Service Update Report
Renfrewshire Council · 13 January 2026
Back to Communities and Housing Policy Board — 13 January 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ To: Communities and Housing Policy Board On: 13 January 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Service Update Report ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report provides an overview of key service activities since the last Policy Board report on 28 October 2025 and an update on the services and key projects delivered during this period. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Communities and Housing Policy Board: 2.1 Note the contents of this report. ___________________________________________________________________ Updates for Communities and Housing Policy Board 3. Housing Services 3.1 Housing Management Income Advice 3.1.1 Information from advice interviews at the end of November 2025 confirms that over 4110 income advice cases involved households from Council tenancies this financial year.
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PUBLIC 3.1.2 During these interviews staff assess any entitlements to assistance that are due and support people to access benefits they are eligible for, alongside giving advice on all money matters and budgeting. 3.1.3 There are several sources of additional assistance accessed which can include universal credit/housing benefit, attendance allowance and disability payment, food vouchers and many more, full details of which were shared with members of the Policy Board following the meeting in March. 3.1.4 In monetary terms this equates to £9,174,657 between April 2025 and November this year. 3.1.5 Between April 2025 and November 2025 there have been 130 tenants referred for Tenant Support Fund assessment, which have the added value of full income assessment and advice provision. Of the referrals 103 have engaged with Specialist Income Advisors and 71 have qualified for assistance from the fund. 3.2 Housing Innovation Project (HIP) 3.2.1 The HIP Project to replace the housing management ICT systems remains on target for Phase 1 to go live in April 2026, encompassing rents, applications/allocations and servicing. The first cycle of system testing was undertaken during November and early December. 3.2.2 Next steps are for staff training to begin in February 2026 and for a further full cycle of system testing to be undertaken in February. Preparation for Phase 2 of the project continues, with the recruitment of the Strategic Lead for this phase underway. 3.3 Homelessness & Housing Support Services Homeless Services 3.3.1 There remains significant pressure in meeting the needs of all of those who are homeless in Renfrewshire. 3.3.2 The number of ‘live’ homeless cases continues to increase, which presents a constant challenge to frontline staff and was covered in detail in a report to the Policy Board in October as well as at our recent annual meeting with the Scottish Housing Regulator who visits all Local Authorities to gather information and assurance about homelessness services. 3.3.3 A separate report benchmarking Renfrewshire’s homelessness performance with other Scottish local authorities is also presented to the Policy Board.
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PUBLIC 3.3.4 The Scottish Government has confirmed that funding to support local authorities in the delivery of Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans has been continued for 2026-27 and within Renfrewshire this will allow the continuation of our resettlement assistance for those transitioning from temporary to settled accommodation as well as support the delivery of Housing First based projects 3.3.5 Due to pressures in the prison estate, the Scottish Parliament approved plans for the early release of more short-term prisoners over a number of tranches between November and December 2025 and January and April 2026. 3.3.6 Our Homeless and Housing Support Services team work closely with a range of colleagues from Scottish prisons, Social Work Justice team, Employability etc., and have aimed to deliver a person-centered approach for each prisoner from the Renfrewshire area who was due for release to ensure that people can return to their previous homes and prevent homelessness where possible. For those requiring additional support, regular pre-release meetings are taking place across all partner agencies in Renfrewshire including mental health, Alcohol and Drug Recovery Service (ADRS) and Upside Prisoner Support to ensure assistance and support in relation to their housing needs is offered. Housing Support team 3.3.7 The Housing Support team launched a ‘Housing Support 2 Go’ (HS2GO) winter initiative towards the end of 2025. This involves our Housing Support Officers attending our two staffed accommodation sites as well as going out into the community to visit people they support to offer warm food and snacks to help with the cost of living and fuel poverty crisis. This also provides a further opportunity for officers to discuss/ review any ongoing or new support needs and provide information on services who can offer additional advice and assistance throughout the winter months. The project, which is being delivered in partnership with Blue Triangle Housing Association along with funding provided by Paisley churches, is proving to be very popular so far and the impact of this HS2GO initiative will be reviewed in the Spring with details included in a future service update to the Policy Board. 3.3.8 Our pilot service ‘Opening Doors’, which was launched during 2025 in partnership with the RCA Trust, has grown to now support 23 individuals/ families to stabilise their housing situation, access wraparound care and achieve personal goals. The impact of this initiative will be reviewed during 2026. 3.3.9 There continues to be 93 individuals being supported via the Housing First approach. This wraparound model of support, which helps those moving into (and then sustain) a tenancy, has grown substantially since the launch of Renfrewshire’s Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan in 2019 at which time there were only 13 individuals being supported via this approach. Refugee Resettlement 3.3.10 The Refugee Resettlement team continue to work in close partnership with Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau, supporting individuals and families with specialist benefits, visa and legal advice.
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PUBLIC 3.3.11 We have now launched a broad range of advice / wellbeing activities to support resettlement and integration. These include: • Know Your Rights – Information sessions with guest speakers, designed to support better understanding of services, systems and life in Scotland including education, health, housing and money management. • Befriending Service - For those who are struggling with feelings of loneliness and isolation. • Digital Inclusion Support – Delivered by in-house staff to empower service users to develop skills on mobile / tablet devices, stay safe online, access online services and portals to support money management, household bills and accessing educational and employment opportunities. • Wellbeing Drop-in – Coffee and conversation on a set morning with the wellbeing team and other community members. • Smudges - a sensory-play art group for toddlers and parents. Sheltered Housing 3.3.12 Over 280 older people attended the annual SOOPIR day (Strengthening Opportunities for Older People in Renfrewshire) which took place at the Lagoon leisure centre in November 2025. 3.3.13 Many of our sheltered and amenity housing tenants thoroughly enjoyed the day, with a large number of partner organisations represented, including ROAR, Renfrewshire Carer’s Centre, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, Alzheimer’s Scotland, NHS Care and Repair and Home Energy Scotland. 3.4 Regeneration and Development Update New build 3.4.1 The new build housing development at Howwood Road area commenced on site on Monday 3 November 2025, following receipt of Scottish Water technical approval on 22 October 2025. The project will see 70 units being constructed on the former Cochrane Castle school site and will be a mix of cottages, flats and houses of varying sizes. The development is expected to take 18 months to complete with first handovers anticipated Summer 2026. 3.4.2 Tender returns for the appointment of a contractor to design and build 20 new build properties at Carbrook Street newbuild are currently being assessed and an application for grant funding will be made to Scottish Government in due course. Authority to appoint a contractor will be sought from a future meeting of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board and acceptance of the grant award will be brought to Communities and Housing Policy Board for approval.
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PUBLIC 3.4.3 A tender has been prepared for the appointment of a contractor to design and build 48 new build properties at Foxbar. Following completion of the procurement exercise, tender returns will be assessed with a grant funding application being submitted to the Scottish Government. Authority to appoint a contactor will be sought from a future meeting of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board and acceptance of the grant award will be brought to Communities and Housing Policy Board for approval. Housing-Led Regeneration and Renewal 3.4.4 Significant progress is being made in line with the delivery timeframe approved for this 10-year Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal programme. Owner acquisitions continue to progress well across each of the areas where acquisition has been necessary to allow demolition to take place, with 69 of the 89 privately owned properties now within Council ownership. The Board will note that a separate report is being considered at this meeting of the board in relation to the Thrushcraigs and Howard Street regeneration areas where voluntary acquisition of the 4 remaining owners in these areas has so far been unsuccessful. 3.4.5 The programme of external works continues to be delivered across 2 of the 7 regeneration areas where investment is planned (Auchentorlie and Howard Street) and a further 2 areas commencing work in early 2026 (Howwood Road, Johnstone and Waverley Road, Paisley). The window installation programme has also been rolled out across 6 of the 7 regeneration areas where retention and investment is being progressed. 3.4.6 From a demolition perspective, a second phase of demolition has been completed in the Springbank area, and a second phase has also commenced on site in the Thrushcraigs area of Paisley. Further phased demolition will take place across the programme as blocks become fully Council owned and vacant. Paisley West End 3.4.7 Significant progress has been made with the demolition of blocks within the Paisley West End Masterplan area. Blocks on Underwood Lane, Well Street and Clavering Street East have now been demolished to clear the next phase of land required for future development in this area. The first phase of newbuild housing developed by Sanctuary Housing in this area completed earlier this year and plans for future phases will be presented through the planning process as matters progress in the delivery of this regeneration programme. From a private ownership perspective, voluntary acquisitions have concluded where agreement had been reached with owners and an application for Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) will be presented to Scottish Ministers in January, in line with the authorisations previously approved by this board.
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PUBLIC Participatory Budgeting – Tenants Decide 3.4.8 The YouDecide Tenants programme launched on 10 November 2025 with a week-long campaign across ten local libraries and further outreach into our communities by officers across the Housing Service. The new online PB platform remained open for 6 weeks until 21 December 2025 for tenants, residents, elected members and Council officers to submit project ideas for consideration. Project ideas have been assessed against the essential criteria for the fund and successful projects will be costed throughout January. Tenants will be able to vote for their favourite projects in February 2026. There will be further events throughout February to assist tenants with the voting process. 3.4.9 Further updates will be provided to the Communities and Housing Policy Board as this initiative develops. 3.5 Service Improvement: Allocations Policy Update 3.5.1 Bridgewater Housing Association have advised the Council and other RSL partners that they have completed a transition from sheltered housing and deregistration with the Care Inspectorate to an amenity plus model for their sheltered housing units. The age criteria has been reduced to 55 years and over for these properties. 3.5.2 This means that Bridgewater Housing Association no longer provides sheltered accommodation as an option for housing. As such the Renfrewshire Common Housing Allocation Policy will be updated to reflect this change. There are three sections within the policy which refer to Bridgewater Housing Association and sheltered housing, these are: • Section 1.2 – The Partner Landlords • Section 4.16 – Sheltered housing and • Appendix 10 – Common Sheltered Allocation Policy – page 63 that Bridgewater provides sheltered housing and page 65 provides a stock breakdown for the organisation. 3.6 Tenant and Resident Associations Funding 3.6.1 Members will recall that one of the objectives in the Tenant Participation Strategy (2022-2027) was to provide resources and support to empower tenants and residents to influence decisions about housing services, where we provide a Tenant Participation budget specifically for tenant participation and tenant scrutiny. One particular action set out to review the grant scheme required for Tenant and Resident Associations. 3.6.2 Over the past year officers have been working with the Tenant Scrutiny Panel to ensure that the funding arrangements are fair and easy to understand for all groups. 3.6.3 The new proposals worked on by the Tenant Scrutiny Panel are currently being evaluated and these will be brought to members in the March Board for their review and approval as part of the Tenant Participation Strategy Update.
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PUBLIC 4. Public Protection 4.1 Environmental Health Radon Compliance Monitoring Programme 4.1.1 Officers have been progressing the radon monitoring programme, as detailed within the Board Paper approved at the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board on 21 May 2025. 4.1.2 Radon monitoring kits were sent out to 290 ground floor Council housing properties, ten Council (including OneRen) operational workplaces and five schools/early learning centres. Kits from workplaces and educational centres have all been returned to the UK Health Security Agency for analysis. 4.1.3 To date, approximately 50% of kits sent to Council housing tenants have been returned to the UKHSA for analysis and work had been undertaken by Officers to make contact with tenants who failed to return kits to encourage their return. This resulted in a small additional number of kits being returned. This rate or participation is higher than experienced by other local authorities who have undertaken a similar monitoring programme. 4.1.4 Letters are being issued imminently to tenants with their monitoring results and those who failed to take part in the programme will also be issued with letters confirming they had been issued with kits initially and as they have failed to engage, no further action is proposed but allowing them to come back to Officers should they decide at a future date to participate in the programme. 4.1.5 Overall, results to date have been positive, with all being far below the action level of 200 Becquerels per cubic metre (Bq/m3); meaning there is no requirement for any remedial action to be taken across the Council estate at this time. 4.1.6 Whilst current radon test results indicate low levels, there remains an ongoing requirement to periodically re-test properties. This is particularly important where improvement works have been carried out to housing stock, such as upgrades to insulation, which may increase the potential for radon accumulation. Officers are taking steps to embed this monitoring requirement into standard business processes to ensure appropriate follow-up. In line with UKHSA guidance, properties with low radon levels should be re-tested approximately every 10 years. 4.1.7 To support the ongoing requirement to monitor property for radon, the Corporate Health and Safety team, with input from Environmental Health, is currently drafting a Radon Policy.
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PUBLIC 4.2 Trading Standards 4.2.1 Fireworks Storage Registration renewals are processed in September of every year, and there are now 21 licensed fireworks storage premises in Renfrewshire. A storage registration allows a retailer to purchase and store up to their registered capacity all year round. Selling of fireworks can only take place under a Registration in the “permitted periods”, which are specified in law as 15 October 2025 to 10 November 2025 (inclusive), the 3 days up to and including Chinese New Year and Diwali, and the 6 days up to and including Hogmanay. All Registered premises were found to be compliant with storage requirements at both announced and unannounced visits. 4.2.2 There are no premises licensed to sell all year round in Renfrewshire. Further to a report from Police Scotland, one retail premises in Renfrewshire was found to be storing and selling a large quantity of fireworks without a Fireworks Storage Registration. 26.6kg of net explosive content of fireworks were found to be on open unsecured display on shelves in the retail premises. The items were seized and sent for destruction, and a formal warning letter was issued. 4.2.3 Information on these activities was fed into the local partnership meetings for Operation MOONBEAM- the annual Police-led partnership exercise to tackle public disorder around bonfires and fireworks, with input from Officers across the Community Safety Partnership. 4.2.4 In the lead up to bonfire night officers responded to reports of fly tipping and provided information to businesses on how to secure their waste to prevent it being used illegally. A review of our approach to dealing with fly tipping and commercial waste issues is being undertaken as part of the Public Protection service redesign and further information on this will be brought to a future policy board meeting. 4.2.5 On bonfire night, Community Support Officers worked alongside crews from Police Scotland and Scottish Fire & Rescue Service to attend to reports of bonfires, providing CCTV coverage to support this work. There were no reported injuries or issues of disorder. 4.3 Community safety Firework Control Zones 4.3.1 Firework Control Zones (FCZs) can be legally established by a local authority where there is evidence of a specific problem such as environmental pollution, nuisance, domestic anti-social behaviour or animal welfare. FCZs must be reasonable, proportionate and enforceable as they have the effect of preventing the private domestic use of fireworks in defined geographical areas. FCZs cannot tackle issues related to the use of fireworks, such as annoyance or a preference for there not to be fireworks in a particular area. The evidential bar is high, as the implementation of a Zone has the effect of criminalising the private use of fireworks. It is important to note that, arranged or licensed displays can still be undertaken in a FCZ, so there is no way to completely ban the use of fireworks at the current time.
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PUBLIC 4.3.2 On Monday 17 November 2025, applications were opened for community requests for consideration of Firework Control Zones in Renfrewshire for 2026. Applications will remain open until Friday 30 January 2026, and any justifiable applications will be considered by the Multi Agency Decision Group in late February. 4.3.3 Five applications were received during the 2024/25 application period with only one being taken to the Multi Agency Decision Group for consideration. The application was unsuccessful due to insufficient evidence of a problem which would necessitate a legally designated Firework Control Zone. 5. Connected Communities Service Update 5.1 Since the last update to the Board in October 2025, the following activities have been delivered: 5.1.1 Officers partnered with Scottish Leather Group, artist Tragic O’Hara, and pupils from Paisley Grammar School to design a mural called “Through the Seasons”. It celebrates events and traditions young people look forward to throughout the year. Pupils visited Tragic O’Hara’s studio in Ayr to learn spray- painting techniques ahead of installing the mural at Seedhill on 24 and 25 November. This project was funded by Youth-led Corra Foundation. 5.1.2 Officers from across the service have supported Renfrewshire Promise Champs in ensuring care-experienced young people received gifts again this Christmas. Young people were consulted and a wish list focusing on ages 12– 15 and 16–24, was created. Our Promise keepers and partner agencies worked together to ensure these young people were not disappointed. Promise Winterfest – a free, youth-led Christmas event for care-experienced families was held on 20 December 2025 in Paisley. 5.1.3 Renfrewshire Youth Voice hosted the annual awards on 12 November 2025 at Paisley Town Hall, with 180 guests. Young people were celebrated for their contributions to local communities. Categories were sponsored by local partners. 5.1.4 Continued to support the Evolve programme, including the New Scots group who undertook a two-day residential and participated in the Halloween parade. 5.1.5 The Youth Safety team delivered their programme of regular school talks to P7 and S1 and have participated in three high school Respect Days, speaking to S2 pupils alongside partner agencies about ASB and personal responsibility within the community. 5.1.6 Successful delivery of the Reclaim the Night march, promoting awareness around safety and equality in the community. 5.1.7 One of our Johnstone learners has received an Adult Learning Award from Scotland’s Learning Partnership for her achievements over the past few years.
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PUBLIC 5.1.8 As part of our drive to support Workforce Development a number of staff have been trained in First Aid in the Workplace. In addition, two members of staff are currently participating in a beginners’ course in British Sign Language. We continue to build relationships with the BSL Association who are now regular users of our learning centres. Anti-racism training was also delivered within the Youth team. 5.1.9 Officers are currently working with partners on a proposal to grow and develop “English for speakers of other languages” (ESOL) provision in Renfrewshire in response to the changing needs of the local community. This includes investment in grow your own ESOL provision and developing and supporting new conversation café models with partners. __________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Any financial elements referenced in this report will be progressed through the Council’s financial & budget planning process. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None. 3. Community/Council Planning – The report details a range of activities which reflect local community and council planning themes. 4. Legal – None. 5. Property/Assets – None. 6. Information Technology – None. 7. Equality & Human Rights – The recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. 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 – there are a range of actions and activities throughout the Service Update Report which support the Council’s Plan for Net Zero. 13. Children’s Rights – None. 14. Cosla Policy Position – None.
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PUBLIC __________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: None. ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Gordon McNeil, Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Email: Gordon.mcneil@renfrewshire.gov.uk