2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
Health and Wellbeing
Community Safety
Economic
Environment
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
SOA Enabling Plans
Early Intervention and Prevention
Understanding Place
Planning and Delivering for Outcomes
Inequalities
Community Engagement
Life Stages
Performance Management and Reporting
CPP Development Plan
19
19
19
20
20
21
21
21
22
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Achieving Positive Outcomes 2013-2023
SOA Annual Report 2013/14
1.
INTRODUCTION
West Lothian Community Planning Partnership (CPP) launched its new Single Outcome
Agreement (SOA) for 2013-2023, ‘ Achieving Positive Outcomes ’, in November 2013. The
Community Plan (‘Towards 2020’) has been converged with the new SOA to create West
Lothian’s ‘plan for place’. The SOA sets out the long term outcomes we want to achieve in West
Lothian and outlines how the Partnership will plan and deliver on these outcomes.
The SOA is based on a shared understanding of our communities which has been developed through a rigorous process of data analysis. The Community Planning wide Strategic Assessment allowed us to gain an evidence-based understanding of our local priorities and identified ‘Tackling
Inequalities’ as the core theme for the CPP. The local priorities identified were translated into 8 local SOA outcomes at a Partnership Development Day in February 2013. Our local outcomes have been aligned to the 6 national priority areas for SOAs and the 16 National Outcomes.
Our eight local outcomes:

Our children have the best start to life and are ready to succeed

We are better educated and have access to increased and better quality learning and employment opportunities

Our economy is diverse and dynamic and West Lothian is an attractive place for doing business

We live in resilient, cohesive and safe communities

People most at risk are protected and supported to achieve improved life chances

Older people are able to live independently in the community with an improved quality of life


We live longer, healthier lives and have reduced health inequalities
We make the most efficient and effective use of resources by minimising our impact on the built and natural environment
A new suite of short, medium and long term performance indicators and targets have been identified below each of these outcomes to enable us to measure and monitor activity and progress against each outcome.
This annual report for 2013/14 outlines progress against each SOA outcome, highlighting some high-level performance information alongside good practice examples and case studies to illustrate the impact of interventions. There are a number of enabling themes that allow the
Partnership to deliver on these outcomes and progress against these is outlined in the second part of the report.
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2.
ACHIEVING OUR OUTCOMES
2.1
HEALTH AND WELLBEING
EDUCATION

Attendance levels in West Lothian nursery schools remain consistently above 90%. Although nursery school attendance is non-statutory, West Lothian Council (WLC) has a positive attendance policy implemented effectively by schools.
Good Practice Example
Free breakfast provision in West Lothian to all children in primary school and to young people with free school meal entitlement in Secondary has had a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people. In almost all Secondary Schools there is very high uptake by young people and in primary school there is an upward trend in children attending breakfast clubs. As a result of our work our children and young people are safer, more active and achieving, healthier and more respected, responsible and included. We are addressing disadvantage and inequality by providing breakfast for all and promoting uptake by our most vulnerable children and young people. In
Secondary schools the cashless card reduces stigma and uptake is exceptionally high. Young people are taking responsibility for setting up and clearing away and contributing to discussion on how to improve the breakfast clubs.
HEALTH

Encouraging and supporting breastfeeding is recognised as an important public health activity. In West Lothian and Scotland the overall breastfeeding rate has remained at a broadly similar level over the last decade. In 2012/13 the percentage of babies exclusively breastfed at 6-8 weeks was 23.4%, compared to 26.2% nationally.
Good Practice Example
To improve on breastfeeding levels there has been a focus on developing peer support networks. In addition to providing professional support we aim to match each new breastfeeding mother with a peer supporter who is able to provide informal support which has resulted in a small incremental improvement in breastfeeding in our more deprived communities. In addition to this we are working with our colleagues in education and businesses across West Lothian to promote and facilitate breastfeeding initiatives.

The CPP is performing well in relation to Primary 1 children with no dental caries, with a rate of 65.7% in 2012 (above the Scottish target of 60%). The improvements in dental health are linked to the introduction of Childsmile Toothbrushing and Childsmile Nursery interventions.
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Achieving Positive Outcomes 2013-2023
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
77.5% of Primary 1 children were of a healthy weight in 2012/13, similar to the Scottish average, with 0.7% underweight (below target). 21.8% of Primary 1 children were overweight, compared to 21.3% nationally.
CASE STUDY
Together for Health
Together for Health activity in Armadale works to reduce prevalence of childhood obesity, increase fruit consumption in school and at home and increase physical activity in the school environment.
It is a partnership initiative involving partners such as WLC Regeneration and Employability, Health
Improvement Team, Armadale Traders, Scotmid, Youth Services.
Approximately 1,000 children across the Armadale Ward are offered and eat fresh fruit once a month on the last Friday, on the day now known in the community as ‘Fruity Friday’. A small survey of the children demonstrated that they enjoyed Fruity Friday and as a result were eating more fruit in school and at home.
Fruity Friday has now been launched in the community with up to 60-70 participants at an afternoon session in the newly opened Dale Hub in Armadale. This session includes preparation, tasting and education around fruit. It is co-delivered by the community group, the Dale Food
Group, supporting sustainability. Other community sessions have taken place in local youth clubs.
As part of this initiative over 300 families pledged their commitment to trying to achieve their five a day. A small sample of these when followed up demonstrated that 75% were eating more fruit and some families had changed their behaviour, with adults exercising more, people walking more as a family and as individuals and people eating less sweets, junk food and sugary drinks.
VULNERABLE FAMILIES
Good Practice Example
There are a number of specialist services for vulnerable families in West Lothian, including Early Years
Centres in areas of deprivation, Family Centres offering focused social work to parents and children,
Sure Start, Parenting programmes, the Armadale Community Family Project at the Dale Hub in
Mayfield (a community-based Early Years hub hosting a range of partnership Early Years services from council and voluntary sector partners), Family Nurse Partnership (providing intensive support targeted to first time teenage mothers), which is linked with the Young Mothers’ Service (providing intensive keyworking provision for vulnerable young mothers and their children, who are in need of intensive, holistic support and who would not be included in the Family Nurse Partnership, e.g. by virtue of their age, substance misuse or second pregnancy).
The Families Included Service targets whole families with very complex needs using a strengthsbased key worker model. The aim is to work with families on their own terms, addressing issues that are live and important for the family by building strong and persistent relationships between professionals and families (taking a co-production approach), supporting them to navigate and negotiate services and release the strengths already present within the family. The team is governed by a multi-agency steering group and each of the partners supports the key workers as they address
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Achieving Positive Outcomes 2013-2023
SOA Annual Report 2013/14 the varied needs of the families. Early indications are that families are making positive changes in their lives, including reduced anti-social behaviour and housing issues, improved family functioning and home conditions.
The Reshaping Care for Older People (RCOP) programme focuses on shifting the balance of care from acute, residential services to managed care pathways for older people, providing realistic alternatives to admission. The information below demonstrates that we have begun this shift and it is anticipated that this programme will improve our performance in relation to older people’s services in the coming years.
EMERGENCY ADMISSIONS

Although the rate of patients aged 65+ with 2+ emergency admissions is higher than the
Scottish average, we have seen a positive reduction from the 2012 figure (5,632 per 100,000 in 2013 compared to 5,815). There has been a strong focus on prevention of hospital admission through our RCOP Programme and establishment of new services focused on rapid assessment and delivery of hospital at home interventions together with development of Crisis Care and universal Reablement Services. Together these interventions are starting to have a positive impact on emergency admissions and bed days and will be expanded over the coming year.
COMMUNITY CARE

Latest data shows that the percentage of time in the last 6 months of life spent at home or
in a community setting is on target, at 89.9% in H2 2011/12. The percentage of adults needing care receiving personal care at home or direct payments for personal care increased to 93.2% in 2012/13.

2013/14 data shows that 95% of community care service users continue to feel safe, 89% are satisfied with their opportunities for social interaction and 90% community care users and carers are satisfied with their involvement in the design of care packages.
Good Practice Example
WLC has embarked on an expansion of the Reablement Service and the creation of a Crisis Care
(intermediary) Service. Reablement is designed to help people learn or re-learn the skills necessary for daily living which may have been lost through deterioration in health and/or increased support needs. A focus on re-gaining physical ability and active re-assessment is central. West Lothian decided to strengthen this service by investing also in a 24/7 Crisis Care Service to further contribute to avoiding hospital admissions. There is already significant evidence that preventative interventions are benefiting customers by avoiding unnecessary hospital admissions, delaying admissions to care homes and providing effective support to carers. Partnership working has resulted in the availability
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SOA Annual Report 2013/14 of complex occupational and physiotherapy services being delivered at an earlier stage and coordinated with the reablement process resulting in faster recovery and increased independence.
Good Practice Example
Dementia cafes are supported and operate locally via locally recruited and trained volunteers to provide an opportunity for those with dementia and their carers to share experiences and acquired learning, which in turn enables individuals concerned to develop their own coping strategies and good self-care in order to sustain or improve their health.
The Advice Shop also support older people with dementia, working with Optima, Carers of West Lothian, Social Work Older People’s Team and keyworkers of voluntary organisations to offer advice on income maximisation, fuel advice and money advice for people who have dementia and their families and carers.
HEALTH INEQUALITIES

We have seen a reduction in the gap in life expectancy of the most deprived 15% and the average life expectancy in West Lothian (from 3.25 years in 2005/09 to 2.95 years in 2006/10).

Although the rate per 100,000 of general acute inpatient and day case discharges with an
alcohol-related diagnosis is above the Scottish average (732 compared to 693 for Scotland), we have seen a reduction in the rate per 100,000 of general acute inpatient and day case discharges with a diagnosis of drug misuse (from 145 in 2011/12 to 121 in 2012/13) and in the rate per 100,000 of emergency hospital admissions (from 10,746 in 2011/12 to 10,582 in
2012/13). Rapid access to assessment and treatment for Alcohol and Drug related problems is having a positive impact with 97% of people being seen within three weeks of referral.

The teenage pregnancy rate has seen a consistent decline over recent years across all three age groups; under 16s, under 18s and under 20s. In 2010/12 the pregnancy rate in the under 16 age group was 5.4 per 1,000, down from 6.0 in 2009/11 and below the Scotland rate of 6.1.
The success of this has been largely due to partnership interventions and development of services such as Healthy Respect and the Chill Out Zone which enable young people to access support and advice when they need it.
Good Practice Example
The Health Improvement Team (HIT) is a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary team with staff from WLC and NHS Lothian whose aim is to improve the health of the people of West Lothian and to reduce health inequalities. The HIT supports and provides information, courses and activities to staff, community groups and organisations in target areas, e.g. promoting good maternal and infant nutrition including Healthy Start voucher/free vitamins uptake; breastfeeding; weaning; healthy eating; literacy and numeracy; physical activity; Community Development and Health courses. Health literacy and community empowerment are promoted through ‘Health Issues in the Community’
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SOA Annual Report 2013/14 course. In 2013/14, 709 staff and volunteers were trained in areas of physical activity, mental wellbeing and food and health.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

We have seen a significant increase in residents engaging in physical activity. 26% of Citizens
Panel members in 2013 engaged in physical activity 5 or more times a week (largely walking), compared to 17% in 2010. Between 2012/13 and 2013/14 the number of visits to West Lothian
Leisure by concessionary card holders in receipt of benefits increased from 10,644 to 13,156, well ahead of target.
Good Practice Example
West Lothian Leisure works closely with partners to improve health outcomes for local people. The
First Steps to Health & Wellbeing is an exercise referral project in West Lothian between GPs and
Xcite Leisure. It is aimed at increasing the physical activity levels of referred patients and encouraging longer term commitment to exercise and activity. The First Steps programme operates in a number of areas, including the Fauldhouse Partnership Centre. Since First Steps began there have been over
8,696 referrals across West Lothian.
HOMELESSNESS

The percentage of council tenancies sustained after 12 months for previously homeless people has remained high (89.8% at Quarter 4 2013/14) and the number of potential evictions successfully prevented by the Advice Shop exceeded the target set (at 198 in Quarter 4
2013/14). From 2013/14 we will also be measuring the number of applicants where homelessness is prevented. The homelessness prevention team successfully works with the applicant to explore the range of housing options available across the social and private rented sector and voluntary sector.
Good Practice Example
Homeless football is a monthly activity delivered in partnership with WLC, NHS and voluntary organisations to improve physical and mental wellbeing of people who are or have been homeless or are at risk of homelessness, offering a unique way of amalgamating health promotion and improving physical fitness to empower people. Health promotion and/or service awareness sessions are held at half time and individuals are encouraged to work with other services. Homeless Football has allowed participants to improve their health and make significant changes to their future lifestyle choices, reduce their social isolation and develop their football skills. It has provided a very good opportunity to Team Build and several people in homeless accommodation have continued to participate in the football sessions after they have moved into their permanent tenancies.
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2.2
COMMUNITY SAFETY
The work of the Community Safety Partnership identifies trends of crime and disorder and proactively tasks all partnership staff and resources to tackle these issues, through the Daily
Tasking Group
POLICE

There has been an increase in reported incidents of domestic abuse, sexual offences and violent crime, however there has also been an increase in solvency for each of these offences.
The increase in domestic abuse incidents (76.6% detection rate in 2013/14 compared to
73.8% in 2012/13) highlights the change a more robust approach to domestic abuse incidents from 1 st April 2013 and the increase reflects the improved recording and reporting of offenders rather than an increase in ‘victims’. The Domestic Abuse
Investigation Unit targets the perpetrators of serious and complex domestic abuse cases and provides early and effective support to victims and their families.
There is a continued confidence in the way sexual offences are handled/investigated, resulting in victims coming forward to report crimes as far back as 1958. The Rape
Investigation Unit delivers a victim-centered approach in partnership, providing consistency and places victim welfare and support at the forefront of the investigation.
The detection rate increased from 62.5% in 2012/13 to 71% in 2013/14.
There has been an increase in violent crime (from 202 recorded crimes in 2012/13 to 205 in
2013/14) however solvency has increased substantially from 70.8% (143 crimes) to 83.9%
(172 crimes). The rise in recorded crimes is linked to the robust policing methods now being employed and the emphasis on policing night time economy hot spots at peak identified times. Weapon related crime and public space violence has been tackled through effective tasking and patrolling of identified hot spots with Police using ‘Stop and Search’ powers to keep people safe, which is lawful, proportionate, intelligence-led and respectful.
Good Practice Example
Prevention activity has focused on the West Lothian ‘Straight to the Point’ anti-knife campaign, which highlights the risks associated with possessing or using a weapon, and the national ‘No Knives Better
Lives’ campaign which educates young people about the dangers and consequences of carrying knives. In relation to licensed premises the West Lothian Best Bar None licensed venues initiative focuses on public safety and customer care and important issues such as Prevention of Crime and
Disorder, Public Safety and Prevention of Public Nuisance.

There have been consistent decreases in antisocial behaviour (a 9.7% decrease between
2012/13 and 2013/14, resulting in 1,172 fewer victims) since the introduction of partnership
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Community Policing Teams and the establishment of the Community Safety Unit, with proactive tasking and a preventative philosophy continuing throughout the partnership.
Youth disorder in particular has decreased by 19% from last year (see detail on EEI below).

Hate crime detection rate has increased by 16.9%, with each crime being risk assessed by
Community Inspectors and the Community Safety Unit on a weekly basis. Hate crime prevention activity has focused on building stronger links within our communities which has increased public confidence in reporting such crimes.

Provisional figures for 2013 show that the number of people killed or seriously injured in road
accidents sits at 52, below the target of 65. The council and its partners undertake a series of education, engineering and enforcement interventions, set out in the Road Safety Plan for
2012-15.
Good Practice Example
Young drivers remain a priority and prevention activity is delivered through West Lothian’s WestDrive initiative for young driver education, which targets 16-18 year old students. This involves inputs from
Police, Fire, ambulance service, AA, West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service and insurance brokers, who work to improve awareness of road safety and challenge offending behaviour in order to keep people safe on our roads.
REDUCING REOFFENDING

West Lothian has a strong partnership approach to Reducing Reoffending through the
Reducing Reoffending Strategic Plan 2013-18, which sets out the commitment to work together to address reducing re-offending priorities and reduce inequalities experienced by offenders. As a result, one year reconviction rate has improved gradually to 24.5%, based on the 2011/12 cohort, placing West Lothian joint second best in Scotland.

The Whole Systems Approach is a holistic approach that aims divert young people from statutory measures, prosecution and custody through early intervention and robust community alternatives. Early and Effective Intervention (EEI) is a strand of the Whole
Systems Approach and is already well established in West Lothian for 8-15 year olds. In
2013/14, 72.7% of cases did not re-offend. EEI has recently been extended to include 16 and 17 year olds. The process involves partners from a large number of agencies discussing a range of options available to support youths. The impact of EEI has led to a reduction in referrals to the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, indicating that this process is successful in diverting young people away from formal, statutory measures.
Good Practice Example
The Almond Project works with women offenders and aims to reverse the recent increase in the female prisoner population. This project is based in the Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Team and provides an assertive outreach service based on a key worker/mentoring model, maximising women’s access to services and addressing the underlying issues that drive their offending behaviour. We have very positive engagement and compliance with the Almond Project, with women who otherwise may
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SOA Annual Report 2013/14 have received little support, and we are meeting target for those with no further offences 6 months after engagement with the project.
Good Practice Example
The Persistent Offenders Project ran for a period of six months and highlighted the key services in existence in West Lothian to tackle problematic substance misuse and related offending.
Developments are currently underway to have a consistent approach among partners to address desistence from offending as part of, for example, addiction work.
FIRE

There continues to be no adverse increase in the number of accidental dwelling fires – in
2013/14 there were 93.18 fires per 100,000 population (a reduction from 101.7 in 2012/13). The main focus of Scottish Fire and Rescue Service prevention activity continues to be Home Fire
Safety Visit programme, available to all residents within West Lothian. The identification and engagement with those residents identified as being ‘most at risk from fire’ is a corner stone of activities. Working in partnership with all other CPP members is a key component in relation to ensuring that those who are vulnerable are referred to the appropriate agency.

An increase in deliberate fires was identified in 2013/14 (from 282.95 per 100,000 population in 2012/13 to 345.45 per 100,000 population in 2013/14) and so a task and finish group was very quickly established to review the data and implement a number of preventative measures leading up to and over the Easter school holiday period. The effectiveness of these activities will be reviewed during 2014/15 and adjustments will be made as necessary throughout the summer period. SFRS has in place a Seasonal Community Safety Calendar which identifies key prevention activities, where the service and partners can work together to reduce the occurrence of deliberate fires.
CASE STUDY
Wheelie Bin Fire initiative
In October 2012 the Partnership analysts identified a rise in suspicious, deliberate fire-raising, costing a lot of money, depleting resources and endangering lives.
There had been approximately
100 fires and the potential cost to the area was £208,000. Boghall represented 4.2% and Ladywell
11% of all bin fires in West Lothian.
The Community Safety Partnership decided that they would put into place a Wheelie Bin Fire initiative, including a partnership letter delivered to local residents, a Partnership Notification
Report for use by attending Fire Crews, fitted tilt/lock bins to ‘blue’ bins, locks fitted by the Unpaid
Work team and pre-deployment engagement was carried out by Housing Officers, Police and Fire
Service by door-to-door visits.
Statistics show that, prior to the locks being placed, there was on average 8 deliberate bin fires per month and since the deployment of the locks in 2012/13, only 2 deliberate bin fires over a 6 month period were reported. The result of the bin locks in Ladywell in 2013/14 is being monitored.
The reduction in fires mean that less Fire Service, Police and council resources were required and there is a greater feeling of safety within the community.
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COMMUNITY

According to the 2013 Quality of Life Survey; the proportion of respondents stating that they feel safe walking in their local neighbourhood after dark has increased to 47%, the proportion of respondents who feel we have an inclusive society has increased to 56% and there has been an increase in positive perceptions from respondents about their ability to influence decisions made about their communities (46%). This reflects the increased resources partners have committed to engaging and working with communities on issues that affect them.
LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN

Attainment levels for Looked After Children (LAC) have improved over the last few years and our LAC had the highest average SQA tariff points for LAC in Scotland in 2011/12 (at 205).
2012/13 figures (128) are still higher than target and are above the national average. Positive
destinations are also improving for our LAC (89% in 2012/13), reflecting the targeted support provided via key worker provision to give LAC the best chance of finding a positive destination. Exclusions per 1,000 pupils who were Looked After has also reduced, from 452 in 2010/11 to 224 in 2012/13.

One of the worst outcomes for young people is that they receive a custodial sentence and the likelihood of this is increased if the young people were formally Looked After.
Performance in relation to young people under the age of 22 who were previously Looked
After who go on to receive a custodial sentence has taken a recent dip (from 28% in 2012/13 to
37.5% in 2013/14), however through service redesigns and the implementation of the Whole
Systems approach and other services for LAC, better transitions and services will hopefully mean young people can be kept out of the justice system through EEI and other mechanisms.
DOMESTIC ABUSE
Good Practice Example
The Domestic and Sexual Assault team (DASAT) provides a wide range of services to adult and child survivors of domestic abuse, rape and sexual assault. The team includes a substance misuse specialist, a counsellor for survivors of child sexual abuse, a mental health specialist, a housing and employability worker, a specialist service for women offenders and specialist children’s workers. With the launch of the new West Lothian Domestic Abuse Court in February 2012, DASAT has extended the support provided to include specialist independent advocacy support for survivors throughout court processes and beyond. An appropriately trained advocacy worker attends fortnightly trial diets and daily custody courts, and liaises with court agencies.
The percentage of women who feel safer as a result of intervention by DASAT is very positive (100% in 2013/14). The percentage of children rereferred to DASAT has also seen a positive reduction (to 10% in 2013/14). This excellent performance shows increased confidence in services and effective multi agency working.
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LISA (Living in Safe Accommodation) is a multi-agency approach that prioritises early intervention, reducing trauma, preventing homelessness and enabling economic independence. It shifts the focus from crisis intervention, refuge provision and the displacement of women and children to meeting adult’s and children’s needs earlier, keeping them safe in their homes and providing multiple specialist housing support and employability resources to support survivors - far more than just making them safe.
CHILD AND ADULT PROTECTION

The percentage of children entered on the child protection register who had previously been on the register has seen a positive reduction (to 10% in 2013/14), most likely due to an improvement in the quality of Child Protection planning resulting in more focused work with children and their families to manage risk.

The percentage of closed adult protection cases where the adult at risk reported that they felt safer as a result of action taken was on target in 2013/14, at 90%. Percentage of adult protection plans reviewed indicating a reduction in risk of harm was also on target, at 80%.
The Adult Protection Case Conference process seeks to ensure adults at risk are appropriately protected from harm, achieved through the formulation of robust Adult Support and
Protection Plans that are then monitored and reviewed through the process.
2.3
ECONOMIC
EMPLOYABILITY

In 2013 there was a higher level of employment in West Lothian than in Scotland (73% compared to 71%) and a decrease in the number and rate of benefit claimants, with 13,690 claiming key out of work benefits in Q4 2013/14 at a rate of 11.8% compared to 12.2% for
Scotland. Whilst the reduction in general levels of unemployment is welcome, partners recognise that many individuals experience in-work poverty and under-employment and so additional attention is being focused on understanding the extent of the issue and identifying how it might be addressed.

In Q4 2013, the youth unemployment rate was 5.9%, down from 9.8% in 2011, however the rate still exceeded the Scottish level of 5.3%. Other more comprehensive measures of youth unemployment show that 2,000 16-24 year olds are seeking employment. Tackling youth unemployment continues to be one of the key challenges for West Lothian and this is reflected in the current Economic Strategy and the range of national and local initiatives that
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SOA Annual Report 2013/14 have been developed to create opportunities for young people. A revised action plan has been developed to improve interventions to improve the employment prospects for 18-24 year olds.
Good Practice Example
Positive progress against this outcome reflects the effective partnership working in West Lothian.
The Working Together Employability Group (WTEG) is a partnership between WLC, the Chamber of
Commerce, West Lothian College, JobCentre Plus and Skills Development Scotland, which aims to increase the level of economic participation by reducing unemployment. A number of successful initiatives have been piloted in West Lothian including the single point of contact for employers and targeted support to jobseekers. The sharing of information allows partners to prioritise specific interventions where they identify a need in provision. The underlying theme and focus of actions is to align services of partners and build a more streamlined and effective process for both employers and job candidates.
CASE STUDY
Employability in Fauldhouse
Fauldhouse generally has lower levels of economic activity than West Lothian, with 66% of the overall population being economically active, only 40% working age adults in full-time employment and 15% in receipt of key out-of-work benefits. The Fauldhouse Partnership Centre has allowed service integration of a range of employability services as part of the mainstream service delivery, delivered by Access2employment, Skills Development Scotland and DWP.
DWP, in partnership with Access2employment, delivers the full range of Jobcentre plus services.
The Partnership Centre is the first in Scotland to have Jobcentre plus services co-located with partners’ employment and training provision. A Work Club is provided by WLC, volunteers and
Jobcentre plus, where clients can access one-to-one support with an advisor and engage with one to many provision. The Fauldhouse Employability Group, including a number of partners, has established data sharing arrangements between DWP and WLC, have carried out a survey of unemployed residents and are due to create an employability information tool for the area.
Young people in the area receive employment support at school from Skills Development Scotland, providing career guidance information and advice and targeted support to those pupils identified as at risk of not moving into a positive destination. As a result, school leaver destinations have improved for local High Schools.
Other initiatives include a Jobs Fair held in the Partnership Centre and the ‘Knock Knock’ door knocking campaign, targeting areas with high numbers of benefit claimants and multiple deprivation. During 2013/14 the Working Together Group began to see the impact of Welfare
Reform on residents and so an initiative was developed to engage and support individuals and families directly affected by the benefit cap. Officers have been able to signpost clients to support such as debt and housing advice and employability support.
Significant progress has been made by partners in providing support and additional opportunities in response to local need. The Working Together Employability Group monitors total claimant counts of the resident 16-64years population and from February 2013 to January 2014, there was a significant reduction of 180 claimants.
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ATTAINMENT

Attainment levels have exceeded the target and remain above the national average and significantly above comparator authority levels. In 2013, 97% of S4 pupils attained English and
Maths at level 3 (compared to 85% nationally) and 15% of S5 pupils attained 5+ qualifications at level 6 (Highers), compared to 14% nationally.

There has been a significant and continuous increase of school leavers into positive
destinations, from 84.1% in 2009/10 to 92% in 2012/13. This positive trend has been achieved against a backdrop of extremely challenging economic circumstances.
Good Practice Example
The Opportunities for All Steering Board includes partners from WLC, Skills Development Scotland,
Jobcentre plus, West Lothian College, Scottish Rural University College (Oatridge) and representatives from the third sector and business community. The Board plans, coordinates and monitors interventions across the local partnership to ensure all 16-19 year olds (up to their 20 th birthday) have an appropriate offer of a place of learning, training and, where possible, employment; and the support they need to take up and sustain their offer.
The External Hub was set up to raise awareness of the support and opportunities available to young people and to provide appropriate and sustainable learning offers for young people making a post 16 transition who are most at risk of a negative destination, engaging schools and agencies working with young people in effective partnership working. Other examples of effective partnership working contributing to progression of young people into positive destinations include ‘Opportunities for You’ vocational courses, Helping Young People Engage (Activity Agreement), Skills Training Programme,
Get Ready for College, Wage Subsidy Programme, Access2Employment, Modern Apprenticeships and
MCMC Key Working. The European Social Fund supports the delivery of many of these interventions and initiatives to tackle youth unemployment.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The economic indicators track performance of the local economy during a period of global and national economic challenge. The survival rate for business starts has declined over a number of years, business stock per 10,000 adults remains static (at 302) and the total
number of jobs located in West Lothian has decreased (to 74,300 in 2012/13). However a number of these indicators are based on data from 2012 which predates the return to modest economic growth in 2013. Encouragingly, other indicators that are based on more up to date data, including town centre occupancy levels (92.2% in 2013) and new house completions (588 in 2013), show positive trends and perform above target.
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Good Practice Example
The acute local impact of the economic down turn is now being addressed through the Economic
Growth Plan, a major partnership response to the closure of the Vion meat processing plant in early
2013. The first priority was to ensure that the 1,700 workers facing redundancy were given appropriate support and assistance in obtaining alternative employment. However, to promote longer term economic growth, additional resources have been secured to help support and safeguard
3,000 jobs. The West Lothian Economic Growth Plan is a £29M package of targeted support aimed at supporting local communities, growing local companies, creating jobs and attracting new employers.
Under the Economic Growth Plan, over 30 firms have completed project work with 1.27m invested, of which the growth plan has contributed £250k. A further 70 firms are developing projects with a value of £12m, with approximately £3.2m from the growth plan.
CASE STUDY
B4 and on2 Work and Business Gateway – Client Case Study
Sam has autism, very low confidence and will at times choose to be mute. Sam was referred to B4 and 0n2 Work from Jobcentre plus who had noticed that she would not accept help from the job centre staff and would very often not attend appointments. B4 and 0n2 Work met Sam and established that she wanted to work like her friends but her social phobia was stopping her reaching this goal. An action plan was agreed on how we would take small steps towards her goal of employment.
Step one was to introduce Sam to her peer group and help her develop tools to enable her to socially feel comfortable with others. Step two was to link Sam to work experience, offered in the
Ability Centre as Sam felt safe and happy in this setting. The work placement was an admin/reception role one day per week, initially with a buddy. Sam continued in this role for six months and as she was doing so well she became a buddy to another young girl. Step three was to start to apply for jobs, which she did every Tuesday with support from B4 and 0n2 Work, also receiving support with interview preparation and transport for interviews.
At this time Sam showed a keen interest in working with dogs went with the service to Business
Gateway to have a look at self-employed dog walking service. Sam attended training days at the
Business Gateway and B4 and 0n2 Work applied for a grant from the Prince’s Trust. Sam and the B4 and 0n2 Work worker went round all local businesses advertising her service, using fliers designed by Sam. B4 and 0n2 Work also helped advertised Sam’s dog walking service. The bookings came fast and Sam soon had a waiting list.
Sam was growing in confidence and had a real sense of self achievement. B4 and 0n2 Work have supported Sam through the pathway of leaving benefits and keeping books and declaring her
PAYE. Sam now runs a very successful dog walking service at the age of 20.
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CASE STUDY
Scottish Enterprise & Business Gateway – Client Case Study
Helia Phototonics Ltd, based in Rosebank in Livingston, is another growing company benefiting from partners’ business support services. Helia was established in 2002 and has been based in
West Lothian since its inception. The company specialise in optical coatings for semiconductor devices typically lasers and around 90% of sales are for export markets. Helia has been working closely with Scottish Enterprise and the council’s Business Gateway team to secure a mixture of private and public funding for their £300k business development project. This support will assist the company to purchase new machinery thereby increasing their capacity to grow and generate six new highly skilled jobs over the next three years. The company has been awarded £60k worth of Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) and £35k from the East of Scotland Investment Fund (ESIF).
ESIF was established with EU funding support to fill a gap in the loan finance for small and medium size businesses with growth potential.
2.4
ENVIRONMENT

The effects of a changing climate are already beginning to be seen in West Lothian, with increasingly frequent severe weather events requiring responses from the Council, the emergency services and our Community Planning Partners. Intense rainfall in particular regularly results in localised flooding and damage to infrastructure. More significant damage in our communities has occurred as a result of out of bank flows from watercourses. Trends suggest that we can expect fewer dry days and a greater number of storms. The council is currently preparing a Climate Change Strategy (2014-2020) with the aim to identifying key areas that need to be addressed to meet the challenges but also to take advantage of opportunities associated with climate change. The strategy will set out six priority outcomes defining the council’s approach to climate change mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions), adaptation (building resilience to change) and sustainability. A Local Flood Risk
Management Plan is also being prepared for the area in collaboration with other local authorities and key partners, which is due for publication by June 2016.

The latest statistical data for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at the local authority and regional level reveals that West Lothian’s per capita emissions remain higher than the
Scottish total (at 7.4 tonnes CO2 per person in 2012). These higher than average levels may be a reflection of the growth of housing, energy consumption of industry and the transport corridor of the M8 through West Lothian. Figures from 2005 to 2012 show an overall decrease in emissions across West Lothian, despite an increase in 2010 on the previous year due to an unusually cold winter. The most recent figures for 2012 show an increase on the previous year of 3.8%, mainly due to a rise in gas and electricity consumption. The increase has been linked to the colder weather experienced in 2012.
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
As a signatory of Scotland’s Climate Change Declaration, the council is committed to setting an example by reducing its carbon footprint in line with national climate change targets. The council is making progress towards the current target of reducing emissions from its activities and services by 30% of the 2007/08 baseline figure by 2020/21 (currently showing an
11.3% percentage reduction against the baseline and a 4% reduction on 2011/12). Energy audits have been undertaken of council buildings to identify energy saving measures, a project is underway to replace streetlights with more energy efficient LED alternatives, and a further three electric vehicle (EV) charging points are being installed in Livingston, Whitburn and
Bathgate in 2014.
Good Practice Example
As part of the Love West Lothian campaign, the council is launching a new sustainability initiative in
September 2014 called ‘Green Impact’. The initiative will directly engage council staff, community planning partners, pupils and staff within schools, supporting them to make positive environmental changes and rewarding them for their efforts. A graduate Sustainable Behaviour Assistant has been appointed for one year initially with responsibility for co-ordinating the scheme and providing direct support to participants. The focus in the first year will be on secondary schools and the Civic Centre in
Livingston. A number of workshops have already taken place involving representatives from the council and partner organisations to develop an online workbook of activities. At the end of the first year there will be a celebratory awards ceremony for all participants.

In terms of renewables and low carbon technology, the council generated 21,221kWh of electricity through its solar photovoltaic systems, a figure which although slightly below the
2013/14 target is set to rise substantially in 2014/15 and 2015/16 due to the continued rollout of new installations. With regards to heat generation, it is estimated that the systems installed produced around 384,739kWh of heat. These figures are based on estimates provided by consultants who were employed to carry out an analysis of existing installations. Proposed plans for the installation of biomass boilers at a number of sites will see the amount of heat generated from low carbon sources rise significantly in 2015/16.

The National Home Energy Rating (NHER) is a method of assessing the energy performance and fuel cost of a dwelling. The average NHER energy rating in West Lothian has continued to increase from 6.7 in 2009/10 to 7.2 in 2012/13. The medium term target is to achieve an average rating of 7.7 by 2016/17. The council’s Advice Shop provides tailored information and advice to help West Lothian residents improve the energy efficiency of their homes and help reduce fuel poverty. The council’s website also provides up to date advice on grants available to residents. The number of council houses meeting the Scottish Housing Quality Standard, which includes energy efficiency, has increased (from 85.25% in 2012/13 to 96.2% in 2013/14).
The council is on target to achieve 100% compliance by the end of March 2015.

The overall tonnage of household waste recycled decreased in 2012/13 compared to 2011/12 by approximately 4000 tonnes (to 42.5% in 2012/13). The percentage of municipal solid waste recycled increased from 44.6% in 2011/12 to 45.2% in 2012/13. The council is now reporting in calendar years (previously financial years) as required by our statutory return to the Scottish
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Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). SEPA will release the 2013 calendar year data in
October 2014.
Good Practice Example
The Waste Department is currently working with nurseries, primary and secondary schools to provide
waste minimisation and recycling resources. A series of informational roadshows have been attended in partnership with gala day organisers, Rural Connect, Financial Inclusion Network, housing associations, and community groups. New Waste Pages are being developed on the council’s website and a suite of new informational/educational materials for members of the public.

The percentage of adult residents who state that they visit the outdoors at least once per week in West Lothian is low at 36% from 2005-2011. The data is collated every three years in the Scottish Recreation Survey published by Scottish Natural Heritage and data from 2012 will be published in 2015. In 2014 Wild Day Out encouraged around 7000 people to visit Howden
Park and get involved in a wide range of environment related activities. An Open Day at
Easter Inch Moss attracted 200 people following an award of funding through the Peatland
Restoration Fund, and many got involved in volunteering opportunities on conservation projects.
Good Practice Example
The Wild Wednesday’s partnership venture with Rural Connect has involved rangers attending events across the county encouraging local communities to take part in activities in their local area and parks.
This year’s Countryside Rangers Events programmes includes Activity Weeks in each Park which have all been fully booked; ClubGolf weeks, days and other sessions which again are all fully booked at
Polkemmet and mountain bike course development in partnership with the Criminal Justice Team has seen increased participation in mountain biking in Beecraigs.
Good Practice Example
‘Paws for Thought!’ is being rolled out in West Lothian to tackle the problem of dog fouling. This is a community driven initiative, which has been developed by the council’s Housing, Construction and
Building Services team, West Lothian Community Safety Unit and West Lothian Council Nets Land &
Countryside Services. The initiative was only launched at a local level in October 2013 with a West
Lothian wide launch hopefully taking place this year. We have a number of small groups running at present.
Dog owners are being asked to take the ‘Paws for Thought’ promise and to be a responsible dog owner by picking up after their pet, agreeing that they will wear the armband, their dog will wear the collar supplied and they will clean up after their dog and dispose of it responsibly in the bin, offer a bag should other dog walkers ask for one, never confront anyone that doesn’t pick up after their dog and to report it to the council’s environmental officers, and share experiences of the initiative.
We are now inviting community groups across West Lothian to get in touch for information and to support the initiative by encouraging their communities to be responsible pet owners and to help to explain the dangers of dog fouling to others. The Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 makes it an offence for any person in charge of a dog not to immediately pick up and dispose of its fouling in any public place.
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3.
DELIVERING WEST LOTHIAN’S SOA
3.1
SOA Enabling Plans
Three ‘enabling’ plans were developed alongside the SOA to help us to deliver on our outcomes;
CPP Prevention Plan , Community Engagement Plan and Anti-Poverty Strategy.
Processes are in place to ensure that we effectively monitor progress against these plans and further detail on these is outlined in the sections below.
3.2 Early Intervention and Prevention
It is locally and nationally recognised that we need to move away from a focus on 'picking up the pieces' once something has happened, towards prevention, becoming better at early identification of those individuals who are at risk and taking steps to address that risk. The CPP is in a strong position to develop on this agenda and our preventative activity was recently showcased at the national CPP conference.
We implemented a preventative, targeted approach as far back as 2008 through our Life Stages programme. The multi-agency Preventative Interventions Board was established in early 2012 to build on this work and to further embed preventative approaches across the CPP. Plans are in place to measure progress against the CPP Prevention Plan through the CPP’s performance management system, Covalent. We can already see the positive impact of this shift to prevention, particularly around reducing reoffending and employability.
It is expected that we will begin to see further positive impact from the learning and additional resource brought in through the recent work with the GIRFEC Third Sector National Project,
(which aims to support CPPs to embed the role of the Third Sector in implementing GIRFEC), the
Reshaping Care for Older People programme and the Early Years Collaborative (EYC). The EYC is a national ground breaking and innovative initiative to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for all babies, children, mothers, fathers and families across Scotland to ensure that all children have the best start in life and are ready to succeed. West Lothian’s involvement in the EYC has already brought additional resource to the area, on top of Early Years Change Fund resource, made available by the Scottish Government to finance a shift towards preventative spend. The
CPP fields a strong multi-agency EYC team and there is a robust EYC led agenda for improvement.
3.3 Understanding Place
A better understanding of local need will allow us to reshape and target our services where they are most needed, allow us to predict and prevent problems and evidence the impact of preventative interventions. A CPP Analyst has been recruited and will take the lead on collation and analysis of the data and information held across the partnership, making use of the corporate Geographic Information System (GIS) to analyse multiple layers of data. A key task of the CPP Analyst will be to refresh the CPP-wide Strategic Assessment in late 2014 to ensure our local priorities are still relevant.
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A task and finish CPP Resource Alignment Group (RAG) has been set up with partners from across the CPP to identify all of the resources currently deployed across the partnership against each SOA outcome and to develop a framework to improve the Partnership’s capacity to target and align resources for better impact. Our focus on prevention and early intervention will have an impact on how resources are organised and deployed.
3.4 Planning and Delivering for Outcomes
The CPP has developed and agreed its new 20 year Regeneration Framework, which highlights the key challenges to be tackled to improve the lives of individuals, families and communities in
West Lothian, and outlines the actions that can be undertaken.
A key aim of much regeneration activity is ‘tackling inequality’ (as with the SOA) and the framework’s five key themes have been mapped against the SOA priorities; Employability and
Employment, Early Years and Family Learning, Health and Wellbeing, Economic Development,
Community Capacity and Cohesion. There is an obvious focus on partnership working, a shift to prevention, evidence based interventions and actively involving individuals and communities in developing and delivering solutions.
In order to work better with our communities and to increase their capacity, we have rolled out the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) programme in targeted communities. This aims to improve the capacity of officers and the community to work together, identifying and building on the assets within the community (skills, resources, property, etc). This programme will inform the development of local regeneration plans for the seven most deprived areas in
West Lothian.
3.5 Inequalities
Tackling inequalities was identified as a core theme for WLCPP through the Strategic Assessment process – partners must work together to reduce the inequalities gap and tackle the causes of inequality to make real improvements for communities and individuals.
The 'Better Off: West Lothian Anti-Poverty Strategy' outlines the commitment of Community
Planning Partners to tackling poverty in West Lothian. Since the development of the strategy in
2012 excellent progress has been made; of 70 individual actions in the Anti-Poverty Strategy action plan, 81% of these were achieved or on target between 2012-2014. Plans are in place to strengthen the remaining 19% of actions which require some extra support. Outcomes from the actions included: 1261 people who received support from the Advice Shop to deal with welfare reform with benefit claims/appeals successfully made for ill and disabled people with a total value of over £1.7 million. Credit union collection points have been developed in 35 West Lothian schools encouraging pupils to open accounts with over £75,000 saved. The strategy is well established in West Lothian and we are confident that it will continue to contribute to improved outcomes for our local people.
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A number of equality forums exist in West Lothian, providing a mechanism for the CPP to engage with members of the community on equality-related issues; the Community Race Forum,
Disability Forum, Faith Group, LGBT Young People, Youth Congress, Senior People’s Forum,
Women’s Equality Group and the Employee Equality Network. Work is ongoing to develop and align each of the forums, for example through the successful Let’s Talk Equalities conversation sessions, which allow members of each forum to get together to share ideas and experiences.
3.6 Community Engagement
The CPP is committed to the principles and practices of community engagement – only through this inclusive practice will we achieve empowered and well-functioning communities. The CPP’s
Community Engagement Plan was developed to build on and harness existing good practice across West Lothian, developing clearer and more consistent structures which provide opportunities for people to get involved at the level they want and providing appropriate tools and support to evaluate how we are doing.
We have established a Community Engagement Practitioner’s Network (CEPN) to progress the
Community Engagement Plan, drawing on officers from the council and partners agencies, as well as voluntary and community groups. The CEPN are to roll out community engagement training sessions for the CPP and the community, develop a community engagement toolkit and will also take part in the ABCD training.
3.7 Life Stages
Our early implementation of the Life Stages approach allowed us to begin the shift to prevention and early intervention as far back as 2008. Life Stages is a strategic programme of change to enable the CPP to plan and deliver more effective interventions to tackle social inequalities and build successful communities. The approach allows us to take preventative action to ensure that early intervention targets service provision where it is most needed and reduces demand for services downstream. The approach acknowledges that people have different needs and require different services at different stages of their life and so five Life Stages were identified; Early
Years, School Age, Young People in Transition, Adults of Working Age and Older People.
The Life Stages objectives are now fully embedded in WLCPP, with services planned, co-ordinated and evaluated on the delivery of outcomes, the targeted use of resources to achieve the greatest impact on those most in need, and a fundamental shift towards early intervention. Our Life
Stage approach has given us clear common outcomes and more effective deployment of input and resource.
3.8 Performance Management and Reporting
A suite of short, medium and long term performance indicators and targets were identified below each SOA outcome to ensure that we are effectively measuring our progress. These
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SOA Annual Report 2013/14 indicators are monitored and reported through the partnership’s performance management system, Covalent. This annual report has outlined progress against a number of these indicators.
A new robust reporting process was agreed in January 2014 to ensure a more effective and fit for purpose performance monitoring and reporting process. Outcomes are monitored and reported through the Thematic Forums, Community Planning Steering Group and CPP Board. Processes are also in place for monitoring and measuring the SOA enabling plans. The recent CPP audit highlighted our performance management arrangements and other CPPs have looked to our process as a good practice example.
3.9 CPP Development Plan
The CPP has a Development Plan in place, based on robust self-assessment, to ensure that we are continuously improving as a partnership. The plan is divided into four thematic areas and a summary of actions going forward is outlined below.
Strategic Direction: The development of Local Regeneration Plans, informed by the Asset Based
Community Development (ABCD) programme, is to be progressed and better links between
Community Planning and Community Regeneration are to be developed. The CPP Analyst will continue to develop a new framework for CPP analytical capacity and will carry out CPP Strategic
Assessment refresh activity from late 2014 to ensure that our SOA continues to reflect local priorities.
Governance and Accountability: The Public Service Collaborative Learning team will work with the CPP to develop leadership across the partnership. This programme will align various strands of development activity around collaboration, improvement and leadership, including the ABCD activity, the National Third Sector GIRFEC project, resource aligning activity, the youth employability action plan activity and the ADP and STRADA collaborative workforce development activity. We expect these activities to inform local regeneration plans and will allow the CPP to develop common skills, behaviours and collaborative enquiry and develop its leadership capacity.
Performance Management and Resources: Through our robust performance measurement processes, the CPP will continue to develop responses to performance issues. The Resource
Aligning Group will continue to identify resources currently aligned to SOA outcomes and will develop a roadmap to determine a resource aligning process.
Impact and Improving Outcomes: The CPP will use horizon scanning to collate performance information and incorporate knowledge of upcoming activities and developments that will impact performance. This will allow us to analyse as well as scrutinise our performance. There are a number of actions in relation to community engagement, including the roll-out of bitesize sessions to the CPP and community and exploring how community engagement process can be built into the development of partnership centres. The CPP will also explore how we maximise the use of the Citizens Panel in a planned and coordinated way to inform service design and delivery.
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4.
CONCLUSION
West Lothian’s new SOA is our ten year ‘plan for place’. The CPP has developed more focused, evidence-based outcomes and the SOA outlines how we will achieve these outcomes through early intervention and prevention, tackling inequalities, understanding place and using evidence, community engagement, planning and delivering for outcomes and robust performance management. The CPP is well regarded for its effective partnership working and this annual report has highlighted just some examples.
This annual report has shown that significant progress was made in achieving our eight local outcomes throughout 2013/14, illustrated through high level performance information, good practice examples and case studies from each Thematic Forum. We are also progressing well against the enabling themes of the SOA, which are well embedded across the CPP, and we have been highlighted as a good practice example for our preventative activity and performance management.
We have identified short and medium term targets for each of our indicators and will be reviewing this ten-year plan on a regular basis to ensure our priorities remain relevant and that we are meeting our targets. The CPP also has a Development Plan in place to ensure that we are continuously improving as a partnership. This annual report has shown that there has been positive progress in achieving our outcomes over the first year of the new SOA and we can be confident that through our robust performance monitoring and reporting processes, we will continue to achieve positive outcomes for our local communities.
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