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Meeting Details

Economy & Jobs Policy Board
23 Mar 2016 - 13:00 to 14:00
  • Documents
  • Attendance
  • Visitors
  • Declarations of Interests

Documents

Agenda

Agenda
Notification
Standard Items
Further Information
This is a meeting which is open to members of the public. 

A copy of the agenda and reports for this meeting will be available for inspection prior to the meeting at the Customer Service Centre, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley and online at www.renfrewshire.cmis.uk.com/renfrewshire/CouncilandBoards.aspx

For further information, please either email
democratic-services@renfrewshire.gov.uk or telephone 0141 618 7112.
Members of the Press and Public
Members of the press and public wishing to attend the meeting should report to the customer service centre where they will be met and directed to the meeting.
PRESENT
Councillors Caldwell, Cameron, Glen, Provost Hall and Councillors Harte, Holmes, Hood, Lawson, K MacLaren, Nicolson and J Sharkey.
CHAIR
Councillor Glen, Convener, presided.
IN ATTENDANCE
K Graham, Head of Corporate Governance, D Forbes, Finance Manager, V Howie, Finance Business Partner (Development & Housing Services) and A McNaughton, Senior Committee Services Officer (all Finance & Resources); A Morrison, Head of Regeneration and R Cooper, Economic Development Manager (both Development & Housing Services).
Items Of Business
Apologies
Apologies from members.
Councillors McCartin and Mullin.
Declarations of Interest
Members are asked to declare an interest in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest.
There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to commencement of the meeting.
Joint report by the Directors of Finance & Resources and Development & Housing Services.
1
There was submitted a joint revenue budget monitoring report by the Directors of Finance & Resources and Development & Housing Services for the period 1 April 2015 to 8 January 2016. The report advised that there had been no budget realignments processed since the previous meeting.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.
Report by the Director of Finance & Resources.
2
There was submitted a capital budget monitoring report by the Director of Finance & Resources for the period 1 April 2015 to 8 January 2016.

DECIDED: That the report be noted.
Report by the Director of Development & Housing Services.
3
There was submitted a report by the Director of Development & Housing Services relative to the Service Improvement Plan 2016/19 for Development & Housing Services (the Plan). The report intimated that the Plan outlined the strategic priorities, and included an action plan and a scorecard of performance indicators to be used to monitor progress. A copy of the Plan was attached as an appendix to the report.

Progress to deliver the Plan would be monitored and reported to this Board on a six-monthly basis to allow the Board to review progress. The report detailed what Development & Housing Services aimed to achieve over the next three years which would contribute to the Community Plan/Council Plan themes and these were summarised within the report.

DECIDED:

(a) That the 2016/19 Service Improvement Plan for Development & Housing Services, as appended to the report, be approved; and

(b) That it be agreed that an update on the progress made to implement the 2016/19 Service Improvement Plan be submitted to the Board in November 2016.
Report by the Director of Development & Housing Services.
4
There was submitted an update report by the Director of Development & Housing Services relative to the listed buildings at risk in Paisley and Renfrewshire in comparison to other towns and cities. The report outlined the approach being taken by the Council to highlighting buildings at risk as opportunities for positive enhancement of communities and set out comparisons with buildings at risk in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth, Stirling, Aberdeen and Inverness.




DECIDED: That the report and the pro-active approach being taken by the Council to promote buildings at risk as opportunities for positive enhancement of Renfrewshire’s communities be noted.
Report by the Director of Development & Housing Services.
5
There was submitted a report by the Director of Development & Housing Services relative to activity to deliver the 2015/16 Opportunities for All Grant from the Scottish Government and the new grant provided for 2016/17.

The report provided an overview of activity delivered in partnership by the Employability Team and funded by the Opportunities for All programme to ensure that all 16 – 19 year olds in Renfrewshire who were not in education, training or employment had an offer of a place in further education and training and listed the achievements during 2015/16. The report highlighted that the Council had secured funding of £130,510 to continue to deliver this programme during 2016/17 including a focus on young people who were still at school but intended to leave within the next 6 months.

DECIDED:

(a) That the delivery of the Opportunities for All programme and the outcomes achieved during 2015/16 be noted;

(b) That the grant allocation of £130,510 to deliver the programme during 2016/17 be noted; and

(c) That it be noted that an update report on delivery of the 2016/17 Opportunities for All programme would be submitted to a future meeting of this Board.
Report by the Director of Development & Housing Services.
6
There was submitted an update report by the Director of Development & Housing Services relative to labour market statistics for Renfrewshire as at 31 January 2016 and providing comparisons, where data was available, with Scottish and UK labour markets.

The report intimated that in January 2016, 2230 people (2%) in Renfrewshire were claiming JSA and while this was slightly higher than the Scottish and UK average, it represented a significant fall from 2.9% at the same time last year. The reduction in youth unemployment from 4.1% in January 2015 to 1.7% in January 2016 had been one of the biggest across Scotland. Youth unemployment was, for the fifth month in a row, lower than both the Scottish and UK average.

DECIDED: That the report and the year-on-year improvement to the unemployment figures across Renfrewshire be noted.





Report by the Director of Development & Housing Services.
7
There was submitted a report by the Director of Development & Housing Services relative to an invitation for the Leader of the Council to attend and speak at an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conference in Venice, Italy on 18 – 19 April 2016. The OECD would meet travel and associated costs of attendance.

The report explained that the Council had engaged with the OECD whilst exploring best practice in heritage and cultural-led regeneration across Europe in order to deliver the Paisley Town Centre Heritage Asset Strategy by capitalising on the world-class standard of Paisley’s built and cultural heritage to drive the economic and social regeneration of Renfrewshire.

DECIDED:

(a) That the Leader of the Council be authorised to accept the invitation from the OECD to attend the conference on Creativity, Jobs and Local Development taking place in Venice, Italy on 18 – 19 April 2016; and

(b) That it be noted that travel and associated costs would be met by the OECD.

Declarations of Interests

Member NameItem Ref.DetailsNature of DeclarationAction
No declarations of interest have been entered for this meeting.

Visitors

Visitor Information is not yet available for this meeting