Item 4 . Review of Lead Piping in Public and Private Housing in Renfrewshire_
Renfrewshire Council · 17 August 2026
Back to Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board — 17 August 2026 and its agenda
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ To: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board On: 17 August 2026 __________________________________________________________________ Report by: Lead Officer ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Lead Piping in Public and Private Housing in Renfrewshire ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary At its meeting on 18 May 2026, members of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board agreed the purpose and scope of the above review. This paper provides a report on progress made and information that has been prepared for the Board’s interest to date. ________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 The Board is asked to: • note the progress of the review; • note the information presented at this stage of the review; and, • note the next steps. ___________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 At the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board in May 2026 it was agreed that the purpose of the review into Lead Piping in Housing within Renfrewshire would be: (1) set out the strategies in place to identify and replace lead pipes in housing across all tenures, in Renfrewshire.
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PUBLIC (2) set out the council’s current arrangements for addressing lead piping within council housing stock. (3) identify any recommendations that the council could pursue, within the available resources, to support replacement of lead piping in both private and council housing by providing non-financial assistance. ___________________________________________ 4. Progress to date 4.1 Since the Board approved the purpose and scope of the review in May 2026, the Lead Officer has undertaken a review of relevant legislation and guidance available and the existing framework to support the identification and replacement of lead pipes. 4.2 Key legislation/guidance reviewed: • Water (Scotland) Act 1980 • Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 • Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 • Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 • The Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2014 • The Water Intended for Human Consumption (Private Supplies) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 • The Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2006 • The Water Intended for Human Consumption (Private Supplies) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 Guidance for Local Authorities 2018- Ver 3.0 • Repairing Standard: statutory guidance for private landlords • Landlord registration: statutory guidance for local authorities 2017 • Public health management of elevated lead levels in drinking water - PHS • Scottish Housing Quality Standard (SHQS) Key websites reviewed: • Scottish Water – Lead and your water • Drinking Water Quality Regulator – Lead in Drinking Water • Renfrewshire Council website- Lead in drinking water • DWQR annual report • Housing and Property Chamber – Scotland 4.3 The Lead Officer has engaged with Scottish Water, NHS Public Protection Unit, Renfrewshire Council’s Environmental Health team, Renfrewshire Council’s Housing team and 3 Housing Associations.
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PUBLIC These organisations/services all have a role in the identification and replacement of lead piping. ____________________________________________ 5. Regulation of Drinking Water Quality in Scotland 5.1 The Drinking Water Quality Regulator for Scotland (DWQR) is the independent regulatory body responsible for ensuring that drinking water in Scotland is safe for consumption. Its remit covers both public water supply, provided by Scottish Water, and private water supplies. In relation to the public water supply, the DWQR monitors the quality of water samples taken by Scottish Water, verifies that samples are being taken and analysed in accordance with regulatory requirements, and inspects Scottish Water’s assets and operational activities. The regulator also oversees the investment programme and has powers to serve enforcement notices where serious breaches of regulations have occurred. 5.2 In respect of private water supplies, the DWQR reports on water quality performance and ensures that local authorities are effectively discharging their regulatory responsibilities within their respective areas. Furthermore, the DWQR ensures that accurate and impartial information on drinking water quality in Scotland is available and promotes the use of scientific evidence to inform regulation, policy and practice. 5.3 The Water (Scotland) Act 1980, sets the duties relating to water supply and water quality in Scotland. It defines the responsibilities of the water authority (Scottish Water), Scottish ministers and local authorities. The Act details that the water authorities (Scottish Water) must supply safe, wholesome water for domestic purposes. It makes it a criminal offence to supply water unfit for human consumption. It also places a responsibility on Scottish ministers to take action if Scottish Water fails to supply wholesome water, unless the failure is trivial or Scottish Water is trying to remedy it. 5.4 The Act also places a duty on local authorities to take appropriate steps to stay informed on the wholesomeness of the public and private water supplies in their area. If the local authority is unsatisfied with the wholesomeness of the public water supply, they must first notify Scottish Water and if not satisfied with remedial actions, then report to the DWQR. Local authorities also have a duty to ensure that improvements are made to private water supplies where necessary. __________________________________________
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PUBLIC 6. Role of Scottish Water 6.1 The Lead Officer engaged with Lorna Macarthur, Technical Team Leader of the Water Strategy Team and Robyn Dunne, Senior Service Planner in the Water Strategy Team at Scottish Water. 6.2 Scottish Water has a statutory duty under section 76A of the Water (Scotland) Act 1980 to provide wholesome water for domestic use, supported by relevant secondary legislation. “Wholesomeness” is defined through the Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2014 (as amended), which establish quality standards, including limits for substances such as lead at the consumer’s tap. Scottish Water is therefore responsible for ensuring that any pipework under its control is free from lead, including both the water mains and the communication pipe. The communication pipe runs from the mains pipe to the property boundary. Any pipes from the stopcock at the property boundary to inside the property and any internal pipework is the responsibility of the property owner (or by the number of owners for the common elements of a shared supply). 6.3 Scottish Water carries out a sampling programme for lead in drinking water. Each year they carry out approximately 4500 samples in Scotland. For each property sampled, 2 samples are taken from kitchen cold tap, the first sample is the 1st draw and a second sample from the tap once flushed. The 1st draw sample will contain the water that has been in the pipework for an extended period and exposed to potential leaching of lead from internal plumbing. The flushed sample contains fresher water from the communications or mains pipe. If the first draw sample exceeds the lead standard but the flushed sample complies, this indicates that the source of lead is most likely within the property’s plumbing system rather than from the mains supply. 6.4 Since 2023 the samples have been collected using a risk-based system following a statistical survey completed in 2012. The survey allocated ‘estimated risk zone’. The area of each zone is based around a water treatment works so is not necessarily assigned to a town or local authority area. Based on the estimated level of risk, a set number of samples is allocated to each zone at the start of the year. These samples are then collected randomly within the designated zone. 6.5 Prior to 2023, samples were collected based on population size. Since the introduction of the new risk-based system, the number of samples taken has increased fourfold. The results of these samples are published in the DWQR annual report (Annual Report).
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PUBLIC 6.6 The Public Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2014 specifies acceptable levels of certain elements and substances in drinking water. It sets the maximum acceptable level for lead as 10 μg/l. 6.7 In the event of a sample failure, Scottish Water carry out an inspection of the connection to the public water mains (i.e. the side of the boundary stopcock for which Scottish Water is responsible). Any lead fittings or pipes found in this area are replaced and the drinking water resampled. 6.8 Scottish Water’s Public Health Team issue a customer notice to the address where the sample was taken. The letter advises of the failure and recommends the resident investigates whether any pipe work within their area of responsibility (i.e. internal pipe work and pipe work within the property boundary) is lead and arrange for it to be replaced. It also recommends using bottles water or flushing for 1-2 mins prior to using the water, until the issue is resolved. If the property is part of a shared block a further customer notice is sent to the other addresses within the same block to advise of the sample failure and provide advice. 6.9 Scottish Water’s Public Health Team also issue an event notice to the local authority (Environmental Health) and NHS board (Health Protection) for that property. 6.10 If the sample result is between 5-10 μg/l, Scottish Water’s Public Health team send an advisory letter to the address sampled. Scottish Water has advised that the regulatory limit is anticipated to decrease from 10 µg/l to 5 µg/l in the coming years, and its procedures will be updated accordingly. 6.11 In addition to the routine sampling, additional samples will be completed by Scottish Water if a customer request is received. There is no charge for customer requested samples. 6.12 No grants are available from Scottish Water for homeowners to assist replacement of lead pipes within their property. 6.13 Samples results for Renfrewshire postcodes between 1st December 2021 - 11th May 2026 (Renfrewshire Postcodes): Total samples taken: 1351 Total samples >3 µg/l: 48 Total samples >5 µg/l: 30 Total Samples >10 µg/l: 14
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PUBLIC 6.14 A review of the Scottish Water and Drinking Water Quality Regulator public websites on lead in water was undertaken by the Lead Officer. Both were found to offer clear guidance, supported by factsheets, videos, and visual materials. They also included information on how members of the public could request water sampling from Scottish Water if there were concerns regarding lead in their water pipes. ___________________________________________ 7. Role of Environmental Health 7.1 The Environmental Health team within Renfrewshire Council and other local authorities play an important part in mitigating the risk from lead piping within housing. For this report the Lead Officer engaged with Renfrewshire Council’s Environmental Health team within Environment, Housing and Infrastructure. Their role in relation to Private Water Supplies is detailed in Section 8 of this report, this section focusses on public supplies. 7.2 If a drinking water sample fails the lead standard, Scottish Water notifies the address from which the sample was taken. However, where the property is not owner-occupied, Environmental Health assists in ensuring that this information is passed on to the property owner who is ultimately responsible for any identification and replacement of the lead pipes. 7.3 Where the sample failure has occurred in a Renfrewshire Council property, the Environmental Health team will notify the Housing team. Similarly, where the sample failure occurs in a Housing Association property or a privately rented property, the Environmental Health team will notify the relevant organisation/owner, advise them of their responsibilities, provide guidance and encourage that they take appropriate action. 7.4 In Scotland, all houses must meet a minimum standard to be considered fit for human habitation. This is called the Tolerable Standard as set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 s86. One of these standards states that ‘the property must have an adequate piped supply of wholesome water within the house’. A drinking water sample failure due to lead would constitute a failure of this standard and the property would be considered to be below the Tolerable Standard. 7.5 If the Environmental Health team are made aware that a house is below the Tolerable Standard due to lead piping in the property, they
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PUBLIC can take action to require the owner of the property to take steps, within a reasonable time period by serving a Works Notice. However, in practice, an advisory and supportive approach is generally taken in the first instance with owner occupied properties, with owners encouraged to replace lead pipework and take interim measures to reduce any potential risk to health. 7.6 Local authorities also have powers to serve a Closing or Demolition Order on properties which do not meet the Tolerable Standard. These notices require the property to be vacated or demolished and would only be served in extreme circumstances. This would not be appropriate in response to lead pipes within a property as pipe replacement would bring the property up to standard and alternative measures can be used in the interim (such as flushing the water before drinking or using bottled water). 7.7 Renfrewshire Council’s Environmental Health team will provide advice and information on sampling if they are contacted by a member of the public. In the last 5 years the Environmental Health team has received and responded to four enquiries from members of the public regarding concern of lead pipes within their private property. 7.8 Sampling and support is also provided by Environmental Health, when requested by NHS GGC Public Health Protection unit, where an individual has elevated blood lead levels of lead. Environmental Health will take water samples and other samples as required to assist in the investigation. 7.9 A review of the Renfrewshire Council’s public website on ‘Lead in Drinking Water’ was undertaken by the Lead Officer. The website contained information on practical steps to reduce lead in drinking water if there was lead pipes present and contact information for Environmental Health. ___________________________________________ 8. Private Water Supplies 8.1 In Scotland, a private water supply (PWS) is any drinking water supply not provided by Scottish Water. These supplies are regulated under The Water Intended for Human Consumption (Private Supplies) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 and The Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Local authorities must keep a register of private supplies in their area. Some PWS are classed as ‘regulated
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PUBLIC supplies’ - such as those serving commercial or rented premises, more than 50 people, or more than 10m³ per day. These supplies are regulated under The Water Intended for Human Consumption (Private Supplies) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 which replaced The Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2006 for regulated supplies. Local authorities’ Environmental Health team must carry out a risk assessment and monitoring, typically sampling at least annually for each regulated supply. Responsibility for maintaining the supply, ensuring the water is safe, and notifying users when there is a potential risk to health rests with the owner of the property or properties. The Environmental Health team can investigate and require improvements through enforcement action if required. 8.2 In Renfrewshire there are 15 regulated supplies, and they are sampled annually by the Environmental Health team for a number of criteria including lead. The Water Intended for Human Consumption (Private Supplies) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 sets a limit of 10 μg/l of lead in drinking water samples. The owners of the properties are charged for these samples as they are generally commercial properties. 8.3 If Renfrewshire Council’s Environmental Health team identifies that a regulated water supply sample has failed for lead, the result is first communicated verbally to the property owner, followed by formal confirmation in writing. The owners are advised that the water should not be consumed, and they should seek further advice from Public Health Protection Unit (PHPU) at NHS GGC. The owners are asked to investigate the presence of lead piping and replace as necessary. Environmental Health will carry out a resample to check that the appropriate works have been carried out. There can be multiple properties on the same supply, and the Environmental Health team will also notify the other property owners and provide advice. The failure will also be reported to NHS PHPU and the Environmental Health team will follow the guidelines set out in PHS Public health management of elevated lead levels in drinking water. 8.4 If a sample fails, the property owner can apply for a PWS improvement grant to assist with carrying out the necessary remedial works. The grant is set at £800 per property by the Scottish Government. The grant is applied through the local Environmental Health team but funded by the Scottish Government. 8.5 Under The Water Intended for Human Consumption (Private Supplies) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 local authorities have the power to serve various notices on relevant persons to require improvements of a PWS. Non-compliance with these notices is an offence and if convicted, the
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PUBLIC individual is liable for an unlimited fine. Renfrewshire Council’s Environmental Health team will use these notices following a lead sample failure, where appropriate, however this has not been required to date. In the first instance, the Environmental Health team will seek to resolve matters through an informal advisory approach. 8.6 There are 82 Type B (or not regulated) PWS in Renfrewshire, these supplies are regulated under The Private Water Supplies (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and not routinely sampled. They are sampled upon request, if a concern is raised, the house is sold, or they apply for a grant where a sample is relevant. 8.7 Renfrewshire Council’s Environmental Health service has recorded lead failures at two properties served by PWS within the last five years. One property, which failed a sample in 2025, has remained unoccupied and therefore no further action has been taken. The second property, which failed a sample in 2024, has since undertaken improvements and achieved a satisfactory result on resampling. ___________________________________________ 9. Privately Rented Properties 9.1 Local authority Environmental Health services have additional powers to address lead piping issues in privately rented properties. Private landlords are required to register with their local authority under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, and this requires the landlord to be "fit and proper". Landlord registration: statutory guidance for local authorities 2017 published by the Scottish government states that Local Authorities must consider if the landlord has contravened any provision of housing law or landlord and tenant law, material which relates to any acts of the relevant person regarding antisocial behaviour affecting the house and repairing standard enforcement orders. Therefore, if the landlord has failed to comply with relevant housing law the landlord’s registration could be refused or revoked. When Renfrewshire Council’s Environmental Health service considers that a landlord does not meet ‘fit and proper’ standard they will apply to the Regulatory Functions Board to refuse/revoke the landlord’s registration, if refused/revoked a Rent Penalty Notice can be served. For the period the notice is in force, no rent is payable by the tenant for that property. 9.2 In addition to the registration requirements, all privately rented properties, unless specifically exempt, are required to comply with the Repairing Standard as set out in Chapter 4 of the Housing (Scotland)
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PUBLIC Act 2006 throughout the duration of a tenancy. This legislation is supported by the statutory guidance document Repairing Standard: statutory guidance for private landlords, published by the Scottish Government, which came into force in March 2024 and strengthened the requirements in relation lead piping in rented properties. The statutory guidance states – ‘In order to comply with the Repairing Standard, lead pipes and lead lined storage tanks or fittings should not be present in the drinking water supply of any privately rented property from the boundary stopcock to the kitchen tap. This includes: drinking water outlets, pipework to drinking water outlets, water storage tanks within the dwelling and water storage tanks in the loft space, including any common storage tanks located in tank rooms or in the roof space.’ Unless the landlord is unable to replace the pipes, due to lack of consent from other owners, lead pipes and tanks must be removed to comply with the Repairing Standard. 9.3 The Repairing Standard now also puts an onus on private landlords to check visible pipework within the house to assess whether the supply runs through lead pipes, gives advice on how to do this and information on sampling requirements. Private landlords are also required to notify and provide advice to the tenant if they are aware or uncertain of the risk from lead pipes in the property. 9.4 If a privately rented property is found not to comply with the Repairing Standard, an application can be made to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber). This can be made by either the tenant or the local authority on their behalf. Renfrewshire Council’s Environmental Health service will apply for a tenant where they believe the tenant to be vulnerable or not having the capacity to undertake the referral process on their own. The FTT can enforce repairs by issuing a Repairing Standard Enforcement Order (RSEO) to the landlord. It is a criminal offence to fail to carry out repairs required under an RSEO without reasonable excuse. If the tribunal decides there has been a failure to comply with the RSEO, the tribunal will send a copy of the failure to comply decision to the local authority, who can decide to carry out work and recover costs from the landlord. If there is a tribunal decision that the private landlord has failed to comply with the RSEO, the tribunal may also issue a Rent Relief Order restricting the rent payable until the RSEO has been complied with. The FTT can refer the case to Police Scotland if the landlord does not comply with the RSEO.
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PUBLIC 9.5 Renfrewshire Council Environmental Health have received zero complaints regarding non-compliance with the Repairing Standard due to the presence of lead pipes, since the changes to the Repairing Standard were introduced. ___________________________________________ 10. Next Steps 10.1 The next stage of the review will focus on the current arrangements within the Public Sector, in council owned properties and Housing Associations. The Lead Officer will review the relevant legislation and standards relevant to the public sector and liaise with representatives from this group. 10.2 The Lead Officer will engage with a representative of NHS GGC PHPU to gain insight into their role in addressing the health risks from lead piping. 10.3 The Lead Officer will review the grants available from Renfrewshire Council and other local authorities to replace lead piping within housing.
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - none 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – • Our Renfrewshire is well – this review of lead piping within housing in Renfrewshire will highlight strategies, information and actions being taken by relevant agencies to identify and remove/mitigate the impacts of lead pipework in drinking water supplies. This will make this safer for our residents 4. Legal – None 5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology - None 7. Equality & Human Rights - (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety - None 9. Procurement - None 10. Risk - None 11. Privacy Impact - None 12. Climate Risk - None 13. Children’s Rights - None 14. Cosla Policy Position - None _______________________________________________________
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PUBLIC List of Background Papers- Review of Lead Piping in Public and Private Housing -Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board, May 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Rachael Flanagan Lead Officer – Environmental Health Rachael.flanagan@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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