Board Meeting - September 2022

This document contains the draft minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board Meeting held on 10 June 2022. The meeting included discussions and decisions on various topics, including the National Park Partnership Plan 2022-2027 (NPPP), beaver translocation, and capercaillie conservation. The board approved the NPPP for submission to Scottish Ministers, decided to take a lead role in beaver translocation, and discussed strategies for capercaillie conservation. Additionally, the board reviewed a Public Sector Equality Duty Report and noted draft minutes of committee meetings. The meeting concluded with reminders about an upcoming online session on food security and a request to update the board skills matrix.

This document contains the agenda for the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board meeting on 9 September 2022. The meeting will cover welcoming attendees and apologies, approving the minutes from the previous meeting on 10 June 2022, and declarations of interest. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will provide a report and convener's update. The board will make decisions on the 2023-2027 corporate plan, a consultation response on the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, land reform in a net-zero nation consultation response and the election of the Board Deputy Convener. The board will also receive information on the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan 2017-2022 review of outcomes, annual reports from board committees and draft minutes from committee meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for 25 November 2022.

This document contains the CEO report and convener update for the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) from September 9th, 2022. The report highlights the main strategic areas of work being directed by the management team. Some key areas covered include conservation efforts such as the Cairngorms Nature Index, capercaillie projects, and woodland creation. The Park Authority is also focusing on peatland restoration, moorland management, and deer management. Visitor experience initiatives include managing for visitors, ranger services, and improving access and long-distance routes. Additionally, there are updates on volunteering, active travel, climate conscious communities, rural development, planning casework, housing delivery, and the wellbeing economy project. The report also details community engagement, including the launch of the National Park Partnership Plan, community drop-in sessions, and partnerships with various organizations. Communications efforts are highlighted, along with website and social media updates, publications, and organizational development initiatives such as business continuity planning and staffing updates. Finally, the Board Convener and Deputy Convener provide updates on their external engagements.

This document contains a formal board paper from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority), dated 9 September 2022, regarding the development of the 2023 to 2027 Corporate Plan. The paper seeks the board members' views on the potential structure and content of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (NPA) Corporate Plan for 2023 to 2027 and recommends that the board considers the outline of the proposed structure and provides feedback. The Management Team proposes to take a clear focus from the National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP) in developing the Corporate Plan, and an initial draft structure for the 2023 to 2027 Corporate Plan is presented in Annex I of the paper. The Senior Management Team will continue to develop a draft corporate plan, and the board will be asked to consider a full detailed draft of the corporate plan as a next step, as well as consider a new strategic risk and opportunity register.

This document contains an outline structure for the Cairngorms National Park Authority's (Park Authority) Corporate Plan for 2023 to 2027. Scotland's national parks aim to be models of sustainable development, and the Cairngorms National Park (National Park) has four aims set by the Scottish Parliament. The Park Authority's purpose is to ensure these aims are achieved in a coordinated way, giving greater weight to conserving the area's natural and cultural heritage. The Park Authority is responsible for coordinating the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP). The Corporate Plan is driven by the NPPP and outlines how the Park Authority will deliver aspects of the NPPP, working with partners to achieve agreed objectives, with three priority objectives around nature, people, and place. The Park Authority aims to be the best small public body in Scotland, operating sustainably and promoting inclusivity, and will also lead the Cairngorms Peatland Action Programme, supporting community bodies and implementing Scottish Government directions around working practices. The Park Authority's work will involve direct project delivery, resource support, influencing policy, coordinating activities, and establishing performance management frameworks.

This document contains a formal board paper from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority), dated 9 September 2022, regarding a proposed response to the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy (SBS) consultation. Prepared by Sarah Henshall and Andy Ford, the paper seeks the Board's approval for the Park Authority's response to the SBS consultation, which is included as Annex 1. The response highlights the Park Authority's agreement with the evidence of biodiversity loss, key challenges, and opportunities for tackling climate and biodiversity crises and offers feedback on the SBS vision, outcomes framework and conditions for success, emphasizing the importance of landscape-scale restoration, targeted species conservation, and integrating nature recovery into wider land management.

This document contains a formal board paper from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) regarding their response to the Scottish Government's consultation on Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation. The Park Authority welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Land Reform consultation. The core aims of the Scottish Governments land reform policy are to increase diversity of landownership, bring about changes in land use, and to create more opportunities for communities to engage in decision making about the land around them, and share in the benefits it brings. The Park Authority’s response covers topics such as criteria for large-scale landholdings, land rights and responsibilities, compulsory land management plans, a public interest test for land acquisition, new conditions for public funding, transparency of land ownership, and other land-related reforms, especially regarding community and national benefits from natural capital investment. The Park Authority board is asked to approve the proposed response to the consultation.

This document contains a review of the outcomes of the work to coordinate and deliver the Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP) 2017-2022. The Cairngorms National Park Authority asks the Board to review the update on outcomes and achievements against the NPPP 2017-2022 and to highlight any achievements or exceptions that may need particular attention in delivery of the new Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan for 2022 to 2027. The NPPP 2017-2022 was approved by Scottish Ministers in 2017 as the management plan for the Cairngorms National Park and provides strategic direction for five key strategies and plans. The National Park Authority is responsible for leading various partnerships and stakeholder groups to ensure priorities established in the approved NPPP are achieved.

This document contains information about the Cairngorms National Park Authority's (CNPA) program delivery and conservation efforts. It covers a range of priorities, including landscape-scale conservation, deer management, moorland management, visitor experience, active Cairngorms, and rural development. The document details actions, key work areas, five-year outcomes, milestones, delivery progress, and assessments for each priority, highlighting both successes and areas where more work is needed.

This document contains information for the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) board meeting on 9 September 2022, regarding the election of a new Deputy Convener. The purpose of the paper is to seek agreement on the process and terms of the election, following the board's agreement on 26 August 2022 to consider changes to standing orders. The recommendations include temporarily suspending existing standing orders, approving a temporary amendment for the election of the Deputy Convener, approving amendments to implement future elections in June, agreeing to start the election process on 12 September 2022, and researching arrangements for role-sharing elected offices. The election is proposed to take place with effect from Monday 12 September, commencing with the nomination and seconding process opening on that date for a period of two weeks until Monday 26 September.

This document contains the annual reports from the Performance, Governance, and Resources Committees to the Cairngorms National Park Authority (Park Authority) Board. The reports cover the period of August 2021 to August 2022. These committees were established to review the Park Authority's board committee structures. The reports highlight the committees' activities, including seeking assurance over programmes and projects, reviewing terms of reference, developing reporting formats, and considering financial matters. The committees feel they have been successful in their work and have enhanced the Park Authority's governance and assurance processes and provide positive contributions to the Park Authority's objectives and performance.

This document contains the draft minutes of the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board Committee. It presents the approved minutes of the Resources and Governance Committees from 2 June 2022, as well as the Draft Audit and Risk Committee from 27 May 2022. The draft minutes from the Resources Committee, Governance Committee, and Performance Committee meetings on 12 August are not yet ready. The Board is asked to note the minutes of the Resources, Governance and Audit & Risk Committee meetings.

This document contains the minutes from the Cairngorms National Park Authority Governance Committee meeting held on 2 June 2022. Key items discussed included communications updates, board skills matrix and appointment process, board training and development, and board representation on external groups. The committee reviewed action points from previous meetings, noted updates on various topics, and agreed on next steps, including opening planning committee induction training to existing board members and incorporating risk and risk appetite training into mandatory governance training for board members. The meeting also covered the Scottish Government's resource spending review and plans for a debate on new National Parks. The next meeting is scheduled for 12 August 2022.