Agenda Document Pack - Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board - 22/09/2025
Renfrewshire Council · 22 September 2025
Back to Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board — 22 September 2025 and its agenda
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Notice of Meeting and Agenda Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board Date Time Venue Monday, 22 September 2025 15:00 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN MARK CONAGHAN Head of Corporate Governance Membership Councillor Andy Doig (Convener): Councillor Janis McDonald (Depute Convener): Councillor Jennifer Adam: Councillor Gillian Graham: Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes: Councillor Robert Innes: Councillor James MacLaren: Councillor Will Mylet: Councillor Ben Smith: Members of the Press and Public Members of the press and public wishing to attend the meeting should report to the customer service centre where they will be met and directed to the meeting. Hybrid Meeting Please note that this meeting is scheduled to be held in the Council Chambers. However, it is a hybrid meeting and arrangements have been made for members to join the meeting remotely should they wish. Webcasting of Meeting This meeting will be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site – at the start of the meeting the Convener will confirm if all or part of the meeting is being filmed. To find the webcast please navigate to https://renfrewshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
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Further Information This is a meeting which is open to members of the public. A copy of the agenda and reports for this meeting will be available for inspection prior to the meeting at the Customer Service Centre, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley and online at http://renfrewshire.cmis.uk.com/renfrewshire/CouncilandBoards.aspx For further information, please email democratic-services@renfrewshire.gov.uk Published: 15/9/25
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Apologies Apologies from members. Declarations of Interest and Transparency Statements Members are asked to declare an interest or make a transparency statement in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest or the transparency statement. MONITORING & REVIEWING SERVICE DELIVERY PERFORMANCE POLICIES AND PRACTICE 1 Transformation - Best Value Thematic Report Report by Chief Executive. 1 - 50 2 Audit Scotland: Delivering for the future: Responding to the workforce challenge Report by Director of Finance & Resources. 51 - 58 ANNUAL PROGRAMME 3 Briefing on Lack of House and Garden Maintenance Report by Lead Officer. 59 - 78 AUDIT EXEMPT EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC The Board may by resolution exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business as it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that if members of the press and public are present, there could be disclosure to them of exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part I of Schedule 7A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1973.
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4 Cyber Security Update Presentation by Head of Digital, Transformation and Customer Services.
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board On: 22 September 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Best Value thematic work - Transformation ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The duty of Best Value applies to all public bodies in Scotland and requires organisations to ensure that there is good governance and effective management of resources, whilst also ensuring activities focus on improvement and deliver the best possible outcomes for the public. The Accounts Commission’s approach to Best Value involves reporting on individual local government bodies and thematically across the local government sector through performance reports. 1.2 The Accounts Commission reports nationally on thematic aspects of local government bodies’ approaches to, and performance in, meeting their Best Value and community planning duties. Local government appointed auditors report locally on any such Best Value thematic work prescribed by the Accounts Commission. 1.3 The Commission directed auditors to report on transformation in each local authority by considering four key areas: • To what extent does the council have clear plans for transformation that link to its priorities and support long-term financial sustainability? • To what extent do the council’s programme management arrangements facilitate effective oversight of its transformation plans? • To what extent are communities and partners involved in the development and delivery of the council’s plans for transformation? Item 1 Page 1 of 78
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• To what extent has the council considered the impact of its transformation activity, including on vulnerable or protected groups? 1.4 This paper presents background information on Renfrewshire Council’s transformation agenda and summarises the findings of our external auditor Azets in relation to the scope set out in 1.3 above. Azets’ full report is included as Appendix 1 to this paper. 2. Recommendations 2.1 Elected members are requested to: • Note the contents of this report; • Note the work to date on transformation across Renfrewshire Council; and • Note that further regular updates on Reshaping Renfrewshire will continue to be provided to the Leadership Board. 3. Background – Reshaping Renfrewshire 3.1 In February 2025, the Chief Executive and the Director of Finance and Resources set out the vision and scope of the Council’s new Reshaping Renfrewshire transformation programme in a report to the Leadership Board. That paper noted the scale of the savings already delivered but reaffirmed a commitment to designing modern, efficient services which respond to societal changes and achieve positive outcomes for Renfrewshire’s residents whilst still delivering savings which will ensure the Council remains financially sustainable. 3.2 The key themes of Reshaping Renfrewshire are: • Financial sustainability and planning • Investment in our place • Community engagement • Digital • Early intervention • Our people • Economic growth 3.3 As well as a continued focus on the development of the organisation, the Reshaping Renfrewshire programme also has an outward-facing dimension that seeks to contribute to long-term transformational economic growth, drive progress on place-planning, and use the digital agenda to improve service delivery and also create opportunities for our communities. Page 2 of 78
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3.4 Partnership working and collaboration with partner organisations and with our communities is critical to our transformation ambitions. A specific communication and engagement programme, based on our Council values, is a core element of Reshaping Renfrewshire, ensuring that the voices of our citizens and other key stakeholders are part of the transformation conversation. 3.5 An officer Transformation Board has been established to provide strategic oversight of Reshaping Renfrewshire, and to provide regular updates to the Corporate Management Team and to the Leadership Board. However, the scale and breadth of transformation is considerable and there are a number of other officer governance groups providing oversight and leading on delivery of elements of this. Details are provided in the February 2025 report, and a progress report was provided to Leadership Board in June 2025. 4. Best Value Thematic Report on Transformation in Renfrewshire Council 4.1 The Best Value Thematic Report is a positive report, reflecting good practice across a range of areas. As outlined in paragraph 1.3, Azets considered four specific areas when reaching a judgement on the Council’s transformation activity. As detailed in appendix 1, Azets concluded that effective and appropriate arrangements are in place for two of the four elements, and that some scope for minor improvement exists in relation to the other two. 4.2 Azets found that Renfrewshire Council is ‘well-placed to deliver complex transformation and change programmes, having successfully delivered a range of transformation programmes over the past 15 years’. Whilst noting the links between the Council’s corporate objectives and transformations plans, Azets considered that there is minor scope for improvement in how transformation plans could be presented more clearly to improve clarity and to help measure the impact. 4.3 Azets found that the Council’s programme management and oversight arrangements were effective and appropriate. The structure of reporting was also found to be clear and consistent. Azets highlighted an area for improvement in the monitoring arrangements to be supported by consistent reporting to Leadership Board on timelines, costs, benefits and measurement methods in order to support achieving the transformation objectives. 4.4 Effective and appropriate arrangements were also found to be in place regarding the involvement of communities and partners in the Council’s transformation plans. Effective partnership working and engaging with vulnerable groups were also highlighted as strengths. A number of examples Page 3 of 78
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of good practice are outlined in the report and the work on digital exclusion and in Customer and Business Services are both highlighted as case studies within the audit report. The report notes the new Consultation and Engagement Policy to support best practice and consistency in community engagement. 4.5 Azets reflected on effective and appropriate arrangements in place in terms of considering the impact of transformation programmes, including on vulnerable groups, with auditors noting that the Council have equality impact assessments which are prepared for a range of projects, policy decisions and service redesigns. 4.6 Reflecting on the areas outlined above, two minor recommendations have been made by Azets as follows: • We recommend that the Council should consider demonstrating the links between the transformation programme and its corporate plan with more clarity to help demonstrate measurement of impact of the transformation plan against the corporate plan. • We recommend that the Council continues to update its reporting to the Leadership Board to improve high level oversight. 4.7 Actions to address these recommendations will be added to the Corporate Improvement Plan, with progress reported to Leadership Board. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – updates in the appended report relate to work that supports the Council’s financial sustainability. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – none arising from the report but transformation activity is linked to Council and Community Plan priorities. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets – none 6. Information Technology – although no direct implications, digital technologies are noted as critical to transformation. 7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have not been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights because the is for noting only. However, the report and the Page 4 of 78
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appendix make reference to current arrangements in relation to equality impact assessments and considering the impact of transformation activity on vulnerable groups. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – although no direct implications from the report, procurement activity is a key element of transformation work. 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. COSLA Policy Position – none 13. Climate Risk – although no direct implications, the report notes that achieving Net Zero is a key element of transformation activity. 14. Children’s Rights – none directly arising from the report, but the audit of transformation activity does include consideration of the impact of transformation on vulnerable groups. Appendices: Appendix 1, Transformation: how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes, Renfrewshire Council Best Value Review Work Author: Laura McIntyre, Head of Policy and Partnerships. Page 5 of 78
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azets.co.uk Transformation: how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 September 2025 Renfrewshire Council Page 6 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 2 of 44 Table of Contents Key messages 3 Scope of the audit 8 Transformation planning 9 Programme management 15 Partnership working and community engagement 19 Impact of transformation 23 Appendices 27 Appendix 1: Case studies 29 Appendix 2: Transformation workstream and strategy reporting arrangements 40 Appendix 3: Action plan 42 Page 7 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 3 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Key messages To what extent does the council have clear plans for transformation that link to its priorities and support long- term financial sustainability? Auditor judgement Minor scope for improvement exists Renfrewshire Council has had a corporate transformation programme in place since 2009. These have been overarching, transformative and adapted to changing circumstances. The most recent phase of the Council’s transformation programme, Reshaping Renfrewshire, commenced in early 2025 and continues this ambitious approach. The Council is well-placed to deliver complex transformation and change programmes, having successfully delivered a range of transformation programmes over the past 15 years. Over this past period the Council have achieved £190m of savings and efficiencies through various projects and debt smoothing. The Council has outlined with appropriate detail its key future transformation projects, the importance of financial sustainability, and how these are to be achieved in the medium term. We are satisfied that links exist between the Council’s corporate objectives and the transformation plans, however these could be presented more clearly to improve clarity and to help measure the impact. Page 8 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 4 of 44 www.azets.co.uk To what extent do the council’s programme management arrangements facilitate effective oversight of its transformation plans? Auditor judgement Scope for improvement exists The governance arrangements to monitor and scrutinise the transformation programmes are in place. The Council operates the monitoring arrangements at the Boards and management levels with a clear structure of reporting in place. This is supported at an operational level by the existence of appropriate capacity and expertise at Project Management Office function and by using external specialist support where this is deemed more effective. Monitoring arrangements should be supported by further clarity in reporting to Leadership Board on timelines, costs, benefits and measurement methods to support achieving the transformation objectives. Page 9 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 5 of 44 www.azets.co.uk To what extent are communities and partners involved in the development and delivery of the council’s plans for transformation? Auditor judgement Effective and appropriate arrangements are in place Renfrewshire Council works effectively with partners, including other councils, third and private sector to achieve its transformation objectives. There are good examples of working with communities demonstrating the Council’s increased focus on the needs of service users. Renfrewshire Council is meeting requirements of working with partners to develop a clear approach to tackling digital exclusion as part of their strategies and plans, understanding digital exclusion locally, who is affected and how. The Council engages with vulnerable groups and considers the impact of service delivery changes and improvements that could be made to support those communities. Page 10 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 6 of 44 www.azets.co.uk To what extent has the council considered the impact of its transformation activity, including on vulnerable or protected groups? Auditor judgement Effective and appropriate arrangements are in place The Council have equality impact assessments which are prepared for a range of projects, policy decisions and service redesigns. The approaches to measuring, monitoring and reporting varies project to project depending on the nature of the project, the benefits and the timescales in which the benefits are seen. The arrangements are appropriate at a project level. Community Benefits are built into contracts with third party suppliers. Page 11 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 7 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Definitions We use the following gradings to provide an overall assessment of the arrangements in place as they relate to the wider scope areas. The text provides a guide to the key criteria we use in the assessment, although not all of the criteria may exist in every case. There is a fundamental absence or failure of arrangements There is no evidence to support necessary improvement Substantial unmitigated risks affect achievement of corporate objectives. Arrangements are inadequate or ineffective Pace and depth of improvement is slow / needs to extend further Significant unmitigated risks affect the achievement of corporate objectives No major weaknesses in arrangements but scope for improvement exists Pace and depth of improvement are adequate Risks exist to the achievement of operational objectives Effective and appropriate arrangements are in place Pace and depth of improvement are effective Risks to the achievement of objectives are managed Page 12 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 8 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Scope of the audit The Audit Scotland’s 2023 Local Government Overview (LGO) notes that councils have never faced such a challenging situation. Service demands have increased after the Covid-19 pandemic and funding is forecast to reduce in real terms. Transformation, through greater collaboration with partners, will be key for councils to deliver more sustainable service models in challenging financial climates. This report sets out how the council is redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. The Accounts Commission’s Strategy (2021-26) sets out its priorities to focus on inequalities, funding, communities and recovery. The Code of Audit Practice sets out the Best Value work required to report on these priorities. This report covers the thematic aspect of the Best Value audit requirements. The Commission has directed auditors to report on transformation and how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. In carrying out the work, auditors have considered the following questions: • To what extent does the council have clear plans for transformation that link to its priorities and support long-term financial sustainability? • To what extent do the council’s programme management arrangements facilitate effective oversight of its transformation plans? • To what extent are partners and communities involved in the development and delivery of the council’s plans for transformation? • To what extent has the council considered the impact of its transformation activity, including on vulnerable or protected groups? An improvement action plan is included at Appendix 1 of this report. This sets out audit recommendations in key areas, and the council’s planned response including responsible officers and dates for implementation. The coverage of the work is in line with the expectations for council’s arrangements for the seven Best Value themes in the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003, Best Value Statutory Guidance 2020. Page 13 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 9 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Transformation planning The Council needs to ensure it can deliver sustainable services now and in the future, and difficult decisions will need to be made to achieve this. The Accounts Commission’s Local government budgets 2024/25 briefing noted that the cumulative funding gap local authorities across Scotland estimate between 2025/26 and 2026/27 is £780m. This means that, cumulatively, councils need to identify and deliver recurring measures such as savings or increased income of five per cent of their overall revenue budget to be financially sustainable in the short term. Transformation plans The Council have had a corporate transformation programme in place since 2009. This transformation programme has been introduced due to growing demand and cost pressures, increasing public expectations, the corporate objective to modernise the Council and the sustained long term financial challenge that the Council faces. The programme has had four phases, and the fifth phase is currently in the process of being implemented: Phase Introduced Transforming Renfrewshire 2010-2015 Better Council 2015-2019 Right for Renfrewshire Phase 1 2020-2022 Right for Renfrewshire Phase 2 2023-2025 Reshaping Renfrewshire 2025-2028 The initial phases have focused on internal transformation; how the Council and services have been structured and organised, how business processes operate and activities are designed, and how the Council internally has made use of technology to help deliver services. The Right for Renfrewshire (R4R) programme commenced in late 2019 and was intended to be a three-year programme, however, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, this was paused to allow Council resources to be fully diverted to managing the widespread impact of and response to the COVID19 pandemic. This phase is now coming to its end in 2025. The change delivered to date has been considerable and wide ranging, from deploying new technologies and digital capability, to innovating on a range of fronts with new delivery models, redesigning services and business processes, as well as key collaborative and shared service projects covering strategic waste and City Region arrangements. Financial benefits Page 14 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 10 of 44 www.azets.co.uk have been realised through opportunities to reconfigure both Council structures as well as discrete services and functions, streamlining of the size and shape of the workforce has been significant over the past 15 years, rationalising the scale of the Council’s assets utilised to deliver services as well as growing existing and establishing new income streams available to the Council. Case studies Full case studies are included in Appendix 1 and we present summaries below. Digital Journey The Council’ s Digital journey has evolved over the last 10 years with a core aim of transforming how the Council delivers services and enables digital inclusion. The programme is closely linked to the organisation’s strategic corporate objectives and has involved communities and a number of third party partners over a long term basis. A good example of working with partners and communities on this programme, has been the use of UK wide funding to progress the development of a business case to install free superfast broadband in 80% of social homes, building on the Council’s initial foundation of a 20 year Connectivity as a Service Framework which invested around £2m to connect all council buildings to a new superfast broadband network and which attracted an additional £40m of follow-on private investment to develop a commercial gigabit network across Renfrewshire. This resulted in connecting businesses and homes alike and promoting Renfrewshire as one of the most digitally connected geographies in the UK. Underpinning the digital transformation programme are the principles of fairness, equality and ensuring citizens benefit from the programme. The Council worked with partners and communities to establish Citizen Voice, a cross-sector partnership with private and third sectors to explore collaboration opportunities and minimise digital exclusion. For example, the impact on vulnerable and protected groups was considered through a specific initiative to work with a local charity to create a community-led secure device recycling point. Outcomes that the Council highlights as achieved through the programme include: Green Print – aimed at a reduction of cost and contribution to net zero targets, introduction of an ICT model ‘as a service’, Digital Health & Care with almost 100% digital telecare provision and Renfrewshire HCSP being first in Scotland to achieve Platinum accreditation in this area. Other outcomes have included digital learning and teaching, including tackling inequalities and improving health and wellbeing of citizens. A volunteer digital community champions network was also established, with digital inclusion events and measuring of the digital inclusion in the area. Customer and Business Services This started with redesign of the Council’s structure in 2015 when several functions within the council were consolidated into a single Customer and Business Service. The project has Page 15 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 11 of 44 www.azets.co.uk significantly redesigned how customers contact the council and how their requests are fulfilled. It also changed how the Council manages large scale financial and business transactions and manages and provides business support resources across all service areas of the Council. There were a number of methods used to transform the services including: robotic process automation, enterprise resource planning, provision of over 170 digital services for customers and introduction of a digital customer service advisor supported by AI technology. In establishing these tools, the Council has been working with several carefully selected third party partners. These partners have been involved to provide support and expertise to the Council based on their experience of involvement in similar projects. In many instances they have delivered against key skill transfer strategies to ensure the Council’s capability in relation to a range of specialist digital skills has been achieved to support long term transformation objectives. Reshaping Renfrewshire The fifth phase of the transformation, which was branded Reshaping Renfrewshire and introduced formally in February 2025, will continue to have a significant focus on the development of the organisation, including ensuring financial sustainability. At the same time, it will combine its internal focus with a wider outward perspective that considers Renfrewshire's geography, economy, demography and communities. The current phase of transformation is influenced strongly by financial sustainability objectives, but also by local considerations which include population changes and expectations of increase delivery of services in digital form and infrastructure regeneration programmes. What also informs the transformation programme are national issues which include climate net zero targets, health and social care reforms, education, population change, equalities considerations and trauma informed and person-centred policy making. The key themes of Reshaping Renfrewshire are: 1. Financial sustainability and planning 2. Investment in our place 3. Community engagement 4. Digital 5. Early intervention 6. Our people 7. Economic growth The current transformation programme contains several specific projects in different areas with appropriate level of detail given for each. Some of them are continuing from the past priorities reflecting their long term and continuing nature, while some are new. Page 16 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 12 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Transformation is a key aspect that runs in parallel to the Council’s plan and financial planning, as shown in the diagram below. The corporate plan covers the five-year period from 2022-2027 and was refreshed at its midpoint in June 2024. The Council has five strategic outcomes in the corporate plan: 1. Place - working together to enhance wellbeing across communities 2. Economy - building an inclusive, green and resilient economy (matching people, skills and opportunities) 3. Fair - nurturing bright, happy and healthy futures for all 4. Green - leading Renfrewshire to Net Zero 5. Living our Values - making a difference together There is also the theme of 'improving outcomes for children and families' which runs through all five of the strategic outcomes and underpins all that Renfrewshire Council wish to achieve. We are satisfied that links exist between the Council’s corporate objectives and the transformation plans and while we note there is alignment between transformation programme objectives and the corporate plan outcomes, these were not formally mapped against each other. The Council should consider demonstrating the links between the transformation programme and its corporate plan with more clarity to help demonstrate measurement of impact of the transformation plan against the corporate plan. Recommendation 1 Financial planning and transformation The Council links its previously achieved savings to the first four phases of the project and have achieved the following savings: Page 17 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 13 of 44 www.azets.co.uk The original financial savings target for the previous phase of the transformation programme, R4R, was to support delivery of £25m of recurring savings. The actual savings delivered were approximately £45m, which was made up of £26m of service savings and £19m of savings from continuation of the long-term corporate financing and debt smoothing arrangements, including changes to loan charges. Although the Council exceeded their savings target, it is worth noting that this target was for the first two years of R4R (2020-2022). After that period of R4R the Council was recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and additional financial pressures. The additional savings were in response to this dynamic financial environment. The next phase of the transformation programme (Reshaping Renfrewshire) does not currently have detailed saving plans or financial targets as presented in a report to the Leadership Board in February 2025. However, the report from February did confirm an expectation that the level of savings required to be delivered as part of this phase will be similar to those delivered in the previous phase (around £25m). The exact level is subject to clarification as the financial position emerges over the course of this year. Service Modernisation and Reform Fund To support the transformation and improvement of council services the Council established a Service Modernisation and Reform Fund (SMARF). This fund is used to support services in implementing change and funding development costs for projects that are expected to bring long-term benefits to the Council. Throughout any financial year, service directors will also utilise any short-term capacity within existing service budgets to support change activity which reduces any required draw on the SMARF reserve as well as accessing external funding opportunities where these become available. This allows the Council to protect the fund’s capacity to support further work over the long term. SMARF had a balance of £10.2m at 1 April 2025. The fund is increased where there are one-off surpluses in revenue budgets in anticipation of further change and transformation costs being likely. Based on current commitments the Council estimates that there is sufficient funding available for 2-3 years of costs, but they also anticipate there to be further funding required in order to exploit potential opportunities arising in relation to utilisation of AI. Medium to long term planning The Council has long term planning in place for a number of strategic areas, which include capital programmes such as; housing, digital, the Learning Estate, workforce planning and roads maintenance. These key programmes are linked to long term strategies and can stretch between 5 to 30 years. The council breaks these projects down into shorter 3 year cycles, including R4R or Reshaping Renfrewshire to effectively manage , implement and monitor individual projects and programmes. This allows the Council to demonstrate a strong history Page 18 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 14 of 44 www.azets.co.uk of delivering transformation, efficiency savings and improved outcomes over the medium to longer term. As an example the current 2025-28 Reshaping Renfrewshire cycle of the transformation programme will have links to longer term objectives and themes which in this case include: • Digital – new 5 year strategy – building on the successful programme to date and moving into the next phase of delivery based on current technological advances. • Learning Estate strategy – will be delivered over a period of up to 25 years – reflecting the complexity of the process, drivers of demand and the scale of the financial costs involved, all of which will require longer term financial strategies to be developed. • Housing regeneration programme has initially been focused on a delivery programme encompassing a 10 year major regeneration programme, with an overall programme likely to be progressed over a period of 20-30 years. • Strategic Property Review and place shaping strategy (including priorities arising from the One Ren review) are being progressed through the Reshaping Renfrewshire programme, with key programmes of work and projects informing the medium to longer term ambitions of the organisation. The Council is also developing a strategic funding model which will set out a long-term approach for the Council to support future strategic investment planning long term savings as part of the Learning Estate Strategy and wider place-shaping strategic agendas which will present significant investment requirements to support long term transformation objectives. The Council plans to set out the detail in relation to the financial requirements of this funding model, as part of the Council’s long term financial planning arrangements, in their updated financial outlook to be presented to the Council in September 2025. As shown by the savings profile above, the level and scale of savings that the Council has delivered has been reducing as the transformation programme progressed over the last 15 years. This provides a challenge in the ability to continue to deliver savings at a level required by the Council, especially in the current financial climate. Going forward, the Council have noted that there is an increasing level of challenge to deliver the scale of savings over a sustained period. Without multi-year funding settlements, long- term financial planning for transformation programmes is challenging and can be further impacted by Scottish Government changes or ring-fencing in national funding streams. The cost of a range of goods and services can also add challenge within transformation programmes, particularly over infrastructure and regeneration programmes. Page 19 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 15 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Programme management It is essential that the Council has good programme management arrangements in place to ensure it is making sufficient progress against its transformation plans. It is important that the Council has the structures and the staffing resource in place to deliver its transformation ambitions. In addition, the Council must ensure that both senior officers and elected members have appropriate oversight of progress. Governance structure The Council have established a refreshed Transformation Board to provide strategic oversight of the current Reshaping Renfrewshire phase of the transformation programme. In the previous phases the transformation updates were presented to the corporate management team through ‘portfolio’ updates on themes aligned to the strategic outcomes a minimum of twice a year. The diagram below gives the detail of the Council’s governance arrangements for transformation and the oversight of its transformation plans. The Leadership board is responsible for approving and providing the highest level of governance oversight of the overall Transformation Programme with individual workstreams overseen by a relevant officer governance group and reporting to the relevant political Board. Such Boards would receive updates at appropriate points in time on the progress against the objectives set. To allow a more efficient oversight of the complex environment, the responsibility of governing the project is done at a workstream level and split between different council Boards (for political oversight) and governance groups (for officer oversight) chaired by Head of Service or Director or the Chief Executive. All of the officer level structure is then reported to the corporate management team at appropriate points during the project progress (see Appendix 2 for further detail). Principle Governance Group Political Board Reporting Group Digital Strategy Finance, Resources and Customer Services (FRCS) Board Digital Board Service Redesign Projects Leadership Board Transformation Board Connected Communities Leadership Board Transformation Board Page 20 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 16 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Procurement Review with Scotland Excel Transformation Board FRCS Board OneRen Commissioning Review Leadership Board Transformation Board Income Generation Projects Transformation Board Policy Board Strategic Finance Flexibilities CMT Council People & Workforce Planning People & Workforce Planning Chief Officer Group FRCS Board Strategic Property Review SPR Board Infrastructure, Land and Environment (ILE) Board Learning Estate Education & Children’s Services Board Learning Estate Board Placeshaping & Regeneration City Deal and Regeneration Board Leadership Board ILE Board Transport City Deal and Regeneration Board Page 21 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 17 of 44 www.azets.co.uk The Council also has a corporate Project Management Office (PMO) function with Programme Management Unit specialists who are able to support major transformation projects and programmes. The Council recognises the importance of this function being appropriately resourced and having the required knowledge to be able to provide this support. There are specialists in the following three areas: • Project and Programme Management • Business Change Analysis • PMO/ Governance Capacity and expertise The Council has recently reviewed industry best practice, and the strategic direction of the wider change management industry, and are undergoing a programme of training staff in the Association of Project Management (APMP) qualifications to keep their skills current and in line with industry best practice. The project and programme management staff use their Project Management Framework (a toolset based on Prince 2 and APMP methods) to ensure consistent quality delivery of the service. The Council’s capability has been recognised by national professional bodies in recent years with awards including Programme of the Year (APM), and some staff being nominated for awards such as Emerging Project Professional of the Year (APM), and Business Analyst of the Year (British Computer Society). The PMU has also just been selected as a finalist by the APM as 'Public Sector Organisation of the Year' for 2025. A number of corporate support teams including finance, legal, ICT, procurement, comms, policy and PMO staff have ‘business partnering’ arrangements across council services and meet regularly to share updates, progress, best practice and troubleshoot any issues. Capability and new technologies can be both an enabler and a barrier and as new technologies and priorities emerge nationally, all local authorities could struggle to recruit the technical specialist expertise required. The Council therefore complements its internal expertise with externally commissioned technical and professional support where required. An example is through an implementation of ICT “as a service” which provides flexibility to expand or contract capacity as the Council’s requirements change. This approach removes the need to carry the same level of in-house capacity in particular areas, or to keep pace with Net Zero Planning & Climate Policy Board RenZero Oversight Group Page 22 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 18 of 44 www.azets.co.uk the rapidly changing skills and expertise where demand for new skills escalated in a highly competitive and increasingly costly market. Monitoring arrangements The Leadership Board (one of the Council’s committees) considered the update on the transformation programme in February 2025 and will have oversight of regular reports to be presented at key points during the transformation progress. The first of such reports was considered in June 2025. Regular reports on transformation and key strategic programmes are provided to the corporate management team for oversight. This is in addition to programme boards which members of the corporate management team (CMT) may also chair or participate in. Regular updates have been provided on the Learning Estate Strategy, Digital Board, Connected Communities and Strategic Property Review amongst others. Taking the learning estate strategy as an example, this included an overview of the strategy, timelines, updates on the key projects, key risks, background, strategic vision, how the vision will be delivered, core facts, prioritisation matrix and core team to allow the CMT to have oversight of the programme. As part of further strengthening and linked to the new Reshaping Renfrewshire programme, the Council intends that to complement the ongoing Board reporting already in place. An additional annual report on the overarching transformation programme to be presented to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board to allow for overview and scrutiny of progress. In 2023/24 the Council undertook a self-assessment of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board using the CIPFA best practice guidance. As a result, the Council have undertaken work to respond to the recommendations, with the aim of strengthening the scrutiny arrangements for the Council. This additional activity in relation to transformation oversight will further strengthen the role of this Board. Reporting to the Leadership Board We note that the timescales and financial impact or expected savings is provided for some of the projects in the reporting to the Leadership Board, but not for all. As different projects mature in their progress the Council should ensure consistency of the reporting it presents in its updates on the transformation programme. Also, while the Council develops its strategy and savings plan it should report timing, savings, cost and benefits expected to measure against those. Recommendation 2 Page 23 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 19 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Partnership working and community engagement The Best Value in Scotland report noted that councils must now rethink how they work together, and with local partners and communities, to provide financially sustainable services. Few councils provide services jointly or share support services across different councils to a great extent. Community engagement overview The Council has a new Consultation and Engagement Policy which was presented to the Council's Leadership Board in February 2025. Before this policy was introduced, the Council had a consultation policy and toolkit, which had been in place since the mid 2000’s and had been subject to regular updates. This provided guidance on the key stages of consultation, consultation methods to use, deciding who to consult and an overall overview of consultation. This has been developed to provide best practice guidance for Council officers and services and is underpinned by the Council's vision, mission and values. The nature of the community engagement is bespoke to the nature of the programme and is tailored to specific groups. The introduction of the policy is to give the community engagement a more structured approach. One of the examples of the way the Council approaches its working with communities during transformation programmes is a housing regeneration programme which uses a number of different mechanisms to support community engagement including: • Social media pages • Neighbourhood pop-ups • Neighbourhood shops • Consultation events • Attendance at community events • Provisions of newsletters • A dedicated Housing Regeneration and Renewal section on the Council’s website In line with legislation, a range of services for which the Council has responsibility are delegated for delivery to Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership which is facing significant financial challenges. In response, the HSCP has approved a new Sustainable Futures programme to identify transformation and change and secure significant recurring savings. Although this programme is reported through the HSCP and does not directly form part of the Reshaping Renfrewshire programme, the Council has a key interest in the success of this due to the HSCP delivering a range of priority outcomes across Renfrewshire and the financial risk exposure to the Council. There will also likely be opportunities where the Council can work with the HSCP and NHS to identify transformation opportunities. One of Page 24 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 20 of 44 www.azets.co.uk such activities was launched in June 2025 by a public consultation on proposed efficiencies and savings with feedback gathered through public and staff engagement. These engagement activities included face to face and online evets as well as on online and paper questionnaire. Another example of the Council engaging with communities is through the Council Events Strategy 2025-2028. The strategy sets out the delivery of the programme of visitor and local events. A programme of research was carried out to gain public and stakeholder input to the Council’s events strategy. An online consultation survey was carried out and 778 responses were received. Four focus groups were also carried out. The results of this survey were collated, summarised and factored into the development of the Events Strategy. Renfrewshire Council have also been involved in Citizen Voice, which is a cross-sector partnership across the public, third and private sectors and included the Council, housing associations, health authorities and voluntary sector organisations to address digital exclusion. Digital is one of the key areas of the Reshaping Renfrewshire phase of transformation. Other partners the council works with to deliver its transformation ambitions include: • OneRen – providing leisure services in the area • Regional partners (including through the Glasgow City Region, or cross local authority initiatives linked to waste) • Long term private sector delivery partners for key transformation projects across for example digital projects, development of the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation District (AMIDs). Specific community and third sector engagement Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal Programme had an extensive engagement, consultation and communications programme sitting alongside the investment programme itself, ensuring tenants and residents and the local community are kept informed of the plans as they evolve, have the active opportunity to influence this and then can collaborate with the Council on the wider regeneration plans for the area. As part of the initial scoping work, door to door surveys were carried out with the tenants and residents in the identified areas, which gave insight into their needs, experiences and views and helped to shape the next steps. Throughout the ‘on the ground’ regeneration, consultation and engagement continues including through pop up events, newsletters and teams will also base themselves on site where possible – for example, housing staff are based in Howwood Road two days a week to answer any questions and build up relationships in that community, alongside a Facebook page too. Page 25 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 21 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Neighbourhood renewal plans are being developed involving Council services and community representatives in each of the eight regeneration areas which will operate in parallel with the physical regeneration plans. These will be tailored to the needs and circumstances of each area, going beyond housing and the immediate external environment and taking account of broader issues such as links to health and wellbeing, access to outdoor space and sustainable travel and employment or training opportunities to maximise the benefits achievable for local residents. The Our Energy from Waste programme is a £700m, 25-year Clyde Valley Residual Waste Project between Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire and Viridor, which serves almost one-sixth of Scotland’s population. This project will see up to 190,000 tonnes of general waste diverted from landfill and converted to low-carbon energy and is expected to provide a net saving of almost 50,000 tonnes of CO2e every year. Renfrewshire makes up approximately 21% of the total waste handled in the facility, and each council has to provide a guaranteed minimum tonnage for processing. The main commercial contract is between North Lanarkshire Council (NLC) as lead authority and Viridor. This is supported by an Inter Authority Agreement which sets out the relationship between NLC and the other member councils. Renfrewshire expects to pay £4.6m for the service in 2024/25. This is funded from mainline revenue budgets. The Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drugs Commission reported in 2020 with the Council agreeing the allocation of £2m of funding to support the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations. This was prior to national funding streams such as the Drug Deaths Mission and Medication Assisted Treatment standards being provided to local Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships. This has meant that additional national funding has been drawn down which has been able to complement and add to the funding provided by the Council, including some services now being mainstreamed. The funding from the Council has supported numerous projects, with a formal evaluation of the programme now nearing completion. Programme oversight has been provided by a board chaired by the chief executive which meets every 8 weeks. Vulnerable groups engagement Services progressing transformation projects are required as part of corporate guidance to complete equality impact assessment processes from the start of a transformation project. This helps them identify potential impacts as a project develops and ensure that officers and partners focus their efforts on identifying impacts and mitigating these where possible. Positive examples of this include work with the Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel to ensure we are considering the impacts of service delivery changes and improvements for low-income households. This has successfully shaped processes relating to school meal debt, provision of free school meals, employability services and a summer holiday programme for low-income families. Page 26 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 22 of 44 www.azets.co.uk A key strategic area that the Council has focused on linked to their digital transformation aspirations has been in relation to Digital Inclusion. A network of support for communities was developed across Renfrewshire to ensure they could benefit from the opportunities within this transformation programme. This included dedicated and trained volunteer digital champions, 21 Digi Zones and a mobile Digi Zone supporting communities to get on-line through the provision of digital inclusion support, Renfrewshire’s first ever Digital Inclusion week was delivered with over 30 events taking place over 5 days and an annual Digital Inclusion impact report was developed to measure Digital Inclusion in Renfrewshire. Renfrewshire has been recognised as an exemplar and case study in Audit Scotland’s “Tackling Digital Exclusion” report for enabling digital inclusion, delivered through multi- sector collaboration using person-centred and place-based approaches. The independent evaluation of the digital champions, which is detailed in the case study in Appendix 1, concluded that in the first year of delivery, the Digital Champion Network has, as part of Citizen Voice, supported and increased the digital inclusion of Renfrewshire citizens. Page 27 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 23 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Impact of transformation It is important that the Council has success measures in place to demonstrate the impact of its transformational activity on service quality; outcomes for people who use services, inequalities and/or savings. Overall performance measurement The Council has a performance framework to measure against its 2022-27 Council Plan objectives. A high level summary of the Framework is presented below: The framework assumes 6 monthly reporting to Leadership Board with performance indicators against action progress grouped by Council Plan strategic outcomes. These outcomes have also one cross-cutting theme – Improving outcomes for children and families. Service Improvement Plans (SIP) at each service level were also given a new format to make them aligned with the above. The reporting is done on 6 monthly basis to relevant Boards including an annual outturn report. All performance indicators and actions in the Council Plan Framework are included in SIPs. The next stage of performance reporting is carried out at operational level with a range of service-specific performance reporting across Council to the appropriate Policy Board, together with statutory performance reports. The Council also has an officer performance board in place to drive improved performance across Council Plan strategic outcomes, explore the LGBF and other benchmarking in more depth and undertake ‘deep dives’ on Council-wide performance, with a particular focus on outcomes and the golden thread between performance and priorities. Page 28 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 24 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Project level impact measurement The Council have equality impact assessments (EQIAs) which are prepared for a range of projects, policy decisions and service redesigns. There is corporate guidance that requires an EQIA to be completed at the start of a change process and this ensures that impacts on relevant groups are identified. An example of the assessment was an EQIA for Clyde Waterfront and Riverside Project in November 2021. The assessment included a number of different types of consultation to determine the potential equity issues of the project. These are summarised as follows: • Research • Officer/ Practitioner Knowledge and experience • Consultation • Stakeholder meetings • Publication and feedback • Planning Process • Contractor Negotiation and Award Overall, through the above methods, there were few potential significant equality issues identified for further consideration by the Council. The most significant potential issues were found through research where it was noted that older people and people with disabilities can be disproportionately negatively affected and economic development has the potential to impact any equality groups. An assessment of the Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside Project impact on Equality Protected Characteristics and all other stakeholders is also produced which further considers the impact on vulnerable or protected groups. Other recent examples of EQIAs include: For the Housing Innovation Project (HIP) the EQIA included consultations with service leads within the housing service including homelessness and was informed by statutory consultation with service users as well as partnership working with the Renfrewshire HSCP. For the Housing Regeneration Programme extensive pre-implementation consultation has been carried out with tenants in the regeneration areas, (all within 5-10% Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, SIMD zone). Neighbourhood renewal groups are set up to facilitate ongoing engagement with tenants during the regeneration process and Engage Renfrewshire have been actively involved particularly at Howwood Road, Johnstone. The Council has been rolling out a new early intervention model, funded by the Government’s Whole Family Wellbeing initiative. This extensive project involves collaboration with third sector partners, whose contributions have been essential to the successful launch and ongoing integration of the service. The third sector has been instrumental in the Page 29 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 25 of 44 www.azets.co.uk implementation of this model and has, therefore, been included in the Equalities Impact Assessment. Benefits measurement Benefits management approaches are designed to be consistent with industry best practice – following principles of PRINCE 2 and APM guidance. Potential benefits of projects are identified when the initial business cases are developed and are the focus of the justification for delivering the project. As options are considered for delivering the project, these are compared in terms of their ability to deliver the project requirements, project benefits, and overall value for money. As the project is defined and designed, the details of the expected benefits are set, agreed how they will be measured, monitored and reported. The approaches to measuring, monitoring and reporting varies project to project depending on the nature of the project, the benefits and the timescales in which the benefits are seen. Using City Deal as an example, quarterly performance reviews are submitted to the City Deal PMO in respect of each of the projects. The business case for each project set out the outputs and outcomes for each project and included timelines for when these are expected to be realised, particularly for follow-on investment, as the deliverable of both projects is enabling infrastructure to encourage future development. On a quarterly basis the Council review delivery of both outputs and outcomes to ensure they are delivering as per the business case expectation. In carrying out the benefits realisation monitoring, a range of council teams are involved, and also spatially map out the development that has arisen as a result of the investment. Some recent examples of the benefits measurement include: Housing Regeneration Programme a benefits management profile has been established since the planning stage of the 10 year programme. This is monitored via a benefits tracker. As the programme involves multi-faceted regeneration outcomes, including housing stock retrofitting new build, energy efficiency, land regeneration and health outcomes these benefits are tracked and managed by thematic groups which are multi agency partnerships. Benefits are reported at Programme Board level, Council, and directly to communities via Neighbourhood Renewal Groups. Housing Innovation Project benefits have been embedded from the start with a Benefits Profile (setting out intended and potential benefits) and how to track these. This is being followed up by benefits tracking at the Solution Design phase of the project whereby business analysts are working with subject matter experts to catalogue benefits that can be achieved and will be able to measure them as they will be applied in the new system and therefore allowing these benefits to be effectively managed. These success measures are and will continue to be reported at Project Board, Council Board level, and via corporate Page 30 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 26 of 44 www.azets.co.uk communications and, post implementation, will be reported to the public through tenant newsletters. The Green Print Project has followed a robust project methodology from the outset. The project has utilised a data orientated approach to baseline the current position and to inform options for consideration. As part of gathering the options, the project team were able to evidence clear opportunities where savings could be made. Analysis of data was used to inform the number and type of printers required for each location, and importantly, to reach agreement with stakeholders on significantly reducing the numbers of printers to be located across council buildings, including schools. This data was then included in the procurement specification to market. The procurement specification aligned with the Council’s Green Print Strategy, future-proofing the solution for the duration of the new contract and ensuring suppliers understood the current printer estate and the future model that the Council was seeking to implement. Community Benefits Community Benefits are built into contracts with third party suppliers. For example, on the Green Print Project, work on wider community benefits in partnership with Canon is an additional benefit from the project. One of the community benefit offerings is to provide a tailored course to help S3 and S4 pupils with life skills and career advice with a focus on positive destination outcomes for school leavers. The team are aiming to run a course with 3 schools in 2025, the first being Johnstone High in May. There will also be linkages with social media presence, cyber protection, sustainability and Net Zero. Page 31 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 27 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Appendices 1 Appendix 1: C Contents 1 Key messages 3 Auditor judgement 5 Auditor judgement 6 Definitions 7 Scope of the audit 8 Transformation planning 9 Transformation plans 9 Phase 9 Introduced 9 Casestudies 10 Reshaping Renfrewshire 11 Recommendation 1 12 Financial planning and transformation 12 12 Service Modernisation and Reform Fund 13 Medium to long term planning 13 Programme management 15 Governance structure 15 Capacity and expertise 17 Monitoring arrangements 18 Page 32 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 28 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Reporting to the Leadership Board 18 Partnership working and community engagement 19 Community engagement overview 19 Specific community and third sector engagement 20 Vulnerable groups engagement 21 Impact of transformation 23 Overall performance measurement 23 Project level impact measurement 24 Benefits measurement 25 Community Benefits 26 Appendices 27 Appendix 1: Case studies 29 Case study 1 – Digital Journey 29 Case Study 2 – Customer and Business Services 34 Appendix 2: Transformation workstream and strategy reporting arrangements 40 Appendix 3: Action plan 42 ase studies 29 Appendix 2: Transformation workstream and strategy reporting arrangements 40 Appendix 3: Action plan 42 Page 33 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 29 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Appendix 1: Case studies Case study 1 – Digital Journey This has been a ten-year long programme that has changed how the Council work and deliver services to their communities whilst incorporating digital inclusion. Digital is cross-cutting and supports all of the Council’s strategic priorities and outcomes but the projects most closely align with place, economy, fair and living our values. The Council have involved a wide range of commissioned partners in their strategic digital redesign journey, including: • CommsWorld & City Fibre – Connectivity • Data Vita (formerly Pulsant) – Data Centre (IaaS) • Intelligens Consulting – Horizon Scanning • ICS.AI – Digital Assistant • Derby City Council – ‘Millie’ • DigiRen Network / Citizens Voice Forum (involved multi/cross-sector partners from across a range of industries – Digital Inclusion • Fairer Renfrewshire “Lived Experience” Panel – Digital Inclusion • YMCA Scotland – The Promise / Digital Inclusion • Unit 4 – ERP (SaaS) • Quorum – Specialist Security Operations Centre • Microsoft via Phoenix – Microsoft 365 application • As part of Glasgow City Region, securing £3.2m from the UK Government’s Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to support the development of 4 innovative business cases including Smart Social Housing Renfrewshire Council is the lead partner across the projects. The approach to partnership working and collaboration across this programme has been to select, develop and cultivate key strategic partners who will work with the Council over the longer-term (rather than one-off short term projects) and who recognise Renfrewshire Council as a local authority they want to work with to deliver sector leading projects that can showcase the development of capability and new approaches. The Council have maximised funding opportunities across this transformation programme, including in digital where, for example, funding was secured nationally from the UK DSIT to fund the first stage of the business case development. The Council is currently funding the second stage of this process and if approved, this project will result in the installation of free superfast broadband and Internet of Things sensors in 10,000+ (over 80%) of social homes Page 34 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 30 of 44 www.azets.co.uk with the overarching aim of keeping people safe, well and socially connected in their own home. The Connectivity as a Service Framework (CaaS) also secured £2m internally and attracted in excess of £40m in follow-on private investment across Renfrewshire to install future-proofed connectivity across the region placing Renfrewshire as one of the most digitally connected regions across the UK. The Fairer Renfrewshire Panel, comprises of people with lived or living experiences of poverty and inequalities, have helped shaped the creation of 21 DigiZones and a mobile DigiZone, which further strengthens the Digital Inclusion approach in Renfrewshire and underpins all of the projects outlined in this case study. An example of the bespoke engagement with service-users is through the user-centred design approach to reporting a ‘special uplift’ request. This process has been transformed, through people-centred redesign with the input of a user panel of 50 customers who had recently used the service. This process has now been fully digitised, and 2 case studies were produced for customers and staff, to explain what had happened and to act as a good practice example demonstrating the opportunities within the digital programme. The team examined ‘pain points’ for customers, mapping the entire end to end process from a customer’s point of view. These were all addressed using digital solutions and these were fully implemented, with customers and staff being kept fully informed and involved throughout. The new process scored 4.7 out of 5 for resident satisfaction. Underpinning the Council’s digital transformation is the principle of fairness and equality – ensuring that all of Renfrewshire’s citizens can benefit from the opportunities of digital transformation. Citizen Voice works in partnership across the public, third and private sectors, exploring collaborative approaches to digital equity. Citizen Voice seeks to minimise the number of people who are digitally excluded in Renfrewshire and to maximise the opportunity for everyone to have equal access to the benefits and opportunities of digital. The Council has also considered the impact of the project on protected and vulnerable groups. For example, work is being progressed with a local charity that works with diverse minority ethnic groups across a broad range of protected characteristics. This work will enable digital inclusion, through the creation of a community-led secure device recycling project, which, once developed will provide an opportunity for local communities and businesses to donate their unwanted digital devices. Phase 1 of this transformation took place from 2015 to 2020, Phase 2 from 2020 to the current time. Phase 3 will be launched through the Council’s new digital strategy, which was presented to Policy Board in April 2025 and will support the Council’s digital transformation journey through to 2030. Page 35 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 31 of 44 www.azets.co.uk One of the individual projects in this transformation programme, Green Print is considered in more detail below. Within Green Print, the expected cost of the new printer contract is £1.8m over 6 years. There were a number of project objectives: • To reduce costs through: • A reduction in the number of printers leased over the duration of the contract • A reduction in print consumables • Contributing to net zero targets through the reduction in use of paper and energy associated with a reduced printer estate • Digital upskilling and use of digital solutions • Reducing information governance risks associated with a reduction in the incidence of print related securing incidents The project has had a positive contribution to the Council’s RenZero strategy: • The printers have been configured so print jobs are not automatically printed when they are sent. This has resulted in saving a significant amount of printing as many users will send a document for printing and then not collect it. • The Green Print project contributes to the RenZero key theme, Circular Economy: we will make Renfrewshire a circular economy society: minimising waste and maximising reuse, recycling and recovery of resources rather than treating them as waste. The circa 40% reduction in the printer estate makes more effective use of printers and in doing so reducing the use of raw materials and water at source. The contract saving is projected to realise £600k over the life of the contract, which is 25% of the overall contract value. The project team successfully managed to reduce the number of devices deployed by over 40% (from 952 to 554). Opportunities for further savings, over and above the £600k, have been identified and plans are in place to: • Move from laser jet paper to recycled paper, with effect from 1 April 2025. This would be a reduction of £2 per box. • Move to electronic payslips across the organisation, enabling all staff to view their payslip via the ERP, from 1 April 2025. Extensive engagement with the Corporate Management Team and Senior Management Teams has taken place to highlight current print behaviours and identifying opportunities to reduce down print volumes and where appropriate, utilise more digital ways of working (e.g.) electronic newsletters. Page 36 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 32 of 44 www.azets.co.uk There are a wide range of service quality benefits across the programme, a selection of these are outlined below. • ICT as an Operating Model – this project was progressed from 2015 over a 5-year period. The “as a service” model provides organisations with the opportunity to fulfil their ICT & digital requirements externally, delivering access to the best technology and skills through hosted services solutions, with significant flexibility to expand or contract capacity as the Council’s requirements change. This strategic transition removed the need to carry the same level of in-house capacity, or to keep pace with the rapidly changing skills and expertise, something which the Council found an increasing workforce planning risk as technology rapidly developed, existing workforce skills lost pace with technology development and as demand for new skills escalated in a highly competitive and increasingly costly market. The “as a service model” developed quickly and provided the Council with the opportunity to radically redesign and strategically transition the service model, pushing the majority of the Council’s key infrastructure and major corporate systems into cloud hosted solutions provided by external service providers. • Becoming a Digitally Enabled Council - sector leading deployment of advanced technology, including advanced automation and artificial intelligence base digital assistants, has been achieved to significantly reduce costs to serve customer contact whilst simultaneously expanding and improving citizen access to services on a 24/7 basis, redirecting over 1 million contacts and transactions per year away from traditional people-based interactions. • Digital Infrastructure Foundations - significant transformation and modernisation of the Council’s underlying ICT and digital infrastructure has been delivered, providing the critical foundations that are a pre-requisite if the Council is to have the capability to take advantage of rapidly digital technology opportunities to transform service delivery and how the services work. • A Digital Place – establishing Renfrewshire as one of the most digitally connected regions in the UK – with 92% of all domestic and business premises now connected to a sector leading broadband infrastructure, recognising the critical nature of this capability in the modern world to attract people and business to visit, live, work, invest and locate here. • Digital Leadership and Skills – significant progress has been made to develop leadership and skill across the organisation including the establishment of a network of digital Champions, completion of a digital Maturity Assessment in partnership with the Digital office, transitioning employees full on line with the Business World ERP system which provides a wider range of 24/7 on-line services to workforce and developed better use of data and insight through bespoke workspaces and dashboards for employees, line managers and Services, assisting all to do their job roles much more effectively. Consumption of digital capability and channels is expected to increase significantly across all workforce as digital capability increases and this will remain a key area of development for the People Strategy. Page 37 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 33 of 44 www.azets.co.uk • Smart Data – the Council has made progress to make better use of data and secure intelligence to inform service provision and decisions. This has included: a. Development and implementation of a Data Strategy Framework across all Services to improve data management and exploitation capabilities and established a Data Advisory Group to provide a corporate approach to data governance. b. The successful rollout of new printer fleet solution, with a dedicated dashboard developed with key insight data on usage to allow managers to better understand print behaviours. This evidence-based approach supports the Council’s Green Print Strategy and climate ambitions. c. Used data to predict, track and manage absence of children and young people across the learning estate and used data sources to automate the awarding of Free School Meals and Clothing and Footwear Grant provision. Across the programme, there are a wide range of positive outcomes for the people who use services, a selection of these are outlined below: • Digital Health & Care - over 99% of the switchover from analogue to digital telecare provision has been completed and Renfrewshire is the 1st HSCP in Scotland to achieve Platinum accreditation for digital telecare. The HSCP workforce is now benefiting from the Digital Enablement of frontline Care at Home Services through implementation of Totalmobile scheduling and Public Access WI-FI has been installed in Care Homes, Sheltered Housing complexes and in Health & Social Care Settings such as Adult Day Care Centre. A local directory (Well in Renfrewshire) was established to enable professionals to access a range of person centred and place-based supports for people they support and in response to COVID-19 Pandemic, expanded provision of digital day support for older people. • Digital Learning and Teaching – there has been a significant increase in internet bandwidth across the learning estate with 1 gigabit internet lines in most sites and 5 gigabit in high schools, scalable in the future to 10 gigabit across all sites making Renfrewshire Schools some of the most connected in the country. A national CoSLA Excellence awards was secured for tackling inequalities and improving health and wellbeing through collaborative work delivering an alcohol and drugs awareness education resource for children and young people and Rollout of GroupCall and Parents Portal has been embedded to improve communication with parents and carers. A current priority for Children’s Services is to develop a new strategy for digital learning and teaching which will begin to set out how the newly secured connectivity within the learning estate can be capitalised on to provide a step change in the role digital plays to support the teaching workforce and pupils. • Digital Citizen –progress has been made to develop a network of support across Renfrewshire with a dedicated and trained volunteer Digital Champions, 21 Digi Zones and a mobile Digi Zone supporting communities to get on-line through the provision of Page 38 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 34 of 44 www.azets.co.uk digital inclusion support, delivered Renfrewshire’s first ever Digital Inclusion week with over 30 events taking place over 5 days, developed annual Digital Inclusion impact report to measure Digital Inclusion in Renfrewshire. Renfrewshire has been recognised as an exemplar and case study in Audit Scotland’s “Tackling Digital Exclusion” report for enabling digital inclusion, delivered through multi-sector collaboration using person- centred and place-based approaches. Case Study 2 – Customer and Business Services In February 2015, the Council’s Leadership board approved the consolidation of several existing Finance and Resources functions covering Operational Services, Customer Services and Corporate Business Support to become a single Customer and Business Services (CBS) division. This project has significantly redesigned how customers contact the council and how their request is fulfilled and how critical internal corporate support functions are managed and delivered. The Council has used the following methods in its transformation of Customer and Business Services: - Robotic Process Automation as a way of reducing unnecessary manual processes by automating administrative, logic-based tasks. There are currently 51 live processes ranging from regular daily processes; Council tax Direct Debit, Housing Universal Credit Managed payments; Seasonal bulk processes; Garden Waste permit checks, Free School Meals & Clothing grants and One-off ad hoc runs like the updating of 70,000 thousand Unique Property Reference Numbers to provide enhanced data quality. From 20/21 to 22/23 over 44,000 resource hours were saved, equating to a value of approx. £660k and in 24/25 the Council are predicting that RPA processes will result in a saving of 13,400 resource hours equating to £317k. - ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system: This single system combined human resources, payroll, procurement and finance functions. ERP has been a key component of the savings delivered within Business Services over the past few years. With approx. 17 live forms and embracing the principle of self service has resulted in most of the Council’s employees and managers submitting a wide range of requests including overtime, expense claims, employee leave notifications, flexible working requests, planned leave request, unplanned leave recording online. - The provision of digital services, specifically for routine and simple enquiries. Over 170 digital services providing customers with a choice in how they can interact with the Council. - Optimising the existing digital capabilities and horizon scan for new emerging technology. - Introducing a digital customer service advisor (‘Millie’), powered by AI technology to further support customers with telephone enquiries – 24/7 365 days per year. This implementation opens the digital world to customers who would not necessarily have Page 39 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 35 of 44 www.azets.co.uk chosen to interact online and releases customer service capacity to enable the Council to support more vulnerable customers with more complex needs. Renfrewshire Council don’t view this as a ‘stand-alone’ project. Transformation is an embedded part of their business-as-usual model, and they are continually looking at ways to improve the services they provide. Renfrewshire Council used the following partners to aid this transformation: • Granicus (CRM, MyAccount, Engagement HQ) • Commsworld (Contact Centre Telephony), • ICS.AI (Digital Customer Advisor), • Unit 4 (ERP) • Derby City Council These partners have been involved to provide support and expertise to the Council based on their experience of involvement in similar projects in order for Renfrewshire Council to achieve the best outcome possible. The partners have supported a range of community benefits, however, have not funded the transformation. The Council engaged with communities on the digital consultation tool (Engagement HQ) during the development of that strategy in 2023. As part of the service design methodology, the Council developed User Researcher capabilities within the team to engage with customers at the start of the process to help shape requirements and then again at the end of the process to support testing of the newly designed service. An example of the bespoke engagement with service-users in order to improve services and put their needs at the heart of the transformation is through the user-centred design approach to reporting a ‘special uplift’ request. This process has been transformed, through people-centred redesign with the input of a user panel of 50 customers who had recently used the service. This process has now been fully digitised, and 2 case studies were produced for customers and staff, to explain what had happened and to act as a good practice example demonstrating the opportunities within the digital programme. The team examined ‘pain points’ for customers, mapping the entire process from a customer’s point of view. These were all addressed using digital solutions and these were fully implemented, with customers and staff being kept fully informed and involved throughout. The new process scored 4.7 out of 5 for resident satisfaction. The Digital Operations team are part of the Digiren network, co-led by a third sector interface (Engage Renfrewshire), which plays a pivotal role in laying the groundwork for digital inclusion initiatives across the area. As part of this membership, they are aware of the views of all member groups and have sought feedback on new services which have been Page 40 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 36 of 44 www.azets.co.uk developed. Additionally, the revenues team within Business Services has participated in the ‘Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel’ and as a direct result of customer feedback has used the enhanced technical skills of its team to introduce a wider range of payment plans for Council taxpayers. The project savings are outlined below. The current service budget is £17m and taking account of indexation, the cost to deliver the service is approximately 60% of what it otherwise would have been had it not been for the transformational programme. In terms of cost associated with the technology and in-house skills used to support the service change, this has totalled around £6.5m over the same period, providing a cumulative cash payback ratio of 5.7:1. Recurringly, the costs of the technology and team is around £1m per annum providing a payback ratio running at around 8:1 demonstrating a very strong rate of return for the investment. This cost has been met by the Council’s service modernisation and reform fund and will continue to support the technology and functions as opportunities to deploy the learning across other service areas are now explored. Since the start of this transformation of Customer and Business Services in 2015, a total cumulative savings of almost £59m (cash terms) have been achieved, with the running annual recurring saving of £8.2m (cash terms) as outlined in the table below (taking account of inflationary factors this is closer to £10m in 2024/25 price base). To put this in context of real-life front-line service impact, the recurring savings have protected the ability of the Council to employ 200 newly qualified teachers or 285 homecare workers. Better Council Change Programme 15/16 - 16/17 £3,200,000 Council Tax Savings 18/19 £200,000 Water Direct Phase 1 18/19 £300,000 Digital First / RPA / ERP 19/20 £1,000,000 HB Subsidy Saving 19/20 £50,000 Water Direct Phase 2 19/20 £250,000 Customer Transactions (Right For Renfrewshire Programme) 20/21 - 22/23 £3,200,000 Page 41 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 37 of 44 www.azets.co.uk From the charts above, you can see the shift in contact channel since 2018, as more customers choose to interact through the online customer portal. This provides customers with the freedom to carry out their transaction in a manner and at a time that suits them. The business case created for the introduction of the AI digital advisor assumed a call deflection rate of 5% as indicated in the target demand model chart below. Since introduction in November 2024, the Council are already seeing that deflection higher than 30%. 70% 16% 6% 8% CUSTOMER OPERATIONS - 2018/19 DEMAND PROFILE Telephone Online E-mail F2F 44% 45% 8% 3% CUSTOMER OPERATIONS - 2022/23 DEMAND PROFILE Telephone Online E-mail F2F Page 42 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 38 of 44 www.azets.co.uk The service redesign methodology ensures efficiencies are gained end to end, and not just at the start of the process. Below are a few examples of the improvements made to outcomes for people: • Free School Meals and Clothing Grant applications were previously paper based and could take up to 4 weeks. Following the redesign, this process now takes less than 5 days. • Taxi and Private Hire applications were also paper based, and in the move to a digital solution, this has removed the need for drivers to attend a face-to-face appointment, therefore maximising the time they can spend on the road. • During COVID, the approach to digital service design allowed new grants to be available swiftly, taking the Low-Income Pandemic Payment as an example, this was built within a matter of days, and included a fully automated approval process resulting in payments being made to 66% of applicants within 24-hours. • Committed to continuous improvement and the ongoing transformation, in 2021 Business Services created a small team dedicated to Continuous improvement, Employee Engagement and Workload & Resource planning. • Over and above efficiency savings, with the support of the Continuous Improvement Team, the use of optimised technology RPA, ERP and in-house systems has enabled Business Services to respond quickly and easily to new and increasing demand. • Development of in-house software systems, supported with RPA have been critical to the Service in respect of increasing demands; DWP’s transition to Universal Credit, the growth in administration of Discretionary Housing Payments, Free School Meals & Clothing Grants, Garden waste charge exemptions, and the desire to reduce Council Tax credit balances. 35% 49% 8% 3% 5% CUSTOMER OPERATIONS TARGET DEMAND MODEL Telephone Online E-mail F2F AI Assistant Page 43 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 39 of 44 www.azets.co.uk The service’s continuous drive for improvement through transformation has also resulted in a number of improved outcomes: • Aligned with the Council’s Net Zero ambitions, the launch of e-billing for Council tax has resulted in a simplified solution for the issue of bills electronically. The Council is undertaking a take-up campaign prior to annual billing this year, with Non-Domestic Rates also going live with e-bills this year. • Using RPA as a key support, the challenge of reducing Credits within the Council Tax account has resulted in a 22% reduction in the overall level since start of 2023. • Utilising the Council’s digital form capability, the Children’s Services admin support team now provides online forms for school placing requests, school transport requirements and milk/snack funds. • Automation of the ISP (Independent Sector Payments) process using RPA reduces the chance of error and speeds up critical charging information need to be transmitted to Care Homes used by the Council for vulnerable residents. • Adoption of automation functionality within the Council’s Revenues and Benefits system, layered with RPA functionality has resulted in a more efficient process for customers in receipt of Universal Credit and needing to apply for Council Tax Reduction support. This has resulted in 52% of work generated by DWP notifications being automated. • Recognising the criticality of smooth and efficient recruitment to key council services, the recruitment optimisation project was dedicated to refining processes for efficiency and effectiveness, in collaboration with HR colleagues and services across the Council. As a result, significant transformation has been achieved. By leveraging the ERP system capability, the Council’s Document and Workflow System and Robotic Process Automation Software has resulted in a significant reduction in the time taken to undertake recruitment: from an average of 79 days taken to prepare a preferred candidate pack (required to agree a start date) in 2022 to just 19 days in 2023. These are just a few examples which demonstrate how the outcomes for the people of Renfrewshire have been improved through the evolutionary transformation of Customer and Business Services over the past ten years. Processes are not intrusive on the lives of customers, and critically, the Council aims to ensure financial support is provided to the right people as quickly and efficiently as possible. Because of the approach taken at Renfrewshire Council when redesigning services, this helps to create positive outcomes for service users and the result has been a positive reflection of transformation of service delivery. Page 44 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 40 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Appendix 2: Transformation workstream and strategy reporting arrangements Workstream / Strategy Officer Governance Arrangements Political Board Reporting Route Principal Governance Group Officer Chair Monitored as part of overall Transformation Arrangements Reports into CMT Digital Strategy Digital Board Head of Digital Yes - specific projects Yes FRCS Board Service Redesign Projects Transformation Board Director of Finance & Resources Yes Yes - as part of Transformation Update Report Leadership Board Connected Communities Transformation Board Director of Finance & Resources Yes Yes Leadership Board Procurement Review with Scotland Excel Transformation Board Director of Finance & Resources Yes Yes - as part of Transformation Update Report FRCS Board OneRen Commissioning Review Transformation Board Director of Finance & Resources Yes Yes Leadership Board Income Generation Projects Transformation Board Director of Finance & Resources Yes Yes - as part of Transformation Update Report Policy Board subject to specific income stream being considered Strategic Finance Flexibilities CMT as part of financial strategy Chief Executive No Yes – as part of financial strategy updates Council as part of financial strategy updates People & Workforce Planning People & Workforce Planning Chief Officer Group Head of HR & OD Yes Yes FRCS Board Strategic Property Review SPR Board Director of EH&I Yes Yes ILE Board Learning Estate Learning Estate Board Director of Children’s Services No Yes Education & Children’s Services Board Placeshaping & Regeneration City Deal and Regeneration Board Chief Executive No Yes Leadership Board and Transport City Deal and Regeneration Board Chief Executive No Yes ILE Policy Board Page 45 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 41 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Workstream / Strategy Officer Governance Arrangements Political Board Reporting Route Principal Governance Group Officer Chair Monitored as part of overall Transformation Arrangements Reports into CMT Net Zero RenZero Oversight Group Director of EH&I No Yes Planning & Climate Policy Board Page 46 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 42 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Appendix 3: Action plan Our action plan details the weaknesses and opportunities for improvement that we have identified during this audit. Issue / risk Recommendation Agreed management action / timing 1. Links to corporate objectives We are satisfied that links exist between the Council’s corporate objectives and the transformation plans and while we note there is alignment between transformation programme objectives and the corporate plan outcomes, these were not formally mapped against each other. We recommend that the Council should consider demonstrating the links between the transformation programme and its corporate plan with more clarity to help demonstrate measurement of impact of the transformation plan against the corporate plan. Schematic to be produced mapping Transformation projects to Council priorities. Corporate reports on transformation will also clearly denote alignment with Council Plan priorities. Responsible officer: Director of Finance and Head of Policy and Partnerships Due date: March 2026 Page 47 of 78
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Renfrewshire Council: Transformation - how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planned outcomes. Best Value thematic work in councils 2024-25 Page 43 of 44 www.azets.co.uk Issue / risk Recommendation Agreed management action / timing 2. Reporting to the Leadership Board We note that the timescales and financial impact or expected savings is provided for some of the projects in the reporting to the Leadership Board, but not for all. As different projects mature in their progress the Council should ensure consistency of the reporting it presents in its updates on the transformation programme. Also, while the Council develops its strategy and savings plan it should report timing, savings, cost and benefits expected to measure against those. We recommend that the Council continues to update its reporting to the Leadership Board to improve high level oversight. Six monthly reports will be submitted to the Leadership Board and the format will be developed to address the auditor recommendations. Responsible officer: Director of Finance Due date: December 2025 Page 48 of 78
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info@azets.co.uk | azets.co.uk Page 49 of 78
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board On: 22 September 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Audit Scotland: Delivering for the future: Responding to the workforce challenge ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 In August 2025, Audit Scotland published: Delivering for the future: Responding to the workforce challenge on behalf of the Accounts Commission. The report evaluates the workforce situation across Scotland’s local government sector, highlighting risks, opportunities, and the urgent need for robust strategic workforce planning. This paper provides an overview of the report and its relevance to Renfrewshire Council. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board note the contents of this report. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Several national reports have commented on the significant workforce challenges facing local authorities in Scotland, including recruitment difficulties, rising sickness absence, and the urgent need for new skills to support digital transformation and service delivery. Recognising the Item 2 Page 51 of 78
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strategic significance of these pressures, the Accounts Commission commissioned Audit Scotland to undertake a thematic national review: Delivering for the future: Responding to the workforce challenge published in August 2025. 3.2 The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the local government workforce. It identifies risks and opportunities, evaluates current planning and management practices, and sets out clear expectations for how councils can address workforce challenges to maintain and improve service delivery. 3.3 The review draws on evidence from all 32 Scottish councils, presenting sector-wide analysis and highlighting good practice as well as significant areas of risk. Audit Scotland’s findings represent a call to action for council leaders and boards, emphasising the need for integrated workforce and financial planning, targeted support for skills gaps and a renewed focus on the wellbeing and engagement of Scotland’s local government workforce. 4. Key Findings of the Report 4.1 The report notes that councils are facing clear and continuing financial pressures and are having to make savings as they redesign and transform how they deliver services, including examining the need to make workforce reductions. Recruiting and maintaining a skilled local government workforce remains challenging and, at the same time, demand for council services is increasing. This is placing additional demands on the existing workforce and there are indications this is now impacting upon the wellbeing of an ageing workforce, with absence levels rising to a new high. 4.2 Auditors report that councils have responded positively to these challenges, but that further progress with workforce planning is still needed considering continuing financial and demand pressures. There remains scope for better alignment of workforce plans to corporate strategies, and opportunities to make better linkages between corporate and service arrangements. Councils could improve the availability and use of workforce data and demonstrate better, more meaningful engagement with their staff. 4.3 Auditors also reported that there are existing initiatives across the sector to address issues with recruitment and retention, succession planning and the development of staff. But they also highlighted that opportunities to share services and roles could be better explored to Page 52 of 78
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deliver potential efficiencies and improve services. All councils recognise the importance of digital solutions in shaping their future workforce requirements, but digital capacity remains an issue for many, and further engagement with staff and service users is needed as councils transform how they deliver services. 4.4 The report outlines the Commission’s view that staff remain the most important resource councils have to deliver services and meet the needs of their citizens. But the challenges of recruiting and supporting staff are increasing as the workforce ages, needs change, and structural issues with labour markets emerge. Financial pressures are also an important factor. As councils adopt new technology and ways of working, and look to generate efficiencies, the shape and size of the future workforce needs to be actively considered. 4.5 The report notes that councils need to prioritise workforce planning and development to address existing and future challenges. Addressing rising sickness absence, embracing innovation and digital technology, and increased collaborative working will all be necessary to attract and retain staff, and ensure we all continue to benefit from a skilled and motivated local government workforce. 4.6 The report also identifies that going forward, councils will need strong leadership to develop the innovative approaches required to deal with increasing workforce pressures and challenges. Prioritising wellbeing and fostering a culture of trust, empowerment and continuous learning through improved engagement with staff will be increasingly important. 5. Accounts Commission Expectations/Recommendations 5.1 In respect of expectations, the report points to the Best Value Statutory Guidance, which sets out what is expected of councils when carrying out workforce planning as part of their overall management of their workforce. The guidance focuses on seven key themes, one of which is effective use of resources. Within this there are specific requirements related to how councils carry out workforce planning as part of the overall management of their workforce. 5.2 The report outlines recommendations aimed at improving workforce planning to support service delivery, while supporting and developing existing staff Workforce planning. These recommendations were made as part of the local best value thematic work on workforce innovation carried out across all councils in 2024. Page 53 of 78
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Workforce planning 5.3 Auditors made recommendations to enhance workforce planning, improve transparency, and ensure alignment with the council’s strategic priorities, including: making linkages between workforce strategies and plans and corporate strategies more explicit. ensuring that service-level plans reflect and address corporate priorities. more clearly defining performance measure outcomes and setting clearer targets. establishing regular monitoring and reporting of progress. expanding the range of workforce planning information collected to inform planning, including overall workforce profile, data on turnover, vacancy rates, casual and temporary staff, and the learning and development needs of staff. better engaging with staff as part of the planning process and being transparent about how staff feedback is incorporated. Digital technology 5.4 Auditors made recommendations on the use of digital technology to support workforce productivity and improve service delivery, including: being clearer how plans for digital technology will shape and impact the workforce, including expected benefits and necessary support for skills development. increasing the pace of digital transformation projects and developing measures to monitor their impact on productivity and service outcomes. undertaking a corporate review of digital skills to identify gaps and areas for improvement. Hybrid working 5.5 Auditors made recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of hybrid working, ensuring benefits for both the organisation and its employees, including: formalising the policy and procedures for hybrid working. measuring and monitoring the impacts of hybrid working. This should capture the benefits for staff including wellbeing, and any savings achieved or improvements to services. Page 54 of 78
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Workforce development 5.6 Auditors made recommendations in relation to developing a skilled and capable workforce to meet future demands effectively, including: assessing the skills profile of the current workforce in line with future workforce requirements, including a digital skills assessment. reporting on the impact that current skills and capacity development programmes are having on filling skills gaps and succession planning. monitoring and reporting on the cost versus benefit of using agency staffing, including collecting data on the number of agency staff employed. Shared services and collaborative working 5.7 Auditors made recommendations in relation to collaborative working, including: continuing to explore opportunities for joint working and collaboration to build resilience and to make the best use of resources. capturing learning from successful shared roles and functions and establishing flexible roles to apply when developing future roles. Measuring the impact of plans 5.8 Auditors made recommendations on the measurement of impact of workforce planning approaches, including: clearly setting out scrutiny arrangements for workforce planning with clear roles and responsibilities for monitoring, oversight and decision-making on workforce planning at committee and officer level. prioritising the development of workforce planning reporting tools. ensuring that organisational and service-level workforce strategies are supported by appropriate performance management information including quantifiable metrics. 6. Renfrewshire Best Value Audit arrangements 6.1 As part of the ongoing Best Value Audit arrangements, a thematic review on Workforce Innovation was undertaken during 2024 by the Page 55 of 78
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Council’s external auditors, Azets. The report, which was presented to the Audit, Risk & Scrutiny Board on 23 September 2024, outlined the auditors’ findings in relation to 6 question areas, key messages and suggested areas for improvement. 6.2 As previously reported, the findings overall were positive, with comprehensive evidence provided to support each question area. Across the 6 question areas, positive outcomes were achieved, with 4 yellow gradings (scope for improvement) and 2 green gradings (effective and appropriate arrangements in place), indicating no areas of concern. 6.3 In response, an improvement action plan was produced which sets out audit recommendations in key areas, and the Council’s planned response including responsible officers and dates for implementation. These actions were added to the Council’s Corporate Improvement Plan, which was first reported to Leadership Board in February 2025. 6.4 Following this, a progress update on the Corporate Improvement Plan was reported to the Leadership Board on 17 September 2025, the actions in relation to the workforce innovation thematic recommendations have all been completed and include the following: To implement clear productivity measures in relation to efficiencies and measure the impact on productivity, a refreshed suite of indicators was included in the 2025/26 Service Improvement Plans (SIPs). Performance will be reported to the relevant Policy Board twice a year. These measures allow us to also track the impact of our workforce skills and development. However, this has been further enhanced with the inclusion of an action the SIPs for each service to deliver a refreshed approach to workforce planning and workforce innovation as part of the review of the Council’s People Strategy, supporting future Financial Sustainability. We have improved the quality of reporting to the relevant Policy Boards, in particular, regular updates are provided to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board, these have included an overview of the workforce profile which highlights the importance of utilising a people metrics for effective evidence-based decision-making within the Council. These are supplemented with the six-monthly and annual SIP progress reports to the relevant policy boards. Page 56 of 78
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___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – none 2. HR & Organisational Development – none, details issues and challenges experienced by local government in relation to the workforce 3. Community/Council Planning – none 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets – none 6. Information Technology – none 7. Equality & Human Rights - the recommendations within this report have not been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights as the report concerns a national report on local government workforce issues and is for noting only. 8. Health & Safety – none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. Climate Risk –not applicable 13. Children’s Rights –not applicable. 14. COSLA Policy Position –not applicable. _______________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: (a) Report to Audit, Risk and scrutiny Board 23 September 2024: Best Value thematic work – Workforce innovation. (b) Report to Leadership Board 17 September 2025: Best Value – Corporate Improvement Plan. Page 57 of 78
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___________________________________________________________________ Author: Annie Torrance, Senior Policy Officer, Chief Executive’s Annie.torrance@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 58 of 78
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board On: 22 September 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Maurice Gilligan, Lead Officer, Promise Manager, Children’s Services, Renfrewshire Council ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Briefing on Lack of House and Garden Maintenance __________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Audit, Risk & Scrutiny Board at its meeting held on 22 August 2022 agreed that the topic of Lack of House and Garden Maintenance be taken forward as part of its 2022/23 programme. This item remained pending due to insufficient officer availability to conduct the review. 1.2 At the Board meeting held on 20 May 2024, after a development session with the Audit Board it was agreed that instead of a full review taking place immediately on the subject that the lead officer would present a briefing on the subject to members on the relevant issue. 1.3 In March 2025, a Lead Officer from Children’s Services was appointed to prepare a briefing, with work commencing in April. The Officer engaged with Elected Members of the Board through a series of meetings, consulted relevant Council officers, and conducted desk-based research. Legal Services were also consulted for advice on the legislative framework. 1.4 If members are happy with the briefing and the information contained in it, then the investigation would end. However, if members have any further concerns or wished further information then a Lead Officer would then conduct a full review. 1.5 Should a full review be required, the Lead Officer would conduct interviews with Elected Members, key Council officers involved in various aspects of House and Garden Maintenance, local Housing Associations, Police Scotland, other Scottish Local Authorities, and residents with lived experience of neighbour disputes and antisocial behaviour. Item 3 Page 59 of 78
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_________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 Members are asked to: a) Note the contents of the report. b) Undertake an assessment of this briefing and the previous report on Neighbourhood Disputes (Appendix 1) to determine whether it sufficiently addresses current concerns. Based on this assessment, decide whether a more detailed review is warranted. ___________________________________________________________________ 3 Background 3.1 For the purpose of this briefing the term home and garden maintenance refers to the regular and necessary tasks required to keep a property and its surrounding areas in good condition. This is particularly relevant in shared buildings such as flats and tenements, where responsibilities for common areas are often shared among residents or managed by a factor, housing association or the local authority. 3.2 Home maintenance typically includes repairs and replacements of fixtures and fittings, routine cleaning, painting, and other upkeep tasks. It also covers the day-to-day running of the building, such as maintaining lighting in stairwells or ensuring entry systems are functional. Importantly, it includes the reinstatement of any part of the building that has been damaged or worn out. However, it does not extend to alterations, demolitions, or improvements unless these are directly related to essential maintenance. For example, replacing a broken door with one that has a better lock would be considered maintenance, however installing a new security system purely for enhancement would not. 3.3 Garden maintenance involves the regular care of outdoor spaces. This includes mowing lawns, weeding, trimming hedges, and keeping the area tidy. In rental properties, tenants are usually expected to carry out these tasks unless the tenancy agreement states otherwise. Larger or more complex tasks, such as removing large trees or repairing boundary fences, are generally the responsibility of the landlord or property owner. 3.4 The issue is closely linked to neighbour disputes, particularly in communal and estate-managed areas, where poor maintenance can escalate into antisocial behaviour. Common complaints include overgrown gardens, misuse of bins, and neglected shared spaces, within the Council, the Council’s housing service class this as Category D (estate management). 3.5 As noted earlier, a Lead Officer’s report on “Neighbourhood Disputes” was presented and approved at the Board meeting on 23 September 2024 and subsequently to Council 12 December 2024 (Appendix 1). The report highlights the need for early intervention and cross-service collaboration, especially in light of post-pandemic challenges. Page 60 of 78
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3.6 In the report to Council, it was noted that Renfrewshire Council is currently delivering a range of effective estate management and community safety initiatives. These include the Neighbourhood Environmental Trainee Team (NETT), which engages trainees in environmental work across four neighbourhoods, focusing on problem areas. The biennial Tenant Satisfaction Survey provides valuable feedback from council tenants to assess service impact. The Moorpark Regeneration Project demonstrated a successful targeted intervention, now serving as a model for other areas. Cross-service collaboration ensures regular dialogue between key departments, enabling swift responses to emerging issues. The “Team Up to Clean Up” campaign fosters community involvement through litter picks and responsible dog ownership initiatives. A 14-day grass cutting, and grounds maintenance cycle keeps public spaces well-managed, while data sharing across services supports continuous improvement and long-term planning tailored to community needs. 3.7 Gaps remain in public awareness and communication, with many residents unclear on how to report issues or what support is available 3.8 Elected Members in this previous report were encouraged to support: • Expansion of NETT and review of maintenance contracts. • Improved communication channels, including non-digital options. • Continued engagement with national antisocial behaviour legislation reviews. 3.9 The evolution of housing policy in Scotland reflects a shift from punitive enforcement to a rights-based, supportive approach for tenants. 4 Neighbourhood Disputes 4.1 The comprehensive report titled "Neighbour Disputes" was an in-depth review, conducted on behalf of the Board, identified a growing link between neighbour disputes in Renfrewshire and poor maintenance of houses and gardens - particularly in communal and estate-managed areas. 4.2 The report highlights that such maintenance issues - ranging from overgrown gardens and unkempt hedges to misuse of bins and improper waste storage - are frequent sources of tension between neighbours. Within the Council’s housing service issues often fall under Category D (estate management) complaints, which, if not addressed early, can escalate into more serious antisocial behaviour. Neighbour Disputes work undertaken by the Lead officer at that time was expanded to included Category D and the Lead Officer’s conclusions can be found in the paper dated May 2024. Page 61 of 78
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4.3 Neighbour disputes in Renfrewshire are increasingly associated with poor house and garden maintenance, especially in communal and estate-managed areas. While often categorised as low-level estate management concerns, these issues can act as early triggers for more serious neighbour tensions. The Council’s review, undertaken as part of the 2022/23 Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board programme, underscores the importance of addressing such matters proactively to prevent escalation into formal antisocial behaviour. 4.4 Common complaints include overgrown gardens, untrimmed hedges, misuse of bins, accumulation of waste, and neglect of shared spaces, typically classified under Category D (estate management), and if left unresolved, they can lead to more serious disputes involving noise, intimidation, or harassment—behaviours covered under the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004. The review found that these maintenance-related issues often serve as flashpoints for neighbour conflict, particularly where expectations around property upkeep or shared responsibilities differ. Initial frustration over environmental neglect can escalate into persistent complaints, verbal altercations, and, in some cases, police involvement. 4.5 Renfrewshire Council is one of the few local authorities in Scotland that provides support across all housing tenures, not just to Council tenants. This inclusive approach is commendable while also placing additional pressure on services. 4.6 The Council has implemented several effective interventions, including the Neighbourhood Environmental Trainee Team (NETT), the “Team Up to Clean Up” campaign, and targeted regeneration projects such as the Moorpark initiative. These programmes have demonstrated success in improving local environments and reducing complaint volumes. 4.7 The review also identified gaps in communication and public awareness. Many residents are unclear about how to report issues or what action the Council can take. This can lead to delays in intervention and increased frustration among complainants. Officers also noted a rise in complex cases involving mental health and trauma, particularly in the aftermath of the pandemic and amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures. 4.8 In light of these findings, Elected Members are encouraged to support stronger cross-service collaboration between Housing and Neighbourhood Services to enhance the efficiency of maintenance operations. There is also a compelling case for expanding the NETT programme and reviewing specialist cleaning and maintenance contracts to ensure services remain responsive and cost- effective. Improving communication channels—both digital and traditional—is essential to promote early reporting and ensure residents are aware of available support. Reflecting this commitment, the NETT Programme has already been expanded, with the number of squads increasing from two to four this year. Page 62 of 78
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4.9 Members were advised to remain engaged with the ongoing national review of antisocial behaviour legislation. As community safety challenges evolve, there may be opportunities to influence policy and secure improved tools and resources to support local responses. A refreshed local strategy may be required once national outcomes are confirmed. 4.10 The review found that disputes over garden maintenance and communal spaces are common across Scottish local authorities. Renfrewshire Council, unlike some others, provides support to all tenures, not just Council tenants. However, the report identifies opportunities to enhance coordination between Housing and Neighbourhood Services to better manage cyclical maintenance and grass cutting, especially for vulnerable tenants. 4.11 A key finding is the importance of early intervention and communication. Residents often feel frustrated when complaints about poor maintenance are not acted upon swiftly or when they are unaware of the appropriate channels for reporting. The Council is encouraged to improve public awareness and accessibility of reporting mechanisms, including non-digital options for those without internet access. 4.12 The Council was advised to explore the potential expansion of the NETT programme and to review its specialist cleaning and maintenance contracts to enhance service delivery. Both initiatives have now been completed, with outcomes informing future operational improvements. 4.13 The report underscores the need for continued investment in estate management, improved interdepartmental collaboration, and enhanced communication with residents. These steps are essential to prevent minor maintenance issues from escalating into serious disputes and to maintain harmonious community relations. 5 Legislative Framework, Repairing Obligations, Recovery of Possession and Housing (Scotland) Bill 5.1 Legislative Framework: Residential tenancies in Scotland are generally classed as “social” or “private” tenancies and lets. Social tenancies, where the landlord is either a local authority or a registered social landlord (“RSL”), such as housing association, are largely governed by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. 5.2 Private lets, where the landlord is neither a local authority nor RSL are usually “private residential tenancies” (“PRTs”) in terms of the Private Housing (Tenancies)(Scotland) Act 2016, with pre-December 2017 tenancies being governed by some older statutes. Page 63 of 78
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5.3 All residential property, including social and privately rented homes and owner- occupied properties must meet the “tolerable standard,” as detailed in section 86 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. The tolerable standard is a minimum standard and applies to all residential dwellings including social and privately rented homes and owner-occupied properties. The local authority can take action where a house does not meet this standard. 5.4 The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 introduced a repairing standard that all properties let in the private sector must meet. On 1 December 2015, the repairing standard was updated to include specific measures for electrical safety, and fire and carbon monoxide detection. 5.5 Repairing obligations: Both social and private landlords are under a statutory duty to comply with their respective repairing obligations to ensure that the house is “wind and watertight and in all other respects reasonably fit for human habitation”, as set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, Schedule 4, and section13 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. 5.6 If a landlord is not meeting the duty to carry out repairs and maintain the property to the repairing standard, the tenant or the local authority can make an application to the First Tier Tribunal Housing and Property Chamber (s.22(1) Housing (Scotland) Act 2006). 5.7 The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) was formed to deal with determinations of rent or repair issues in private sector housing; assistance in exercising a landlord’s right of entry; and relatively informal and flexible proceedings to help resolve issues that arise between homeowners and property factors. 5.8 Tenancy issues between social landlords (local authorities or RSLs, including housing associations) and tenants are dealt with in the Sheriff Court, apart from appeals against rent assessments by the rent officer for tenants and landlords of Regulated Tenancies under the Rent(Scotland) Act 1984. 5.9 Recovery of Possession: Under the terms of the Scottish secure tenancy legislation, the Sheriff Court may order recovery of possession where 'rent lawfully due from the tenant has not been paid, or any other obligation of the tenancy has been broken' (paragraph 1 of Schedule 2, Housing (Scotland) Act 2001).The court must also be satisfied that it is reasonable to make the order (s.16(2)(a)(ii), 2001 Act). 5.10 Any eviction action in relation to private sector tenancies must be raised through the First Tier Tribunal Housing and Property Chamber, who will have the power to issue orders for eviction and orders for recovery of rent arrears (Schedule 3, Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016. All eviction grounds are discretionary. This means that the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) can use their discretion and take all circumstances into account when deciding whether or not it is reasonable to grant an order for eviction. Page 64 of 78
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5.11 Housing (Scotland) Bill: The Housing (Scotland) Bill was introduced on 26 March 2024 and is at Stage 3 of the process to decide if it should become an Act. This an amending Bill, which means that it makes changes to existing legislation. 5.12 The Bill contains a package of reforms which will help ensure people have a safe, secure, and affordable place to live. It also helps to deliver the Scottish Government’s ‘New Deal for Tenants’ and some aspects of ‘Housing to 2040’, while contributing to the ambition to end homelessness in Scotland. Sections 24 to 27 of the new Bill will introduce a duty for sheriffs or tribunal members to consider whether it would be reasonable tin the circumstances to delay the effect of any order that would bring a tenancy to an end, giving the landlord the right to recover possession of the property. Page 65 of 78
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial - None directly arising from this report. 2. HR & Organisational Development - None directly arising from this report. 3. Community/Council Planning - None directly arising from this report. 4. Legal - None directly arising from this report. 5. Property/Assets – None directly arising from this report. 6. Information Technology – None directly arising from this report. 7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have not been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights- as the paper sets out the scope for a review process rather than proposing any changes to services. If any change to policy or service position were to be considered in future, a full equality and human rights impact assessment will be undertaken. 8. Health and Safety - None directly arising from this report. 9. Procurement - None directly arising from this report. 10.Risk - None directly arising from this report. 11.Privacy Impact - None directly arising from this report. 12.Climate Risk - None directly arising from this report. 13.Children’s Rights - None directly arising from this report. 14.COSLA Policy Position - No impacts directly arising from this report. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: Neighbour Disputes Paper - Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, September 2024 and to council December 2024. The foregoing background papers will be retained within Chief Executive’s Service for inspection by the public for the prescribed period of four years from the date of the meeting. The contact officer within the Council is the Promise Manager, Children’s Services, who can be contacted at maurice.gilligan@renfrewshire.gov.uk Author: Maurice Gilligan, Lead Officer, Promise Manager, Children’s Services, Renfrewshire Council Page 66 of 78
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Council On: 12 December 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Lead Officer on behalf of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Neighbour Disputes ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 At the meeting on 22nd August 2022, members of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board agreed an annual programme of activity for the Board for 2022/23. This included a review into neighbour disputes in Renfrewshire as part of the programme of activity. 1.2 Over a period of months and as part of the annual programme, reports have been presented to the Board by the Lead Officer on the subject of neighbour disputes in its widest sense, including antisocial behaviour. 1.3 In undertaking this review, the Lead Officer interviewed Elected Members, key Council officers involved in different aspects of neighbour disputes and antisocial behaviour, local Housing Associations, Police Scotland and 17 other Scottish Local Authorities, as well as speaking to residents with lived experience of neighbour disputes and antisocial behaviour. 1.4 This report describes the purpose and scope of the review, including summaries of information reported to each Board meeting, the key findings and concludes with the recommendations, which can be found in Section 12. 1.5 The review has provided assurance to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board. The Board agreed the final report at its 23rd September 2024 meeting. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 Members are asked to: • note the findings and approve the recommendations within this report ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 There is no single agreed definition for what constitutes a neighbour dispute. For the purposes of the review, the definition used is a “disagreement between neighbours that causes stress or friction”. A range of neighbour disputes may not reach a APPENDIX 1 Page 67 of 78
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threshold where they would be dealt with through antisocial behaviour legislation, such as disputes over communal areas, misuse of bins or storage of waste, parking, high hedges and boundary disputes. 3.2 In some instances of neighbour disputes a statutory nuisance may occur, when the activity of an individual or business on their own premises unreasonably detracts from another’s enjoyment of their property or causes a risk to public health. This can include noise, artificial light, odour, keeping of animals and accumulation of waste. 3.3 Some neighbour disputes can be classified as antisocial behaviour as defined in the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004, whereby a person acts “in a manner that causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress; or pursues a course of conduct that causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress to at least one person who is not of the same household as them”. 3.4 The Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 requires all local authorities to publish a strategy jointly with the Chief Constable of Police Scotland for their Council area. Renfrewshire Council approved a new Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy 2022-25 in March 2022, setting out how the Council and its key Community Safety partners will address antisocial behaviour in Renfrewshire. 4. Purpose and Scope of the Review 4.1 At the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board in August 2022 it was agreed that the review of neighbour disputes be looked at in the widest sense and should also include antisocial behaviour. It was agreed that the purpose of the investigation into neighbour disputes would be fourfold: 1. Try to establish the scale and nature of neighbour disputes in Renfrewshire, 2. Set out the current arrangements and approaches the Council and other stakeholders have for responding to neighbour disputes, 3. Review the current disposals/actions that are available to the Council and others to resolve neighbour disputes, and 4. Identify any other approaches, policy changes or mitigating actions that could be available to the Council within existing resources. 4.2 Following the initial report to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board in March 2023, there was a change in Lead Officer. This change in Lead Officer impacted the original timescales of the review. 5. Antisocial Behaviour National Review 5.1 During this local review for the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, the Scottish Government Review on Antisocial Behaviour was published (7th November 2023). The national review advocates a refreshed, long-term approach to antisocial behaviour, with a more preventative and supportive focus in preventing antisocial behaviour from occurring in the first place. 5.2 There is recognition of the age of the antisocial behaviour legislation and societal changes over the past 20 years. The national review recommended an independently chaired group of experts, including statutory, non-statutory and voluntary service providers and key community representatives, to develop a long-term framework for addressing antisocial behaviour with a strong focus on steps that can be taken to prevent antisocial behaviour in the first place as well as considering the effectiveness of current approaches to tackling antisocial behaviour that does occur. Page 68 of 78
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5.3 Further consideration as part of the national refresh may also include: - the definition of antisocial behaviour - legislation and guidance - increased powers - reporting, including support and outcomes - general approach, including partnership working and public information - person-centred and trauma-informed approaches 6. The Scale of Neighbour Disputes within Renfrewshire 6.1 Within Renfrewshire, there is no single source of data relating to neighbour disputes. Data for the initial stage of the review was drawn from public and voluntary services who have a responsibility relating to neighbour disputes, including Citizen’s Advice Bureau, the Council and Police Scotland. 6.2 It is acknowledged there will be additional neighbour disputes which services remain unaware of. Also, there may be overlap across datasets, e.g. cases where the Police respond initially then Community Safety or Housing investigate more fully and record. 6.3 Analysis showed that, with the exception of domestic noise complaints reported to the Council, there has been a sustained increase in the number of incidents/complaints of neighbour disputes in Renfrewshire over the last 3-4 years. This aligned with the national picture, based on responses from 17 other Scottish Local Authorities. 6.4 Renfrewshire Council Officers (as well as other Local Authorities, Housing Associations and Police Scotland) reported that changes in levels and nature of disputes was found to be initially due to the pandemic and lockdown, with people at home more. This links with a clash of lifestyles, which was reported as a major factor in neighbour disputes, and noise complaints, including situations such as different working patterns, where one party may leave early for work, or return late at night. 7. Domestic CCTV 7.1 An area of growth in neighbour disputes relates to the use of domestic CCTV systems, including smart doorbells, fitted by individuals in their homes. 7.2 The data protection regulator is the Information Commissioner. Privacy concerns about the use of devices (including individuals involved in a neighbour dispute over domestic CCTV) should be raised with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). 7.3 The Council’s powers in relation to domestic CCTV are limited to its installation by Council tenants. Under the tenancy agreement, tenants should not make any changes to fixtures and fittings in and around their home until they have received written permission from the Council. Although permission may be needed for the erection of CCTV cameras, the Council’s remit does not extend to approving or policing the processing of personal data by private individuals and the Council does not have any enforcement powers in relation to privacy infringement. 8. Review of Processes Across Scottish Local Authorities General Neighbour Disputes Findings 8.1 Contact was made with the other 31 Scottish Local Authorities and a range of local Housing Associations, with questions on neighbour disputes and anti-social Page 69 of 78
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behaviour. 17 local authorities responded (55%) and 3 local housing associations. A Renfrewshire Local Authority Liaison Officer representative from Police Scotland also assisted the review on processes within Renfrewshire. 8.2 There are differences across the 32 local authorities in how neighbour disputes are dealt with. Renfrewshire Council support and respond to all tenures. This is not the case across Scotland. Some local authorities will support and respond to all tenures; others would support and respond to Council Housing tenants only (where they have Housing stock) and signpost other tenures to alternative organisations; and others support and respond to all social housing tenants only. 8.3 The most common sources of neighbour disputes were similar across all local authorities and housing associations – relating to noise, waste (misuse of bins, including not putting out for collection, using bins belonging to others and placement of bins when out for collection) and issues relating to gardens and communal spaces. Mediation and Conflict Resolution 8.4 Mediation is a recognised early intervention tool to help neighbours resolve difficulties, with around 90% success rate1 for sustainable outcomes, i.e. did not have to contact the local authorities again. 8.5 Again, there were differences in provision of service – some Local Authorities (including Renfrewshire Council) provide mediation free of charge to all tenures. Others charge for non-Council Housing tenants, including charging Registered Social Landlords who refer to the service. The remainder either provided no service or would signpost to mediation services offered by SACRO (a Scottish community justice organisation) at the residents’ cost. Trauma Informed and Responsive Services 8.6 Being a victim of neighbour nuisance or anti-social behaviour can have a huge impact on people’s lives and affect mental health and wellbeing. It is key to ensure that support is available for those suffering from unreasonable behaviour. The need to support those perpetrating anti-social behaviour to change behaviours was also raised. Reasons behind this behaviour can be complex – the behaviour can be driven by trauma as well as triggering a trauma response in those that it is affecting. 8.7 Renfrewshire Council has recognised the importance of trauma informed and responsive services, and training has been rolled out across Housing Services and Community Safety teams due to the front-facing nature of their roles. Noise Monitoring 8.8 Noise nuisance was reported as one of the top complaints of neighbour disputes and/or anti-social behaviour across local authorities and housing associations. 8.9 When noise issue is persistent over time, residents are encouraged to keep a diary of dates and times of noise disturbance. MATRON (or similar) formal noise recording systems may then be used to gain corroboration for difficult to prove noise nuisance cases, with the system being installed in the house of the complainer to monitor noise levels and used to take further action against perpetrators where appropriate. 8.10 In addition to formal noise recording systems, a number of local authorities use a ‘noise app’. Renfrewshire Council is exploring this option, which enables residents to submit noise complaints via mobile devices as it is happening without the need for a formal recording system to be installed in the property, enabling local authorities to identify areas of need for MATRON system to be installed. 1 Figures provided via the Antisocial Behaviour Officers’ Forum (ASBOF) Page 70 of 78
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Multi-Agency Meetings 8.11 All local authorities who responded hold multi-agency meetings – with key organisations including Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Housing Associations and other local partners such as those involved in mental health support services and addiction services. The aim is to ensure early intervention and a coordinated partnership approach to ensure solutions are delivered effectively and efficiently and with knowledge sharing and input across organisations. 8.12 The frequency of these scheduled multi-agency meetings varied across local authorities. Renfrewshire’s model involves daily tasking meetings, whereas some local authorities met with partner agencies every other day, or every 3 days. 8.13 Renfrewshire has established a Community Safety Partnership Hub consisting of statutory, voluntary and community organisations based on the MARAC model (multi- agency risk assessment conference). This approach is recognised as best practice and combines a broad range of services to support communities through targeting anti-social behaviour, its causes and effects and ensures a robust approach to tackling public protection issues affecting residents in Renfrewshire. 9. Legislation and Regulatory Processes 9.1 Across local authorities different teams are involved with different aspects of neighbour disputes and antisocial behaviour. This is true of Renfrewshire Council, whereby specific teams deal with different aspects of neighbour disputes and antisocial behaviour, dependent on the legislation it falls under and/or potential actions – between Housing Services, Community Safety and/or Environmental Health teams. 9.2 There is a close working relationship between the teams, as well as with the Multi Agency Community Safety Partnership Hub to ensure patterns are picked up and responses can be targeted where needed. 9.3 Actions taken in all cases must be proportionate to the incident and complaints are classified using 4 key categories. The category the incident falls under will determine the process followed and the legislation that is applied: Category Definition Example A Serious antisocial behaviour Drug dealing, hate crime, violence B Antisocial behaviour Frequent disturbances, excessive noise C Nuisance Cases Vandalism, infrequent disturbances and private ownership D Estate management as a result of either complaints or observations Dispute over communal areas, including cleaning close; use of drying green; dog fouling; misuse of bins or storage of waste Housing Services Processes & Legislation: Neighbour Disputes & Antisocial Behaviour 9.4 Renfrewshire Council’s Housing Service follows a set of procedural steps in proportion to the incident in question. This ranges from visits to both parties; mediation referrals; support agency referrals; and verbal and written warnings, up to reducing tenancy rights and eviction in the most serious cases. 9.5 Most cases are resolved in the early steps of the process, through the early intervention measures of visits and warnings. For more persistent or serious cases of nuisance and antisocial behaviour, social landlords, including Renfrewshire Council, have two main levers that can be used: Page 71 of 78
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1. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001: the key statutory guidance aimed at social landlords, including allowing landlords to issue Short Scottish Secure Tenancies (SSSTs) to address antisocial behaviour and Streamlined Evictions where there has been a recent criminal conviction punishable by imprisonment for tenancy related antisocial or criminal behaviour within the previous 12 months. 2. Tenancy Agreements: set out the legal rights and responsibilities of both the tenant and the landlord, including levels of behaviour expected from tenants, members of their household and visitors to their home. 9.6 Renfrewshire Council’s tenancy agreements make it clear that breaches as a result of antisocial behaviour may result in legal action to evict, or a reduction in tenancy rights. A reduction in tenant’s rights is a result of converting a tenancy from a Scottish Secure Tenancy (whereby tenants have the right to stay in the home for as long as they wish provided they do not breach the terms of the tenancy) to a Short Scottish Secure Tenancy (SSST), where tenants only have security for the specified period of the tenancy (a minimum of 6 months, up to 12 months) because of particular circumstances, including antisocial behaviour. Tenants must then comply with specified conditions in order to retain the tenancy. 9.7 At the end of the specified term of a SSST conversion due to antisocial behaviour, if issues have been resolved and no further action is required/taken the tenancy converts automatically back to a Scottish Secure Tenancy again. 9.8 Following a request, an order for eviction may be granted by the Sheriff Court under Section 14 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 on any of the grounds within Section 2 of the Act, which includes antisocial behaviour in relation to an action or course of conduct that causes or is likely to cause alarm, distress, nuisance or annoyance. 9.9 Local authorities have a statutory duty to rehouse and eviction is a last resort. There are often more complex needs, and cross-agency working is key to ensure access to services and support, and to prevent people from falling through the gaps in services. Environmental Health: Key Processes and Legislation 9.10 In cases of statutory nuisance (which can include issues with noise, accumulations of waste, artificial light), procedural steps are followed ranging from visits to the source of the issue, mediation referrals and verbal and written warnings, to issuing abatement notices and Fixed Penalty Notices. 9.11 Most cases are resolved in the early steps of the process without the need for further escalation. For the more persistent or serious cases of statutory nuisance the main levers that can be used by the Council are: 1. The Environmental Protection Act 1990: provisions within Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 set out what can and can’t be dealt with as statutory nuisance. 2. Abatement Notice: a legal document that imposes specific requirements on the recipient with timescales, to abate the nuisance or mitigate to a point that it is no longer causing a nuisance, including noise abatement. 3. Fixed Penalty Notice: before a Fixed Penalty Notice is issued under the Environmental Protection Act, an Abatement Notice must have been served. The Abatement Notice must have expired without the problem being resolved and there must be a further breach of the Abatement Notice before a Fixed Penalty Notice can be served. These are generally used for low level nuisances. Page 72 of 78
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Community Safety Team: Key Processes and Legislation 9.12 The Community Safety Team and multi-agency partners within the Community Safety Partnership deal with antisocial behaviour. 9.13 Most complaints are resolved in the earlier stages of the process through early intervention measures and cross-service working in the Council and in the Community Safety Hub. For persistent antisocial behaviour the main levers are: 1. The Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004: the Act makes provision in connection with antisocial behaviour to deal with people who cause alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public. The Act also gives powers to address neighbour noise issues, such as from parties and loud music which causes undue nuisance. 2. Interim Antisocial Behaviour Orders: allow the Sheriff Courts to grant an order to provide more immediate protection from antisocial behaviour prior to a full court hearing (around 6 weeks). 3. Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs): preventative orders intended to protect people in the community affected by antisocial behaviour from further acts or conduct that would cause them alarm or distress. ASBOs are court orders which prohibit, either indefinitely or for a specified period of time, the individual from doing anything described in the order. An ASBO is made in the civil court, however, breach of an order is a criminal offence. 9.14 While registered social landlords, including Renfrewshire Council’s Housing Service, may seek antisocial behaviour orders or even eviction as a last resort, they have no powers to evict private tenants and/or owner occupiers. However, other services within the Council and Police Scotland may have some powers that can be used to influence people to modify their behaviour depending on the nature and severity of the complaint, e.g. a private landlord who fails the ‘fit and proper’ test by not dealing with antisocial behaviour of tenants could have their landlord registration revoked under Section 8 of the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004. 10. Current Estate Management Initiatives and the Estate Management Workshop 10.1 The Council’s approach to estate management and community safety is underpinned by the strategic outcomes in the Renfrewshire Council Plan 2022-2027. A key strategic outcome is Place and working together to enhance wellbeing across communities. 10.2 The review initially focused on Category B and C antisocial behaviour and neighbour nuisance complaints. In the course of the review, and in particular speaking with those with lived experience of neighbour nuisance and antisocial behaviour, the opportunity for an additional focus on Category D incidents (classed as estate management) emerged. Current Estate Management Initiatives 10.3 There are a large number of examples of good practice being delivered by the Council across estate management and community safety. Examples include: - the Neighbourhood Environmental Trainee Team (NETT): made up of a Supervisor and a number of trainees seeking employment (aged 16-65) who carry out work 1 day per week in each of the 4 Housing Neighbourhoods, with a particular focus on known ‘hot spots’. - Renfrewshire Council’s Tenant Satisfaction Survey: carried out every 2 years, this is a valuable measure of success (although responses are from Council tenants only, not all tenures) that can be used to compare results of initiatives in future years. - Moorpark Regeneration Project: Neighbourhood Services team, in collaboration with Housing Services, carried out a targeted intervention in the Moorpark area, Page 73 of 78
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focusing on environmental maintenance tasks. This provided a model for similar interventions across Renfrewshire, with lessons learned and best practices developed being integrated into the Council’s broader environmental management strategies, helping to ensure sustained improvements in other communities. - Cross-Service Collaboration: regular meetings to discuss Neighbourhood Operations, providing Housing Services, Neighbourhood Services, Public Protection and Waste Services a platform for continuous dialogue, allowing emerging issues to be addressed promptly and adapting strategies as needed. - Team Up 2 Clean Up: an exemplar Council and community partnership working to create a brighter, more attractive Renfrewshire through community initiatives including community litter picks and Take the Lead campaign (an initiative to encourage responsible dog ownership and working together to reduce dog fouling and anti-social behaviour across Renfrewshire). - Grass Cutting and Grounds Maintenance: Renfrewshire Council has a 14 day grass cutting and grounds maintenance cycle between April and October and tackle a different area of Renfrewshire each day, maintaining open spaces, school playing fields, public parks, sports pitches and cemeteries as well as grass cutting and hedge cutting for some residents and Council Housing tenants who require garden assistance or have common maintenance areas. - Data Sharing and Continuous Improvement: between all key Services to support ongoing development and refinement of maintenance programmes, ensuring operations are responsive to the needs of the community and allows immediate concerns to be addressed, but also to shape future work within the 4 Housing Neighbourhood areas, contributing to long-term improvements. 10.4 Alongside acknowledging the good practice and high quality services that are delivered daily, a key action in the Council Plan 2022-2027 is around ensuring we understand our service delivery, potential gaps in our approaches and have plans for improvement through ongoing self-assessment. 10.5 A workshop was held in August 2024, with key internal stakeholders represented from Housing Services; Environmental Health; Tasking and Development; Neighbourhood Services; Waste Services; and Procurement. Key areas discussed included individual and communal gardens and hedges, waste (including misuse of bins, storage of waste), communal areas and general nuisance, such as dog fouling and dog barking. 10.6 The workshop was extremely positive, with officers highlighting opportunities for improved flow of information and working collaboratively to identify: - existing good practice across a range of neighbourhood initiatives - opportunities for improvement - potential approaches and targeting of activity within existing resources 10.7 The key actions proposed by the group to be considered for further exploration are set out below. These proposed actions would require to be fully costed, with robust business case development. Viable proposals with impacts or changes in budget or policy would then be taken to the appropriate Board(s) for approval: - Housing Services to work together with Neighbourhood Services on work programming to identify an optimum service delivery model that meets the needs of both Services. This includes reviewing the deployment of existing resources to consider a dedicated team to work across properties and grounds related to Council Housing for grass cutting and cyclical maintenance, including winter works programming, and coordination ahead of recruitment to ensure sufficient resourcing. - explore the potential expansion of the Neighbourhood Environmental Trainee Team alongside additional potential training opportunities. - Procurement, Neighbourhood Services, Housing Services and Environmental Health to review the Council Wide Specialist Cleaning, Clearing and Ad Hoc Services Page 74 of 78
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framework, to explore the specification of this contract and identify opportunities to optimise service delivery. 11. Key Findings of the Review 11.1 Overall Approach: Renfrewshire Council’s processes and partnership working when dealing with neighbour disputes and antisocial behaviour are of a high standard across all key areas. This has been assessed based on benchmarking taking into account research and interviews with other local authorities, local Housing Associations and Police Scotland. Processes are clear; assistance is available to all tenures; Renfrewshire Council provides services which are not consistently provided across all local authorities; and trauma informed training has been rolled out to frontline staff to assist when dealing with those impacted by neighbour disputes and/or antisocial behaviour, as well as dealing with those who may be perpetrating the behaviour. 11.2 Early Intervention: The majority of complaints received by staff are resolved at an early stage and do not escalate to formal stages. All organisations interviewed as part of the review agreed that preventative work, community relations and early intervention are key to resolve issues and prevent potential future escalation. 11.3 Estate Management: Interviews with other local authorities and also with residents with lived experience of neighbour disputes and antisocial behaviour, highlighted issues related with estate management as a common source of neighbour disputes. Issues, including storage of waste, misuse of bins, dog fouling and communal spaces can be a source of initial tension which, if not captured early, have the potential to cause neighbour relationships to break down and/or lead to disputes escalating. The Estate Management workshop highlighted a range of good practice examples that are already being undertaken collaboratively with regards to estate management, with some additional opportunities to share knowledge between Services operating within Estates being considered in scheduling and deployment to streamline and enhance activity. 11.4 Communication: 1. early intervention includes a need for cases to be reported as early as possible. Information to members of the public around how to report issues, with the options available to different tenures was believed to be key. Clear advice on how to make a complaint and who should be contacted can avoid delays in the early stages of the process, improving the process for the complainer. 2. it is important to manage expectations and be clear on when the Council can and can’t take action. It can be frustrating for the complainer if their complaint doesn’t meet the threshold for further action (or if corroboration can’t be secured). Communication should include ensuring complainers are aware of potential next steps or alternative options (e.g. civil action) and any cost implications this may have. 3. for complaints where investigations/follow up action is being taken, keeping complainers informed is key at all stages of the process. Gathering evidence can be a painstaking and time consuming process and when regular updates are not given, it can lead to frustration on the part of the complainer and a feeling that they are not being listened to or their case is not being dealt with, when this is not the case. 4. staff turnover is unavoidable but can be a source of uncertainty for those whose home lives and/or mental health are being impacted by antisocial behaviour and/or neighbour disputes. Handovers, including informing complainers of any changes to case officers or impacts to timescales, helps to maintain strong relationships. Page 75 of 78
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11.5 Partnership Working: 1. Partnership working is key to tackling anti-social behaviour. The importance of cross-agency collaboration in understanding and responding to incidents of anti- social behaviour was highlighted by all organisations and a whole system approach with partnership solutions was agreed to be the most effective way of preventing and addressing antisocial behaviour. 2. Renfrewshire’s Community Safety Hub model is seen as best practice due to the joined up working of services collectively address the widespread issues that need to be taken account of in a holistic way to address antisocial behaviour. This collaborative approach has a preventative focus alongside support for victims, but also includes support for those involved in antisocial behaviour, including ensuring access to recovery services and mental health support services where needed. 11.6 Complex Root Causes: many organisations highlighted mental health being impacted by the pandemic and further exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. They are seeing a rise in complex cases, particularly in relation to mental health and addiction. Cross-agency working is pivotal to ensure access to services and support, and prevent people from falling through the gaps in services. Trauma informed training to frontline staff at Renfrewshire Council has been well received and of great value to assist officers in their roles, and cases of increasing complexities. 11.7 Current Legislation: there was consensus when speaking with Local Authorities and other key stakeholders and organisations that community safety has changed over the last ten years and that there may be areas of legislation that could be strengthened to assist frontline staff in their roles. 12. Recommendations 12.1 Overall Approach: the Council has been engaged in the process of the national refresh to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour, and it is recommended that this continues through all channels to influence improved outcomes; improved resources and tools for dealing with neighbour disputes and antisocial behaviour; and identification of potential improvements to legislation that could enhance the work undertaken at a local level. It should be noted that once these national outcomes are determined, a local refresh of processes and/or training may be required. 12.2 Estate Management: It is recommended that the following actions are undertaken as a result of cross-departmental discussions. These proposed actions would require to be fully costed, with robust business case development. Viable proposals with impacts or changes in budget or policy would then be taken to the appropriate Board(s) for approval: • a collaborative approach to identify an optimum service delivery model to meet the needs of Neighbourhood Services and Housing Services, including exploring allocation of a Housing-specific resource for grass cutting and cyclical maintenance and maintenance of void properties. • exploration of delivery models which could enable the expansion of grass cutting service provision for Council Housing tenants who are unable to maintain a garden. • exploration of the expansion of the Neighbourhood Environmental Trainee Team to support the Council alongside additional potential training opportunities. • Cross-Service review of the Council Wide Specialist Cleaning, Clearing and Ad Hoc Service framework, exploring impacts on internal capacity, resourcing and cost/saving implications of delivery of these work packages to current Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and opportunities to optimise service delivery. Page 76 of 78
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12.3 Training and Development around Complex Root Causes: It is recommended that trauma informed training is extended to include Environmental Health Officers (in addition to Housing Officers and the Community Safety team), as EHOs are experiencing an increase in complex cases and instances where mental health is a factor in behaviours and/or responses. Refresher training for all Officers is also recommended on a set rolling programme, from a staff development point of view as well as a strategic point of view as principles are transferable and can be applied in a range of community settings. 12.4 Additional Tools and Technology: It is recommended that Services continue to explore additional tools to assist reporting, including the use of digital technology that may be available to increase options for reporting. 12.5 Communication: It is recommended that the Service: - carries out a review of correspondence letters issued at each stage of the process from a trauma-informed perspective to align with findings of the benefits of this approach highlighted as part of the enhanced training from Officers, as well as findings from across other areas of the Council. - carries out a refresh of the website content to ensure that it is as informative and accessible as possible. This includes encouraging early reporting through clearly identified channels to assist early interventions; signposting to agencies and support; inclusive and clear language; and information to assist understanding of where follow up action can and can’t be taken by the Council and partner organisations to ensure clarity for those seeking advice online. This should include promotion of availability of guidance in different languages to ensure access for all within our multi-lingual communities. - continues to recognise the need for traditional methods of reporting and communication and the need for services to be promoted through non-digital means, e.g. how to report issues and support that is available, including mediation and victim support to assist early intervention and encourage early reporting through tenant newsletters, community newsletters, posters in community spaces, libraries, etc. This aligns with recent findings in the Tenant Satisfaction Survey which found that just over a third of Council tenants did not use the internet and should include promotion of availability of guidance in different languages to ensure access for all within our multi-lingual communities. 12.6 As this report does not propose any policy or service change, no equality and human rights impact assessments are required at this time. However, if any change to policy or service position were to be proposed, then full equality and human rights assessments would be required and assessment made in line with the Council’s Fairer Scotland Duty by the service responsible. Page 77 of 78
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial - None directly arising from this report. 2. HR & Organisational Development - None directly arising from this report. 3. Community/Council Planning - None directly arising from this report. 4. Legal - None directly arising from this report. 5. Property/Assets – None directly arising from this report. 6. Information Technology – None directly arising from this report. 7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have not been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights- as the paper sets out the scope for a review process rather than proposing any changes to services. If any change to policy or service position were to be considered in future, a full equality and human rights impact assessment will be undertaken. 8. Health and Safety - None directly arising from this report. 9. Procurement - None directly arising from this report. 10. Risk - None directly arising from this report. 11. Privacy Impact - None directly arising from this report. 12. Climate Risk - None directly arising from this report. 13. Children’s Rights - None directly arising from this report. 14. COSLA Policy Position - No impacts directly arising from this report. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board Annual Programme Neighbour Disputes Paper - Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, January 2023 Neighbour Disputes Paper - Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, March 2023 Neighbour Disputes Paper - Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, January 2024 Neighbour Disputes Paper - Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, March 2024 Neighbour Disputes Paper - Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, May 2024 Neighbour Disputes Paper - Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, September 2024 The foregoing background papers will be retained within Chief Executive’s Service for inspection by the public for the prescribed period of four years from the date of the meeting. The contact officer within the Service is the Climate Emergency Lead Officer, Roz Smith, who can be contacted at roz.smith@renfrewshire.gov.uk Author: Roz Smith, Climate Emergency Lead Officer, Chief Executive’s Service Page 78 of 78