Report by Director of Children's Services.
15
There was submitted a report by the Director of Children’s Services relative to the Community Justice Renfrewshire Annual Report 2020/21, a copy of the template for which, was appended to the report.
The report advised that the Renfrewshire Community Justice Outcomes Improvement Plan (CJOIP) 2018/21, published on 1 April 2018, had outlined how the Community Justice Renfrewshire Partnership would reduce re-offending locally. The document also highlighted key local priorities, which had been identified through needs assessment and interaction with stakeholders and national priorities which required to be reported against and were contained within the National Strategy for Community Justice and the Outcomes, Performance and Improvement Framework.
The report indicated that Renfrewshire’s CJOIP had been due to be updated by April 2021, however in recognition of the impact of the pandemic on taking forward actions, it had been agreed by Community Justice Scotland (CJS) that Plans due for submission in 2021 could continue until 31 December 2021. During May 2021, the Scottish Government (SG) and CJS had issued a joint statement in relation to the review of the National Strategy for Community Justice and Review of the Outcomes, Performance, and Improvement Framework. This was planned for March 2022. Given that local authorities required to review their CJOIPs after the publication of these frameworks it had been advised that it was pragmatic for local authorities in this position to delay publication. On that basis it was proposed that Renfrewshire utilised this time to develop its CJOIP for 2022/25.
The Community Justice Renfrewshire Annual Report, covering the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, required to be published and submitted to Community Justice Scotland by 15 October 2021. The template for the annual report had been produced by Community Justice Scotland to assist local partnerships to capture a range of data in a way that allowed local partners to highlight key aspects of community justice activities, outcomes and improvements over the specified period without it being onerous or time/resource demanding. It was highlighted that meeting operational demands and statutory requirements during the pandemic had been prioritised by services to manage risk and meet need and that the post of Renfrewshire Council’s Lead Officer for Community Justice had been vacant since September 2020, creating challenges in co-ordinating community justice activities.
DECIDED:
(a) That the Reporting Template for the Community Justice Renfrewshire Annual Report 2020/21, a copy of which was appended to the report, be approved;
(b) That it be noted that the Community Justice Renfrewshire Annual Report Template 2019/20 required to be published by 15 October 2021 and thereafter submitted to Community Justice Scotland;
(c) That the Criminal Justice Services Manager be authorised to make minimal
changes to the report if required, prior to publication; and
(d) That it be agreed that the Renfrewshire Community Justice Outcomes Improvement Plan for 2018/21, be updated in March 2022, for 2022/25 following the review of the National Strategy for Community Justice and Outcomes, Performance and Improvement Framework.