In the absence of Councillor Glen it was agreed that Mary Crearie chair the meeting.

Councillor Lawson, Renfrewshire Council; B Grant, Chamber of Commerce; J Burns, DWP; S Graham, Engage Renfrewshire; M Crearie and R Cooper, both Renfrewshire Council; S Clocherty and H Cunningham, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership; N Shields, Scottish Enterprise; M Gilligan, Skills Development Scotland; M Dunn, University of the West of Scotland; and A Dick, West College Scotland.

M Foley, UWS; A Armstrong-Walter, Y Farquhar and C MacDonald, all Renfrewshire Council.

M Crearie advised that she proposed to alter the order of business to facilitate the conduct of the meeting by considering item 3 of the agenda after item 4 and item 9 of the agenda after item 3.

Councillor Glen, Renfrewshire Council; I McLean, Renfrewshire Forum for Empowering our Communities; A Morrison, Renfrewshire Council; and J Binning, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.

There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to commencement of the meeting.

There was submitted the Minutes of the Jobs & the Economy Thematic Board held on 16 November, 2015, and the Joint Meeting between Children & Young People Thematic Board and Jobs & the Economy Thematic Board  held on 17 November, 2015.

DECIDED:  That the Minutes be approved.

The Rolling Action Log was submitted for approval.

J&E.27.03.13(1.5ii); J.E. 09.01.14(6); and J&E.27.03.13(2.3iii)
As these actions were complete it was agreed that they be removed from the action log.

DECIDED: 

(a)  That it be agreed that completed actions J&E.27.03.13(1.5ii); J.E. 09.01.14(6); and J&E.27.03.13(2.3iii) be removed from the Rolling Action Log; and

(b)  That the Rolling Action Log be approved.

The Vice Principal for Learning and Teaching and Executive Dean of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the West of Scotland addressed the Board and gave a brief overview of the University merger; detailed statistics relating to foreign and UK students attending the University; highlighted the vision for the University and the part the University would play in the regeneration of Paisley and Renfrewshire as a whole; and presented an insight into the opportunities, pitfalls and requirements to lead a 21st century University.

DECIDED:  That the presentation be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Economic Development Manager, West College Scotland which advised that the College had submitted a bid to deliver a number of Regional Partnership Foundation Apprenticeship Pathfinders in 2016/18 in partnership with Renfrewshire Schools, Renfrewshire Council and Employers. 

The report indicated that the contract would be awarded in late January/early February 2016 and if successful, delivery would commence in August 2016.

DECIDED: 

(a)  That the report be noted; and

(b)  That a progress update report would be submitted to a future meeting of the Board.

There was submitted a report by the Economic Development Manager, Development & Housing Services relative to Youth Employment.

The report advised that since the launch of Invest in Renfrewshire in 2012, youth employment levels in Renfrewshire had increased by over 50% and youth unemployment had fallen by over 80%. Due to this success, it was proposed that the Council aim to further reduce youth unemployment and strive to eliminate structural unemployment for young people in Renfrewshire. The report indicated that the Council, via the Employability Services, would focus on supporting unemployed young people into work within the first six months of being unemployed. An allocation of £2.1 million of Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) funding had previously been reported to the Board to support youth employment programmes across Renfrewshire to 2018. An outline proposal to increase the YEI funding in Renfrewshire to £5,030,253.40 over three years had been received on 6 January 2016, and would enable existing Council budgets for youth employment through Invest in Renfrewshire and mainstream Economic Development funding to be matched. The funding request had been approved and an acceptance of grant signed by the Chief Executive. This funding would be used to assist in supporting the Council’s ambitions to further reduce youth unemployment until June 2018.

DECIDED:

(a)  That the current youth employment levels and the significant increase in youth employment in Renfrewshire over the last three years be noted;
 
(b)  That it be agreed that Renfrewshire Council should introduce an initiative to further reduce youth unemployment and strive to eliminate structural unemployment for young people in Renfrewshire;

(c)   That it be agreed that a partnership group be established across the CPP to take this forward; and

(d)   That it be agreed that further updates on progress for this area of service provision be provided to the Board on a regular basis.

There was submitted a report by the Economic Development Manager, West College Scotland relative to an update on EU Funding for Renfrewshire 2015/20 - Agreement on Funding Proposals for the Renfrewshire CPP Area.  The report advised that funding had now been confirmed and training had commenced.  The report also provided details on the additional full time places supported by the funding.

DECIDED:  That the report be noted.

A verbal update was given by Bob Grant, Chief Executive of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce on the activities of the Chamber.

It was noted that:

• Bob Davidson was now in post as Programme Director of Developing the Young Workforce - West Region;

• A Living Wage event was to be held on 17 February 2016 at West College Scotland;

• The B2B event would be held on 8/9 June 2016 at the Lagoon Leisure Centre.  The Conference would take place on 9 June 2016 in the Brough Hall, UWS;

• As part of the Tackling Poverty Programme, funding had now been approved for the Skills Ambassador Programme to be rolled out to Secondary Schools within Renfrewshire.  The programme would be much more substantial and would cover S2, S4 and S6 pupils;

• Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce was the lead organisation for the Partnership & Business Engagement Workstream as part of the Executive Group for Paisley 2021.  The aim of the group was to engage the assistance of partners and businesses to deliver a successful Bid for Paisley.

DECIDED:  That the verbal update be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Head of Regeneration, Renfrewshire Council which provided a summary of the various regeneration activities currently being taken forward in and around Paisley Town Centre. It was noted that since the last update report a number of key milestones had been reached on projects such as City Deal, the bid for City of Culture 2021, the Outline Business Case for the Paisley Museum redevelopment.

DECIDED:  That the report be noted.

The Strategic Lead Officer (Tackling Poverty & Welfare Reform) gave a presentation relative to an update on the Tackling Poverty Strategy and Action Plan.

The presentation gave a brief overview of what had been achieved to date; outlined some key facts from the Tackling Poverty Programme; drew special attention to the Tackling Poverty outcomes and the significant progress towards the three key pledges; and highlighted the need for well-designed sustainable neighbourhoods and how organisations should work.

DECIDED: That the presentation be noted.

A verbal update was given by the Economic Development Manager, Development & Housing Services relative to a report which was being prepared which sought approval to apply for Scottish Living Wage Accreditation under the scheme organised by the Poverty Alliance in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation.

She intimated that the report would detail the activities across the Council that supported the payment of the Living Wage across Renfrewshire, including the promotion of a Living Wage Campaign to promote the benefits of the Living Wage to employers in Renfrewshire; encouraging tenderers to pay the Living Wage; and applying for Living Wage accreditation.

It was noted that as part of the campaign an event would be held by Invest in Renfrewshire on 17 February 2016 for employers to promote the benefits of paying the Living Wage.

DECIDED:  That the verbal updated be noted.

There was submitted a newsletter by Economic Development which provided an overview of employment activity and economic development in Renfrewshire at the end of October 2015.

The newsletter illustrated the Renfrewshire labour market position and advised how Renfrewshire fared in comparison to the rest of the country. It also included a brief summary of the progress made to date by the Council’s Invest in Renfrewshire Programme and Business Gateway Programme and provided information on wider economic development activity across Renfrewshire.

DECIDED: That the newsletter be noted.