Progress of the Cooperative Capital Framework - Edinburgh Council

Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee 3.00pm, Monday 23 June 2014

The Cooperative Capital Framework: Progress Report

Item number

7.1

Report number Executive/routine Wards

Executive summary In October 2012, Council approved the installation of the Cooperative Capital Framework. Since then, a series of update and project-specific reports have been received by this and other Council Committees. Most recently the first year key achievements report was considered by Council in November 2013. Council welcomed the progress achieved and also asked that the pace of progress be accelerated in specific areas. The following report identifies significant progress across all six themes of the framework, specific action to address the requirements of Council and proposes some additional developments.

Report The Cooperative Capital Framework: Progress Report Recommendations 1.1

It is recommended that Committee: 1.1.1 notes the significant progress achieved over the last six months; 1.1.2 welcomes actions to take forward the specific requests of Council; and 1.1.3 agrees the proposals on cooperative corporate social responsibility, promotion and co-production; and 1.1.4 agrees that the Council’s membership of the Cooperative Capital Innovation Network (CCIN) be continued for 2014/15.

Background 2.1

The Capital Coalition’s vision is to ‘To build a cooperative and more prosperous Edinburgh in which every resident and community benefits’.

2.2

In October 2012, the Council agreed a ‘Framework to Advance a Cooperative Capital 2012/17’ which described five core strategic themes. This Committee approved an additional sixth theme on Cooperative Corporate Social Responsibility in June 2013. The following summarises the themes and the intended change objectives: Cooperative Capital Themes

Intended Change Objectives

Cooperative Societies

“Changing the market and economic infrastructure”

Cooperative Community Engagement Cooperative Procurement

“Changing our relationship with communities” “Changing the way we buy and grant aid goods and services”

Cooperative Education

“Changing the culture of schools and childcare”

Cooperative Service Delivery

“Changing the way we review and design services”

Cooperative Corporate Social Responsibility (included in May 2013)

“Changing Corporate Social Responsibility to meet city outcomes

Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee – 23 June 2014

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2.3

The Framework is aligned to the Capital Coalition’s Pledges to develop cooperative energy, housing, childcare and social care initiatives as detailed below. Pledge 6 Pledge 11 Pledge 37

Pledge 53

Establish city-wide childcare cooperatives for affordable childcare for working parents. Encourage the development of cooperative housing arrangements. Examine ways to bring the Council, care home staff and users together into cooperatives to provide the means to make life better for care home users and care provides. Encourage the development of Community Energy Cooperatives.

It is also consistent with existing ambitions to improve approaches to community planning, community engagement, prevention, and working in neighbourhoods. 2.4

The Framework also aspires to develop a new relationship with service users, citizens, communities and stakeholders, where more focus is placed upon ‘doing things with people’, rather than ‘doing things to, or, for people’.

2.5

Work to develop and implement the Framework is coordinated through the Cooperative Development Unit (CDU) located in the Corporate Policy and Strategy Team within Corporate Governance. Specific work on the four cooperative pledge commitments is undertaken by designated project teams across service areas and the Compact Partnership provides a link to community planning arrangements in the city. An Expert Group also provides guidance to the CDU and project teams on the development of coops and cooperative practice.

2.6

While the report provides detail on progress achieved across each of the six themes, a number of proposals are made on actions to improve cooperative corporate social responsibility, promotion and co-production.

Main report 3.1

Progress reports on Framework Themes and Objectives were considered by this Committee in November 2012 and May 2013, and the Education, Children and Families Committee, Health, Social Care and Housing Committee, and Environment and Transport Committee over the last 18 months. Most recently, Council considered the first year progress report in November 2013 and agreed that the pace of progress be accelerated in the areas of: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)

3.2

growing cooperatives; progressing an asset transfer policy; other ‘total place’ initiatives; and participatory budgeting.

In response the following action has been taken:


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3.2.1 in regards to growing cooperatives (i) Edinburgh Business Gateway Advisers now actively include information on the benefits of coops as part of the general advice package for prospective businesses, and (ii) seven new coops have come into existence since the establishment of the Framework; 3.2.2 in progressing a Council asset transfer policy, a register of interests was established in April (held by the CDU) and a joint interest working group established to co-produce the policy. A discussion paper on this matter is scheduled to be considered by the Policy Development Sub-Committee today; 3.2.3 BOLD is considering a third ‘Total Place’ project in Wester Hailes; and 3.2.4 following the Review of Neighbourhood Partnerships, a Participatory Budgeting Development Group has been established. Pledge Commitments 3.3

The following provides an update in regards to progressing the relevant Capital Coalition’s Pledge Commitments: Pledge 6 - Establish city-wide childcare cooperatives for affordable childcare for working parents.  

establishment of Edinburgh’s first After Schools Club Cooperative Charter; and Stockbridge Primary is the first Edinburgh school to receive the ‘Schools of Cooperation Award’ from the Cooperative Education Trust for Scotland.

Pledge 11 - Encourage the development of cooperative housing arrangements.  

establishment of the new Edinburgh University Student Housing Coop; and development of the Craigmillar Eco-Housing Coop to Planning stage.

Pledge 37 - Examine ways to bring the Council, care home staff and users together into cooperatives to provide the means to make life better for care home users and care provides.  

an engagement strategy and charter have been developed in relation to furthering National Care Home Standards; and personal plans for each resident and ‘activity champions’ have been introduced in all Council care homes as part of the “Working Together to Achieve Excellent Care” programme.

Pledge 53 - Encourage the development of Community Energy Cooperatives.  

the establishment of a Solar Energy Initiative (with the Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative) is being investigated; and a group of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) are examining the feasibility of establishing a social enterprise energy supply company to benefit their tenants.


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Cooperative Capital Innovation Network (CCIN) 3.4

At the meeting of the Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee of October 2013, Committee approved a proposal that Edinburgh become Scotland’s first member of this Network. This was subsequently followed by Glasgow City Council joining the network.

3.5

The benefits have included: 3.5.1 access to case study material and wider research; 3.5.2 approaches to applying cooperative principles across different Council service areas; 3.5.3 input into shaping Scotland’s first Cooperative Conference; 3.5.4 development work with the Network’s contractor (RSA) to engage with COSLA, the Scottish Government and Scottish Local Authority networks; 3.5.5 creation of a Scottish section on the CCIN website; 3.5.6 links to transformational change projects in other councils; and 3.5.7 examples of specific performance measures that will assist a suitable impact and achievements assessment to be made for the second year report to Council in November.

3.6

Looking ahead, it is intended that the Network will continue to grow in Scotland and that this Council will continue to take a leading role in working with the Network Executive to grow the Scottish membership. Given the benefits, it is proposed that the Council renew membership for 2014/15 at a cost of £7,900 and review impacts and benefits realised in advance of any further commitment. Cooperative Corporate Social Responsibility

3.7

A key aspect of Cooperative Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR) is to maximise and better coordinate CSR activity in the city to meet agreed joint outcomes.

3.8

With this reference, a range of CCSR-related action will occur over the next year to address the objective: 3.8.1 a programme of key events will take place across Edinburgh in line with Scottish campaigns, examples of this approach are already established including; Fair-Trade Week, Enterprise Week, Autism Month, International Women’s Day, World Aids Day, etc.; 3.8.2 new staff initiatives in the Council (sponsored by the Lord Provost, Council Leader and the Convenor of the Finance and Resource Committee) will be introduced; i. ii.

Council Staff Volunteer of the Year; Council Staff Civic Fundraiser(s) of the Year; and


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iii.

3.9

a new section on the Orb and in ‘Magnet’ introduced to profile CCSR, social causes, Employer Supported Volunteering and the ‘Give As You Earn’ and justgiving.com schemes.

It is proposed that the Edinburgh Partnership (EP) develop an Edinburgh CCSR plan that will maximise and better coordinate CSR activity in line with agreed city outcomes and that this be presented for approval in the late autumn/winter period 2014/15.

Co-Production 3.10 The interest in, and engagement with, approaches to co-production is growing across the city. Increasingly, stakeholders are requesting that consistent definitions and approaches are used. In June 2012, the Compact Partnership Board considered a discussion paper on these matters and the following is therefore proposed to apply across the Cooperative Capital Framework: Definition, “To co-produce is to build something together, to co-create, to jointly develop and innovate.” Principles, “Co-Production is about equal and respectful, trusting and purposeful relationships between: i. ii. iii.

policy-makers and those affected by policies and outcomes, service providers and service users; and budget decision-makers and those affected by budget decisions.”

Cooperative Capital Month 3.11 Given the continued progress across the six themes of the Cooperative Capital Framework it is proposed that a ‘Cooperative Capital Month’ be introduced in November each year. This will provide a focus for communications, combine with existing efforts for Compact and Social Enterprise Weeks and allow a programme of associated key events and progress reporting opportunities to be developed. 3.12 A full and detailed account of progress across the Cooperative Capital Framework themes is provided in Appendix 1.

Measures of success 4.1

The following are the measures of success for the Cooperative Capital Framework: 4.1.1 4.1.2

Installation and/or expansion of cooperative initiatives delivering energy, housing, child care and social care pledges. Number of cooperative initiatives generated applying co-production techniques.


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4.1.3 4.1.4 4.1.5

% positive satisfaction ratings of those involved in initiatives connected with the Cooperative Capital Framework. % positive satisfaction ratings within services that have used joint service design approaches. % elected members, community leaders/representatives and service users that feel more influential in their community.

Financial impact 5.1

Resources for cooperative capital framework activities are contained within service area budgets.

Risk, policy, compliance and governance impact 6.1

Key risks within the Cooperative Capital Framework are associated with achieving the Capital Coalition Pledges. This is mitigated by the joint and collaborative efforts of the CDU/project teams and engagement with key partners to mitigate these and related policy matters.

Equalities impact 7.1

The development and implementation of the Framework will assist the Council to deliver key equality and rights outcomes, and meet the Equality Act 2010 public sector equality duties to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations.

Sustainability impact 8.1

The development and implementation of the Framework enables the Council to meet the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 public sector duties, and contributes to the delivery of Sustainable Edinburgh 2020 objectives, in particular the advancement of vibrant flourishing communities, social and economic wellbeing and an efficient and effectively managed city.

Consultation and engagement 9.1

The following key engagement activity has taken place over the last six months in advancing the Framework:      

Inclusion of the Convenor of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee in the Coop Expert Group – May 2014. Six monthly progress update with Glasgow City Council – April 2014. Accommodation of Cooperative Capital in Leadership Matters Levels 1 and 2 and six sessions delivered. Accommodation of cooperative principles in the Pride In our People council staff engagement events. Senior Managers briefing seminar with the Council Leader – 17 March 2014. Five meetings of the Council Cooperative Capital Project Team – Dec/June 2014.


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   

Issuing of Staff Guidance on the application of the Cooperative Capital Framework on the Orb – March 2014. Meeting of 20 city cooperative and enterprising organisations – May 2014. Seminar with Council Leader and Services for Communities Housing and Regeneration staff – June 2014. Presentation to the Economic Development Strategic Partnership on Cooperative Corporate Social Responsibility – April 2014.

Background reading / external references    

     

Council website pages: www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20234/cooperative_capital Cooperative Council Network – www.councils.coop A framework to advance a Cooperative capital 2012-17 – year one report. Report to Council 21st November 2013 A framework to advance a cooperative capital 2012/17 – joining the Cooperative Councils innovative network – report to Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee of 1 October 2013 A Framework to advance a Corporate Capital 2012/17 Progress report – Report to Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee of 7 May 2013 A framework to advance a Cooperative capital 2012/17 – report to City of Edinburgh Council of 25 October 2012, Craigmillar Eco Housing Co-operative Funding, report to Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee of 11 February 2014 Consultation Framework, Report to Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee of 6 May 2014 http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/download/meetings/id/42981/item_71_liberton_gilm erton_neighbourhood_partnership_-_youth_talk_presentation Just Giving, http://www.justgiving.com/

Alastair D Maclean Director of Corporate Governance Contact: Nick Croft – Corporate Policy and Strategy Manger Email: [email protected] Tel: 0131 469 3726 Graeme McKechnie – Senior Corporate Policy and Strategy Officer Email: [email protected] Tel: 0131 469 3861

Links


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Coalition pledges

Council outcomes

Single Outcome Agreement

Appendices

P6 - Establish city-wide co-operatives for affordable childcare for working parents P11 - Encourage the development of co-operative housing arrangements P15 - Work with public organisations, the private sector and social enterprise to promote Edinburgh to investors P28 - Further strengthen our links with the business community by developing and implementing strategies to promote and protect the economic well being of the city P37 - Examine ways to bring the Council, care home staff and users together into co-operatives to provide the means to make life better for care home users P53 - Encourage the development of Community Energy Cooperatives CO7 - Edinburgh draws new investment in development and regeneration CO8 - Edinburgh’s economy creates and sustains job opportunities CO10 - Improved health and reduced inequalities CO11 - Preventative and personalised support in place CO14 - Communities have the capacity to help support people CO23 - Well engaged and well informed – Communities and individuals are empowered and supported to improve local outcomes and foster a sense of community CO26 – The Council engages with stakeholders and works in partnership to improve services and deliver on agreed objectives. SO1 - Edinburgh's Economy Delivers increased investment, jobs and opportunities for all SO2 - Edinburgh's citizens experience improved health and wellbeing, with reduced inequalities in health SO3 - Edinburgh's children and young people enjoy their childhood and fulfil their potential SO4 - Edinburgh's communities are safer and have improved physical and social fabric Appendix 1 – A Framework to Advance a Cooperative Capital 2012/17 – Progress Report


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Appendix 1

A Framework to Advance a Cooperative Capital 2012/17

Progress Report – June 2014


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Developing the Cooperative Capital Framework 1.1

Role of the Cooperative Development Unit (CDU) and Cooperative Expert Group

1.1.1

The Cooperative Development Unit (CDU) continues to be assisted by an Expert Working Group. The members of the Working Group provide guidance to the CDU and each of the four project teams taking forward pledge commitments. The Group also provide commentary on the progress of the Cooperative Capital Framework and will in future meet on a quarterly basis with the Convenor of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee, and with the Council Leader in October each year to assess progress.

1.1.2

The Expert Group continues to emphasise the importance of;  promoting good practice to maximise the benefits of cooperatives and cooperative engagement across the city;  creating conditions in which market opportunities and trading within the local economy can be maximised through greater use of; sustainable procurement, co-production of service outcome/outputs, positive engagement with providers, supply chain and improving capacity in third party providers; and  ensuring that the use of not-for-profit organisations is actively considered as part of public investment programmes.

1.2

The Cooperative Council Innovation Network (CCIN)

1.2.1

The Council’s current membership of the Network has allowed access to other members’ learning and practices, in particular;       

cooperative solutions and approaches to co-production; building consortia; re-designing services based upon outcomes; approaches to measuring impacts; alternative delivery models; strengthening community interests to maximise local assets; and enhancing the leadership and influence of community leaders and representatives.

1.2.2

All of the above provide strong references for the development of a series of impact measures for the Edinburgh Cooperative Capital Framework over the next few months. This will enable an impact assessment to be provided for the upcoming second year report to Council in November 2014.

1.2.3

Further, within the current CCIN structure, discussions have focussed upon how best cooperative approaches can be fostered across other local authorities. Activity in Scotland with CCIN has included discussions with a number of other Councils, for example; Glasgow, Dundee, Renfrew, Renfrewshire, Perth and Kinross, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire and Aberdeen. The Council has also recently contributed material in the form of a short film describing the principles behind the Edinburgh Cooperative Capital Framework and a case study outlining co-production of the Compact’s Social Enterprise Strategy 2013-18.

1.2.4

Should Committee approve a further years membership of the CCIN (parallel to Glasgow City Council), this will enable a focussed programme of work that will provide strong foundations for the expansion of cooperative working in Scotland, for example (i) a range of seminars, (ii) a first Scottish Cooperative Conference in November 2014 showcasing cooperative initiatives in Scotland, and (iii) the further development of a Scottish component within the CCIN website.

Theme 1 - Cooperative Societies “Changing the market and economic infrastructure” 2.1

Pledge 6 - Establish city-wide childcare cooperatives for affordable childcare for working parents.

2.1.1

Lothian Association of Youth Clubs (LAYC) has worked with After School Clubs (ACSs) to develop a Cooperative Charter launched in May 2014. To receive the award, ASCs have to demonstrate through self-evaluation a commitment to a number of values which resonate with cooperative values and ‘Getting It Right for Every Child’. These values are;  Voluntary & Open Membership – membership is open to all parents/carers from the school or local community, and to staff or the wider community if so desired.  Democratic – committee/board is elected by and from the membership and acts in the best interests of members and of the community that it serves.  Members’ Economic Participation – members have a financial stake and are committed to, and recognised for, sustaining a service serving the community.  Autonomy & Independence – clubs are independent of local government and exist to serve member interests through community ownership and not private gain or profit.  Education, Training & Information – ASC approaches are based on the principles of children’s play and learning with training and regular information to and by trustees, staff and members to promote best practice.  Mutual Support – offer and receive peer support from other ASCs including sharing practices and supporting a collective voice for the sector.  Concern for the Community – are run for and by the community they serve and promote cooperative values and active citizenship which contributes to a wider public benefit.

2.1.2

A number of ASCs have agreed to pilot the self-evaluation and seek Charter status as a result. The Council and LAYC will also widely promote the Charter and encourage ASCs to seek the award. The key benefits offered by the Charter are; 

a clearer sense of identity;



improved profile and recognition;



mutual support;



links to Care Inspectorate Standards; and



collective representation and voice by, and for, the sector.

2.1.3

Other work is ongoing in piloting the conversion of two ASCs from unincorporated bodies to a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. This change provides stronger organisational governance and legal protection from personal liabilities.

2.1.4

A Cooperative Childcare Steering Group has now been established and has met on two occasions. Chaired by the Council’s Acting Head of Schools and Community, it brings together representatives from across the Council who have an interest and commitment to, supporting childcare, along with representatives of the ASCs with a view to providing more effective support and sustainability of existing provision.


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2.1.5

The implementation of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act provides for an increase in hours in some early years education. The additional funding allocated by the Scottish Government to deliver the additional hours creates an opportunity to re-design services, engage with partner providers in a more structured way and adopt cooperative working principles. The opportunity for any group to become a cooperative will also be explored and organisations will be able to access business development support from Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council, Edinburgh Business Gateway, local Community Learning and Development Teams and the Early Years Forum.

2.1.6

An extensive survey was undertaken in December/January 2013/14 with parents to gain their views on how the hours would be allocated. Almost all of the 1400 parents who responded indicated that they would use the additional hours, with a majority indicating that they would like the hours added to the sessions that are currently delivered.

2.2

Pledge 11 - Encourage the development of cooperative housing arrangements.

2.2.1

The Cross-Party Political Sounding Board (set up in early 2013) continues to meet quarterly to monitor progress and advise on strategy and policy development for this pledge. The Sounding Board has representation from Councillors, Edinburgh Tenants’ Federation (ETF), the Edinburgh Affordable Housing Partnership and Trades Unions.

2.2.2

Following the Council’s awarding of grant to Craigmillar Eco-Housing Cooperative, the organisation is developing their proposals to build ten energy efficient affordable homes to Planning Application stage. The report to Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee of 11 February 2014 provided an update on this project.

2.2.3

Students from Edinburgh University have set up the Edinburgh University Student Housing Cooperative. Working with the Political Sounding Board and Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association (CREHA), the Cooperative are proposing to lease a property in Bruntsfield and this has been approved in-principle by the CREHA Board. The lease will be formally signed following approval of a business plan in due course. It is intended that students will begin living in the accommodation from September 2014 pending final agreement of the business case and lease. st

2.2.4

Council officers and partners will support tenants living within the 21 Century Homes developments in Greendykes ‘C’ and West Pilton to establish community cooperatives. Tenants will work with the local Neighbourhood Teams to agree a constitution that sets out (i) the principles of the cooperative relationship between tenants and the Council, and (ii) identify housing and estate management priorities.

2.2.5

In Greendykes, tenants will initially be asked to decide on options for the use of an area of communal open space beside the homes. The first 16 properties in Greendykes ‘C’ were handed over at the start of April 2014.

2.2.6

Other prominent examples of cooperative working in Pilton have been the establishment of a food cooperative and a community shop.

2.2.7

In agreement with Edinburgh Tenants’ Federation (ETF) through the Stair Cleaning Management Board, the Council is taking forward a pilot project to remove a small number of stairs from the existing stair cleaning contract. Tenants within these blocks will work together to manage the stair cleaning themselves. A charter is being developed which will set out standards to be met in relation to stair cleaning, with an understanding that the stairs will come back under the Council Stair Cleaning contract if standards are not met.

2.2.8

The Council participated in the South East of Scotland Collective Switching Project in 2013. This project, funded by the Energy Saving Trust, allowed communities to use their


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collective buying power to get a better deal on energy bills. 116 switches took place in Edinburgh, saving households an estimated total of £16,000 on their energy bills. 2.2.9

Consultation on a ‘Draft Framework for a Cooperative Approach to Housing Services’ was carried out from 1 May-31July 2013. In general, those who responded were positive about the principle of encouraging cooperative housing arrangements. There was recognition that the Council already works cooperatively with customers in many areas and many felt there should be a focus on strengthening communication and engagement to make it more effective.

2.2.10

A more collaborative approach to voluntary advice and support services has been taken with providers, service users and other stakeholders in developing new neighbourhoodbased services to prevent homelessness in Edinburgh. As a result, there is agreement on how services should be prioritised, how effectiveness is measured and a new payments system based on the service outcomes (rather than the number of hours a service provides). This new model gives services the freedom to provide the advice and support people need to avoid becoming homeless or to find a home.

2.3

Pledge 37 - Examine ways to bring the Council, care home staff and users together into cooperatives to provide the means to make life better for care home users and care providers.

2.3.1

This pledge has been extended to include people who receive support in their own home as well as in care homes. Work is progressing on both creating a cooperative culture in health and social care services and the development of cooperative businesses, owned and run by and for their members whether they are customers, employees or residents.

2.3.2

The “Working Together to Achieve Excellent Care Programme” and related project team is taking this work forward across all Council care homes with a focus upon;  participation strategies and new personal plans for residents;  activity champions and strengthened links to volunteering to support activities;  installation of the ‘My Home Life’ workforce development programme for 30 managers from Council and independent care homes;  establishment of an engagement strategy and charter allied to the National Care Home Standards; and  enhancing the workforce, over the last three years 20 young apprentices have been employed within Council-run care homes.

2.3.3

The Health and Social Care Partnership’s Self Directed Support Innovation Fund has set aside £500,000 to help stimulate new responses to the changing needs of Edinburgh’s citizens. The following investments have occurred over the last year; 



 

‘Kick Start’ investments totalling around £80,000 have been awarded to encourage organisations and users to test out their ideas for doing things differently in the field of health and social care, or spreading their innovative practice to new areas of Edinburgh; funding for using social media in mental health (£14,000) has also been made available to one organisation to encourage the use of technology to aid the recovery of people affected by mental health issues; £52,500 for self-directed support in the Total Neighbourhood East area; a contribution of £35,000 towards the start up costs of a social enterprise ‘Upward Mobility’ which supports adults with learning disabilities in Edinburgh; and


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

funding of around £90,000 to carer support organisations that offer positive outcomes for unpaid carers.

2.3.4

Funding to contribute towards the start up costs of an employee-owned health and social care cooperative still remains, however there have been no formal proposals received as yet. The service area continues to work with the supplier community to encourage applications.

2.3.5

Established in December 2012 the ‘Network to Shape Our Future’ initiative provides a forum to directly influence, shape and implement the Personalisation Programme. Through constructive discussion and an exchange of innovative ideas, the Network seeks to improve the experience of people using social care services by building upon the views and experiences of its members. Initial key issues identified were;     

assessment; customer journey; direct payments; knowledge and information; and the change process.

Subsequent meetings have focused on what makes a good assessment, independence and prevention and the establishment of a Core Group. 2.3.6

The Core Group formed in July 2013 to;    

2.3.7

The Health and Social Care Collaborative Inquiry Group (formed in December 2012) has a remit to;

   2.3.8

change the way that the Council provides care and support to people in Edinburgh; engage people in the Personalisation Programme; strengthen engagement and consultation with a view to generating ideas and suggestions for shaping care and support; and implement new ideas and suggestions for personalised outcomes, focussed care and support and practice.

engage staff in the Personalisation Programme; generate and implement new ideas for personalised outcomes, focussed care and support; make best use of the skills and expertise of the workforce in order to assist with improving and changing practice.

The Collaborative Inquiry Group has;     

spent time exploring the implications and the likely impact of the personalisation change programme and the Social Care Self-Directed Support (Scotland) Act 2013 for Health and Social Care in Edinburgh; agreed a focus for its work by developing the inquiry question; identified current strengths within Health and Social Care to improve practice for the future; identified five priority areas for action and developed clear action plans to be implemented over the coming 12 months; and, engaged with approximately 550 people from the wider health and social care workforce, consulting with them on the thoughts, ideas and actions generated during Inquiry Group meetings.

The result of this project is an action plan for contributing to the progression of the Personalisation Programme in Health and Social Care. 2.3.9

Two Change Funds are being progressed through partnership approaches; 

in the Reshaping Care for Older People (RCOP) Change Fund there are four strands;


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(i) Investment in Community Connecting, (ii) Community Transport, (iii) Innovation and (iv) Carers Support. The Innovation Fund (as administered by Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council (EVOC) is an investment of £552,600 per year in third sector approaches to re-shaping care. 

2.3.10

the Early Years Change Fund Core Group agreed in autumn 2013 to make an investment of £0.5million in a development fund (overseen by EVOC) to enable preventative work by the city’s third sector. This fund focuses upon shifting the balance of care and in achieving a measurable reduction in the numbers of children and young people at risk of requiring further care and support.

As part of the Commissioning Plan for Social Care Day Services for Older People (2012 – 2017) the Health, Social Care and Housing Committee laid out the aims and ambitions for ‘Healthy Living Partnerships’ in the four social care quadrants of the City (North East, South East, South West and North West). These aims were strengthening;

2.3.11



local infrastructure;



community capacity and resilience; and



the voice of local older people.

EVOC has been tasked with the development of the three networks in the south-east, south-west and north-west areas of the city and will build on the success of the pilot project in the north-east quadrant of the city. This cross-sector cooperative approach will assist in achieving better outcomes for local people.

2.3.12

In the 2013 Market-Shaping Strategy, a commitment was made to develop two ‘CoProduction Partnerships’ for older people’s services. Chaired by EVOC, the Unregistered Providers’ and Registered Providers’ Co-production Partnerships have now met and bring together third sector representatives with officers from the Health and Social Care Commissioning service. The aims of the Partnerships is to (i) work together to find solutions, (ii) consider issues raised by both parties, (iii) co-produce service specifications and design of services, and (iv) better deliver outcomes for local older people.

2.4

Pledge 53 - Encourage the development of Community Energy Cooperatives.

2.4.1

The ‘Edinburgh Community Energy Hub’ was established in 2013 as a sub-group of the Edinburgh Sustainable Development Partnership. It is focussing on three priorities;  solar photo-voltaic;  district heating; and  electric car charging points.

2.4.2

In December 2013, the Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Council and Edinburgh Community Solar Cooperative (ECSC) to develop a proposal for a community-owned solar photovoltaic (PV) scheme on Council buildings. ECSC propose to own and manage a solar energy scheme with the aims of; (i) maximising the socio-economic benefits of solar energy generation to the local Edinburgh community, (ii) building community resilience, (iii) alleviating fuel poverty, and (iv) creating a fund for community projects.

2.4.3

A broader range of energy services relating to renewable energy generation and use may also be explored. Throughout 2014 technical surveys will be carried out on potential host


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Council buildings. These surveys will contribute to a detailed business case for the solar initiative for the consideration to the Transport and Environment Committee in October 2014. 2.4.5

A group of Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), led by Castle Rock Edinvar are examining the potential of establishing a social enterprise energy supply company (ESCO) to directly benefit their tenants.

2.4.6

The Council is working with the RSL group and consultants to explore opportunities for the Council as part of an ESCO. This project, ‘ESCO and Edinburgh Local Generation Partnership Opportunities’, is supported through ‘Warm Homes’ Funding and will examine;    

heat and/or energy provision to new and existing tenants; the opportunity for an ESCO to deliver district heating schemes; energy generation opportunities from the housing estate; and Edinburgh as a case study for an ESCO working with a local authority.

The Council is also looking at the opportunities for a Council-led ESCO as part of the BOLD programme 2.4.7

Harlaw Hydro, a Balerno community initiative, is almost ready to go out to tender for the ground works phase with the aim of being on site in April/May 2014. This follows the successful conclusion of negotiations with Council engineers regarding receiving a concessionary lease for the Harlaw site from the Council. Harlaw Hydro aims to start power generation in October 2014.

Theme 2 - Cooperative Community Engagement “Changing our relationship with communities” 3.1

Building on current good practice and in response to the Neighbourhood Partnership Review, a Participatory Budgeting Development Group has been established. The aim of the group is to; 

assist with the development of future approaches across the Neighbourhood Partnerships and at a city wide level; and



increasing community involvement and influence over the use of resources.

3.1.1

The multi-agency group is currently developing an action plan to promote the approach and identify new areas for development, including working with the Community Empowerment Unit in the Scottish Government to explore joint working opportunities.

3.1.2

New Local Community Plans are being developed which set out the communities’ ambitions for their area. To underpin this work a refreshed Neighbourhood Partnership (NP) public performance framework has been produced, a strategic approach to NP communications developed and new NP profiles commissioned.

3.2

The Edinburgh Partnership’s ‘strengthening partnership fund’, has made awards totalling £72,000 over the last quarter. With a focus upon partnership development, the fund has supported the following initiatives; 

Edinburgh Safe Zone – a 3 month pilot to support the establishment of a bus staffed by volunteers to provide support to individuals under the influence of alcohol or who are vulnerable, with the aim of reducing the impact that these individuals have on the Accident and Emergency services at peak weekend periods;


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

Inclusive Edinburgh - support for an officer to take the work forward to develop effective interventions to address the issues faced by Single Male Households and integrate it with the work of Inclusive Edinburgh;



Compact Ten and data collection – contribution to the employment of staff to (i) refresh the Compact Partnership’s shared vision of the third sector’s role in delivering shared Community Planning objectives, (ii) to articulate this vision and associated range of outcomes for the next 10 years, and (iii) identify the sector’s social and economic contributions in the city;



Poverty and Inequality Theme Group EPiC – looking at how local and strategic partnerships can make a difference using the Poverty and Inequality Framework;



Total Craigroyston -– part funding towards the cost of employing a worker for one year whose work will contribute to meeting the needs of disengaged young people and;



3.3

i.

reducing anti social behaviour;

ii.

increasing understanding of the impact of anti-social behaviour on the wider community;

iii.

engaging in pro-social activity/ projects; and

iv.

engaging in pre-employment training. Edible Edinburgh Festival: Feeding the 5,000 – contribution to an engagement event to inform a food strategy for the city.

BOLD is proposing the following Total Place and service redesign projects;  a third Total Place project to occur in the Wester Hailes area examining public and third sector provision; and  a pilot project focussed on re-provisioning of youth services provided by the Council and third sector in the Leith area.

3.4

In line with the Council decision in November 2013, efforts to progress an asset transfer policy have been accelerated and the following developments have occurred;  following a series of circulations earlier in the year across community networks and on the property section of the Council website, a register of interests has been created (held by the CDU) for organisations to indicate their ambitions in acquiring Council buildings and/or land. To date seven organisations have asked that their details be noted;  in order to co-produce the asset transfer policy a joint steering group has been formed and includes; the Scottish Development Trusts Association, EVOC, the registered interest bodies, Scottish Business in the Community, Council Property Services and CDU staff. This group has recently met and agreed to a timeline to draft the policy and identify content around a responsible transfer process (referencing other good practice) and this has informed the discussion paper to the Sub-Committee today.

3.4.1

In respect to developing a concessionary lets policy for the Council, engagement with affected groups and other interests has taken place, initial discussions have focussed on the need for a co-produced policy, that takes into account; the practical impacts on current recipients, transparency, accountability, affordability, capacity, a proportionate process and which is mindful of unintended consequences. A draft policy will come forward to this Committee in September 2014 for consideration.

3.4.2

As Committee will recall, the results of the first stage consultation on the draft Scottish


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Government’s Community Empowerment (Scotland) Bill was published earlier in the year. Following this, a number of amendments are required and are to be the subject of a secondary consultation exercise. 3.4.3

Within the draft Bill there are strong references to enhancing provision for community ownership of assets and oversight and delivery of services. The current status of the Bill will impact upon the Council finalising the asset transfer policy and partners will need to take cognisance of this in shaping proposals to this Committee later in the year.

3.5

The new Community Plan 2015/18 is currently in development and will be subject to detailed engagement and consultation in the autumn period and subsequently adopted by March 2014. Through a cooperative approach, the wider Edinburgh Partnership ‘family’, and other key stakeholders will agree a smaller number of shared priorities aligned to the four city strategic outcomes.

3.6

Committee is asked to note a range of related developments by the Children and Families service;  the Children’s Services Inspection (2013) judged the engagement of children and young people, families and other stakeholders to be “very good”;  new arrangements for the Consultative Committee with Parents including parent representative on committee have been well received by parents;  parents and pupils have recently been surveyed for feedback about schools (feedback received from 4,500 parents and 7,000 pupils);  new youth participation arrangements are in place including; youth peer mentors, action research groups and a recent participation festival;  parents from the Consultative Committee with Parents have been invited to be part of the BOLD initiative; and  a new Childrens Partnership Engagement Strategy has been developed and is ready to implement.

3.6

Committee Members will recall the approval of the ‘Consulting Edinburgh Framework’ in May 2014. This framework is a practical tool to support staff to design, conduct and evaluate meaningful and effective consultations. It will act as a benchmark for consistency across the Council ensuring that whenever and wherever consultations are undertaken, the practices and process will be robust and consistent. Adoption and implementation of the Consultation Framework will include:  increased participation in the democratic processes;  effective use of resources to plan and manage consultation;  delivery against robust standards and principles;  consultation results and outcomes that will withstand scrutiny;  improved transparency in the consultation process with support from the Consultation Institute; and  improved trust and confidence in the shaping of Council services.

Theme 3 - Cooperative Procurement “Changing the way we buy and grant aid goods and services” 4.1

The draft Scottish Government Procurement Reform (Scotland) Bill has recently gone through Stage 3 at the Scottish Parliament (14 May 2014) and includes a range of amendments required as a result of changes to EU Procurement Directives. These changes, many of which related to cooperative capital principles and approaches include


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the following;  enhancement of sustainable (economic, social and environmental) and intelligent buying practices;  broadening of equalities groups and related benefits;  revised thresholds and classifications for particular social services;  the need for contracts to reflect service user, community needs and outcomes;  requirements for public bodies to publish a Procurement Strategy and related impact measurement system;  greater promotion of social and community enterprise and community benefits; and  improved actions to strengthen business opportunities for SMEs and other providers. 4.2

4.2.1

The Council’s Commercial and Procurement Service has previously reported to the Finance and Resources Committee on proposals for a new Procurement Handbook and related Procurement Strategy. Both the Handbook and the strategy have been developed using the spirit and key lines of the draft Bill and EU reforms and therefore feature (i) cooperative approaches to designing services, (ii) strengthening social clauses, and (iii) applying sustainability in the purchasing of goods and services. A training programme will complement the Handbook and Strategy when published.

4.2.2

The Commercial and Procurement Service in partnership with service area commissioning teams have been proactive in applying social clauses in suitable contracts. Examples of this include; employability training in capital works (apprenticeships) as part of the 21st Century Homes programme, improved community engagement in gardening/ground maintenance contracts, contractor’s loan of staff and equipment for community benefit, etc.

4.2.3

The Scottish Government has continued the ‘Ready for Business Programme’ and therefore free briefing and learning opportunities will continue to be made available for staff and elected members on new national procurement arrangements as these emerge over the next few months. As part of this, training events on co-production will be made available in late summer for Elected members and Senior Officers.

4.3

As part of the Budget Motion in February 2013, the Council initiated a Review of Grants to Third Parties covering the £23m awarded through the annual corporate grants process. The review focussed upon best value and organisational sustainability and was led by this committee, in partnership with the Member/Officer Working Group and leading third sector representatives.

4.3.1

The review took a range of evidence during the summer/autumn of 2013/14 and the product was considered and approved by the Committee in February 2014, followed by further discussion at the subsequent Corporate Policy and Strategy Committee and Council meetings in February and March 2014.

4.3.2

The product from the review provided the following;  co-production of new grant aid programmes in place by 2016 more closely aligned to Council outcomes and pledge commitments;  assigning decision-making on new grant programmes to the relevant Executive Committees;


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 introducing three year grant agreements as standard;  introducing the notion of strategic partners status with five year agreements for key strategic funded partners;  improving corporate coordination of grants and the encouragement of enterprise and income generation;  that the review and related developments be accommodated within the BOLD Payments to Third Parties Work-stream; and  installation of a new ‘State of the Sector’ Report to this committee with a first full submission in autumn 2015. 4.3.3

Implementation of the review has initiated a Grants Co-Production Steering Group comprising Council officers and major grant recipients and this will meet on a five-week basis as the review moves forward. This group will provide guidance around;  the co-production of new grant programmes;  identifying suitable approaches to investing in outcomes; and  profiling information on new programmes as these are developed and approved.

4.3.4

An aspect of the BOLD work programme is to examine Payments to Third Parties for the Provision of Community Services. This will consider all areas of investment in third parties and will bring forward options to ensure efficiency, maximise outcomes and aid innovation.

4.4

The Compact initiative in Edinburgh is now 10 years old. The Compact Partnership Board has commissioned ‘Compact Ten’ which will; (i) identify the impact of Compact activity across the city; and (ii) produce a new Compact Plan/Strategy for 2015-25. A report on this will be presented to this Committee in the first quarter of 2015/16.

Theme 4 - Cooperative Education “Changing the culture of schools and childcare” 5.1

The Broughton Cluster is working with the Cooperative Education Trust Scotland (CETS). The Cluster has engaged with teachers and students to support their understanding and implementation of cooperative values and principles into their schools and curriculum.

5.1.2

Stockbridge Primary school is the first school to meet the criteria set by CETS for the Schools of Cooperation Award in March 2014. Flora Stevenson, Ferryhill and Granton will each have achieved this status by the end of May, as will Broughton High School. These schools will also have collectively achieved the first Scottish Cluster Award from CETS for their work.

5.1.3

The focus for this initiative has been on ‘Pupil Voice’. The success in achieving the Cluster Award has come from the dedication of the head teachers and staff in building on current good practice. A positive and innovative approach in the Cluster has been the creation of a Co-operative Learning Council, where two primary six pupils from each primary school and two pupils from S1 in the high school meet twice per term to discuss Cluster issues.

5.1.4

The Children and Families service have secured a partnership with CETS for the next three years to continue to develop cooperative schools with a plan to implement a three-


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stage Award similar to the ‘Healthy Schools’ accreditation. Schools will build on current good practice and, in particular, focus on supporting Pupil Councils to implement and explain the values and principles of how to become schools of cooperation. The ambition of partners is that by 2017/18 all schools will be have attained Cooperative Schools status. 5.1.5

In October 2012 a new system for the Consultative Committee with Parents [CCwP] and the introduction of 5 Neighbourhood Parent Groups and 1 city wide Special Schools Group was installed. This has led to an increase in the number of parents attending and engaging with the Council to discuss educational issues. To date, discussions have centred around;       

5.2

improved communications; strategic management of school places and rising rolls; parental engagement; improving community access to schools; new arrangements for Service Support Officers; property issues; and new National Qualifications.

The Compact Partnership’s new Social Enterprise Strategy includes targets around growing the number of establishments where Enterprise in Education occurs. St Augustine’s High School as well as Edinburgh University will be amongst those receiving a national award recognising their contribution.

Theme 5 - Cooperative Service Design “Changing the way we review and design services” 6.1

The BOLD initiative is examining options to establish a third Total Place project in Wester Hailes, following continued operations of ‘Total Neighbourhood’ in East Edinburgh, and ‘Total Craigroyston’ in North Edinburgh which continue to develop well.

6.1.1

BOLD supports the principles of; (i) enhancing the role of service users, (ii) benefitting from providers’ experience, and (iii) a desire to empower staff, providers and users to work better together to find solutions.

6.1.2

The early work in Leith by the children and families service in partnership with third sector groups, will examine how youth services are provided to assist young people in the area to realise their outcomes. The product from the review may lead to a revised pattern of service and resource.

6.2

Focussing on the importance of promoting the cooperative model and cooperative approaches to shaping services around the needs of citizens has become the theme for an ongoing number of quarterly seminars with senior service managers and the Council Leader. Recent events have included a briefing to around 100 senior managers from across the Council.

6.2.1

These initial sessions have been well received by staff and are leading to a better understanding of the cultural and practical objectives of the Framework. This approach will therefore be broadened out over the next period to include; (i) Neighbourhood Partnership staff (September) and (ii) Council buyers and commissioners (November).

6.2.2

Discussion sessions will also occur across community fora and in a range of other settings at the request of Compact, strategic groups and other interests as these come forward over the remainder of 2014/15.


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6.3

Children and Families are proactively including users and/or their representatives in a range of initiatives including;  a third sector representative within the Childrens Partnership Chief Officers’ Group;  parents of children with disabilities now play a key part in helping to redesign the holiday play-schemes experience; and  proposals for the development of integrated children’s services have recently been approved by the Education, Children and Families Committee. These proposals will enable the redesign of childrens services and will be the subject of external engagement and consultation.

6.4

The Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Partnership is undertaking a ‘Commissioning Collaborative’ approach to reshaping the treatment and recovery service where there are a number of challenges. Working with service users, providers and key professionals, a revised package of care is being developed as follows; 

a re-balance of investment that focuses upon increasing capacity in preventative services and those that enhance and sustain recovery;



effectively deal with service pressures and manage demand;



take into account long-term needs of the client group;



design services around desired outcomes;



improve user involvement in designing services; and;



ensure best value and efficiency while improving front-line services.

6.5

In homeless services, a significant reshaping of services been introduced. A number of providers have expressed a desire to move away from an inputs (hourly-rate) based provision, to have an outcome-based focus.

6.6

The new Council website has been the subject of a series of revisions which have involved a series engagements with communities of interest and will lead to improved access to particular community interests, for example;  

for non- English speakers, software to convert the text to their language of choice – this will be in place in the next few months; improving access to digital services across six sites in the city (with related support and training) for those who currently do not have access to a computer.

6.7

The Library Service has committed to providing a cooperative initiative in each facility and is beginning to take this forward in the Craigmillar Neighbourhood area where a local group of volunteers are working on a project to improve the I.T. skills of young men in the local area.

6.8

At the last meeting of the Committee, a presentation was made in respect to the ‘Youth Talk’ initiative where young people are actively engaged in shaping a range of services in their neighbourhood. This is considered to be a good example of cooperative working. Theme 6 - Cooperative Corporate Social Responsibility (CCSR) “Changing Corporate Social Responsibility to meet city outcomes”

7.1

This theme provides the main route for the SME/business sector to engage with the Cooperative Capital Framework.


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7.1.1

The Edinburgh Guarantee is an example of successful and purposeful CCSR engagement across the public, business and third sectors where over 200 employers are now engaged providing employment support to around 900 young people.

7.2

The issue of CCSR has recently been considered by the Compact Partnership Board and Economic Development Strategic Partnership. In discussions, it has become apparent that there are significant benefits in establishing a city-wide CCSR Plan as this will;  enable the SME/business community, public sector and third sectors to collectively consider the focus for joint and coordinated activity;  maximise impact and benefit to both communities and organisations; and  contribute to city outcomes.

7.2.1

Preparations to co-produce a plan are being taken forward by the CDU and Economic Development service and this will be the subject of further engagement and consultation. It is anticipated that the draft plan (as proposed to Committee) be formed over the summer period and presented for approval to the Edinburgh Partnership in the late autumn/winter 2014/15.

7.2.2

While the Plan will be ambitious, it will be the first time that such a plan has been prepared for Edinburgh to assist with community planning outcomes. It is envisaged that initial action will focus upon a few initiatives or themes, for example; avoiding debt, support for vulnerable young people, fostering, entrepreneurship, etc. and as confidence, deliverables and effectiveness builds across partners, increased activity should ensue over the next few years.

7.3

In discussion with the Convenor of the Communities and Neighbourhoods Committee, Church of Scotland, Scottish Business in the Community, third sector finance advice services and Council officials, it is proposed that a campaign highlighting routes to responsible lending for those in poverty and disadvantage take place in November 2014. This forms part of the city’s response to the increasing numbers of people using ‘pay-day lending’ facilities and an outcome will be to ensure that where people continue to seek short-term financial help, this can be sought from community or responsible financial sources, for example; local credit unions, mainstream lenders, etc.

7.4

The Economic Development service are preparing to undertake an audit of CCSR-related activity within the Edinburgh business/SME sector over the summer period. This data will help inform the range and scope of the proposed CCSR Plan for Edinburgh.

7.5

A key aspect of the Compact’s Social Enterprise Strategy is to strengthen engagement across the SME/business sector and third sector groups with a view to attracting resources for investment for community benefit and return. Edinburgh Business Gateway has recently launched the new Business Mentors Scheme for social enterprises and this will enable a range of organisations to benefit from the advice of senior business figures in the city.

7.6

The Lord Provost once again hosted the city’s annual volunteering awards in early June 2014 and this acknowledge the significant impact of volunteering across the city and in particular identified Edinburgh’s eighth ‘Volunteer of the Year’. The proposed additional awards (as identified in item 3.9 of the main report) will in future enable the Council to better recognise those staff.

7.7

An update on the progress of the Compact’s Volunteering Strategy will be submitted to this


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Committee as part of the ‘State of the Sector’ Report. This will detail;  

operational aspects of the Council’s two-year pilot Employer Supported Volunteering Scheme; and key events in Neighbourhood Partnership areas that both reward and recognise local volunteers.


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