Aberdeen City Council co-leader and new chair of community planning Aberdeen, Councillor Alex Nicoll, welcomed efforts made to keep people safe and improve life chances.

The LOIP contains goals that include reducing harm, supporting people into fair work and maximising their income and improving mental well-being.

The report showed 96.6% of children – more than 19 out of 20 – are now reaching their expected developmental milestones, with 93.2% of young people (including 86% of care experienced young people) leaving school for positive sustained destinations.

Community Justice Outcomes targets were exceeded with 35.6% fewer people receiving a first ever court conviction and 2.2% fewer being convicted within one year. There was also a 4.2% reduction in harmful levels of drinking, while 451 people were trained to dispense lifesaving naloxone to prevent drug-related deaths.

Councillor Nicoll said: “The city has faced significant challenges in recent years resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, a global economic downturn, and now the soaring cost of living in the UK.

“The LOIP gives us a basis for working together to combat the impact of deprivation and improve life chances for our residents. The progress described in today’s report is to be welcomed but we also recognise the challenges ahead for the city and the importance of responding locally to those.”

The last 12 months also saw the establishment of a new Community Empowerment Network, bringing together 27 community groups to support delivery of local improvement activities.

At this week’s meeting, the board also approved the following three project-end reports, which included increasing the number of prisoners voluntarily accessing support services upon their release and increasing new community-run green spaces in collaboration with volunteers, schools and other groups.