Council Plan
Renfrewshire Council · 29 September 2022
Back to Council — 29 September 2022 and its agenda
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Council On: 29 September 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Council Plan 2022 to 2027 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Council Plan is a key strategic document for Council employees, local people, businesses, partner organisations and voluntary organisations, setting out what the Council is aiming to achieve over the next 5 years. 1.2 Alongside Renfrewshire’s Community Plan, the Council Plan provides organisational direction, ensuring that the key strategic priorities of the Council translate into specific actions within service improvement plans. This provides a ‘golden thread’, illustrating the role all Council services play in delivering these objectives. 1.3 The new Council Plan 2022-2027 has been developed during summer 2022 in tandem with the refresh of the Renfrewshire Community Plan, which covers the longer period of 2017-2027. Both plans were considered and developed through the Cross Party Sounding Board on 8 September 2022. 1.4 As outlined in the Council Plan, the Council is facing a period of unprecedented change and challenge. Significant financial pressures will continue to be managed by the organisation, whilst at the same time the Council will seek to address the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing needs of local people, communities and businesses. 1.5 Despite this challenging context, the Council Plan is ambitious and flexible, supporting the organisation to remain agile and to address new challenges and opportunities over the period as required. 1.6 The Council Plan and Community Plan have been developed through an extensive programme of work:
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• Analysing the information and data the Council and partners have about our communities, businesses and services, identifying potential challenges and opportunities for Renfrewshire • Learning from a range of consultation and engagement opportunities with local people • Identifying key themes and priorities through discussions with strategic partners, community planning governance structures and Elected Members 1.7 A key stage in the development of the Council Plan and refresh of the Community Plan was a joint session of the Cross Party Sounding Board earlier this month. At the session, Elected Members discussed the priorities emerging from the consultation and engagement process and gave direction on the focus of both Plans as they were finalised. 1.8 The Council Plan 2022-2027 is attached as Appendix 1 of this report and sets out the following vision: “Creating a fairer Renfrewshire built on innovation, wellbeing and opportunity” 1.9 The Plan is high level in nature and sets out how the Council will work with partners, communities and businesses to progress 5 strategic outcomes: • Place – working together to enhance wellbeing across communities • Economy – building an inclusive, green and resilient economy • Fair – nurturing bright, happy and healthy futures for all • Green – leading Renfrewshire to Net Zero • Living our values – making a difference together 1.10 The Plan also describes a cross-cutting theme – improving outcomes for children and families. Every one of the 5 strategic outcomes should directly contribute to this outcome and demonstrate that services are working together to get it right for children, families and communities. 1.11 Detailed actions, performance and data measures relating to these outcomes will be taken forward through Service Improvement Plans. This will ensure that the organisation can evidence progress made towards delivering the Council Plan, and that progress is regularly reported to Elected Members, members of the public and other interested stakeholders. 1.12 A performance framework for the Council Plan will be developed, ensuring that 6-monthly updates on implementation can be provided to Elected Members. The performance framework will be finalised and reported to the Leadership Board in November 2022. 1.13 Regular updates will also continue to be provided through our public performance reporting mechanisms such as our annual report – ‘It’s All About You’.
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___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members: • approve the Council Plan 2022-2027 attached as Appendix 1; • note that the Council Plan was considered by the Cross Party Sounding Board on 8 September 2022; • agree that a performance scorecard for the Council Plan will be developed and reported to the Leadership Board in November 2022; and • agree that 6-monthly updates on progress will be reported to the Leadership Board. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Council Plan is one of three important sets of documents that, taken together, describe what the Council is trying to achieve over the coming years and how it will do this: • The Council Plan summarises the Council's priority objectives over a period of usually 5 years and the actions it will take to deliver these objectives. • The Community Plan summarises the priorities for Renfrewshire that the Council and its community planning partners (the other public bodies and third sector organisations that deliver services within Renfrewshire), have identified and agreed that can best be achieved by working closely together. The Community Plan usually covers a longer period of time than the Council Plan and the current plan runs for ten years from 2017 to 2027. • Service Plans detail the activity that each Council service will be undertaking to contribute to the successful delivery of the Council Plan and the Community Plan. These plans also identify the activity that each Service will be carrying out to improve the services they provide. 3.2 The development of the Council Plan 2022-2027 and the refresh of Renfrewshire’s Community Plan has taken place in tandem, representing a valuable opportunity for both plans to be aligned, and for the Council and partners to jointly agree the strategic outcomes which will be targeted. 3.3 A significant programme of work has been undertaken over the summer for both plans including: • Analysing the information and data the Council and partners have about our communities, businesses and services, identifying potential challenges and opportunities for Renfrewshire • Learning from a range of consultation and engagement opportunities with local people
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• Identifying key themes and priorities through discussions with strategic partners, community planning governance structures and Elected Members 3.4 The priorities which were identified through this process for both the Community Plan and the Council Plan were scrutinised by the Cross Party Sounding Board at its meeting on 8 September 2022. Elected Members had the opportunity to discuss the emerging themes and priorities and to inform the final stages of development of both plans. ___________________________________________________________________ 4. Strategic outcomes 4.1 The Council Plan is a key strategic document for Council employees, local people, businesses, partner organisations and voluntary organisations, setting out what the Council is aiming to achieve over the next 5 years. The Plan is focused on delivering change across 5 outcomes: • Place – working together to enhance wellbeing across communities • Economy – building an inclusive, green and resilient economy • Fair – nurturing bright, happy and healthy futures for all • Green – leading Renfrewshire to Net Zero • Living our values – making a difference together 4.2 The organisation remains focused on improving outcomes and tackling inequalities - outcomes which align to the Community Plan 2017-2027. The Council Plan sets out the organisation’s role in working towards those partnership outcomes. 4.3 The Plan provides a flexible framework which will guide strategic planning and policy development across the Council. Given the scale and pace of the challenges facing the Council, there is a need for the organisation to remain alert to opportunities and to ensure that the benefits of these opportunities are felt widely. The current framework for the Council Plan will allow the organisation to address new challenges and opportunities and report on these as they emerge over the period of the plan. 4.4 The Plan is also a key tool for our workforce over a period of significant change – closely aligned to Our Values and communicating the organisation’s vision, priorities and, crucially, Council employees’ role in delivering these. It is hoped that the tone, whilst being clear about the scale of the challenge ahead, also strikes the right note of pride in Renfrewshire and ambition for the future. ___________________________________________________________________
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5. Next steps 5.1 The Council Plan sets out the key priorities for the Council and it is important that regular updates are provided on performance against these priorities to provide assurance and confidence about progress made. It is proposed that a performance framework of key actions and measures is developed and submitted for approval to the Leadership Board in November 2022. 5.2 In addition it is proposed that the Council continues to: • Find out what local people think about priorities and performance through consultation and engagement including the Public Services Panel • Detail performance through the annual performance report – ‘It’s All About You’ • Develop initiatives to support this Plan which will be detailed within Service Improvement Plans ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The key outcomes targeted through the Council Plan and associated initiatives will require to be managed within existing resources, with additional investment secured where appropriate. 2. HR & Organisational Development – The Council Plan highlights how the organisation will continue to develop its approaches to workforce planning, organisational development and the support which is offered to employees, aligned to the Council’s Values. 3. Community/Council Planning – The Council Plan is closely aligned to Renfrewshire’s Community Plan 2017-2027, with the Council Plan clearly demonstrating the organisation’s contribution to progressing the key priorities highlighted within the Community Plan. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets – none 6. Information Technology - none 7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations
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and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. COSLA Policy Position – none 13. Climate Risk – strategic outcome 4 directly relates to the climate emergency and the Council’s related activity at a local level. ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Pauline Moss, Strategy, Policy and Insight Manager
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Renfrewshire Council Plan 2022 – 2027: Creating a fairer Renfrewshire built on innovation, wellbeing and opportunity Contents: Introduction from CE/Leader About Renfrewshire About our organisation Overview of outcomes Place Economy Fair Green Living our Values How the plan works
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Introduction from Leader/CE Renfrewshire in 2022 feels very different to the Renfrewshire of just 5 short years ago when our last Council Plan was developed. Since then, we’ve experienced a huge shift in our ways of living, working and learning through the global COVID-19 pandemic, with the impacts still felt even now as we navigate our recovery. At the time of developing this Plan, we are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis right across the country, hitting households and businesses, alongside a tragic humanitarian emergency with the war in Ukraine. The world we’re living in is changing at a significant pace. But what we hope for - for Renfrewshire’s people and our place – these ambitions are constant and strong, guiding our decisions and our focusing our action. Our Council Plan sets out the Council’s priorities for the next 5 years, it describes the actions we will take to deliver change across Renfrewshire within the themes that need our focus. This Plan remains ambitious even though we know that we face huge hurdles. Whilst still in recovery from the pandemic, we face renewed financial challenges for Renfrewshire Council and likely structural changes through the proposed development of the National Care Services - both will lead to fundamental changes in the way we work and deliver services. As a Council, we have so many positives to build on, we have passion and creativity, and we remain committed to delivering strong universal services that people in Renfrewshire need every day to live their lives well. We will encourage kind and connected communities - where our citizens take pride in their place, all across Renfrewshire, and where others are excited to move here and share in the opportunities Renfrewshire has to offer. We will support a strong and flexible local economy - with Renfrewshire able to recover and adapt after the pandemic, building up resilience to support good green jobs and skills for all local people to enjoy the benefits of both living and working here. We want Renfrewshire to be a fair place – where all our people have the best chances to live happy, healthy and fulfilled lives, to feel safe, supported and empowered to unlock the strength of our collective potential. We are working towards a greener future - taking responsibility for our impact on our planet and taking brave, bold steps to protect the natural environment that supports and benefits us all. As an organisation, we want our employees to feel proud to work for Renfrewshire Council because we are a values-driven organisation, where we all understand and value our contributions, and we are passionate about making a difference for Renfrewshire. We must work smarter and in fundamentally different ways, sharpening the focus of our organisation to meet the significant financial challenges we face. We want to continue to improve our services and meet the changing needs of local people, but we must balance this within the resources that are available to us. We will tackle this together and with our values at the heart of our approach. Most of all, across all of our work and all of our efforts, we hope for loving and happy lives for Renfrewshire’s children – working together to get it right for children, families and communities – protecting, learning, achieving and nurturing. Every priority of this Council Plan will contribute to improving the lives of Renfrewshire’s children and their families. It is our fundamental duty as an organisation and our shared responsibility as citizens of this place to ensure that our children inherit a Renfrewshire where their wellbeing is nurtured, their futures are bright, and their environment is safe and healthy.
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Our vision is clear, and this Council Plan sets out the priorities we will focus on to deliver this future for Renfrewshire. Alongside Renfrewshire’s Community Plan, this Council Plan sets our intentions for the next five years and is the ‘go to guide’ for our partners, our colleagues across the Council, and most of all, our citizens to understand where we want our journey to lead and how we can all get there, together.
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About Renfrewshire Renfrewshire is located in west central Scotland and is the 10th largest Council in Scotland by head of population but covering a relatively small land mass of 270 square kilometres. Just under 180,000 people live in Renfrewshire, with our population projected to continue to grow over the next ten years, particularly our older population aged 60 and over. We also expect the number of households to increase to over 90,000 by 2028, predominantly driven by an increasing number of single adult or two-adult households without children. While Renfrewshire is less ethnically diverse than Scotland as a whole, we know it is a place of growing ethnic diversity, with our primary school rolls particularly reflecting this increase. The people who live here know what a fantastic place Renfrewshire is. With its history and heritage, our culture and creativity, and our innovation and inventiveness, Renfrewshire has always been a place worth watching. Our location is second to none – connected nationally and internationally through road, river, rail and air, but equally filled with tranquil natural spaces to reconnect and recharge. Renfrewshire is at the heart of exciting new leaps forward for Scotland’s economy as home to the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland. We’re right at the forefront of this developing sector and will enjoy the boost to employment, skills and economic growth this will bring to Renfrewshire and have positioned ourselves to attract more industries who recognise our potential. Across all of Renfrewshire, we are lucky to have a wealth of cultural and heritage assets. We’re investing £100m in these well-loved places, creating world-class, modern facilities, securing their future and ensuring they continue to inspire our people and encourage visitors to celebrate our history and support our thriving arts sector. Renfrewshire also boasts beautiful green attractions across our whole geographical area – coastal, woodland, moorland, and wetlands – with opportunities to walk, wheel or cycle and enjoy our stunning natural environment, diverse range of wildlife and striking views across the Clyde Valley and beyond. However, Renfrewshire faces a range of challenges, many of which existed before the COVID-19 pandemic but have since been deepened by both the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. Child poverty in Renfrewshire has been rising steadily, with the most recent figures telling us that around one in five children in Renfrewshire are living in poverty. This is below the national rate but is rising faster than the overall Scottish picture. Significant work has been undertaken to raise attainment for all while closing the attainment gap between the most and least disadvantaged children and young people. Renfrewshire’s pupils perform above the national level for literacy and numeracy even though our levels of deprivation are higher than average. More Renfrewshire school leavers enter positive destinations than the national average, but we know we have work to do to help care experienced children and young people to build positive futures as they move on from school. Whilst Renfrewshire’s unemployment rate is broadly the same as Scotland’s, we have far more people in Renfrewshire working in low paid jobs compared to both the Scottish and the regional picture. We also have a much higher percentage of people who are not working due to having long- term health conditions in Renfrewshire compared to the national average. Around a quarter of Renfrewshire residents live in a datazone within the 20% most deprived in Scotland.
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The impact can be seen in our health and wellbeing – Renfrewshire’s life expectancy is lower than Scotland’s average life expectancy, for both males and females. Similarly, the ‘healthy life expectancy’, which describes living in good health, is also lower than the national rate for both males and females. The rate of drug-related death in Renfrewshire is regularly above the Scottish rate and has been consistently higher since 2017. Renfrewshire’s alcohol specific death rate was more than 4 times higher in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived. Local engagement we’ve undertaken to understand experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic has also shown health worries to be a concern for our citizens. People also told us that they felt more anxious than they had before the pandemic and had experienced issues around loneliness and isolation.
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Our Organisation Renfrewshire Council is committed to getting things right. We’re ambitious for our excellent schools, our hard-working and innovative businesses, our communities and the environment. There are five services across Renfrewshire Council - Chief Executive’s, Children’s Services, Communities and Housing, Environment and Infrastructure, and Finance and Resources. We also work alongside our key partners Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership and One Ren as well as our community planning partners such as Engage Renfrewshire, the NHS, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue, University of West of Scotland and West College Scotland. We also work closely with organisations across the third and private sectors in Renfrewshire, to provide the best services in the best ways for our communities. As an organisation, we procure goods and services for Renfrewshire worth around £200m each year and we work hard to keep many of the benefits of this buying-power local. We’re proud of our team who work 24/7 to care for those who most need our support – at every stage of life – helping to make this a safe, welcoming and fair place for everyone. We provide universal services, these are the things that touch on all of our day to day lives, like street lighting, safe pavements and roads, waste and recycling. We also provide more targeted services at times where people need a bit more support, like social work and social care services. We’ve worked hard to support our communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, work which continues as part of our recovery – particularly through the actions outlined in Renfrewshire’s Social Renewal Plan and Economic Recovery Plan. We care about getting it right so that we can give young people the chances they deserve to take Renfrewshire forward and benefit future generations.
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Key facts about Renfrewshire Council in 2022
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PLACE •Working together to maximise our collective impact and influence (placeshaping) •Ensuring right supply of good quality, green, affordable homes in the right places •Working together to ensure our neighbourhoods are safe, vibrant, and attractive places to live •Demonstrating that Renfrewshire is a great place to live, work and visit •Developing our relationship with and working alongside communities on the decisions that affect them •Developing our approach to locality working •Delivering strong universal services for everyone •Creating a digitally capable and connected Renfrewshire ECONOMY •Securing wellbeing through a stronger, inclusive and sustainable economy •Linking opportunities to enhance economic benefits for Renfrewshire •Creating sustainable employment opportunities •Supporting businesses to thrive •Ensuring that all people can benefit from the inclusive growth in Renfrewshire •Supporting people into fair work •Matching skills and opportunities across Renfrewshire •Equipping all children and young people to achieve success in life FAIR •Reducing inequalities •Working with partners to increase financial security •Reducing child poverty •Supporting improved health and wellbeing for our citizens •Empowering people with lived experience to influence service delivery •Supporting recovery and championing trauma-informed practice •Protecting vulnerable people •Supporting and nurturing children and families through whole family support •Working with partners to support unpaid carers •Creating inclusive and supportive learning environments for children and young people •Embedding children’s rights in our decision making processes GREEN •Working with partners and communities towards a net zero Renfrewshire •Ensuring a just transition towards net zero, with fairness at the heart •Empowering people and organisations to make informed green choices •Integrating climate impacts into our long term strategic and financial planning •Boosting our green economy, creating good, green and sustainable jobs •Planning for future climate adaptations, particularly for our most vulnerable citizens •Protecting, enhancing and supporting equal access to nature across all our communities LIVING OUR VALUES •Ensuring our organisation is financially sustainable •Leading positively through transition and change •Responding flexibly to structural and policy changes emerging through national legislation •Delivering transformation programmes to improve our organisation and ensure financial resilience •Delivering Best Value for our citizens and customers •Positioning the Council as an employer of choice •Recognising and valuing our people •Caring for employee health and wellbeing Cross cutting theme: Improving outcomes for children and families These are the 5 strategic outcomes for this Council Plan – place, economy, fair, green and living our values. Improving outcomes for children and families runs through all 5 areas and underpins all that we do. Grouped under each outcome area are the high-level priorities we will focus on. Throughout the rest of this Plan you can read more about what we mean by our outcome areas, with more detail about our priorities and the actions we will undertake to achieve lasting positive change across all our strategic outcomes.
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Place – working together to enhance wellbeing across communities The pandemic showed just how caring and resilient our communities are – quickly acting to support our vulnerable neighbours and friends. We want to continue to harness that power of kindness and work together with our citizens to deliver the positive futures that all our children deserve. Fundamental to our sense of place are our homes. We want to ensure there are high quality homes in the right places which support modern ways of living and are energy efficient - helping us to meet our climate ambitions and supporting families to reduce their energy bills and live happy, safe, connected and fulfilled lives. We want everyone to have access to nature, transport links, good shops and places to eat, exercise, healthcare and cultural, play and learning opportunities within their local communities – sometimes referred to as ’20-minute neighbourhoods’. Creating these connected communities helps cut down on unnecessary journeys, supports our local economy and also fosters that sense of belonging to the place around us. We want children to grow up excited, inspired and encouraged to fulfil their potential in Renfrewshire and want to continue to stay here. We want families to move into this area for the great schools and stay for the great opportunities. We will continue to celebrate the arts, culture and our heritage in Renfrewshire, increasingly recognising culture as a central pillar of wellness, flowing through local approaches to health, social care, education and skills development as well as our regeneration and economic development plans and strategies for Renfrewshire. We want people from our youngest to our oldest residents to have a say in the decisions that matter to them, from playparks to healthcare, from investment decisions to the cultural opportunities that bring a smile to all our faces - we want people to feel like their voices have been heard and that we’re creating Renfrewshire’s future together. Our priorities Adopting a ‘placeshaping’ approach to developing our communities – working together to maximise our collective impact and influence across economic, social, physical, cultural and environmental policies and practices Demonstrating that Renfrewshire is a great place to grow up, it’s a place of opportunity for those that live and work here, and it’s a brilliant place for a day out Ensuring Renfrewshire has the supply of green, high-quality, affordable, cross-tenure homes in the right places to meet current and future demands Working with partners to ensure our neighbourhoods are safe, vibrant and attractive places to live Developing our relationship with, listening to and involving our communities in the shaping of their future, particularly around the Council’s investment and budgeting decisions, and ensuring that a wide range of voices and views are heard Creating a Renfrewshire where those who live, work, visit and invest are digitally capable and connected Delivering those strong universal services we all receive and all rely on - like safe roads, clean and well-lit streets, efficient waste and recycling – making Renfrewshire a great place to live
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Our actions Delivering our housing-led regeneration programme, working with key stakeholders to deliver visible change in our communities Delivering Renfrewshire’s Strategic Housing Investment Programme in partnership with other housing providers in Renfrewshire to secure the supply of affordable housing that meets the current and future housing needs of our communities Delivering our Local Housing Strategy, with specific actions to prevent and address homelessness and to support people to live independently, ensuring the different housing needs of Renfrewshire’s citizens are met Delivering our ambitious regeneration programme, enhancing our culture and heritage assets, using these as a catalyst for growth and renewal across our towns, villages and communities Providing opportunities to work in partnership with our communities and to direct local investment towards the priorities that matter most to the people who live here and make the biggest difference to their happiness and wellbeing Developing local plans that reflect the voices of our communities, alongside strengthening our local partnerships, working together to deliver local priorities Progressing our locality model of working, building on our experiences of working together through the pandemic, and acting as a bridge between local communities, local partnerships and Council services Positioning Renfrewshire as a destination of choice, through visitor and investor marketing and major events, building on our cultural infrastructure investment and the opportunities this will bring to Renfrewshire Delivering Future Paisley, our far-reaching cultural regeneration programme, harnessing the power of the arts, heritage and culture for social and economic change Delivering our digital strategy through strong digital foundations, leadership and learning – driving forward from the progress achieved during the pandemic and prioritising the next steps to continue our journey
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Economy – building an inclusive, green and resilient economy (matching people, skills and opportunities) Renfrewshire’s economy remains strong despite the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, with thousands of businesses making Renfrewshire their home and a wide range of local, national and global organisations choosing to invest here. We want to encourage this, nurturing new businesses and supporting existing businesses to thrive. The growing manufacturing industry is Renfrewshire’s largest sector for GVA (or Gross Value Added), adding £771m of value to our economy and expected to rise by another £100m by 2030. Renfrewshire is home to the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), our sector-leading flagship development establishing Renfrewshire as the place to be for excellence in manufacturing research, development and innovation. Together with Renfrewshire’s City Deal and Levelling Up projects - Glasgow Airport Investment Area and AMIDS South providing the enabling infrastructure for AMIDS including new roads and cycleways, bridges and utility provision; and Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside delivering an opening bridge over the Clyde – these projects are already bringing employment, skills and economic growth opportunities to Renfrewshire. AMIDS is a great example of how we’re already working to ensure our economic ambitions support our climate ambitions with the district designed with sustainability at its core, including a state of the art, low carbon heating network. Renfrewshire faces a number of challenges – we need to boost our working age population and ensure the people who live here can also work here in well-paid, skilled jobs and don’t need to travel outside Renfrewshire for employment. We know that many of our residents are working hard but in jobs that are low paid, jobs that don’t support them to live well and jobs that mean they still experience poverty. Employers tell us they are finding it difficult to fill job vacancies and we know there are some skills gaps too. We want to be well positioned to make the most of the green economy and develop the right skills at the right time to make sure people in Renfrewshire can work in jobs that are well paid, fulfilling and protect the environment. Our priorities Improving lives and securing wellbeing through a stronger, inclusive and sustainable economy, being creative, imaginative and linking opportunities to enhance the benefits for Renfrewshire Creating sustainable employment opportunities for people who live in Renfrewshire, attracting good employers to the area and encouraging growth of businesses already operating here, ensuring that all people can benefit from the inclusive growth in Renfrewshire Supporting our citizens, particularly those furthest from the jobs market, into fair work - well paid, fulfilling employment Matching the skills developed in Renfrewshire with the opportunities available in Renfrewshire and equipping all children and young people to achieve success in life Our actions Progressing Renfrewshire’s ten-year Economic Strategy across the 6 strategic ambitions, investing in innovation, economic infrastructure and skills
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Delivering the large-scale infrastructure projects which come under the scope of the City Deal and Infrastructure Programme, boosting employment and earnings and driving innovation and growth Delivering a Community Wealth Building approach to a wellbeing economy in Renfrewshire – supporting local enterprises and the development of local assets, ensuring how we spend our money benefits Renfrewshire’s communities and supports just labour markets and the progressive procurement of goods and services Continuing to maximise the opportunities from large investment programmes from the UK and Scottish Governments, ensuring Renfrewshire is well positioned to attract funding for projects that will enhance our economy and benefit our communities Delivering employability programmes for Renfrewshire to support our citizens into employment, with targeted approaches for parents, people experiencing inequalities and young people Delivering improvements in skills and sustained, positive school-leaver destinations for all young people
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Fair – nurturing bright, happy and healthy futures for all Fairness is at the heart of everything we do – it’s a core value of Renfrewshire Council. Our colleagues and our communities have told us that fairness matters. What we’ve learned is that difficult times don’t treat everyone the same. The covid pandemic hit disadvantaged people hardest - those already with health conditions, those already in poorly paid jobs, those already struggling. It is the same for the cost-of-living crisis and for the climate emergency. Time and time again, when there are major impacts across society, these are not felt equally. We also know that some children and young people don’t have the same opportunities to thrive as others, such as care experienced young people, and we know that families living in more deprived communities in Renfrewshire don’t always have the same chances to do well in life than others. Renfrewshire has a difficult relationship with alcohol and drugs - we recognise the harms caused to our people and our communities and we also recognise the deep traumas that can lead people to use substances in ways which are harmful for them. As a Council, we work closely with our key partners to provide care, support and to protect our most vulnerable citizens - our children and young people, our older people and people with particular needs. Together we help them live their best possible lives, free from harm and able to thrive. Nobody should be scared about their futures, their safety, their health or their wellbeing. Where you live shouldn’t determine how long you live. This is unfair and we want this to change. Our priorities Reducing inequalities in Renfrewshire, focusing on supporting our communities through the cost-of- living crisis with dignity and empowering people to live fulfilled lives Reducing child poverty in Renfrewshire and improving outcomes for children and families currently living in poverty Empowering people with lived experience of poverty and inequalities to influence decision making and service delivery Working with a range of partners to support the improved health and wellbeing of our citizens, including for people experiencing loneliness and isolation Protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities, including children and young people who are at risk Supporting and nurturing children and families, with particular focus on early intervention and mental health and wellbeing, to ensure positive outcomes for children and young people Placing the rights and needs of every child and young person at the centre of our decision making and service delivery Promoting a shared vision and refreshed understanding of inclusion for our children and young people Raising educational attainment while ensuring equity for all our children and young people
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Our actions Developing and implementing the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme, the umbrella programme to tackle issues relating to poverty and inequalities in Renfrewshire Challenging health inequalities across our communities through early intervention and preventative programmes working with Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) Delivering our Local Child Poverty Action Plan, in partnership with Renfrewshire’s HSCP and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, supporting families with issues such as low income, insecure employment, caring responsibilities and disabilities Progressing work to ensure Renfrewshire ‘Keeps the Promise’ and delivers improved outcomes for individuals who are care experienced, wherever possible keeping children within their families Delivering whole family wellbeing support to enhance and maximise our programmes in relation to child poverty, educational attainment, mental health and substance use Delivering actions related to the recommendations of the Alcohol and Drugs Commission to tackle the harms that local people experience in relation to alcohol and drug use and support the health and wellbeing of individuals and their families Ensuring person-centred and trauma informed practice through the delivery of all our programmes, building trust and respect with the people we engage with, listen to and support Equipping parents and carers with the information, skills and support they need to ensure positive outcomes for children and young people in their care, whilst providing opportunities for parents and carers to shape the services that impact them Enhancing supports around mental health and wellbeing, including school-based mental health and wellbeing programmes and the provision of early help services to those in need Supporting carers, unpaid carers and young carers (including our own employees who have caring responsibilities), ensuring they are able to access good advice, that our services are shaped to make their lives easier, and that they are able to look after their own health and wellbeing as well as the person they care for Ensuring our children and young people experience inclusive learning environments and supportive relationships which lead to improved positive and sustained outcomes Enhancing learning and teaching, delivering a meaningful, relevant, progressive curriculum that supports a wide range of learner pathways for Renfrewshire’s children and young people
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Green – leading Renfrewshire to Net Zero We want to end Renfrewshire’s contribution to climate change within a generation. We are committed to working towards net zero by 2030 for the whole of Renfrewshire to ensure a safer, healthier, greener and fairer place for everyone to live, work and spend time in. Net zero means reducing carbon emissions as much as we possibly can and then ‘offsetting’ any leftover emissions that can’t be reduced through methods such as tree planting, restoring peat bogs and carbon capture schemes. We have developed a Plan for Net Zero for the whole of Renfrewshire – the Council, our partners, the business sector and communities. The Council will seek to lead by example, use our influence, our assets, our purchasing power and our people to show how we can make a real difference and leave a lasting positive legacy for future generations through our creativity and boldness now. Renfrewshire’s net zero journey has fairness at the heart, ensuring that people who are already struggling are not impacted further by changes we make in our services or ways of working to tackle the climate crisis. We also want to ensure that all people can benefit from changes we make towards a greener way of life, such as through reduced energy bills, new green skills and jobs, and improvements in our transport infrastructure to make employment opportunities easier to travel to. We will also incorporate resilience and adaptation into our net zero planning - identifying risks to help us prepare, respond and recover from the severe weather and climate change impacts that are being felt now. We will have a particular focus on our most vulnerable communities and our most vulnerable citizens, alongside considering the resilience of our organization, our supply chain and Renfrewshire’s local economy and infrastructure. Alongside our ambitions for tackling the climate crisis, as a signatory to the Edinburgh Declaration on Biodiversity, the Council has committed to tackling the nature crisis. We will do this through protecting and enhancing our local ecosystems, considering nature-based solutions and promoting and championing our fantastic natural environment in Renfrewshire, recognising the health and wellbeing benefits of enjoying nature. Our priorities Working across partners and communities to deliver the priority areas highlighted in our Plan for Net Zero, working towards a net zero Renfrewshire by 2030 Ensuring our journey to net zero is a just transition with climate justice and fairness at the heart, finding opportunities to challenge inequalities in new green ways as we tackle the climate crisis Empowering colleagues, organisations, businesses and communities to access the information they need to make informed and positive green choices Integrating climate considerations into our long term strategic and financial planning as an organisation Planning for future climate adaptations when designing our services and our developing our place, particularly considering the impacts for our most vulnerable citizens Boosting our green economy, creating good green jobs that are sustainable for the future
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Protecting and enhancing nature in Renfrewshire and encouraging equal access to opportunities to enjoy nature across all people and communities Our actions Developing costed, targeted interventions and actions to support our net zero journey within the Council and working in partnership with key stakeholders Engaging with colleagues across our organisation to embed net zero thinking into our practice and integrating a net zero approach across our strategic and financial planning Developing a funding strategy to support the resourcing of actions to deliver net zero, with a range of pathfinder projects ready to be scaled up to maximise national funding opportunities Establishing a carbon budget for Renfrewshire Council, ensuring we place an equal focus on our carbon footprint as we do on our financial budgets and keeping us on track to achieve our net zero ambitions Considering the Council’s supply chains, activities and operations to identify areas where we can reduce carbon in the products and services we buy through innovative procurement practices Seeking out employment opportunities and developing a green skills pipeline linked to the Council’s own major investment programmes such as the Housing-led Regeneration Programme and the City Deal and Infrastructure Programme Identifying opportunities to protect and enhance nature, encouraging communities to enjoy the range of benefits from spending time in natural spaces and support our children’s love for the natural world.
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Living our values – making a difference together There are big changes and challenges ahead for Renfrewshire Council. Our organisation faces an unprecedented financial challenge to make significant savings after many years of already delivering substantial efficiencies and reduction in our spending. Alongside this, our communities are experiencing a cost-of-living crisis and the demand for our services is higher than ever before. Also, much like households across Renfrewshire, the costs the Council has to meet, such as for energy and food, are also at an all-time high. We have difficult decisions to make each year about what services we deliver, how we deliver them and where we may need to shift our focus elsewhere. We have to work in this way in order to ensure Renfrewshire Council can continue to deliver services for those that need it most now and in the future. We are also fundamentally remodelling how (and where!) we work as part of our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, to capture the benefits of our new ways of working for our communities and for our colleagues. We are working to understand what the establishment of the new National Care Service and other major national legislative changes will mean for Renfrewshire Council, for the very shape of what our organisation will look like in the future and what we deliver across our communities. We know we must continue to deliver an ambitious and cross-cutting transformation programme to ensure our organisation is resilient to meet future challenges and continues to deliver our key priorities in ways that provide good value for money and the best possible experience for our customers and citizens. Working for Renfrewshire Council means making a difference, big or small, for Renfrewshire’s residents. As we’ve outlined, parts of our organisation will change and our ways of working will evolve over time, but our core purpose remains the same – serving Renfrewshire, making this a safe and happy place to live, learn and visit. Being part of the Renfrewshire Council team means demonstrating our values in how we deliver services, how we interact with communities and our colleagues, and how we all live our day to day working lives. We want our communities to trust us and for anyone who interacts with us to know that they will be treated with respect, compassion and dignity – working here, we are fair and inclusive to each other and to those we meet in our working day. We are proud to work for Renfrewshire Council and we are passionate about making a difference – working here, we are helpful, we go the extra mile to make things work and make connections to deliver better services and outcomes. We care about Renfrewshire, and we know that we can achieve more together – working here, we are great collaborators, working together across different teams, services, and with different organisations, partners and our communities to make Renfrewshire the best it can be. We want to continue to attract the brightest and best people to work here and we want to keep pace with new and emerging technology and ideas and understand the benefits this can bring us and our customers – working here, we value learning, from each other and from other places and organisations. It is only through the people who work for Renfrewshire Council that we can deliver the priorities described throughout this Plan. Each and every one of us has a part to play.
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Our priorities Sharpening the focus of our organisation to ensure future financial sustainability Demonstrating sound leadership and vision, taking difficult decisions around the shape of our organisation in order to safeguard our future resilience and leading and supporting our people through these changes Responding flexibly to structural and policy changes emerging through national legislation, such as the establishment of the National Care Service, to ensure Renfrewshire’s people continue to receive good quality services Ensuring Renfrewshire Council delivers Best Value for our citizens and customers, that we are a well governed, effective organisation Positioning Renfrewshire Council as an employer of choice, with our ways of working, our culture and our values attracting the best people to join our team Recognising and celebrating the efforts of all our workforce in ways that make people feel valued and encouraged to build a career in Renfrewshire Council. Caring for the health and wellbeing of all our workforce, supporting us to work well and deliver great services Our actions Delivering our financial strategy and transformation programmes in order to maintain sustainable, effective and efficient services and within our challenging financial environment Engaging at all levels in the opportunities to influence national policy direction, understand the implications of application locally and mitigate against any possible disruption for our communities where we are able to do so Adjusting the shape and focus of our organisation in response to national legislation (such as the National Care Service) Transitioning to new ways of working that best meet the needs of our customers, our organisation and the people who work here and match the assets we have as an organisation Ensuring we understand our service delivery, gaps in our approaches and have plans for improvement through ongoing self-assessment and evaluation of our strengths and weaknesses as an organisation Building Renfrewshire Council’s brand and driving the implementation of the Council Values, so that people know and trust Renfrewshire Council as an organisation and understand what it means to be part of ‘Team Renfrewshire’ Delivering a refreshed suite of workforce strategies and policies for a modern workplace, including a wellbeing strategy; a revised approach to recruitment and talent management; and an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
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About the Council Plan • How this plan was developed This Council Plan was developed through a process of research and engagement in tandem with its sister plan – the Community Plan. Together, the two plans describe the vision for Renfrewshire and how we want to get there. The Council Plan identifies what Renfrewshire Council will focus on, and the Community Plan is for all Renfrewshire’s Community Planning Partners (including the Council) to focus on areas where we can make a difference by working together. A key starting point was to understand what Renfrewshire looked like now and what had changed since the previous Plans were developed in 2017. A Strategic Needs Assessment (SNA) was carried out, building on the Community Impact Assessment developed as part of the Social Renewal Plan. The SNA looked at all different aspects of life in Renfrewshire, a range of different datasets – both national and local - and even looked at surveys we’d carried out over the past few years with our citizens, particularly through Renfrewshire’s Public Services Panel. This work helped us to understand the challenges Renfrewshire faces and the areas where we should best focus our attention. Alongside this research, we also considered the policy context for Renfrewshire, both at a local and national level – what activity had we committed to carrying out, what duties we needed to carry out based on national funding or legislation changes, and what projects and programmes we wanted to be a part of in the coming years. Finally, we engaged with colleagues, Elected Members, and (in the case of the Community Plan) our communities and community planning partners and made sure the content made sense, the direction of travel met with their vision and aspiration and that they felt this well represented what Renfrewshire Council and Renfrewshire as a place are all about. • How will the plan work? This Council Plan describes the place we are going to become over the next 5 years. It describes who we are as an organisation and where our focus will be to achieve our ambitions. The Plan will sit alongside a suite of SMART actions to show the specific activity required across Council Services to deliver our vision and a basket of performance indicators and data which will help us measure our impact. Six-monthly updates on Council Plan progress will be reported to the Council’s Leadership Board, which is made available online. Across Renfrewshire Council, each Service develops a Service Improvement Plan (SIP) on an annual basis – these SIPs sit under the Council Plan and describe the activities that each Service will undertake in order to support the delivery of the Council Plan. • How can I give feedback or ask a question about the Council Plan? Please email policycefar@renfrewshire.gov.uk with any feedback or queries and we’ll be happy to hear from you. • How can I get this Plan in other formats? Again, please email policycefar@renfrewshire.gov.uk to request a copy of this plan in another format, language or large print.