrshire: Discussion on Draft Strategy

The report presented the first draft of the North Ayrshire CWB Strategy for discussion and feedback, providing an overview of the engagement underway and the next steps for the strategy development process.

Discussion took place on the following areas:

• As part of consultation, we should ensure that young people have the opportunity to contribute
• Importance of engagement with communities in the production of the strategy to ensure ownership
• An annual report on progress will show the impact of the actions and identify what works – the strategy will evolve over its lifetime; however it will focus on deliverables and align resource to this in the early years of the strategy
• The need to build on previous work on plural ownership and ensure this is embedded, this will be done through engagement with policy experts
• The need to demonstrate the economic and social impact of increased local procurement spend
• TACT are keen to support this work by promoting it through their Senior Officers Group and local forums and will also demonstrate the impact of social enterprises
• Importance of building on work underway to align with municipalisation opportunities – municipalisation as a component of CWB that presents economic opportunity
• The input of the Integration Joint Board (IJB) to ensure whole system approach
• Link to longer term prevention agenda including the health and crime, and a whole system approach placing emphasis on a wellbeing economy
• The idea of a CWB summit to launch the strategy should progress and this will be opportunity to get commitment and buy in from a range of groups including business, young people and wider anchors
• The case studies bring out what CWB means in practice and aligns work already underway with the strategy

The Commission agreed:

a) that the final draft strategy is presented to the Commission in March 2020

b) further engagement will take place with the IJB

c) that further discussions take place with participation and contribution of young people

d) that an strategy Annual Progress Report be provided to the Commission, including progress of individual actions

e) a CWB Summit is organised to promote the ambitions of the strategy.

5. Ayrshire Growth Deal CWB Project Update

Julie McLachlan, Senior Manager (Economic Policy) provided a presentation on the Ayrshire Growth Deal CWB Project which included:

• Background information on the Heads of Terms for the Ayrshire Growth Deal
• The approach to programme design that has taken an evidence-based approach to project development, utilising the findings of two key reports exploring CWB and inclusive growth at local and regional levels
• The aim of the project – to develop an Ayrshire Community Wealth Building approach that enhances wealth, ensures fair and meaningful work and creates successful places throughout the region
• Proposals for CWB Business Locality Officers, Fair Work Ayrshire and CWB Fund were outlined
• The project includes a wider policy ask of the Scottish Government to explore how national body and agency spend can be used to support regional economies, particularly fragile regions, and help to achieve an inclusive economy
• The next steps which include a second CWB discussion with REP and the submission of the outline Business Case to the Scottish Government in February 2020.

The Commission agreed to note:

a) the informative presentation

b) this should be aligned with NHS Ayrshire and Arran Caring for Ayrshire programme

c) that Professor Alan McGregor’s AGD Inclusive Grown Action Plan would be circulated once it had been finalised with the Growth Deal PMO.

6. Priorities for Next Meeting

The priorities for the next meeting were agreed by the Commission as:

• Finalisation of the Strategy
• Move ahead with identifying a CPP lead to take forward the Short-Life Working Group on procurement, supported by NAC and reporting to the Commission
• Agree arrangements for a CWB Summit to launch the strategy
• Update on the development and appointment of an Expert Advisory Board.

7. Any Other Competent Business

7.1 Note of CPP/CWB Commission Procurement Workshop

The note of the Community Wealth Building Procurement Workshop that took place on 28 November 2019 was provided and outlined the purpose of the workshop, the workshop discussion that took place, the five actions agreed and that the emerging findings being considered as part of the CWB strategy development. The workshop was attended by a range of officers from the Council and representatives from Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Services, NHS Ayrshire and Arran Health Board, Scottish Enterprise, Ayrshire College, and Ayrshire Community Trust.

Noted.

7.2 Note from NAC Staff Leadership Conference

The report provided a summary of the CWB workshop feedback from the NAC Leadership Conference on 22 November 2019. Several common themes and issues that emerged were identified as priorities for further investigation or action and were detailed in the report under thematic headings for inclusion within the draft Strategy.

Noted.

7.3 NHS Health Scotland Paper on the Impact of Paying the Living Wage in North Ayrshire

A briefing paper on the impact of paying the real living wage to all working adults in North Ayrshire was provided.

Noted.

8. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 12 March 2020.

The meeting ended at 11.50am.

1. Welcome

Councillor Joe Cullinane, Chair of the Commission, welcomed participants to the first meeting of the Commission.

2. Attendance and apologies

• Councillor Joe Cullinane (North Ayrshire Council Leader) (Chair)
• Councillor Marie Burns (North Ayrshire Council)
• Councillor Alex Gallagher (North Ayrshire Council)
• Councillor Robert Foster (North Ayrshire Council)
• Craig Hatton (North Ayrshire Council Chief Executive)
• Ian McMeekin (Scottish Fire and Rescue)
• Michael Breen (Ayrshire College)
• Chief Inspector Brian Shaw (Police Scotland)
• Mark Newlands (Scottish Enterprise)
• Barbara Hastings (The Ayrshire Community Trust)
• Lynne McNiven, Joint Director of Public Health (NHS Ayrshire and Arran) (Substitute for John Burns)
• Catriona McAuley (North Ayrshire Council) (Lead Officer - CWB Commission)
• Audrey Sutton (North Ayrshire Council)
• Fiona Walker (North Ayrshire Council)
• David Hammond (North Ayrshire Council)
• Yvonne Baulk (North Ayrshire Council)
• Stephen Brown (North Ayrshire Council)
• Rhona Arthur (North Ayrshire Council)
• Commission Secretariat
• Julie McLachlan (North Ayrshire Council)
• Andrew Noble (North Ayrshire Council)

Also in Attendance

• Neil McInroy (CLES)
• David Burch (CLES)

Apologies

• John Burns (NHS Ayrshire and Arran Chief Executive)
• Mark Boyd (North Ayrshire Council)

3. Purpose of the Commission: Role and terms of reference

Councillor Cullinane set out the background to the Commission and highlighted some of the earlier work which had led up to the establishment of the Commission. He noted that the Commission’s job would be about turning words into action and that the membership of the Commission may be extended in the future to include those on a ‘participation by experience’ basis. The Commission agreed the remit of the Community Wealth Building (CWB) Commission which had been included in the papers.

4. CLES North Ayrshire Diagnostic Report

Councillor Cullinane introduced Neil McInroy, Chief Executive of CLES (Centre for Local Economic Strategies). North Ayrshire Council had commissioned CLES to undertake a local wealth building diagnostic report examining where North Ayrshire could take forward a CWB approach to improve the local economy. Neil gave a presentation on the context and background of Community Wealth Building. The focus of the presentation was on the five pillars of CWB and the related recommendations, 21 in total, contained in the diagnostic report. The diagnostic report also considered the potential for the £3 million funded Ayrshire Growth Deal (AGD) Community Wealth Building Fund project. The AGD project was described as an opportunity with real potential to influence the wider Ayrshire Growth Deal with the principle of Community Wealth Building through market analysis of supply, a community benefits framework and CWB weighting within procurement.

Following the presentation, Councillor Cullinane invited questions and comments from the Commission membership. There was discussion on:

• The need for early discussions around procurement and the national constraints faced by the NHS, Police and Fire and Rescue services. What can be done to support greater local procurement from national frameworks. Medical procurement and health was cited as a potential opportunity.
• The need to prioritise actions and allocate and align resources around the key recommendations contained in the report. Explore how we link this with pan Ayrshire work, and the whole AGD programme.
• There will be some recommendations that are longer term, for example a Community Bank, but other things we can begin right away and make quick wins.
• Important to align the work around CWB with the legislative framework- specifically the Child Poverty Act and the duty it places on Councils and NHS Health Boards to report annually on what they are doing to tackle and address child poverty in their areas.
• What success looks like for CWB, particularly in relation to the social economy and the need for it to be different to old approaches. It was stressed that CWB was not more of the same and that is was a different, disruptive approach to economic development.
• Workforce and demographic challenges in Ayrshire were cited and the importance of workforce planning and developing a skills pipeline to meet emerging demands - underpinning this with fair work principles. It was noted that there needs to be AGD skills planning right away.
• Risk that CWB was a top down approach. Need to ensure we find out our communities CWB ambitions. Noted NAC’s Participatory City work and need for wider participatory democracy. Need to ensure a culture and approach change rather than a series of initiatives.
• The importance of women in this agenda, and that any transformation of the economy must have the role of women as a central feature through the fair work agenda.
• Measurement of success noted as important can develop an analytical framework that sets out the outcomes you want to achieve and measure this.
• Are there conditions around college funding that could help advance CWB, for example how do you train workers to be owners.
• Questions around the balance that exists, or needs to be struck in relation to municipalisation and the potential move to “in-housing” of services compared to local procurement activity.
• A locality focus to advance CWB can be more relational.
• What do we mean by local, how big or how small can this approach be taken in terms of place? Is there an optimum size for this approach, for example, locality/local/regional?
• The Ayrshire third sector Chief Officers are keen to discuss CWB further with NA and have invited a speaker to their upcoming conference.
• The need to review anchor spend and define what is leaking and what can be influenced.
• Need evidence of where this is already working for local authorities. Some North Ayrshire activity could already fall under the CWB banner for example the transfer of land to communities.

5. Roundtable discussion of Diagnostic Report, key findings and recommendations

Councillor Cullinane introduced the roundtable discussion of the report’s key findings and recommendations. The Commission had been provided with several questions to act as a guide for their discussion. These were:

• What are your organisation’s CWB ambitions?
• Considering the report, what should be the CWB priorities for North Ayrshire?
• Where are there opportunities for partnership working the findings and recommendations?

The key points of the discussion were as follows:

• Need to be ambitious with this agenda. Key task would be prioritisation and resourcing of a strategy and action plan. Appetite to engage on a pan-Ayrshire basis regarding CWB, the NAC Chief Executive will discuss this with EAC and SAC.
• An immediate action could be a dedicated CWB officer. Could this be on a pan-Ayrshire basis.
• Scottish Enterprise had part funded work by Professor Alan McGregor on an Inclusive Growth Action Plan for the Ayrshire Growth Deal, as a way of building an inclusive economy approach into the Growth Deal from the outset. There is a synergy between the work undertaken by Professor McGregor and the work around CWB. The relevant elements of this report, which makes recommendations for the full Deal, will be used to inform the AGD CWB Fund.
• Importance of community economic development to ensure the Ayrshire Growth Deal is a success.
• Discussion about the importance, opportunities and challenges presented to partners by the procurement element of CWB. For instance the barriers that exist to increasing local purchasing for partners organisations with centralised and national procurement functions. Should focus on defining what we want to do and find ways of doing it. Any national asks should be linked to child poverty targets.
• It was suggested that there should be a workshop on procurement and CWB via the Community Planning Partnership (CPP) senior officer’s group. Agreed that senior officers and their key procurement contacts from partner organisations attend this workshop to address the key issues and opportunities. Focus of workshop will be to: analyse current local spend, what flexibilities are there to allow more local procurement, opportunities for collaboration.
• Could CLES work with partners to develop an Anchor Charter agreement.
• There will need to be legal advice regarding recommendation 7 on community benefits.
• There are often national programmes, for example around supplier development, which have good intentions, but these are not Ayrshire based.
• The diagnostic has taken place for NAC but need as assessment of where other Commission/CPP organisations are placed.

Action: Andrew Noble to organise a CWB procurement workshop via the CPP senior officer’s group, in advance of the next Commission meeting in December.

Action: A North Ayrshire strategy and action plan will be agreed Spring 2020.

6. Ayrshire Growth Deal CWB Fund: An Update

Julie McLachlan presented on the development of the £3 million Community Wealth Building Fund project, which is part of the Ayrshire Growth Deal Heads of Terms. North Ayrshire Council is leading on this regional project, working collaboratively with colleagues from East and South Ayrshire and with Scottish Government.

An update on the background to the project and the development of the project to date was provided. Emerging proposals around the project were outlined, including:

• A regional approach to working with public and private sector anchor institutions to:
• Work within localities to facilitate CWB activities on procurement, employment, assets and ownership.
• Promote Fair Work practices and position Ayrshire as a Fair Work region.
• Support and fund CWB activities including social enterprises, employee ownership and procurement collaboration activities.
• Encourage and support anchors, and wider AGD projects leads, to ensure their procurement practices and community benefits approach align to wider Ayrshire inclusive growth, community wealth building and locality priorities.

Julie added that the project was being developed with a view for it to be agreed and signed off by the Scottish Government by the end of the year.

The discussion following the presentation focused on:

• A suggestion that Elected Members are provided with a briefing and update on the work being done on Community Wealth Building.
• Concern that City and Growth Deals had not traditionally focused on addressing child poverty and the AGD has to be different. A measurement framework has to pay attention to this.
• Should explore if there need to be asks of Scottish Government to flex anchor institution spend.

Action: Economic Policy officers to organise an Elected Member briefing event on Community Wealth Building.

Action: A project update will be provided to the next Commission meeting in December.

7. AOB

The Chair asked if there was any further business. It was suggested that here may be potential opportunities in terms of combined spending power across the partners for purchasing utilities and so on. The Commission asked that presentations were shared. CLES offered to play a role moving forward where appropriate including facilitating meetings and training.

Action: Secretariat to share presentations.

8. Date of next meeting

Tuesday 3rd December 2019, Cunninghame House.