Building Services Business Plan 26-29
Renfrewshire Council · 10 September 2026
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 10 September 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: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 10 September 2026 Report by: Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Heading: Building Services – Business Plan update 2026/27 1. Summary 1.1 Building Services are Renfrewshire Council’s in-house provider which employs tradespeople, across many disciplines to undertake compliance, repairs and maintenance across the Renfrewshire Council housing estate and the public building portfolio. 1.2 As an internal service provider, Building Services run to a break-even budget and charge back clients (Housing Services/Hard FM) using an approved charging mechanism/hourly rate that is projected at the start of the year and reviewed quarterly to ensure it remains correct. 1.3 The 3-year Business Plan was presented to this Board in November 2025 and this paper updates on the yearly progress and next steps for the remainder of the plan. 1.4 This report outlines the current position of Building Services and the on-going improvements within the Service to deliver a high quality, right first-time approach to the repairs and maintenance service for Renfrewshire Council. 1.5 The Business Plan is attached as an Appendix to this report. 2. Recommendations It is recommended that members of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board:
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PUBLIC 2.1 Notes the content of this update. 2.2 Agrees and approves the Business Plan for 2026/27. 3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire Council is committed to an internal service provider to undertake the repairs and maintenance service across Renfrewshire. Whilst some other local authorities outsource this work, Officers believe the internal service provider ensures best value for residents of Renfrewshire and also allows Renfrewshire Council to react quickly in the time of crisis. 3.2 Work for both Council houses and public buildings is currently undertaken by Building Services who are the main contractor for Housing Services in regard to repairs and maintenance of properties as well as undertaking works to return void properties for rent. 3.3 Like other front-line services, Building Services are based out of the main Renfrewshire Council depot at Underwood Road. 3.4 There are currently 178 Operatives/tradespeople across 10 trades which is supported by management, supervisory and approximately 20 administrative staff. 3.5 Building Services had an annual turnover of £25.25m (excluding kitchens and boilers due to not being a full year) in 2025/26 with the bulk of the work coming from the Housing and Revenue Account (HRA). The total projected turnover for 2026/27 is £28.5m including the kitchen and boiler capital replacement work. 3.6 In the past few years, there has been a re-focus on the repairs and maintenance of council houses and public building portfolio rather than looking for any commercial contracts or major capital works. 4. Business Plan and next steps 4.1 Building Services feed into the wider Facilities and Property Services vision which is: “We work together to create, build, repair, maintain, open/close, clean and improve the built environment for the communities and residents of Renfrewshire” 4.2 The Business Plan follows the following headings: • Overall Business Context – this relates to the Council commitment to Building Services, mission statement, key service standards and performance indicator priorities.
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PUBLIC • Service Improvement activities and Outcome updates – this section outlines productivity, work portfolio demand, voids, Corporate support to Building Services (ICT/fleet), structures and the development of Service Level Agreements (SLAs). • Key Business and Financial Planning Assumptions – Building Services repairs and maintenance work portfolio, resulting operating structure including trades, and job costings/budgetary assumptions. • Building Services agreed budget. • Workforce development, retention, succession planning. 4.3 Key Achievements to Date • Delivered over 103,000 jobs in 2025/26 with a turnover of £25.25 million. • Maintained productivity above the national average (4.8 jobs/per operative per day vs. industry average of 4.5). • Achieved high compliance in gas and electrical safety, with 99.9% of gas certificates issued on time. • Embedded a strong culture of workforce development, with 24 apprentices and a growing adult apprenticeship programme. 4.4 Strategic Priorities (2026–2028) • Service Excellence: Improve customer satisfaction through better diagnostics, appointment systems, and first-time fix rates. • Workforce Planning: Address workforce challenges through succession planning, apprenticeships, and upskilling. • Digital Transformation: Upgrade the WorkHub system to enhance scheduling, reporting, and performance tracking. Continue to feed into the new Housing Innovations Project (HIP) to deliver a new system, including repairs and maintenance. • Financial Sustainability: Maintain cost-effective operations through strategic and timeous budget monitoring. • Sustainability: Support the Council’s Net Zero agenda through energy- efficient repairs wherever possible. 4.5 Current and on-going challenges • High volumes of emergency repairs (34% of Housing, 17% of public buildings) which in turn limits planned work efficiency. • On-going review of operational fleet over the coming years. • System limitations affecting KPI expansion and real-time performance analytics. 4.6 Officers from Building Services and Housing Services meet on a frequent basis, both operationally and strategically, to review customer service, workload, productivity and to work together to deliver an excellent service to Renfrewshire Council residents. 4.7 Whilst showing performance over the previous year, the plan is also a driver to look ahead and continue to improve the service. Work has been undertaken internally to ensure an accurate, set budget, and further work will be undertaken with colleagues
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PUBLIC in Housing Services to understand their demand and work they want from Building Services. 4.8 A key part of the Business Plan is workforce planning to ensure the correct trades are in place for the workload that will be passed to Building Services. 4.9 The Business Plan outlines the on-going review of fleet over the next 3 years to ensure that Renfrewshire Council are delivering a first-rate service to Renfrewshire residents. 4.10 Staff training over coming years will be essential as the sustainability of properties changes. Operatives will require to be trained in the delivery and maintenance of new equipment as and when required to ensure they are competent to repair. 4.11 The Business plan will be reviewed annually between Building Services and Housing Services. 4.12 The Business Plan is detailed further in the appendice of this report. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Any financial elements referenced in this report will be progressed through the Council’s financial & budget planning process, in particular the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). 2. HR & Organisational Development – None 3. Community/Council Planning – • Our Renfrewshire is well – by ensuring good quality repairs and maintenance across Council properties ensures Renfrewshire Council residents are well. • Our Renfrewshire is safe – by undertaking compliance and safety works across the Renfrewshire Council portfolio, Building Services ensure residents are safe. 4. Legal – None 5. Property/Assets – As detailed within the report in relation to work on the Council property portfolio including Council houses and public buildings. 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’
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PUBLIC 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 – Advice and guidance is being given to protect the health and safety of employees and service users when carrying out priority services for the Council in line with legislation and guidance. 9. Procurement – None 10. Risk – None 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. COSLA Policy Position – None 13. Children’s Rights – None 14. Climate Change – If Building Services are to maintain new equipment e.g. solar panels, this will require additional training to be undertaken across the Service. List of Background Papers – None Author: Gordon McNeil, Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Email: gordon.mcneil@renfrewshire.gov.uk