The Community Planning Strategic Board was scheduled to meet on Thursday, 4th September 2025, to discuss a range of topics, including an overview of Theme 2, Learning, Skills and Economy, progress reports from Community Plan Delivery Groups, quarterly partnership updates, a self-assessment update and improvement plan, and locality plans. The meeting was also scheduled to cover a forward planner for future meetings.

Theme 2: Learning, Skills and Economy

The meeting was scheduled to include an overview of Theme 2, Learning, Skills and Economy, which was to be presented by Lana Turner, and would focus on the Local Employability Partnership.

The report pack included a Local Employability Partnership (LEP) report, which stated that the partnership's aim is to:

work together to deliver effective and easily understood employability and skills pathways focused on positive outcomes which are person-centred and lead to sustainable, fair and rewarding work .

The LEP has several subgroups: Barriers, Transitions, Employer Engagement, Skills, and Leadership.

The report noted several core interventions that have been removed from the report unless there is an update. These core interventions are:

• Borders Family Firm - supporting Care Experienced Young People aged 16 – 25 years.
• Supported Employment – all age support to overcome barriers into employment.
• Pre Employability - supporting those overcoming challenges and barriers to employment, education, or training through personalised, strength-based programs.
• Parental Employability Services (PES) – offering 1:1 employability support to priority families.
• Whole Family Support (WFS) – support offered to families helping parents provide a better environment for their young people and progression opportunities for every family member.
• DFN Project Search - supporting young people aged 16-29 with additional needs to gain skills and experience for employment.
• Employability Training - These training programs cover areas such as employability, personal development, core skills, and customer care, and can be delivered individually, in small groups, or within a workplace environment.

The report also included statistics on new starts to the Employability Services during quarter 1, noting how many have a disability, are care experienced or have a criminal conviction, as well as positive outcomes achieved by clients during this period.

The report pack also included updates on how children and young people from low-income households are supported to develop life skills to help them succeed in life, including:

• Early Years Centres/Berwickshire SWAP
• School transition and 14+ days
• Child Poverty Action Plan 2025-26
• A Childs Journey
• Interventions Approved Funding by the LEP following the LEP Grant Award Process

The report pack also included updates on how more people have a clear route to progress into a greater variety of jobs, learning and training opportunities available within the Scottish Borders, including:

• Supporting those with Convictions
• Training
• DFN Project SEARCH
• Interventions Approved Funding by the LEP following the LEP Grant Award Process
• CTTS - Telecoms Pathway Employability Program
• Newcastleton Community Trust - Newcastleton Works Building Futures
• ReVolve - Train, Work, Job!
• Brothers Of Charity – Pre-Employability Skills Intensive Progression Pathway
• Scottish Historic Buildings Trust – Building Skills Eyemouth
• Interest Link – Employability Skills Project
• SBC - Driving Forward
• Parents are supported to enter, remain, and progress in work.
• Reclaim & Rebuild
• Your Fitness, Your Future:
• Scottish Child-Minding Association.
• Interventions Approved Funding by the LEP following the LEP Grant Award Process
• SBC – Work, Learn, Grow
• Works + - Parents Employability Program
• NHS - Bridge to Healthcare -
• SBC - Driving Forward

The report pack also included updates on how more people, especially the older community, have the skills to benefit from digital and mobile connectivity, including:

• Chrome Books
• SIM Cards
• Mobile Connectivity and IT Issues
• Digital Skills Course

The report pack also included key issues, progress updates and future plans, including:

• Local Employability Partnership Grant Scheme 2025/26
• Borders Careers Collaborative – Know Your Network Event
• Employability Job Hubs
• School Leaver Destinations

Locality Plans

The Community Planning Strategic Board was scheduled to receive an update on the development of Locality Plans in Burnfoot, Bannerfield and Langlee.

In June 2024, the Strategic Board agreed to replace the Partnership's five existing Locality Plans covering Berwickshire, Cheviot, Eildon, Teviot & Liddesdale and Tweeddale areas with locality plans, developed as part of a rolling programme, with the first three being Burnfoot, Bannerfield, Langlee.

The outline plan for the development of all locality plans can be summarised as follows:

• Stage one engagement with community to understand likes, dislikes and needs, gathered through a community survey and conversations with residents – mindful that people who engage with this work will want to do so in different ways
• Service provider survey to identify potential gaps in service
• Analysis of publicly available data e.g. ScotPHO and Scottish Census
• Analysis of data held by partners including service user surveys
• Identification of draft priorities following collation and analysis of information gathered as set out above
• Stage two community engagement to identify whether identified priorities are the right ones and which ones matter most.
• Development of draft locality plan based on identified priorities
• Development of action plan in consultation with community representatives

Burnfoot Locality Plan Update

Work on the Burnfoot Locality Plan started in October 2024 with the development of a community-based survey. The survey opened on 17 January 2025 and ran until 21 April 2025. It was available both online and in paper format. To support the information gathered through the survey conversations took place with local residents. In total, views and aspirations were gathered from 288 people.

Six draft priorities were identified:

• Improve health for all
• Improve maintenance of public areas
• Increase access to activities for young people and the wider community
• Increase access to work, learning and training
• Reduce anti-social behaviour
• Reduce child poverty

Engagement was scheduled to take place in Burnfoot to ensure that that these priorities are supported by the community as well as understanding which are most important to them.

Bannerfield Locality Plan

As with Burnfoot, the development of the Bannerfield Locality Plan is following the process set out in section four above. Changes were made to the survey structure and questions used in Burnfoot and members of the local community consulted to make sure that the questions were appropriate to Bannerfield. Terms and language used were also reviewed and changes made to ensure the survey is clear and understandable.

The survey, which opened on 2 June 2025, is available online with paper copies available locally. In addition to the survey, conversations are taking place within the community to ensure that as many people who wish to take part can do so. The survey and conversations have been extended beyond the original cut-off date to allow time for meaningful engagement to take place.

Langlee Locality Plan

Work in Langlee had been paused while the consultation on the future of Langlee Community Centre, as part of the Live Borders and Scottish Borders Council joint review of sport, leisure and cultural services took place. The Delivery Board requested that stage one engagement commence, and agreement for this was sought from the Strategic Board.

CPP Improvement Plan 2025

The Community Planning Strategic Board was scheduled to discuss the CPP Improvement Plan 2025.

The purpose of the report was to summarise the outcomes of the Improvement Plan workshop held on 24 July 2025 and present the updated draft Improvement Plan for the Community Planning Partnership.

Following the last meeting of the Strategic Board a workshop, attended by members of the Delivery Board, was convened to review the draft Improvement Plan developed in response to the findings of the national self-assessment process supported by the Improvement Service.

The self-assessment results identified two key areas for improvement:

• Board member induction and ongoing development
• Performance measures to track progress against LOIP outcomes¹

The report outlined the actions agreed at the July workshop and presents the updated draft Improvement Plan to the Strategic Board for discussion and approval.

The four statements that received the highest ratings were:

1. Partners demonstrate a commitment to the vision and strategic direction of the partnership. (100% Agree) Governance and Accountability
2. The partnership has identified and agreed which localities/communities it will prioritise in relation to reducing inequalities in outcomes. (86% Agree) Reporting of Performance Management and Outcomes
3. The partnership has appropriate structures and processes to support shared effective decision making. (86% Agree Joint 3rd) Governance and Accountability
4. The partnership has a good understanding of the profile of its area, including information relating to inequalities (e.g. education, income, health) and protected characteristics (e.g. age, race, sex) (86% Agree Joint 3rd) Community - Needs and Empowerment

The three statements that received the lowest ratings were:

1. The partnership has an ongoing Development Programme to improve the skills and knowledge of its members. (57% Disagree) Governance and Accountability (30% NA)
2. The partnership has an effective induction in place for new Board members. (57% Disagree) Governance and Accountability (41% NA)
3. The partnership has effective mechanisms for communicating with key stakeholders including communities. (57% Disagree) Community - Needs and Empowerment (41% NA)

The two areas identified for improvement were:

1. Consider the partnership's approaches to Board member induction and ongoing development to ensure members are clear on their roles and responsibilities, and
2. Review the short and medium term performance measures the partnership has in place to measure progress towards the achievement of LOIP outcomes.

For Improvement Action 1, the following actions were agreed to support improved induction and development for Board members:

1. A central resource hub would be developed to support Board member induction and ongoing development.
2. To support the induction process, members agreed to develop a structured approach that includes member biographies and photographs, alongside clear and concise content explaining the CPP's purpose and operations.
3. A short-life working group to be formed to lead the development of the induction process.

For Improvement Action 2, the following actions were agreed to strengthen performance measurement:

1. Each thematic group within the CPP would identify four to five key performance indicators aligned with their respective outcomes.
2. The CPP will also work to establish a shared understanding of how data is accessed and used, ensuring that all partners are aligned in their approach.
3. Reporting mechanisms will be reviewed to ensure they are fit for purpose.

It was proposed that the Partnership addresses the remaining three areas that the Improvement Service identified as potential focus for the Improvement Plan, once the Plan itself has been completed these being:

1. Further develop the partnerships mechanisms for engaging and communicating with communities
2. Consider how partners can improve the sharing of data to support the work of the partnership
3. Consider ways that all partners can provide leadership and contribute to the partnership's work.

Community Plan Delivery Groups Progress Reports

The Community Planning Strategic Board was scheduled to receive progress reports from the Community Plan Delivery Groups. These included:

• Theme 1 – Poverty (written update)
• Theme 2 – Learning, Skills & Economy (included within Item 6)
• Theme 3 – Good Health & Wellbeing (written update)
• Theme 4 – Place, Community & Connectivity (written update)

Theme 1: Poverty

The Theme 1 update reported on child poverty levels in the Scottish Borders, and noted that:

• 15.9% of children still live in poverty (before housing costs)
• 21.5% of children still live in poverty (after housing costs)
• 15.8% of Scottish Borders Households receive Universal Credit.
• The regional pay gap between the Scottish Borders and Scotland has increased since 2023 for workers who work in the region. In 2023, the median gross weekly pay (workplace based) was £652, for 2024 this reduces to £632. This is now £108 below the £740 for Scotland.

The report also noted some successes:

• Work undertaken by the Financial Inclusion Team in 2024/25 has resulted in £1.3 million in financial gains for families in the Scottish Borders.
• The Annual Participation Measure (published in August 2024) shows that 94.2% of 16–19-year-olds, in our area, were engaged in education, employment, training, or personal development. This compares to 92.7% nationally.
• In 2024-25 The Consortium of Scottish Borders Citizens Advice Bureaux had 17,686 client contacts and achieved a client financial gain of £4,110,734.38.

The report also detailed key areas of work in 2024/25, including:

• Income from Employment: Parental Employability Service
• The Cost of Living: Child Poverty Accelerator Fund
• Income from Social Security and benefits in kind: Financial Inclusion

The report also included information on priority family types, other activity during 2024/25, and priorities for 2025/26.

Theme 3: Good Health and Wellbeing

The Theme 3 update stated that the recommendations in THIS Borders² have been developed to align with the Theme 3 outcomes in the Community Plan:

• Improved access to effective services, particularly for those who face greater challenges accessing services
• Reduced health inequalities for those experiencing the greatest negative impact
• Fewer people experiencing domestic abuse

The report also detailed workstreams, including:

• A strong focus on prevention activities across the NHS and partners
• Developing a sustainable partnership approach to developing interventions
• Improving access to data and monitoring of progress against health inequalities indicators

Theme 4: Place, Community and Connectivity

The Theme 4 update included information on the following workstreams:

• CPP Theme 4 subgroup - Digital Inclusion
• More people have access to a home that meets their needs and is part of a sustainable community
• Our communities are supported and empowered to be strong, active, resilient and sustainable
• People have access to better travel options across the Scottish Borders

Quarterly Partnership Updates

The Community Planning Strategic Board was scheduled to receive quarterly partnership updates from:

• Children and Young People's Planning Partnership
• Community Justice Partnership
• CLD Strategic Partnership (verbal update from Gillian Jardine)

Children and Young People's Planning Partnership

The Children and Young People's Planning Partnership Board has four Networks which sit underneath it and are Chaired by leaders from two different agencies - Scottish Borders Council and Children 1st. Each Network- A Good Childhood, Whole Family Support, Planning and Building Capacity and Supporting the Workforce - has been progressing with their action plan which directly links with areas within the Integrated Children's Plan 2023 – 2026.

In terms of your existing plan/strategy, what are the current key activities/projects/initiatives ongoing which specifically contribute to the outcomes, overarching themes and the cross-cutting issue identified in the Community Plan overarching and any positive impacts that they may be having on our local communities?

• Theme 1 Poverty
• Theme 2 – Learning, Skills and Economy
• Theme 3- Good Health and Wellbeing
• Theme 4- Place, Community and Connectivity

As previously reported on, cutting across all the four themes of the Community Plan is the work being undertaken by the Children and Young People's Planning Partnership in relation to the incorporation of Children's Rights.

Community Justice Partnership

The Community Justice Board reported on the Scottish Borders Community Justice Local Outcomes Improvement Plan 2024 - 2029.

The report noted the following:

• National Aim 4: Strengthen the leadership, engagement and partnership working of local and national justice partners.
• National Aim 3: Ensure that services are accessible and available to address the needs of individuals accused or convicted of an offence.
• National Aim 4: Strengthen the leadership, engagement and partnership working of local and national justice partners.

CLD Strategic Partnership

In June, HMIe³ revisited Scottish Borders Council to assess progress in the governance and leadership of CLD and data usage following the 2024 inspection of CLD services. HMIe noted good progress had been made in strengthening the governance of the CLD Partnership Plan with improved reporting, clearer roles and responsibilities and a focused approach to the plan's eight priorities.

The Partnership is preparing for the extension of the interim 2024- 2025 plan into the full three-year CLD Partnership Plan, 2024-2027.

The report also noted the following:

• Theme 2 and 3 Partners have identified opportunities to expand accreditation opportunities following the baselining exercise.
• A subgroup of the Partnership is exploring a digital platform to promote learning programmes and events to the community.
• Theme 4 SBC's CLD service provides SQA qualifications in Digital Skills (level 3 and 4).

Forward Planner

The Community Planning Strategic Board was scheduled to review the forward planner for future meetings.