How Good Is Our Service - April 2024

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Voids performance has dropped in April to 79% from 84% in March and is below our target of 85%. There has been an increase in the number of properties requiring extensive works which has impacted on our turnaround times and resource levels have dropped in the month which has also negatively impacted on performance. Our focus remains on improving performance in this area.

Property Maintenance have achieved our target of 100% for Gas Servicing in April with 324 properties serviced in the month. We continue to achieve our target each month and we are confident this will continue throughout the remainder of the year.

Kitchen, Bathroom, Heating and Roofing upgrade programmes are ongoing, and progress continues in carrying out reactive and refurbishment works across the education and non-housing stock, with decoration works ongoing across the school estate.

A revised school lunch menu was implemented at the start of the new term in August and feedback will be requested to shape future menu changes. Action plans continue to be reviewed and recommendations implemented to improve uptake in lower performing schools.
The uptake of free school meals in Primary schools for the month of April was below target and lower than previous months. A system issue was highlighted in a particular school which resulted with meal information not recorded and this negatively impacted on the overall uptake reporting during this period. The issue was investigated and resolved to ensure accurate reporting is achieved next period. We continue to focus on schools not achieving the set target. The target for free school meals was achieved in Secondary schools.

The Service continues to work with suppliers to source alternative food products, ensuring the menu complies with the revised regulations and meets all nutritional standards.

The service was awarded the Food For Life Served Here Bronze Award in December 2022 for Primary schools and Early Years settings received this award in February 24. Following the annual review process for Primary schools, our award status was renewed and we continue to work with the Soil Association to achieve the Silver award status.     

The Estates service has robust measures in place to monitor performance with regards gas safety compliance across the Operational Estate. Officers continue to progress reactive repairs across the Education and Operational Estate, with over 150-200 repairs processed on average every month through Property Maintenance or our external contractors. The roof replacement/repair at Hilton Depot has been completed following significant storm damage to the main building and workshop roofs. The depot is now fully operational with all areas accessible. A programme of repair work to Milngavie PS, including gutter clearance, roof repairs and internal works were completed over the Easter Holidays with all remaining works being completed over the summer period.

All internal and external defibrillators have now been installed across the educational estate as well as within specific operational properties.  18 external defibrillators have also been installed across the corporate estate, with these now registered on the national ‘Circuit’ and accessible to the general public.

Following the temporary closure of Bearsden Hub given the presence of RAAC, an agreement has been reached with St Andrew’s RC Church whereby they have made their toilets available for general use from Monday – Saturday until the Hub is re-opened.

The Quality Assurance team continue to inspect cleaning standards across the educational estate, with over 40 assets inspected and reports produced monthly. 

Estates Management continue to market vacant premises within the non-operational estate. At present the non-operational estate is over 92% occupied, with vacant suites in Southbank Marina and the Kirkintilloch Learning Centre 2 now being actively marketed by agents, DM Hall.

Officers continue to progress disposals with colleagues in Legal Services to ensure that capital receipts are delivered and ongoing liabilities i.e. non-domestic rates, utilities, security etc are reduced.

The Service continues to progress a wide range of capital projects both in pre-construction and construction phases. Works have now commenced to develop the Twechar Outdoor Pursuits Centre, with practical completion expected in Spring 2025.

Preparations remain underway to complete archaeological, topographical and detailed site investigations during the first half of 2024 to inform the further development of design proposals for the Westerhill Development Road. The project continues to progress through the design development phase with updated development costs expected in early Autumn 2024.

Detailed design development and the main contractor tender period is now complete at Balmuildy Primary School and a Stage 2 Report for the project, confirming the final tendered cost and seeking approval to commence the construction phase for the project will be considered by Council after the Summer recess.

Following confirmation of LEIP funding for the Lenzie Academy project, the project team has been re-mobilised and is now progressing through the early stages of the design development process. Council approved a Report seeking to commence the statutory Education consultation for the relocation of the school to the new site in March 2024 and this is now in progress. A Report on the outcome of the consultation period will be provided to Council in September 2024.

Development proposals for the next phase of the Council’s Affordable Housing Investment Programme are now progressing through RIBA Stage 3. The delivery of several areas of on-going capital investment across the Council’s existing Affordable Housing stock, including several significant measures to improve Housing Quality and Energy Efficiency are all now underway.

The Service continues to develop the next phase of a building decarbonisation strategy for the school estate, operational estate and for the existing affordable housing stock, with a variety of surveys, pilot projects and further feasibility reviews planned throughout the remainder of this and next financial year. In addition to this, several projects remain underway at various stages of the development process, including the final stages of a significant programme of boiler replacement across the Primary School estate; remedial works to address RAAC at Bearsden Hub; works to replace the staff bothy at Mavis Valley; redecoration across the primary school estate; and the refurbishment of Torrance Community Centre.

The Health and Safety team provides a range of occupational safety and health services, including advice on statutory guidance, safety action notices, safe working and training, incident reporting and investigation, including RIDDOR. The H&S Team worked cooperatively with Trade Union colleagues to review incidents statistics and cases and is now a monthly occurrence.

Throughout April, comprehensive health and safety assistance was provided to various services, conducting multiple site visits to provide expert guidance and address emerging issues, undertake reported incident investigations and assist with the completion of risk assessments. The team also provided a progress review of risk assessments and methods statements update for Streetscene and Greenspace.

Various teams received assistance through workplace and individual assessments in collaboration with HR colleagues. 

Occupational health remains focussed on Display Screen Equipment, workplace assessments and clinics for health surveillance. The service continues to support requests from various services across a range of activities. The team continues with a review of FM risk assessments and transition to a new EDC corporate template.

The service continues to support the delivery of training sessions across a range of topics including Duty Holder, UFAS, ladder safety, risk assessment and incident reporting. 

Throughout the month of April fire risk assessments were conducted in accordance with the predetermined schedule. Officers continue to visit educational establishments to address any fire safety concerns and offer expert advice. In addition officers continue to work closely with Assets team in the installation of new fire doors across multiple schools.

• Achieved 100% compliance for Gas Servicing with focus on this continuing going forward.
• Kitchen, Bathroom, Central Heating and Roofing upgrade programmes ongoing with positive feedback being received from tenants across all contracts.
• Continue to monitor and improve void turnaround times with a view to maintaining and exceeding performance target.
• Assess and improve functionality of Total Mobile and the integration with Servitor to enable a more streamlined and efficient service.  Continue to monitor and increase levels of performance in non-emergency reactive repairs.
• Improve communications with customers and stakeholders to ensure the highest level of service delivery.
• Continue to utilise robust reporting mechanisms for enhanced performance and service delivery.
• Continue to carry out the installation of Smoke & Heat alarms for tenants and residents in East Dunbartonshire.
• Progress decoration works across school estate.
• 100% of Operational Assets requiring a Gas Safety check within the year’s anniversary of the previous check are completed.
• Schedule in the upcoming Gas Safety Checks, which are required during May and June with contractors.
• Improve uptake of nutritious school meals.
• Improve communications with customers and stakeholders to ensure the highest level of service delivery.
• Reduce FM overtime.
• Continue to promote reporting of health and safety incidents throughout the council and programme health and safety inspections of council workplaces.

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The Community Protection Service delivers on a broad statutory remit, with delivery measures centred on protecting public health and safety, well-being and consumer protection. During the course of April 2024, the service continued to engage in the local Co-Production arrangement with Police Scotland, with regular community harm and risk meetings being held to provide the focus for joint work and activity to protect local communities across the East Dunbartonshire area. The service also continued to develop intelligence led approaches for all areas of work in order to target local public health, community safety and consumer protection activity towards the areas of greatest need, risk and priority.

The Environmental Health Team was engaged in the delivery of essential public health services throughout the reporting period in order to protect the community from hazards in the environment and to regulate and facilitate the growth of responsible businesses. Service plans for the delivery of food safety and health and safety enforcement work were finalised and officers also started to deliver the planned programmes of inspection work that are scheduled for the 2024-25 period. In addition, officers provided responses on a number of planning applications and conducted multiple service request investigations in relation to public health concerns.

The Trading Standards Team was engaged in the delivery of essential consumer protection and licensing services to local consumers and businesses to maintain and protect a fair-trading environment in East Dunbartonshire. Activity in April included promotion of the East Dunbartonshire Trusted Trader Scheme, installation of call-blocking units in the homes of vulnerable residents, co-production investigations into rogue traders and management of day-to-day casework. Licensing Advisors provided business support and representation to the Licencing Board.  The Licensing Advisers and Trading Standards Officers in the team also continued to deliver reactive service request work along with project activity at a range of business premises across the area (including age restricted product sales monitoring).

The Community Safety Team continued to deliver a broad range of front-line work for the benefit of local communities during the course of the reporting period, working closely with a range of colleagues and key partners to successfully deliver appropriate interventions and to make our local communities safer. Officers from the team were engaged in the delivery of services in relation to community engagement/support, antisocial behaviour, youth disorder, neighbour disputes, environmental incivilities, dog control, decriminalised parking enforcement, fly-tipping, mediation, pest control and mobile CCTV. The Community Wardens have also been developing further links within the local communities they serve, getting involved in a number of initiatives and events that have been taking place across the Council area.

Our vaccination team had been working hard to make sure the community vaccination programme runs smoothly. Drawing from our past experiences with spring programmes, we’ve created detailed plans to guarantee the safe and effective delivery of the upcoming spring vaccination programme.

The team remain unwavering in their commitment to championing equality, diversity, and inclusion. They actively engage in collaborative efforts with local organisations to combat discrimination and support local organisation to enable everyone to feel part of the community, and all are respected for what they bring to the community. Notably significant progress has been made in the British Sign Language Plan consultation, with robust participation from both the D/deaf community and non-BSL community.  The consultation closes on 28 April 2024.

Round 1 of the 2024/25 Community Grant Scheme opened on 1 April and closed on 26 April 2024.  As part of the Community First Capacity Building Programme, two Funder Ready workshops were hosted in Milngavie Community Centre and at Hillhead Community Centre with participants from a range of local community organisations.

The team are making excellent progress in preparation for our upcoming Funder Fair on Tuesday 28 May from 5.00pm till 8.30 pm in New College Lanarkshire Campus, Kirkintilloch.  Ten funders have committed to hosting information stalls at our market space.  Participants will have the opportunity to attend our community first capacity building workshops, covering topics such as “All Things Financial, Social Impact Assessment and Becoming Funder Ready”.

In our approach which is rooted in community learning and development principles, our team continues to foster connections, increased engagement and community involvement in decision making processes.  Our focus remains particularly on those affected by inequalities, ensuring their voices are not only heard but are also actively incorporated to meet their needs.  Working in partnership with colleagues in Democratic Services, the team are spreading awareness about the voting requirements for UK Government elections.  Our aim is to eliminate barriers and empower individuals to participate in the electoral process.

To bolster the Community Learning and Development (CLD) agenda, our team coordinates and hosts frontline worker meetings.  These sessions serve to identify duplication or gaps in service provision, while also serving as a platform to identify potential partnership opportunities.

The team remain steadfast in advancing the resettlement agenda, working tirelessly to support individuals and families in their journey towards successful integration and self-autonomy, we achieve this by offering personalised case management approach tailored to the unique needs of displaced individuals.

Housing manages 3840 social rented properties; 3774 of these are mainstream accommodation and 66 are used for Homeless Temporary Accommodation. The service also manages 58 Lead Tenancies which are rented from either private landlords (37) or Housing Associations (21), to assist with accommodating homeless households.

At present, the Housing list for East Dunbartonshire has 2779 applications - made up of the following:

General Waiting list 2026 applicants waiting (27 currently on offer)

(Applicants who have somewhere to stay i.e., they are owner occupiers, a tenant of a private let, stay care of family etc. This queue allows the applicant to choose which area, house type etc they would like to move to).

Transfer waiting list  515 applicants (19 currently on offer)

(Council or Housing Association tenants who are looking to move to another Council or Housing Association property, either for a different size, or, for a different area. This queue allows the tenant to choose which area, house type etc. they would like to move to).
Priority waiting list   239 applicants (24 currently on offer)

(Homeless)

(Applicants who have no accommodation or will have nowhere to stay within the next 2 months. This queue does not allow the applicant to choose area or house type).

Priority waiting list   12 applicants (1 currently on offer)

(Urgent medical)

(Applicants who are unable to remain in their current home due to their medical condition. This queue allows the applicant to choose which area, house type etc. they would like to move to).

Within the month of April, 14 properties were allocated. 13 were mainstream properties and 1 was HRH-HRA (temp accommodation changed to mainstream use). 

13 were general need properties and 1 was sheltered accommodation. 

They were let to the following queues:

• 1 were let to applicants on the transfer queue.
• 4 were let to applicants on the general waiting list queue.
• 9 were let to applicants on the priority homeless queue.

Community Protection Service

Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Community Safety Teams

• Delivery of effective services on a flexible basis in order to meet all statutory requirements and duties in relation to public health, community safety, consumer protection and licensing enforcement matters.
• Delivery of local Co-Production activity between Community Protection and Police Scotland, with particular focus on effective tasking processes and the delivery of joint action plans and work to protect the communities of East Dunbartonshire.
• Delivery of Business Improvement Plan activity relating to Community Protection - actions being implemented in accordance with set targets in order to deliver effective services in line with relevant corporate outcomes and with positive performance being reported.
• Delivery of regulatory services that assist with economic recovery and that are designed to support local businesses and communities.
• Development and submission of annual grant requests to the Scottish Government for air quality resource funding.
• Review and update of council website content on Environmental Health themes to help inform the pubic and deliver efficient services.
• Delivery of further housing visits by the service to assess the suitability of properties to rehome refugees in East Dunbartonshire
• Multiple ongoing investigations into public health complaints with Environmental Health staff deployed throughout the district and visiting properties in the evenings and night to assist with complaints.
• Continued delivery of targeted patrols within our local communities aimed at tackling an increase in reports of low-level incivilities (particularly dog fouling and littering). 
• Delivery of interventions and appropriate outcomes for a number of young persons referred to the Early & Effective Intervention Group which is coordinated and chaired by the Community Safety Team.
• Community Wardens continue to attend local surgeries and community run events.  These events provide residents and members of the public the opportunity to speak directly (in confidence) with members of the Community Safety Team to report concerns, issues that they may be experiencing in their communities. 
• Continue to assist colleagues in Traffic & Transport and Police Scotland with the delivery of the Traffic Free School pilot which commenced in a number of our primary schools in November.
• Delivery of reactive service request work and targeted project work by the TS team throughout the reporting period in order to maintain local compliance with consumer protection legislation.
• Delivery of on-going workplan activity by Trading Standards to maintain local business compliance with legislative requirements relating to tobacco and nicotine vapour products.
• On-going promotion of the East Dunbartonshire Trusted Trader scheme through relevant channels, with the aim of attracting further local traders to join the scheme.
• Delivery of work by the Licensing Advisers in the TS Team to assess local compliance with licensing conditions.

Community Planning and Partnerships Team

• Continuation of targeted community development support through our delivery programmes to our place areas and targeted communities of interest, supporting our local organisations to be resilient, compliant, and strong, whilst supporting maximising funding opportunities.
• Round 1 of 2024/25 Community Grant Scheme is open with excellent interest from a range of community organisations applying.
• Support the corporate delivery of the equality’s agenda with focus on British Sign Language Plan, Mainstreaming Equalities Outcomes, Armed Forces Covenant, Violence Against Women, and Gaelic Language Plan s.
• The team are actively engaged in collaboration with stakeholders and partners to deliver priorities of our Locality Plans within our Place Areas.
• Reflect on the Winter Connections Programme, and identify learning and opportunities to embed within programme of delivery within the team.
• Continue to deliver Pockets, Places and Prosperity programmes in Auchinairn, Hillhead and Harestanes.

• Support Empowered to create an interactive and engaging 16 Days of Action campaign 2024 to raise awareness of domestic abuse, enabling increased understanding of how to report and where individuals can access support.
• The vaccination venue of Merkland School in Kirkintilloch is operating well. Milngavie Town Hall also continues to be used for vaccination programmes.

Housing Operations – Estates

• 11 new anti-social cases received.
• 7 open anti-social cases resolved.
• 2 nominations sent to Registered Social Landlords to be considered for allocation to their stock.
• Percentage of tenancy sustainment was 93%.
• Monthly Housing Liaison meeting attended to discuss cases with Social Work, Antisocial Team and Police Scotland.
• Monthly attendance at MARAC meeting with other agencies.
• Involvement in supporting the new IHMS as commitment/resources/time is increasing due to ‘go live’ date getting closer and attendance at Train the Trainer sessions.
• Home Fire safety referrals – review of procedures with Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
• Monthly attendance at CPC MISE group (Child protection).
• Attendance at Training for new Oracle Fusion system.
• Attendance at training for introduction of Sharepoint.
• Input into new Health and Safety procedure for Dampness, Mould and Condensation Management.
• 2 weekly attendances at new Community Harm and Risk Meeting (CHARM) with Police Scotland and Community Protection.
• Participation/consultation in new Health and Safety Procedures for Damp, Mould, and Condensation Management.

Areas of focus

• Void rent loss has decreased, joint working with the void and rewire/asbestos teams continues.

• Identify training needs and hold quarterly sessions for reviewing policies and procedures with teams.
• Involvement in ASP (Adult Protection) Inspection.
• Attendance at East Dunbartonshire Safe and Together steering group
• Attendance at new 2-weekly Community Harm and Risk Meeting (CHARM) with Police Scotland, Community Safety, Trading Standards and Licensing officers.
• Monthly budget meetings with HRA accountant
• Percentage of tenancies refused was 34%. This is a decrease from 29% in March.

Homelessness & Prevention

• Current challenge is the increase in demand for temp (normally 40% of applicants currently 80%).  The length of time taken for settled accommodation voids is causing delay in turnover of temp this is also having an impact on the length of time applicants are on the homelessness list.  
• Increase in prison releases and MAPPA cases.
• 239 applicants on the homelessness list
  • 215 awaiting offer
  • 24 under offer
  • No applicants waiting longer than three years.
• 22 homeless applications taken during April; increase in no shows.
• 98% decisions completed within 28 days.
• 2 decision appeals received; x1 upheld x1 under investigation.
• No households placed in unsuitable accommodation and no breaches to the unsuitable accommodation order.
• Homelessness Team (Project 101) attended meet the services day 24/4/24.
• Landlord Registration; 109 applications (x10 new x 44 renewals x 55 updates), x1 HMO application.  2024/25 charges applied for HMO and Short Term Let applications.
• Temp
  • 10 voids
  • 13 prevoids (applicants in temp waiting on their settled accommodation property being returned from the voids team)
  • EDC under pressure to meet demand (approx. 80% of applicants needing temp; normally 40%)
    • 27 applicants on the temp waiting list
    • 6 applicants on the Ravenswood waiting list

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Key areas of focus in April for the Communications & Engagement Team included the Kirkintilloch Canal Festival, Twechar Outdoor Pursuits Centre and the opening of Torrance playpark.

Media relations activity was slightly up this month with 17 media releases issued (14 in March), 4 photocalls (three in March) and 24 media enquiries (21 in March) received over the month.

All releases are on the Council website news section and the local coverage achieved equated to an equivalent advertising value of £5,372 (£3,216 in March).

Social media posts continued to generate good interaction across a range of themes while we continued to grow our followers on all four channels. The top three posts on Facebook in March were Save the Date for Kirkintilloch Canal Festival, the A803 consultation, and the road closure of a section of the A803 in Torrance.

The top three Twitter posts were the road closure of Main Street in Lennoxtown, Twechar Outdoor Pursuits Centre and International Worker’s Memorial Day.

The most watched video on YouTube was our Breath Easier, Engine Idling campaign animation.

In April 2024, the Corporate Performance and Research team continued to fulfil required duties in relation to reporting of performance and risk management at a corporate level and provision of service level data and statistical support. The team also continues to ensure the Council has adequate insurance arrangements in place, providing advice and support in relation to insurance related queries and acting as a point of escalation in regards to any claims. All business as usual work was completed within agreed timescales.

The team continue to handle customer enquiries via all contact channels, responding to telephone enquiries is an ongoing priority with an average time to answer calls of 1min 37 secs achieved in April.

The Emergency Response Centre team focus on the analogue to digital transition and the replacement of the town centre CCTV system. These projects represent a substantial change for the team with ongoing planning as we work towards the implementation of both systems in the summer period.

In April, the team has continued to provide support for employees and managers on HR policy and guidance notes, with support on Employee Relations case work. Payroll has processed all payruns within timescales and completed statutory reports and preparation for the SPPA annual pension return.

In addition to delivering training sessions this month, People Development again continued to support the Council’s Moodle e-learning platform including configuration of programs/courses, dynamic rules, system testing, user configuration & reporting. The Job Evaluation team has worked with services to carry out a number of JE interviews and reviews of role profiles throughout the month. 

Communications & Engagement

• Supported the latest round of the Community Grants scheme with press release, video on previous recipient Caurnie Angling Club, social media and website.
• Supported the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills’ visit to Bearsden Academy talking to the pupils and teachers about the SCQF Qualifications and Ambassador programme.
• Creation of BSL videos for website and social media relating to Deaf Awareness Week and changes to Postal Votes in the next UK General Election.
• Supported International Worker’s Memorial Day including event co-ordination, social media and internal communications.
• Supported the launch of the BSL consultation with posters, online and paper surveys, webpage and BSL signed video.
• Supported the Provost including the Civic Reception for the Kirkintilloch Players Centenary and both the BEM and Citizenship events.

Corporate Performance

• Continued assistance was provided in relation to the rollout of the Oracle Fusion Finance and Procurement modules.
• Guidance for Business Improvement Planning 2024-27 was revised and distributed to senior management to inform the preparation of Business & Improvement Plans (BIPS).
• Initial discussions and preparatory work progressed around handover of the corporate complaints function to the team.
• Annual performance data for 2023/24 was prepared in line with year end reporting timescales.
• Performance Framework for 2024/25 was prepared with a view to being distributed to Executive Officers as soon as Committee dates become available. 

Customer Services

• Training and refresher training continues for the team ensuring all have the required skills and knowledge to provide an excellent standard of service to customers
• Preparations underway to support implementation of a number of digital transformation projects ensuring team are briefed and able to respond to customer enquiries.
• The team continue to handle customer enquiries via all contact channels
• Preparation work continues for the emergency response centre team for the digital call handling platform and CCTV replacement.

Human Resources & Organisational Development

• Promotion of Health and Wellbeing Campaigns.
• Payroll Services have supported External Auditors, and continued to undertake preparatory work for year end reportung.
• Payroll and Employee Services undertook annual exercise to review and apply increments across Local Government Workers and Teacher Pay runs
• The People Development team delivered sessions across topics including SMART Working, EDC Policy and Leadership topics, Health and Safety.
• Supporting Oracle implementation, delivery & facilitation of Oracle Fusion training for the launch and roll out for Accounts Receivable & Self Service Procurement.
• Continued facilitation of regulatory training for frontline services via approved providers.
• Ongoing work in relation to Driver CPC, First Aid, Fusion support & e-Learning design
• Development of Leadership information Packs of Family Friendly and Flexible Working following policy approval by the P&R Committee.

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The Leisure Centres remained busy over the Easter period with headcounts surpassing cumulative targets.

Sports Development’s Easter programme offered a variety of activities across 3 centres over the first 2 weeks in April followed by a return to term time classes with 3,204 members this month.

During April, the Library service ran an Easter programme for children and their families, which included craft sessions, and a Treasure Hunt with chocolate prizes.  

A programme of school class visits also began during the latter part of the month.

Activities for adults included Craft & A Cuppa sessions, Silent Bookwalks, Book Groups, Writer Groups, and the popular Digital Drop-in Sessions.

Libraries staff received reminiscence training as part of the Memories Scotland project.

Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre - New FT30 small group exercise classes began in the Gym extension area and have proved popular with customers. Teen Boot Camp classes also started in the Studio and have been well received by younger centre users. A National Pool Lifeguard Qualification course was also run.

Allander Leisure Centre –Usage increased significantly on the previous year during April, 17% increase. Casual swimming was down slightly which was a reflection on the free Gym/Swim programme coming to an end 31 March 2024.

Leisuredrome and Huntershill Sports Hub – Main hall activities including badminton, table tennis, football and pickleball continue to evidence good participation. The headcounts for swimming particularly strong over Easter considering the free access scheme ended 31st March. CBA Soft Play sold out and delivered two very successful Easter parties for young people under 7 years.

Continuing to build up the 12-17 Junior Gym DD membership towards the target of 40% retention of those who were on the Free Access Scheme. Also working to build other categories of Gym DD membership up.

Sports Development

• Almost 600 children were booked on to a range of Easter activities including the following:
  • Multi-sports Camps
  • Football Camps
  • Gymnastics Camp
  • 1 to 1 and group swimming lessons
  • High board diving trip to Ayr
• The swimming development team are currently filling any vacant places with children who took part in the Easter Camps.

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• The Service made good progress against priorities in the Business and Improvement Plan (BIP) 2024-2027. It should be noted that schools were closed for two weeks in April for Spring break. Key achievements included:
• Final preparations in all secondary schools to prepare young people for the SQA exam diet.
• The completion of the Education Business and Improvement Plan 2024 – 2027 and the annual How Good Is Our Service? report.

• All schools and centres will be supported to complete statutory requirements in Standards and Quality reporting and School Improvement Planning. The Quality Improvement Team will review and moderate planning and reporting during the Summer break.
• The Primary Quality Improvement Team will carry out quality assurance visits in all schools to review projected achievement of curriculum for excellence attainment data. The team will also support Head Teachers to set stretch aims as part of their work in narrowing the poverty-related attainment gap.

• The Quality Improvement Team will begin to create the Career Long Professional Learning Calendar for next session, in line with priorities in the refreshed Education Service Plan.
• The Scottish Attainment Challenge lead will consult with stakeholders to finalise planning for the Attainment Scotland Fund in 2024/25.
• The Early Years and Supporting Families team will prioritise planning for Snack and Play provision and the ASN Playscheme during the Summer break.

Early Years and Supporting Families

• ASN Transition Early Years to Primary 1: The Educational Psychology Service supported Officers, Senior Leaders and Practitioners in ASN to develop an enhanced transition document for children with significant additional support needs. A key area of focus will be to pilot the document in May 2024 and gather feedback.

Education Scotland and Care Inspectorate Inspection

• A team of inspectors from Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate visited Hillhead Primary School and Early Years Centre to undertake a short model inspection. Key strengths included the Head Teacher’s leadership and support of the staff team to establish a culture of respect in a nurturing and supportive environment. This included the nursery setting, where children are supported well by practitioners, resulting in children actively engaging in their learning. The inspection also highlighted support provided for children with additional support needs. The report will be shared at Education Committee.

All Schools

• The Aspiring Middle Leadership cohort participated in training on the new Relationships, Behaviour, and Learning Policy Framework. Participants reflected on key aspects of the policy, including approaches to building, empowering, maintaining and restoring relationships, from the perspective of a leadership role.
• Play and Enquiry Based Learning (PEBL): 2 Senior Educational Psychologists collaborated with Officers from Primary and Early Years to audit current practice in PEBL across all centres and schools. This will inform the refreshed PEBL Strategy and the development of a child centred curriculum.
• Nurture: Nurture and Wellbeing practitioners continue to participate in support visits, data collection and evaluations. A key area of focus for the Nurture Steering Group will be to visit  all Secondary Wellbeing Bases, including Woodland View School and the Secondary Wellbeing Support Service. 
• The Council Climate hosted the first Ready Classrooms Conference. Twenty P5 and P6 classes collaborated online together. The conference was facilitated by Keep Scotland Beautiful in collaboration with teachers and officers from across the council. They produced a bespoke series of pupil workshops to support the development of the EDC Circular Economy strategy and Climate Action Plan. Across the school day, pupils participated in three workshops covering Climate Change, Biodiversity, Hope and action. As a follow up, schools will be developing their own local action plans to effect local change, supported by the STEM Development Officer and colleagues from Greenspace and Waste.
• Officers and Senior Leaders attended the bi-annual ASN school management network meeting. The key focus was Neurodevelopmental Pathways via Glasgow City Health and Social Care partnership. This is a new process to further support the diagnostic process for children and young people in addition to associated mental health requirements. A key area of focus will be to consider implications for ASN planning for children and young people.
• The Instrumental Music Service continues to provide excellent opportunities for children and young people in wider achievements. The EDC Orchestra travelled to Valencia, where they collaborated with Spanish pupils.
• Over 3500 primary pupils participated in music workshops hosted by the Benedetti foundation.
• Young people in the Junior and Senior bands (String, Wind, Pipe and Percussion) performed in sell out Easter concerts at the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s new auditorium.
• A temporary process to allocate Initial Teacher Education students to Primary and Secondary schools has been developed. This has been shared with all schools as well as Local Authorities across the West Partnership and Nationally.
• Woodland View School hosted a very successful Nicola Benedetti Foundation day. Children and young people worked with trained musicians to explore rhythm and on-body music making. They loved learning with friends from Gartconner Primary School, Renton Language Unit and Abercorn Secondary to extend both their musical skills and their friendship groups.

Skills for Life, Learning and Work

• As part of an approach to tackling child poverty, The Parental Employability Programme (PEP) supported nine low-income parents to secure trainee roles within the Council, paid at living wage levels for 6 months. Trainees were placed in Early Years, Support for Learning and Facilities Management and the project also provided access to good quality accredited training. Seven of the trainees have secured permanent employment with the remaining two being supported and applying for EDC roles.

School Planning and Improvement

• The team supported key processes in preparation for the new school session, including working with all schools to complete workforce planning and classification in primary schools.
• Work continued with the Major Assets Team to progress capital projects, including the refurbishment of Bearden Primary and Milngavie Primary and new build projects for Balmuildy Primary, Westerton Primary and Lenzie Academy.
• The Secondary Wellbeing Support Service completed planning and arrangements to relocate from Donaldson Street to the newly refurbished setting in Southbank Road.

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The month of April saw the Finance Team progressing practical work on processes and systems for the Oracle Fusion General Ledger replacement following the system go live on 4 March 2024 as well as continuing to respond to external audit queries on the 2022/23 accounts and begin work on the 2023/24 accounts.

The Council continues to deliver against an ambitious capital programme supported largely by borrowing.

Treasury Management Reporting continues to highlight the increasing revenue costs associated with the current programme with ongoing affordability being challenged within a tight funding settlement.  Future Reports to Council will continue to provide updates on the programme the associated costs and any mitigations required.

The Revenues and Benefits team have continued to progress Council Tax and Benefits services and administration of the Scottish Welfare Fund.  Some senior officers have retired in recent months and the service continues to adapt to those changes.

The Council Tax Collection Rate at 10.25% is marginally ahead of expectations (10.23%), although it is too small a margin and too early in the year to give any reliable indication for the full year position.  The profile of payments can change with people’s economic circumstances and more people choosing to pay their Council tax over 12 rather than 10 months.  Collection of Council tax continues to be closely monitored with the Council’s Recovery and Enforcement Procedures being applied and individuals being signposted to the exemptions and discounts available as appropriate. 

The Shared Services Team continues to provide support across all Council services.  The Education Team completed the placing request process, sending out results to 750 families within the statutory timescale.  The General Team completed the process for all Care of Gardens 2024 applicants.  The Homecare Team continues to support a new initiative from the Planning & Commissioning Team processing variations in addition to their normal workload.

The ICT Services team continues to support the Council’s information technology systems and services to ensure high availability and performance in line with agreed service levels. The Team resolved over 1,000 tickets in April and dealt with 500 telephone calls.  ICT continues to support the migration of services to Microsoft 365 (M365) in partnership with the Business and Digital Change Team.  The ICT Security team continues to monitor the estate and perimeter defences alongside ongoing improvements to ensure that our systems and data are protected.

The maximisation of housing rental income and pursuit of rent arrears continues to be a priority for the service, to safeguard income.  A dedicated team of Officers, whose role is to actively pursue rent arrears and provide advice and support to tenants struggling to pay their rent.  This includes issuing letters, home visits, telephone calls, emails, etc, which begin as soon as arrears are accrued on a rent account; pre tenancy advice on rent charges, payment options and discussing rent affordability to new tenants at the time of offer acceptance of their new tenancy; signposting tenants struggling financially to relevant support services to ensure household incomes are maximised; and having a weekly presence at Kirkintilloch Job Centre to provide additional support for tenants in receipt of the housing element of Universal Credit.  The Rents Team’s commitment to reducing active rent arrears has seen a decrease of £222,074 on same period as last year (week 5).

The Tenant Participation Team continues to provide direct ongoing support to active Tenants and Residents Associations.

During April, the Business & Digital Change Team continued to support services across the Council in the delivery of key strategic digital development projects. 

The Team also continues to support our corporate business systems, ensuring incidents are resolved promptly and that all systems remain supported and upgraded in line with an agreed plan.  We also ensure our systems are reliable, resilient, scalable, standardised, value for money and secure.

The 2024/25 audit plan was approved at the Audit & Risk Management Committee on 21 March 2024 and work has started on scoping these audits, whilst completing the 2023/24 audits.   The audit plan for 2024/25 includes consideration of the use of data in audits and the internal audit team are also progressing the associated actions, including utilising data where appropriate in audits.

As work on the 2023/24 plan progresses towards completion, work recently completed includes Social Work Payments, Control Self Assessments and Self Directed Support - Transitions audits.  The audits nearing completion are Allpay consultancy work, Support Payments and Outdoor Learning. 

The team have also responded to requests from management for consultancy work where this contributes to the control environment, governance arrangements or enhances risk management.

The Corporate Fraud Team has been focusing on the investigation of referrals received and proactive vetting of applications for services such as Housing, Education, Licensing and Estates to secure the gateways by preventing fraud or error entering the systems. 

School registration applications opened in November 2023 and, as expected, this has resulted in an increase in the number of referrals received and applications requiring vetting. The majority of resulting investigations have been completed with only a very small number still actively being investigated.        

Work has continued on the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matches, which were released in early 2023, with this work nearing completion. Further data matches were released in late 2023 by the Cabinet Office, who administer the NFI exercise. Sifting of the matches has been completed and the resulting investigations are near completion. It is anticipated that this will be completed by the end of June 2024, earlier that the previously the previous estimated completion of Autumn 2024. 

The Corporate Fraud team is also pursuing the development of in-house anti-fraud and bribery training materials. Two other Councils have shared their Counter Fraud training materials, and these will be utilised as a starting point.

A Whistleblowing training package has been developed and delivered to employees within Customer Services.

Finance

• The practical implementation of the Oracle Fusion General Ledger system replacement is continuing to be progressed, with Workstream Leads across Finance and Corporate Procurement liaising with the external implementation partners who are supporting the project following go live on 4 March.
• The team continues to respond to external audit queries on the Council and Mugdock accounts as the external auditors continue their work. 
• The Council’s Provisional Out-turn and Budgeted Estimates return was submitted to the Scottish Government for their analysis and publication.
• Staff development is a key focus and given a challenging external recruitment market, the service is aiming to upskill existing staff where possible.  The Council has successfully renewed its position as an ACCA accredited employer.
• The Treasury team continues to monitor cash flow closely, ensuring that there is liquidity for all Council activities.  Additional borrowing continues to be taken in line with the Council's capital programme expenditure.
• Period 10 Revenue monitoring is complete with year end reports to be started soon.
• Year end timetables are being reworked in preparation for the first year end with the new Fusion system with work commencing as resources and functionality allows.

Revenues and Benefits

• In the month of April, the team issued:
  • • 5,400 Council Tax bills and 8,500 Benefits notifications; and,
    • 2,900 Non-Domestic Rates bills.

•      Almost 400 crisis grants and community care grant applications were received.

•      The team received and dealt with almost 1,500 documents for Council Tax queries and reduction      and over 550 for benefits.  In addition, the team received 2,000 ATLAS notifications from DWP.

•      The team dealt with 4,400 telephone enquiries.

ICT Services

• ICT Services are working closely with the Business and Digital Change Team to implement M365. This included:
  • Completion of the migration of all corporate devices to Intune and decommissioning the previous Mobile Device Management solution. 
• The Infrastructure Team:
  • Completed wireless upgrades for 4 primary schools and one EYC.
  • Rolled out a feature update to Windows 10 to all corporate devices.
  • Renewed certificates on Cisco servers to ensure that telephone services are maintained.
• ICT Security have:
  • Replaced the PC used by Criminal Justice service to connect to Police Scotland.
  • Continue to develop security configuration for Microsoft M365 services.

Shared Services

• The Residential Team added over 110 service agreements to CareFirst for clients moving into care homes or for supported living services within their own homes. 
• The Homecare Team added over 310 service agreements to CareFirst for clients receiving a homecare service or a direct payment.  The team are supporting the Planning & Commissioning Team by processing variations from a new initiative.
• The Direct Payment Audit Team - 22 direct payment audits finalised for clients receiving self-direct support.
• The Transport Team are compiling information for round 2 of the transport tender while waiting on the closure of Round 1 at the start of June.
• The EMA Team continues to follow up with pupils for information to complete their applications.
• The Care of Gardens Team updated all documentation with the agreed price increase, arranged for garden measurements where required and set up new customers on the appropriate systems.
• The Letting Team continue preparation for the annual letting process.

Housing Rent Arrears

• Active Tenant Rent Arrears were £874,442 which is a decrease of £222,074 on same period as last year (week 5).
• The Rents Team continue to support the change team with the development and implementation of the IHMS (NEC), which should go live in July 2024.
• Housing Officers continue to utilise all avenues to maximise rental income and reduce rent arrears, escalating actions against tenants whose rent arrears are increasing, and also providing advice and assistance to tenants who engage and need additional support.
• Appointments with a Housing Officer are available at Kirkintilloch Job Centre every Tuesday morning to assist tenants in receipt of the Universal Credit housing element.
• Latest issue of Taking Part newsletter issued to all EDC tenants.
• Information stall facilitated at the Meet the Services Day at Kirkintilloch Town Hall on 24 April promoting opportunities for tenants to get involved through Tenant Participation.

• Reducing active tenant rent arrears continues to be a priority for the Housing Service.
• Former Tenant Arrears are £778,262 with the team continuing to work on former rent arrears to bring this figure down.

Business & Digital Change

• Work continues on the development of the new EDC and HSCP websites, both of which are due for launch in the coming months.
• The Oracle Fusion project team have continued to support the transition to the new Finance & Procurement system and work is also ongoing with our external implementation partner to resolve any emerging issues. 
• Development has continued for the Flooding, Streetscene and Greenspace modules of our Roads Management System (RMMS) system with work focussed on data clarification and validation. 
• Data cleansing work for our waste modernisation project has continued.  Details of every collection route and every street in the authority are being cleansed to ensure they are correct before being imported to the new platform.  Work has also started on procuring the in-cab technology.
• Work continues to progress at pace on Garden Waste Permits. Through April, activities focused on procuring a permit management solution.
• Discovery is underway for NICEIC (National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting) to support business case and option appraisal development to replace paper records with electronic certificates. 
• Business cases and option appraisals are in development for Memorial Safety Inspections and Deceased Online, a central database for UK burials and cremations. 
• Stakeholder engagement has begun examining the potential replacement of the current Work Order system for Property Maintenace and its impact on other service areas.
• Consultation with services and Microsoft Gold Partner concluded and SharePoint Governance paper submitted to the Project Board for approval.  Once approved, work can proceed to create Sharepoint intranet sites for the 6 pilot business units.
• All seven original Power Platform developments have been handed over to the ICT support team enabling them to effectively carryout out first line support.
• The first phase of our Power Platform Hub Sharepoint site is complete.  This site showcases work completed so far and provides a central resource for all Power Platform developers.
• The Income Management Upgrade S-Cloud setup was successfully completed.  Work has now commenced on the Test system configuration enabling Testing to start next month.
• Business Systems upgrades successfully completed for numerous systems including, Election Management, Land & Planning Public Access and ELF Asset Management.
• Our IHMS project continues at pace with key activities planned over the coming months before moving into final user acceptance testing and cutover.
• The contract for the Shared ARC programme was finalised between EDC and Chubb Fire and Security LTD after a robust procurement exercise.  The platform is now in the first stages of planning the implementation of the new digital alarm receiving centre with our supplier.
• Our Customer Service and Emergency Response Centre agents have now been supplied with laptops to support the new technology, opening up exciting new opportunities for how we deliver excellent customer service to our residents.
• The organisation has also been recognised for its efforts in providing our customers with digital telecare alarms, with a total digital distribution of 51.01% - Earning us the Bronze Award from the Digital Office for Scottish Government.
• Work continues on upgrading legacy equipment in our sheltered housing complexes.  Meetings have been held between the Project Lead, Housing Officers and Wardens to discuss the next best steps. Procurement effort is underway to identify the best route to market.

Internal Audit

• The team has started initial work on the 2024/25 Internal Audit Plan, with scopes being prepared and sent to services for comment.  Final work on 2023/24 audits is also underway as these audits are brought to completion.
• Advice is continuing to be provided by Internal Audit in line with the Internal Audit Charter to support the enhancement of governance arrangements, risk management and controls.  This has included advice in relation to new systems being implemented on request by management.
• The 2023/24 internal audit annual audit report and opinion has been drafted and will be issued by technical note due to the cancellation of the June Audit and Risk Management Committee.

Corporate Fraud

• Corporate Fraud is investigating allegations received, focusing on suspected fraud or error within Education, Housing and Revenues Services and on the remaining cases resulting from the National Fraud Initiative. 
• The team also continues to undertake vetting on applications, from a number of services, in order to prevent to fraud and any potential reputational damage.

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The HSCP and its staff continue to work hard to ensure quality delivery of the Council’s operational delivery of statutory social work services, which are integrated with NHS services under the strategic governance of the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) Board. Service quality and outcomes associated with these specific social work services are the main focus of this report with particular reference to three identified performance indicators in accordance with the Council’s strategic approach to business improvement planning.

The wider objective is that improved customer and organisational outcomes can be achieved through successful integrated planning and collaborative delivery of health and social care functions, under single management, with a combined budget, working to a single set of outcomes and operating to a single Strategic Plan. The impact and performance of all of these integrated health and social care services overall are reported on a quarterly and annual basis to the HSCP Board and through agreed representation and reporting arrangements, to the Council.

During April 2024, the HSCP has performed on or above target on all three of its identified performance indicators.

Key Achievements:

• East Dunbartonshire achieved Green status for Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards 1-5 and Provisional Green for standards 6-10, which were the highest ratings available in 2023/24. The MAT standards are evidence based standards to enable the consistent delivery of safe, accessible, high-quality drug treatment across Scotland.
• Meet the Services event held in Kirkintilloch to give members of the public to meet team members and learn about different services provided.
• Promotional activity in support of:

• Community Food Project event
• Alcohol and Drug Recovery Service survey
• Future Care Plan walkthrough event
• Membership of the Carers Partnership Group
• Volunteers for the Patient Carers and Service User group membership
• Quit Your Way smoking cessation clinic
• Consultation on East Dunbartonshire Council’s draft British Sign Language plan

Areas of Focus:

HSCP Wide:

• Develop HSCP Strategic Plan 2025 onwards.
• Review and reframe locality focussed working to deliver community-led support approach in line with agreed strategic direction to address the financial context.
• Improve online accessibility and signposting to information and services through further development and promotion of the HSCP website.
• Progression of Property Strategy to redesign and refresh current accommodation.

• Implement actions in the HSCP Digital Strategy.
• Conclude consultation on the HSCP draft Communications & Engagement Strategy and Action Plan

Children and Criminal Justice Services:

• Continue to develop as a Trauma Informed organisation.
• Write and implement Phase 2 Promise Plan 24/30.
• Ongoing implementation of Children’s House Project model.
• Implement Children & Young People’s Mental Health & Wellbeing action plan.

Adult Services:

• Development of improvement plan following the outcome of Joint Inspection of Adult Support and Protection arrangements and delivery of improvement actions.
• Review of Learning Disability accommodation-based services.
• Continue to develop an increasing range of informal and formal support options in the community as part of the continuum of day services.
• Review of commissioned services for adult mental health and alcohol and drugs services to further implement a recovery focused approach.
• Devise and deliver year 1 actions of the East Dunbartonshire Dementia Strategy Action Plan.
• Preparation for Adult Services Inspection & Completion of Adult Services Integrated Audit Self Evaluation project.
• Implement the 2024/25 actions of the Older Peoples Social Support Strategy.
• Maximise efficiency within in-house adult social care services.
• Undertake a review of the Care of Gardens Scheme.

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Land Planning & Development have progressed a number of significant work streams during April 2024 in line with the Business Improvement Plan commitments.

• Work on the Evidence Gathering process for Local Development Plan 3 is ongoing.  Officers are continuing to work through the policy topic advice in the Development Planning Guidance and liaising with other authorities on the necessary requirements for the Gatecheck process. 
• The team has been leading on the Council’s response to Scottish Government consultations on proposals for regulations for amending the National Planning Framework and Local Development Plans, and draft regulations for preparing Masterplan Consent Areas.  Responses to both consultations will be reported to PNCA committee in May 2024.
• Officers have also been undertaking field work for the annual Housing Land Audit and Vacant and Derelict Land Survey during April.
• Work is continuing on identifying priority projects for inclusion in the Council’s new Greenspace Strategy, which will replace the Green Network Strategy and Open Space Strategy. Audit work on play facilities is continuing and surveyors are progressing with the assessment of play areas and facilities across East Dunbartonshire.
• Officers are currently liaising with the Council’s Procurement Service to commission consultants to undertake the Kelvin Valley feasibility study. Work is also ongoing with the working group of key agencies and interested bodies, to help guide the development of the project.

• Further progress was made on the development of the Draft Climate Action Plan and a first draft has been shared for initial internal feedback before engagement with a range of Council teams is undertaken.  This engagement and input will allow a coordinated Draft CAP to be taken to Council in 2024, prior to public consultation. The process to develop the Vision, Themes and Objectives has been shared with the consultants Ricardo for them to provide critical feedback through a Strategic Environmental Assessment Stage 1 Report.
• Further work on the non-domestic report on the Local Heat & Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) was undertaken to continue to progress the Draft LHEES which will be brought to Council in 2024 prior to public consultation. Contractual negotiations with the consultants Ricardo are complete and meetings have been arranged with internal colleagues in addition to the NHS and SPEN to adopt a coordinated approach to the LHEES’ development.
• The paperwork and job adverts for two Climate Change Policy & Strategic Environmental Assessment Officer roles has been completed to allow the roles to be advertised in May
• A technical note explaining key points on the Scottish Government’s consultation on National Adaptation Plan 3 was distributed in April 2024 and feedback from elected member was incorporated into the Council’s response before it was submitted.
• A Nature-Based Investment Study is being developed to quantify the current greenhouse gas emission absorption potential of nature in East Dunbartonshire and set out options to leverage additional public and private investment to support environmental outcomes. The study will identify sites in the area with the potential to absorb additional greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute towards the Council’s net zero targets and quantify the estimated emission absorption potential of nature while delivering meaningful action to preserve and bolster flourishing biodiversity.
• Dates for the second cohort of the Community Carbon Literacy Training Programme have been scheduled. In the first cohort a total of 32 people completed accredited Community Carbon Literacy Training in addition to 7 people who attended the online introductory session. 108 more spaces will be available in the next round in addition to places on the train the trainer courses.
• A summer Climate Action Plan Newsletter is being drafted and will be distributed in May. The newsletter will outline a range of Council actions on sustainability related activities, including the CAP.

• GIS work has been reduced over the past few months awaiting the recruitment of a GIS Co-ordinator and GIS Technical Officer.  The new Co-ordinator has now taken up his post and this is enabling a range of GIS work to be re-started.   This includes provision of technical support to Community Protection and Development Applications.  
• The team have now completed the transition to ESRIs new experience builder platform. This allows apps to have increased functionality and customisation. The team have recreated a number of critical web pages and the links are now with Corporate Comms, to add to the EDC site. Upgrades to the IDOX system, which supports management of the development management, building standards and environmental health processes, was completed during the month.
• The team have completed a number of address queries this month and have resolved all the issues for the residents.

• The new IHMS implementation is well underway, with functional testing progressing in all modules. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) training has progressed although additional functional testing will continue as the IHMS is phased in.
• Systems Officers are assisting with the data cleansing of the current Saffron IT system as well as Housing folders, to ensure a smooth transition when migrating to the new system, while also assisting with day-to-day processing of direct debits and the set-up of rent accounts.
• The Policy and Performance Monitoring officers are assisting with the SharePoint pilot, using the new system for records management and retention, identifying any operational issues that emerge.
• Performance Monitoring Officers are completing monthly performance statistics and continue to update Smartsheet with new dashboards and sheets for Officers to work from. In addition, officers are collating the data captured to complete the Council’s Annual Return on the Charter (ARC).
• Policy Officers are reviewing the current Allocations Policy, gathering views from Stakeholders that will inform decision making to update the policy. 
• Work is continuing on the Digital Telecare switch and the Project Board are ensuring the successful transition of analogue telecare to digital telecare throughout the sheltered complexes.
• The Housing Estates Adviser is working closely with the sheltered wardens and concierge to ensure a robust service is provided to tenants and residents.
• Fieldwork on the Tenant Satisfaction Survey is complete. Research Resource are preparing to report on the findings at TPWG and results will be made available on the Council's website.

• Working with numerous public sector agencies to ensure all support mechanisms to help business and create jobs are fully utilised, including development of new skills & technologies.  Cost of doing business continues to be a concern and resources to help and inform businesses continue to be priority with combined support materials available through the Find Business Support website.  A range of support is provided via the team and the Business Gateway contract to new emerging and existing businesses.
• The Digital Development Grant has been launched and is fully subscribed based on available funding via the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF). Applications are now being processed. The Green Business Support grant is now underway, again funded by SPF and this will help businesses analyse how they practice and identity green measures and support that can be provided via a grant process.  The team continues to develop the site enabling and regeneration grant set to go live later in 2024.
• Digital Boost will no longer be funded through Scottish Government although webinars will continue to be delivered by Business Gateway National.  The team are using currently available expertise to support companies on the digital journey.
• Growth and inward investment enquiries are being support and coordinated the team, directing them primarily at masterplan locations (Kirkintilloch Gateway, and the emerging Westerhill masterplan area).

• The team continues with a range of work to ensure the delivery of the Council’s City Deal project, including the preparation of Outline Business Case (in-line with City Deal & HM Greenbook requirements) which are required to unlock the funding from the region.
• Work is ongoing on the Westerhill Masterplan which will be concluded over the coming months, and presented to Council for approval as planning guidance. A final stage of public consultation started for the Masterplan prior to it being presented for approval as planning guidance later in 2024. Work is ongoing on the Westerhill Development Road for which the preferred route option has been selected and presented to Council in December. 
• Work continues on the next stages of the design process for Bishopbriggs Town Centre and Bishopbriggs Park.  A803 feasibility and options work progressing as part of Outline Business Case development.

• The project to improve Regent Gardens in Kirkintilloch Town Centre has reached practical completion. The Campsie Memorial Hall project in Lennoxtown has funding has been secured from Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and work continues to develop the project with RIBA 3 design to take place following procurement of design team.
• The programme management of the Shared Prosperity Fund is ongoing to support services and projects across the Council. A range of projects have been identified and are being progressed for implementation up to March 2025.
• The Lennoxtown Main Street Improvement Project is ongoing with work about to commence on the development of technical designs. Progress to the construction phase will be subject to external funding decisions.
• The Milngavie BID was successful in re-ballot, and Kirkintilloch now has a BID. Work is underway to prepare the Operating Agreements for each BID.

• The construction phase of Canniesburn Toll Improvement Project is on site, and works are progressing. Detailed updates have been provided in various Technical Notes.
• Feasibility and design works are progressing on a range of active travel infrastructure projects included in the Local Transport and Active Travel Strategies, including works to improve various active travel paths. Canal Street is part of the John Muir Way and a key link onto the canal towpath. This project has reached practical completion.
• Work is progressing on key functions of the team including: working on a range of Traffic Regulation Orders at various stages of the statutory process, liaising with the network operator and maintenance contractors of the public electric vehicle charging network and continuing to assist in resolving access issues.
• Work is ongoing in partnership with the Glasgow City Region to develop a delivery option to increase regional and local Electric Vehicle charging network provision.

• During the reporting period the planning side of the team has determined 70 applications and validated 64 applications.
• The Building Standards team have received 90 building warrants and approved 94 applications. 
• The Enforcement Team opened 12 new cases and closed 5 cases.
• The Development Applications team have been busy preparing reports for the May Planning Board Meeting.
• Developer contributions have been secured and paid to the Council amounting to £141,450.
• Both Planning and Building Standards teams continue to offer support and informal advice to customers through our daily duty service Monday to Friday.

• The Regent Gardens project in Kirkintilloch Town Centre has reached practical completion.
• The Canal Street towpath project has reached practical completion.
• ARC Return data collection, validation, and submission due by 31 May 2024
• Stakeholder engagement workshops on Allocations Policy are a priority in the coming months.

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Overview of Progress

Throughout April, the Democratic Services Teams continued to support the internal governance of the Council, in addition to certain regulatory functions. Since August and the return of the Council’s governance meetings, the Democratic Services Team has been continuing with the implementation the Council’s new committee management system, Modern.Gov. This work is continuing, and the system is now used for writing committee reports, managing the diary, preparing, and issuing agendas and the publication of committee papers to the Council’s website.  Work to roll the App out to Members will soon commence, to support the move to paperless meetings. In addition, work is underway to develop the system for use in the preparation, approval and publication of Technical Notes and Contract Standing Orders waiver forms. In time, it will also be used to support public engagement and consultation, and a petitions function. 

Work remains ongoing in relation to the forthcoming General Election during 2024. The Election Act 2022 introduced new measures which will apply for the first time at the next General Election. These include the introduction of voter ID and changes to postal votes and accessibility issues. The Team is planning for the election to ensure compliance with these changes and is looking at means of securing voter participation. A briefing for Members has taken place and further information will be issued over coming weeks. Decals highlighting voter ID requirements and the changes to postal voting have been produced and will be attached to various refuse vehicles to help raise public awareness, along with other comms and engagement work.

In addition, the service continued to support Members and the Strategic Leadership Team. The Information Management Team continues to provide important support and advice to the MS365 implementation team, in addition to business-as-usual support in relation to freedom of information and data protection.

Key Achievements / Areas of Focus

• Registration & Customer Services completed 56 birth and 187 death registrations in April. 27 marriages and 1 Civil Partnership were also registered in this period. A Citizenship Ceremony was conducted which saw 8 new applicants from East Dunbartonshire becoming British Citizens
• The Team provided administrative and other supports to the Civic Office including a British Empire Medal investiture and a celebration of 100 years of the Kirkintilloch Players.
• Continued development of the new committee administration system, which included support for report authors and the production and distribution of committee and board agendas.
• Information Management received & processed 130 FOI/EIRs and 8 SARs (Subject Access Requests)

Overview of Progress

The indicators chosen for monthly reporting represent transactions where Legal Services involvement is nearer the end of the process.  Each indicator relates to services which are important to individuals and Council Services, but that also have an impact on the local economy. They also represent areas where performance was not previously as good as it might have been, which resulted in the introduction of the PIs. Whilst performance is consistently high, the continued application of the PIs ensures that this remains the case. It also ensures that any change in performance is identified and addressed early.

Performance against all indicators for Legal Services for April is 100%.

Legal Services continues to support services across the Council in the delivery of projects, contracts and otherwise to manage legal risk.  This includes advice and work on confidential matters that cannot be included in a public report.

Key Achievements / Areas of Focus

• During April, the Team processed 1 contract award letter, 21 taxi licence applications, and 8 grants.  All were granted within the required timescales.  Accordingly, it is not proposed to take any steps currently other than to continue to monitor progress against the set PIs.
• The Team continued to provide support to the wider City Deal team with advice and support including negotiating archaeology survey land access licences including fencing requirements, review of archaeology survey subcontract, and reviewing the options appraisal for the next stage of the Bishopbriggs Town Centre project.
• Property and planning work included concluding s75 agreements for Whitehill Court and Huntershill House, making the North Wester Cleddans Park Tree Preservation Order, filming licence agreed to use Mugdock Park as a filming location and a 5-year lease granted in favour of a takeaway shop at Lennoxtown Main Street.
• Contracts wok included in this period included concluding agreements with Milngavie BID and Kirkintilloch BID, a strategic partnership agreement award made to East Dunbartonshire Citizen Advice Bureau and providing data proception advice in relation to the student teacher placement programme.
• The Litigation Team continued to provide support to Social Work in relation to adults with incapacity and permanence planning and to Education on a variety of matters including ASN Tribunal work in relation to placing request appeals and advice to colleagues in HR.

Overview of Progress

During March, the Procurement Team continued to support services across the Council in the delivery of various projects, including ongoing support to several strategic procurements/projects, particularly in relation to City Deal, ICT, Business & Digital Change, and various Capital projects.  In particular, the Team was heavily involved in data cleansing, Solution Design, Communication planning, Key User training meetings, Data Reconciliation and User Acceptance testing as part of the implementation of a replacement for the Oracle Financial system.  This has placed a significant demand on the resources of the Team as it leads four of the six implementation workstreams.  The Team also continuously works to manage and support the operational activity in terms of the buyers work centre, Iproc catalogue and supplier management and payment processing, and in April remained focussed on delivering against the increased demand from Services at the end of the financial year whilst managing the ongoing implementation of the new Financial Management System.

Key Achievements / Areas of Focus

• Providing ongoing support to the City Deal team in relation to Contract requirements and alternative procurement route options.
• Supported key Capital, Business & Digital Change projects such as Oracle Fusion upgrade, IHMS, Westerhill Development Road, school estate Professional Fees, Vehicle Purchases, whilst supporting workforce of the future planning and Business as Usual workstreams.
• Participation in extensive meetings and workshops to train, test, reconcile data transfer and solution implementation for the Oracle Fusion upgrade.
• Completed renewals for support and maintenance of business-critical systems to facilitate workforce of the future.
• Ongoing support to the /implementation of Fusion to support the technical requirements for Payment integrations, Managed Stores and e-invoicing on Iproc.
• Planning for the 2024-2025 Annual Procurement Strategy to include alignments with Organisational Climate Action Planning, Circular Economy Strategy, Community Wealth Building & the City Region Community Wish List planning.
• Ongoing work on the review of Contract Standing Orders for alignment with Organisational changes, financial management and Procurement governance.
• Managed the emergency order and payments protocol put in place during the system downtime for Fusion implementation.
• Re-commenced usage of the Fusion Purchase Order system and payment processing
• Continued End of Financial year planning in alignment with the implementation of a new finance system, managing the backlog resulting from the system downtime and managing business as usual
• Review of resourcing considerations to support Project workload and business as usual priorities.

Overview of Progress

During April, the Strategic Commissioning Team continued to provide much needed support and guidance to the commissioned market as service demand pressures, on-going workforce and recruitment issues and the cost-of-living crisis continued to challenge the sector.  In addition, the Team supported the HSCP to progress key strategic priorities and inform budget decisions in relation to commissioned services. 

Key Achievements / Areas of Focus

• Supported development & implementation of Scotland Excel’s Residential Rehabilitation Framework Agreement - resulting in increased market capacity and options available for specialist residential services. 
• Commissioned several bespoke supports with accommodation services for people with co-morbidities - thus ensuring local needs continue to be met. 
• Supported progression of strategic reviews and implemented commissioning plans to support successful delivery.
• In accordance with audit recommendations, revised monitoring protocol for Care & Support services with a view to improving & strengthening governance & oversight arrangements.
• Contributed to / informed budget decision making relating to commissioned services.
• Continued to prepare and support the market for the advent of the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 and monitoring / reporting requirements thereafter.
• Contributed to discussions pertaining to national contracts ensuring local requirements were reflected accordingly.

The Roads and Neighbourhood Service continues to oversee the maintenance function and safe operation of the adopted public carriageway/footway network, adopted open spaces (including trees), cemeteries, domestic, commercial waste & recycling collection, fleet, and transportation within East Dunbartonshire. In addition, the Service also oversees the management and operations of Mugdock Country Park.

This Service area is divided into seven portfolio groupings:

1. Roads Network Operations

2. Roads Technical & Engineering

3. Streetscene Technical Support (including Bereavement and Arboriculture)

4. Streetscene Operations (including grounds maintenance, street cleansing and cemetery operations)

5. Waste Services (including domestic & commercial waste & recycling collections)

6. Fleet Services (including fleet operations, maintenance, and transportation)

7. Mugdock Country Park

Each team has specific areas of responsibility; however, they all operate, and function collectively as required. Within their own areas, each team has several service accountabilities contributing to local outcomes.

The various sections within the portfolio groups continue to progress both revenue operation/maintenance work and internally and externally funded capital projects with colleagues in Procurement and Finance. Several projects are time specific due to the external funding conditions to it is very important to make best use of the time available to bring these projects to fruition for the benefit of local communities.

The team continue to deliver both planned and reactive maintenance to both carriageways, footways, and street lighting assets. The Service is almost at full numbers in terms of resources available with some vacancies for operational posts. The service completed winter maintenance period on both carriageways and footways in April and will now set about preparing for next years programme by servicing equipment and re-stocking the salt dome over the summer months. 

The 2024/25 capital programmes for carriageway, footway resurfacing and lighting projects have commenced. The first Technical Note has been issues and progress updates will be provided in our monthly HGIOS reports and our Quarterly Technical Notes. Any changes or amendments to the programme will be highlighted via the quarterly update. Regrettably, the Streetlighting Team are working at a reduced capacity, so this is likely to affect the projected capital programme. However, the team are in the process of recruiting replacement staff so it is hoped that capacity may increase going forward.

The Roads Network Team Leader and Senior Roads Technician continue to oversee the cyclical Safety Inspections and responses to ad-hoc enquiries.

The Roads Development, Structures, Traffic, Flood Risk and Drainage Teams continue to work on and contribute to multiple projects including Road Coring, Flood Defence Maintenance, Bridge Inspection/Replacement and Signalisation/TRO Projects across various area.

The Team is also coordinating with external contractors to delivery multiple traffic surveys with the information used to determine the next steps for various proposals. This information is used as evidence to either support the need for action or validate the decision not to take forward a proposal if it is not supported by evidence.

The Service is now operating a full capacity following recent staff changes with several newer members of the team familiarising themselves with the Council area and taking forward individual projects including gateway features, specific replacement bridges, signalised junctions, and other important road safety features. The Traffic Officer also liaise with Police Scotland colleagues to monitor any road related incidents.

The three geographical based teams are preparing to commence their summer grounds maintenance programmes including grass cutting operations, herbicide treatment, care of Gardens service, play area inspections etc. The teams are also undertaking street cleansing of all adopted council roads and pavements including litter collection, mechanical sweeping, and servicing of street litter bins.

The team also continue to manage the Councils tree stock. The team manages burials in the eight operational cemeteries.

The team continue to work with community groups regarding Environmental Improvement Projects including path improvement, play area renovations, amenity planting, cemetery, and allotment development.

The team is current analysing the results of the first Ash Dieback Surveys which will inform the actions that need to be prioritised to address this important issue. Ash Dieback Information will be communicated over the coming months as this is an issue that will become more prominent, and it is important to update elected members and communities on potential tree work resulting from the completed surveys.

The team have moved into their spring/summer maintenance period. Over the autumn/winter period, the team have been monitoring and planting shrubs around the fence installed around the quarry area to make it less accessible to unauthorised access by youths trying to swim in the quarry. The monthly visitor number continue to exceed expectation and the team area focused on enhancing the visitor experience to the country park with various improvements planned to key attractions in line with the Mugdock Country Park Strategy.

The Waste Team has continued the frontline service operations for the collection of over 400,000 assorted household bins over the month of April, providing residual, recycling, food, garden and special waste collections on behalf of the Authority. The team has also managed the waste and recycling collections from over 400 of our local commercial premises and provides recycling disposal provision at the Mavis Valley Recycling Centre.

The Waste service have continued to work with our Clyde Valley partners through the period on the treatment and disposal contract for all residual household waste. The Council processed 1812 tonnes of waste through this contract in April, ensuring our waste undergoes treatment for recycling extraction prior to being sent through an Energy from Waste process.

The Fleet team continue to manage the transport operations including the Councils Goods Vehicle Operator Licence and compliance across all services. This includes provision and management of the maintenance workshops, annual testing, statutory inspections, and management of Drivers in line with obligations and conditions laid out in the Councils commitment to the Scottish Traffic Commissioner.

Fleet Management has worked in partnership with services and officers from procurement in order to specify, tender and procure further vehicles and associated items of specialist plant, suitable for service users’ needs and to coincide with contracts terminating through the financial year.

Tenders are currently out for the replacement of specialist vehicles, plant & equipment for Greenspace and Streetscene, Waste Management and other front-line services.

Replacement vehicles continue to filter through from suppliers for Roads and Environment, Property Maintenance and Social Services. The team at Fleet Management continue working to transfer systems and equipment and arrange the de-fleeting and disposal of the outgoing vehicles.

The fleet service continues to support and manage Transport Operations for the provision of Additional Support Needs Transport service for Education and Integrated Health and Social Care, including delivery of school meals on behalf of the authority. This service has provided additional support for other services throughout the period.

Roads Network Operations Teams (including Street Lighting)

Carriageway and Footway surface defects and service level agreements (SLA):

Between 01/04/2024 and 30/04/2024, we have identified 381 defects in East Dunbartonshire Council carriageways and footways. We have completed 206 repairs on time (approx. 54.07 %), 100 repairs late (approx. 26.25 %) and 75 repairs (approx. 19.68 %) are in list for action and are still within SLA (incomplete).