Agenda Document Pack - Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board - 13/06/2024
Renfrewshire Council · 13 June 2024
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 13 June 2024 and its agenda
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Notice of Meeting and Agenda Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board Date Time Venue Thursday, 13 June 2024 10:00 Via Teams Platform, MARK CONAGHAN Head of Corporate Governance Membership Councillor John Shaw (Convener): Councillor Fiona Airlie-Nicolson (Depute Convener): Councillor Alison Ann-Dowling: Councillor Jacqueline Cameron: Provost Lorraine Cameron: Councillor Graeme Clark: Councillor Audrey Doig: Councillor Chris Gilmour: Councillor Edward Grady: Councillor Neill Graham: Councillor Robert Innes: Councillor Alec Leishman: Councillor Bruce MacFarlane: Councillor Sam Mullin: Councillor Iain Nicolson: Further Information - online meetings only This meeting is on-line only but is a meeting which is open to members of the public by prior arrangement. 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 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 Page 1 of 396
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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. 1 Joint Consultative Board (Non-Teaching) Minute of meeting held on 18 April 2024. 6 - 8 2 Finance & Resources Service Improvement Outturn Report 2023/24 Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 9 - 42 3 Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan 2024/27 Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 43 - 69 4 FARS Health and Safety Report and Plan Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 70 - 79 5 Chief Executive's Service Improvement Outturn Report 2023/24 Report by the Chief Executive. 80 - 135 6 Chief Executive's Service Improvement Plan 2024/27 Report by the Chief Executive. 136 - 163 7 Chief Executive's Service - Annual Health and Safety Report 2023/2024 and Action Plan and Performance Indicators 2024/2025 Report by the Chief Executive. 164 - 176 8 Environment, Housing and Infrastructure - Service Improvement Plan 2023-26 Outturn Report Report by the Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure. 177 - 204 Page 2 of 396
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9 Environment, Housing and Infrastructure - 2024-2027 Service Improvement Plan Report by the Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure. 205 - 234 10 Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Annual Health and Safety Report (2023/24) and Plan (2024/25) Report by the Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure. 235 - 252 11 Business Services Performance Report Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 253 - 262 12 Customer Services Performance Report Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 263 - 267 13 Civic Hospitality Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 268 - 271 14 Report on the Voluntary Redundancy/Voluntary Retirement Scheme Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 272 - 275 15 Annual Report on the Health, Safety and Wellbeing Activities within Renfrewshire Council Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 276 - 285 16 People Strategy 2021-26 : Revised HR &OD Policies - Disciplinary Policy and Performance Management Policy Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 286 - 308 17 Review of Records Management Policy Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 309 - 320 18 Internal Audit Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 321 - 324 19 Facilities and Property Services - Service Update Report Report by the Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure. 325 - 333 Page 3 of 396
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20 Contract Award: Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; General Housing – Void & Repairs (RC-CPU- 23-004) Joint Report by the Directors of Finance & Resources and Environment, Housing & Infrastructure. 334 - 340 21 Contract Award: Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; Housing External Capital Programme Works (RC-CPU-24-004) Joint report by the Directors of Finance & Resources and Environment, Housing & Infrastructure. 341 - 347 22 Contract Award: Demolition and site clearance of Council properties at Tannahill area, Paisley (RC-CPU- 23-218) Joint report by the Directors of Finance & Resources and Environment, Housing & Infrastructure. 348 - 355 23 Contract Award: Supply and Delivery of 3x Refuse Collection Vehicles (RC-CPU-23-339) Joint report by the Director of Finance & Resources and the Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure. 356 - 360 24 ON-X Replacement Hockey Pitch Joint Report by the Director of Finance & Resources and the Chief Executive. 361 - 367 25 Tandlemuir Farm Peatland Restoration (RC-CPU-23- 247) Joint report by the Director of Finance & Resources and Chief Executive. 368 - 373 26 Contract authorisation report for Procurement Cards (RC-CPU-23-329) Report by Director of Finance & Resources. 374 - 379 27 Active Multi Asset Investment Manager (RC-CPU-23- 222) Report by the Director of Finance & Resources. 380 - 384 Page 4 of 396
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28 Contract Authorisation Report for Payment Processing Service (RC-CPU-23-236) Report by Director of Finance & Resources. 385 - 390 29 Contract Authorisation Report for the Provision of Phishing Prevention Software (Reference: RC-CPU-23- 313) Report by Director of Finance & Resources. 391 - 396 Page 5 of 396
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Minute of Meeting Joint Consultative Board (Non-Teaching) Date Time Venue Thursday, 18 April 2024 15:00 Council Chambers/Hybrid, Present: Councillor Fiona Airlie-Nicolson, Councillor Audrey Doig, Councillor Chris Gilmour, Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes Representing Trades Unions M Ferguson, M McIntyre and S Hicks (all UNISON). In Attendance C Dalrymple, Head of Facilities & Property Services (Environment, Housing & Infrastructure), K Hampsay, Strategic Business Development Officer (Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership), R Laouadi, HR Manager, R Cree, OD & Workforce Planning Manager, S Fanning, Principal HR & OD Adviser, and J Barron and D Cunningham, Committee Services Officers (all Finance & Resources). Appointment of Chairperson In accordance with the terms of the constitution of the Joint Consultative Board (Non- Teaching), which stated that the Chair of the Board should alternate between the management-side and the trade unions it was proposed and agreed that Councillor Audrey Doig chair this meeting of the JCB (Non-Teaching). DECIDED: That Councillor Audrey Doig chair the meeting. Apologies Councillor Mullin, G Cochrane (UNITE) and J Boylan (UNISON). Item 1 Page 6 of 396
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Declarations of Interest and Transparency Statements Councillor Gilmour indicated that he had a connection to items 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the agenda by reason of his membership of UNITE the Union. However, he indicated that he had applied the objective test and did not consider he had an interest and intimated that it was his intention to remain in the meeting and to take part in any discussion or voting thereon. Councillor Hughes indicated that she had a connection to items 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the agenda by reason of her membership of UNISON. However, she indicated that she had applied the objective test and did not consider she had an interest and intimated that it was her intention to remain in the meeting and to take part in any discussion or voting thereon. 1 Developments in Health, Safety and Wellbeing There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to developments in relation to health, safety and wellbeing issues since the previous meeting of the Joint Consultative Board (Non-Teaching), held on 8 February 2024. UNISON advised they were visiting schools and promoting a campaign which concentrated on the issues of violence in early years centres and schools. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 2 Details of Grievances There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the number of grievances received. The report provided information on grievances at both the informal and formal stages and indicated that there were a total of ten grievances as at April 2024, an increase of one case since the last meeting of this Board. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 3 Agency Workers There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the number of agency staff employed within the Council as at 1 February 2024 and detailing the capacity and Services in which they were engaged. The report advised that as at 1 February 2024, 252 agency workers were employed across all Council Services, a decrease of 38 agency workers since January 2024. Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership employed 155 of those agency workers. DECIDED: That the report be noted. Page 7 of 396
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4 Home Care Dispute The UNISON representatives expressed concern in relation to the ongoing dispute involving home care workers within Family and Wellbeing Services and advised of the ongoing work with management to resolve the dispute. The OD and Workforce Planning Manager confirmed there was a commitment from Services to resolve the dispute. DECIDED: That the verbal report be noted. 5 Car Parking - Failure to Agree The UNISON representatives expressed concern in relation to the changes to parking charges at Renfrewshire House and delays from management to include them in the consultation process. They were concerned that disabled drivers would be charged for permits, car pool cars were not available at short notice for emergencies, and cars were only available during working hours, when many staff would require use of out of hours for duties, and that Renfrewshire House was the only Renfrewshire Council staff car park where charges would be imposed. Head of Facilities & Property Services advised he was aware of the concerns and responded to some of the points raised and advised that he was aware of the collective grievance from UNISON which had been submitted on this matter. DECIDED: That the verbal report by noted. 6 Date of Next Meeting DECIDED: That it be noted that the next meeting of the JCB (Non-Teaching) would be held at 3pm on 13 June 2024 Page 8 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Finance and Resources Service Improvement Plan Outturn Report 2023/24 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan 2023-26 was approved by the Finance, Resources & Customer Services Policy Board in June 2023. The plan set out the priorities for the development of the service over a three year period. These priorities are aligned to those set out in the 2022-27 Council Plan. The Service Improvement Plan sets out the actions which will ensure continuous improvement across the service and the performance indicators which ensure the impact can be measured. These reflect the priority themes of the Council Plan and the refreshed Community Plan, both approved by Council in September 2022. 1.2 This report provides a summary of the Finance & Resources service’s performance against the actions and performance indicators agreed within the Service Improvement Plan for 2023/26. An outturn report is included as an appendix to this report. 1.3 An updated Service Improvement Plan for 2024-27 is being presented to this Board for approval, aligned to the priorities of the new Council Plan. Item 2 Page 9 of 396
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1.4 Over the past year, the service has made good progress in delivering positive outcomes for Renfrewshire and its residents. This is within an operating context that remains complex and fast-moving. Economic conditions are currently changing rapidly and both households and organisations are experiencing cost pressures and supply issues, and this is unlikely to change in the near future. 1.5 More detail of achievements is given in Section 4 but the list below notes some highlights: Leading on the Council’s Financial Sustainability programme; Delivery of the annual accounts; Implementing a leadership development programme for senior management; Producing a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy and a Health and Wellbeing Plan for staff, as well as continuing the revising of other HR policies; Ongoing work to support residents with the cost-of-living through the administration of grant support, signposting to benefits and related entitlements, and through the work of Advice Works; Work to deliver on the Council’s Plan for Net Zero through initiatives such as the Green Print Strategy, and by building in climate considerations to our procurement processes; Continuing the work with Council colleagues and partners to deliver a Meet the Buyers Renfrewshire event, supporting local businesses to bid for public sector contracts; Completion of the Fibre to the Premises infrastructure work, which means that more than 80% of areas in Renfrewshire now have access to a high- speed fibre internet connection; Delivering a new Customer Strategy, with the team prioritising the use of artificial intelligence in the first phase of implementation; Continuing to provide a range of strategic and operational support to other Council services to support the delivery of financial sustainability programmes, the Plan for Net Zero, large scale infrastructure projects and strong universal services. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: a) the contents of this report; b) the progress to date on delivering the actions contained within the Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan; Page 10 of 396
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c) the current performance of the service as measured by the scorecard indicators. 3. Background 3.1 Our Service Improvement Plans are a clear statement of the outcomes each service wants to achieve, the actions it will take to achieve this, and the performance measures it will use to monitor progress and measure success. Updates on the actions and performance measures are included as an appendix to this report. 3.2 Service Improvement Plans fit within the wider framework provided by the Council Plan and the Community Plan. They allow elected members to have oversight of developments within the service and to consider and develop policy options which reflect customer need and resource availability. 3.3 Section 4 of this report gives details of service activity and achievements in 2023/24. Section 5 discusses actions delayed or cancelled since the Service Improvement Plan, and any new actions added to reflect additional priorities identified since the plan was approved. Section 6 provides a narrative on performance. 3.4 In line with our approach of refreshing Service Improvement Plans annually to ensure they still reflect our organisational priorities, an updated Plan covering the period 2024 to 2027 is also being presented to this Policy Board. 4. Key achievements in 2023/24 4.1 As well as strategic initiatives and customer-facing work, Finance & Resources delivers support services to all other parts of the council including: Payroll; Support with recruitment; Training and organisational development; ICT Servicedesk; Provision of ICT equipment; Invoicing and Payments; Administrative support; Project and programme management; Property services; Legal and information governance advice; Accountancy services; Internal audit and risk management. Page 11 of 396
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4.2 Specific achievements in relation to the Service Improvement Plan are highlighted below. Place 4.3 The service continues to support delivery of the Council’s Cultural Infrastructure programme. A key milestone – the completion of Paisley Town Hall – was noted in the mid-year update on this Service Improvement Plan. Since then, a further milestone has been reached with the completion of Paisley’s Learning and Cultural Hub. 4.4 In 2023/24 the Director of Finance and Resources highlighted, through updates to Council, that the rate of progress in delivering financial sustainability actions was not sufficient to fully address medium-term targets. Further workstreams have been developed to bring forward proposals to elected members. In 2023/24, £4.3m of savings were delivered against a target of £4.4m; the remainder will be delivered in 2024/25. 4.5 Good progress is being made with the implementation of the new licensing regime for short-term lets. Most applications were made close to the deadline date, and the service has 61% of these. A small number have escalated to the Regulatory Functions Board for consideration. Economy 4.6 Renfrewshire Council was one of four local authorities to take part in a Scottish Government pilot on Community Wealth Building (CWB). CWB is at the heart of the Council’s approach to inclusive economic growth and developing a wellbeing economy. A Council Framework is being developed and will be finalised once the details of the forthcoming Community Wealth Building Act are known. A new Lead Officer for CWB will be recruited shortly to allow for greater focus in this area of work. 4.7 The Procurement and Economic Development teams continue to work together to support local businesses to bid for Council contracts and related work. Most recently, a ‘Meet the Buyer’ event was held for local construction companies, focusing on sub-contractor opportunities for two large Council building projects. Fair 4.8 Finance and Resources have supported thousands of Renfrewshire families with the cost of living in 2023/24 through: Page 12 of 396
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Providing Discretionary Housing Payments to eligible residents who may be struggling with rent payments; Distributing the Scottish Welfare Fund, including an additional £400,000 of funding directly provided by the Council; Administering the application process for free school meals and school clothing grants for over 7,500 children; Introducing a new element to the application for free school meals and clothing grants which allows families to refer themselves to Advice Works for support, resulting in 520 families accessing benefits they were entitled to but had not claimed. 4.9 The People and Organisation Development team continue to be closely involved with the development of the Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire programme, and revised HR policies have a greater focus on wellbeing. A number of teams within Finance and Resources have undertaken trauma-informed learning. Green 4.10 As noted in the mid-year update on this plan, Procurement have now built in sustainability criteria to their processes to ensure climate considerations are part of the procurement strategy and, where appropriate, form part of the award criteria in the tendering process. For relevant contracts, this includes bidders having to set out what action they will take to mitigate the climate impact of a contract. 4.11 Work on the Green Print Strategy has progressed. The ‘Think Digital First’ approach will not only reduce print costs substantially but will contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions. Analysis of usage has been undertaken and it is expect that the roll-out of printers will start in June 2024, with an internal communications campaign to promote the key messages of the strategy. Living our Values 4.12 The Purchase to Pay (P2P) programme is making good progress and should deliver efficiencies process for making payments by the end of next year. Workstreams are up and running and will finalise the deliverables, timeline and priority tasks for the programme. 4.13 A new Customer Strategy has been approved and the team are now working on implementation, with a current focus on how artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to enhance services for customers. Page 13 of 396
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4.14 A number of new or refreshed HR policies were approved this year, including a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, a Health and Wellbeing Plan for staff, and an updated Carers Policy. The programme of refreshing policies and ensuring a wellbeing focus will continue into 2024/25. The HR and OD team have also successfully implemented a new online learning system. Improving Outcomes for Children and Young People 4.15 The new recruitment strategy will include elements focused on removing barriers to employment. This will include the specific barriers faced by care- experienced people, as part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to delivering The Promise. 5. Actions which have been delayed or cancelled 5.1 As noted in paragraph 4.4 above, the realisation of the full £4.4m of savings to be delivered in 2023/24 was delayed. The outstanding £100,000 will be delivered in 2024/25. 5.2 The due date for the completion of a new strategic recruitment and talent management plan has been revised to the end of 2024. The delay was due to the service redesign within People and OD, and the prioritisation of other revised policies. 5.3 The delivery of the 2023/24 Internal Audit plan was behind target by the end of the financial year; it was 92% complete rather than the anticipated 95% complete. This was due to a short-term reduction in staff capacity. 6. Progress against performance measures 6.1 Finance and Resources measured 17 performance indicators as part of the 2023/26 Service Improvement Plan. Of these, 15 are collected quarterly and 2 are collected annually. 6.2 In 2023/24, nine indicators met or exceeded the target set, four narrowly missed the target set, one missed their target by 10% or more and three indicators are still to be updated. 6.3 The indicator which missed the target by 10% or more was the completion of FOI requests within 20 days. Performance for FOIs dropped from 97.2% in 2022/23 to 89.6% in 2023/24. The target for this indicator has always been set at 100% but in light of the considerable increase in volume and complexity of requests, the target will be revised to 95% in 2024/25. Page 14 of 396
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6.4 Three of the four indicators which narrowly missed their target relate to council income – two to the collection of council tax and one to the collection on non- domestic rates. The cost-of-living crisis is likely to have impacted on the collection of council tax, which is behind target at 94.28% collected against a target of 96% for this year. This will also have impacted collection rates for monies owing from previous years. The collection of non-domestic rates is improving but still short of the 98% target, with 96.95% collected in 2023/24. 6.5 The fourth indicator which narrowly missed target relates to completion of the Audit Plan, which was noted in paragraph 5.3 above 6.6 The processing of housing benefits applications is once again exceeding targets, after a short term issue experienced in 2022/23 caused average processing time to reach 38 days. The current average is 18.99 days, well within the target time of 24 days. The same issue had also impacted the processing of change of circumstances applications, and performance has recovered to an average of 8.08 days against a target time of 10 days. 6.7 The processing of crisis grants continues to meet its target of a two-day turnaround, and the processing of Scottish Welfare Fund applications is currently averaging 10 days against a target time of 15 days. The Customer Service Unit consistently exceeds its target of answering 90% of all calls, with 95% answered in 2023/24. 6.8 Complaints response times exceed targets – 86.6% of frontline complaints were dealt with within 5 days and 94% of investigation complaints within 20 days. Both indicators have a target of 85%. 6.9 Invoice processing for small and medium sized businesses continues to be an area of strong performance, with these dealt with in 7.5 days, on average; this is against a target of 28 days. After a fall in performance last year, the overall invoice processing indicator has exceeded its target of 96% of all invoices to be processed with 30 days. Performance for 2023/24 was 96.82%; the service received over 240,000 invoices in the year. 6.10 Staff absence for 2023/24 is similar to the previous year and, at 8.9 days per FTE, remains above the target of 8.5 days. 6.11 The measure of procurement spend on local suppliers is part of the Local Government Benchmarking Framework. Updates are provided by the Improvement Service and data for 2023/24 will not be available until December 2024. Page 15 of 396
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial - The Service Improvement Plan highlights resourcing pressures arising from increasing demand for services and the current financial environment. Finance & Resources will lead on work relating to financial stability and sustainability. 2. HR & Organisational Development – No direct implications but the report notes work ongoing by the People and OD team. 3. Community/Council Planning – the report details a range of activities which reflect local council and community planning themes. 4. Legal – No direct implications but the report notes work delivered by Legal and Democratic Services. 5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology – Digital resources are now key to the delivery of services and strategies are in place to manage this. The report notes progress on delivery of work in this area. 7. Equality & Human Rights - The recommendations contained within this report do not require an impact assessment as they are asking member to note progress only. 8. Health & Safety –none 9. Procurement – There are no direct implications but the report updates on progress for actions impacting procurement. 10. Risk – Risks related to the delivery and management of services are regularly monitored and included in Renfrewshire Council’s Corporate and Strategic Risk Registers. 11. Privacy Impact - none 12. COSLA Policy Position – none. 13. Climate Risk – There are no direct implications but the report updates on progress on actions to tackle the climate risk. List of Background Papers: None Page 16 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ Author: Lisa Fingland, Policy Manager, lisa.fingland@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 17 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance and Resources Service Improvement Plan 2023 –26 Outturn Report 2023/24 Page 18 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Outturn Report for 2023/24 • This outturn report details progress on delivery of our Service Improvement Plan, highlighting areas where we are already making progress and some areas we want to focus on more, perhaps because performance isn’t moving in the direction we anticipated or because of other pressures or factors that makes this even more of a priority for us. • The following pages shine a spotlight on some great projects or practice, and highlight areas where we’d like to improve or develop further. At a service level, there is a stronger focus on some of the Council Plan Strategic Outcomes than other. Towards the end of this document, you’ll find a full update against all the actions and performance indicators we use to measure progress. • We report on 17 performance indicators, 2 which are reported annually and 15 reported quarterly. In this report, annual data is provided for 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 to show recent trends. Page 19 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Place and Economy Achievements Areas for improvement and development Support for the Cultural Infrastructure Investment Programme, which has now delivered the new Paisley Learning and Cultural Hub as well as Paisley Town Hall. Held ‘Meet the Buyer’ events to help increase the use of local suppliers by subcontractors on Council construction projects Delivered on our aim to have 80% of Renfrewshire’s geography covered by full fibre broadband. Our work to increase the amount of Council spend with local businesses will continue, and we are targeting 23% of spend for 2024/25. Page 20 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Fair and Green Achievements Areas for further development Performance Indicators Supported 520 families who were not receiving all the benefits they were entitled to, generating £109,000 of extra income for them Administering more than 7500 clothing grants and/or free school meal payments for Renfrewshire families. Average of 19 days to process new housing benefit claims Pilots of our Green Print Strategy will commence in the summer of 2024. By taking a ‘Think Digital First’ approach to documents, the reduction in printing will contribute to our Net Zero goal. Page 21 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Living our values Achievements Introducing new policies to support staff, including our Health and Wellbeing Plan and our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Launched a new Customer Strategy Areas for improvement and development Performance Indicators Not all planned Internal Audit actions were completed this year, with 92% complete rather than the expected 95%. Fewer Freedom of Information requests were dealt with on time this year –89% of the 422 received. 8.9 days absence per FTE 95% of Customer Service calls answered Average of 7.5 days to pay invoices to small and medium sized businesses Page 22 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Actions and indicators Position at year end 2023/24 Page 23 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Place Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do A Multi-Disciplinary Design Team (MDDT) has been appointed and Stage 3 design is complete. A contractor has been appointed for pre-construction services. Due to a service restructuring, this action will now be monitored as part of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Service Improvement Plan. This action was closed in summer 2023. 31 July 2026Work with Children’s Services to deliver the new Paisley Grammar Community Campus Paisley Town Hall is now complete, the building has opened to the public and has hosted numerous successful events, including the Mod 2023. Paisley Learning & Cultural Hub has also completed construction and fit out, and has been open to the public since 30 November 2023. The building has been a great success with the public, so far seeing 18,000 visitors pass through the doors in the first month. Paisley Arts Centre is scheduled to complete construction imminently and will then progress to fit out with a target to complete this process by late spring 2024. Paisley Museum is expected to complete construction in late 2024 and will then move to an intense exhibition fit out and operational readiness process that will see the doors open in 2025. 31 March 2026Support delivery of the Council’s infrastructure investment programme Progress with the development and delivery of agreed financial sustainability actions is not at the pace required in order to fully address the Council’s financial sustainability over the medium term, and the CMT has developed further workstreams for member consideration. A total saving of £4.4m was targeted for these new workstreams within 2023/24, with 97% (£4.3m) achieved at the end of the financial year. The balance is due to the timing of savings realisation, and will be delivered in 2024/25. 31 March 2024Implement the actions arising from the Council’s financial sustainability workstreams Page 24 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Place Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do The Service continues to action any changes notified by customers and issue updated bills and reminders, where appropriate for Non-Domestic Rates and Council tax charges. Council Tax customers can report changes online using a range of regenerated forms including a new customer enquiry form. Teams continue to consider and process applications for Discretionary Housing Payments, Crisis Grants, Community Care Grants, within targeting/legislative timescales. 31 March 2027Delivering strong universal services to all Renfrewshire citizens The Council’s policy on Short Term Lets was agreed and the process for dealing with the applications established. As previously advised, the Scottish Government extended the date for first applications to 30 September 2023 and, as was anticipated, completion of the first phase by 31 March 2024 proved impractical requiring the date for completion of that phase to be extended to 30 September 2024. 128 applications have been received, the vast majority of which were received at or around the deadline. Good progress has been made with 78 applications having been granted, mainly under delegated authority. However, 7 of these have been granted at the Regulatory Functions Board, with further applications scheduled to be taken to RFB in the coming months. 31 March 2024Implement the first phase of the Scottish Government’s new licensing regime for short-term lets Page 25 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Economy Progress updateStatu sDue DateWhat we will do In order to increase local spend through sub-contracting opportunities, two sector specific local ‘Meet the Buyer’ events were held for projects being delivered in Renfrewshire. We supported Morrison Construction to engage with local sub-contractors for opportunities on the New Paisley Grammar Community Campus project. In addition, we supported Fleming Build to engage with local sub-contractors for the Bishopton Dargavel Satellite Facility. 31 March 2024Actively engage with Renfrewshire suppliers to increase the percentage of procurement spend Community Wealth Building [CWB] is at the heart of the council’s approach to inclusive economic growth and aims to support a wellbeing economy in Renfrewshire. A new Community Wealth Building Act is expected next year, and a council framework/plan is currently being prepared. Key actions to report are: • Ensuring the Council CWB plan is aligned to a regional approach with Glasgow City Region. • Reporting quarterly to the Scottish Governments Community Wealth Building Policy Manager and liaising directly with colleagues in the SG CWB policy team • Contributing to Economic Development Association Scotland (EDAS) and Centre for Local Economic Strategies [CLES] workshops. • As part of a Scottish Government pilot, Renfrewshire Council (Economic Development and Procurement) were one of four local authorities to participate in a CWB project delivered by Scotland Excel. The project involved data analysis of local spend, practice sharing workshops and a Spotlight on Community Wealth Building from the Scottish Government’s Heads of Procurement. • Economic Development are working on a draft paper which will provide an overview of CWB practice within the Council and will outline the Council’s key objectives and levers to maximise the impact of CWB at a local level. In order to ensure the paper is aligned to national policy, the draft paper will be revised to reflect the proposed new CWB Bill due to be put forward during the current parliamentary term. A new Community Wealth Building Lead Officer has been approved and will shortly be recruited to allow more prominence to the agenda. The due date for this action has been revised to 31 March 2025. 31 March 2025Develop a Community Wealth Building Plan for Renfrewshire The fibre infrastructure –provided by City Fibre -now covers 80%+ of Renfrewshire as a geography. 31 August 2023 Under Connectivity As A Service (CaaS) complete the rollout of Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) across 75% of Renfrewshire as a geography by the summer of 2023 Page 26 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Economy Explanation of performance 2023/242022/232021/22Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue 23/24 data is provided by Improvement Service and will not be available until end of 2024. 23%n/a23%19.3%23%18.87% % of procurement spend spent on local enterprises Page 27 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Fair Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do Provision of financial support in the form of Discretionary Housing Payments and Scottish Welfare Funds continues to be provided by the Business Services Function. The Service distributed the funds allocated by Scottish Government for the Scottish Welfare Fund, including £400K in top up funding provided by the Council. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs), also administered by Business Services continued to be made to eligible residents struggling with rent payments with funding provided by the Scottish Government, for the remainder of the financial year and encouraged take-up of DHPs from residents affected by the UK Government Benefit Cap, in line with the Scottish Government’s commitment to mitigation. Free School Meals (FSM) and clothing grants are administered by Customer and Digital Services with applications for clothing grants now closed for the current year. Work is underway to update the process prior to re-launching for next year at the end of May. The process will include an option for families to access Advice Works as was the case last year. The Customer Services team have processed applications for FSM and Clothing Grants for over 7500 children. 5800 have received a clothing grant payment and 4700 have been approved to receive Free School Meals. Free School Meals (FSM) and clothing grants are administered by Customer and Digital Services with applications for clothing grants now closed for the current year. Work is underway to update the process prior to re-launching for next year at the end of May. The process will include an option for families to access Advice Works as was the case last year. The Customer Services team have processed applications for FSM and Clothing Grants for over 7500 children. 5800 have received a clothing grant payment and 4700 have been approved to receive Free School Meals. 1383 Families requested support from Advice Works during the current school year, however just over 800 were already receiving their full entitlement of benefits. The remaining 520 were not receiving their full entitlement so Advice Works were able to work more intensely with these families to boost their income which has resulted in a total income generation of £109,703. 31 March 2024Continue to support residents with the cost-of-living crisis through the provision of advice services, grants and other funding Page 28 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Fair Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do People and OD continue to be closely involved with the development of this programme, and revised HR policies have a greater focus on wellbeing. A number of teams within FAR have undertaken trauma-informed learning and the service will continue to engage with the programme. 31 March 2024Engage and participate in trauma informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme Page 29 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Fair Explanation of performance 2023/242022/232021/22Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue Processing speed for New Claims was well within target for 2023/24.2418.992438.512418.1 Time taken for processing new housing benefit applications up until the posting of notification of outcome of the application (cumulative) Processing of Changes of Circumstance was well within target for 2023/24.108.081014.35107.94 Time taken for processing change of circumstance housing benefit applications up until the posting of notification of outcome of the application (cumulative) The service continues to meet the target for processing Crisis Grants. Average days to process during 2023/24 was within the 2 day target. 222222 Average speed of processing a Crisis Grant (Scottish Welfare Fund) in days Processing speed for Community Care Grants was well within target for 2023/24.151015131510 Average speed of processing a Community Care Grant (Scottish Welfare Fund) in days Page 30 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Green Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do All council services contribute to the delivery of net zero actions, with Finance Business Partners involved in costing activities and supporting projects such as the Sustainable Communities Fund. 31 October 2023 Develop costed, targeted interventions and actions to support our net zero journey within the Council and working in partnership with key stakeholders At strategy stage: A sustainability test is completed for all relevant procurements. This identifies risks and opportunities which ensure that climate considerations are taken into account. The procurement climate emergency adviser supports the team with advice about policy and highlights opportunities and good examples of best practice from the public sector at strategy stage. The evaluation methodology is agreed including whether climate should be assessed at Selection Stage or as part of the award criteria. Tender Stage: Where relevant and proportionate procurements include the new Selection Question 4C.7.1 which requires that bidders should evidence that their organisation has taken steps to build their awareness of the climate change emergency and how they will respond; Where relevant and proportionate bidders will be asked to provide responses specific to the procurement confirming action that will be taken to mitigate climate impacts during the life of the contract; Where relevant environmental action will be built into the service specification, requiring that these actions are delivered as a fundamental element of the contract. 31 March 2025Ensure that climate considerations are taken into account in our procurement strategies and tenders with a focus on reducing emissions Page 31 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Green Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do Following the presentation to Head Teachers in January, volumetric packs were sent to Head Teachers including the ‘as is’ and ‘to be’ print fleet numbers for their school, plus a breakdown of their 2022 school mono and colour print volumes and costs. Canon have provided a high-level project plan. Technical discovery activities have started. Trial devices ordered and due for delivery 11th April. Pilot sites to be identified. Work ongoing on refining the full site lists and printer requirements. It is anticipated the roll out of printer will commence early June 2024. Work continues with Communications to flesh out the approach and key dates to promoting the key messages of the Green Print Project. 31 March 2025Implement the Green Print Strategy in order to reduce our reliance on paper, drive down printing costs and support the organisation’s work towards net zero Page 32 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Living our values Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do Weekly updates are highlighted to the CMT including Digital, Financial Sustainability, Net Zero, etc and this activity is now part of business as usual. 31 March 2025Implement the next phase of the Council’s transformation programme Review of policies continue with the Carers Policy, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion and Health and Wellbeing plans being presented at the next board. 31 March 2024Support the Council in developing New Ways of Working This policy is now in place and work continues to embed and review.31 December 2023 Support the Council with improving attendance and reducing absence The Health and Wellbeing plan has now received board approval and in place31 August 2023 Develop a Wellbeing Strategy that meets the needs of our workforce as we emerge for the pandemic and look towards the future We are continuing to look at different ways to recruit in what is a very challenging environment. An international recruitment pilot has commenced which has been positively received. Deadline date changed to Dec 2024. 31 December 2024 Develop an overall strategic recruitment and talent management strategy Page 33 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Living our values Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do ED&I Strategy has now been approved and we will start to work on the plan. 31 December 2023 Develop and new equality, diversity and inclusion strategy for the council Defined nine P2P Workstreams in February 2024. The P2P Strategic Board approved the bolt-on technology in March 2024. A variation of contract is being finalised with the current ERP provider. A P2P Roadmap and P2P Communications (Purpose, Objectives and Approach) was presented to the CMT in March 2024. Workstream kick-offs have started to finalise the scope, objectives & deliverables of those Workstreams. The follow- up sessions will focus on resource allocation, timelines and prioritising tasks. The P2P Communication Strategy is being finalised and will be presented at the P2P Strategic Board for ratification. 31 December 2025 Deliver the Purchase to Pay programme which will streamline payments and deliver a more efficient process Work is ongoing around the actions within the new Customer Strategy. The procurement of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution is underway following a ‘try before you buy’ and will be completed by the end of April 2024 with an estimated delivery timeline of 6 months. 31 March 2024Develop a new Customer Strategy in order to ensure we continue to deliver excellent customer services that best meet the needs of our customers and utilise the opportunities within new and emerging technologies Page 34 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Living our values Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do 92% of the Audit Plan was delivered which is slightly below our target of 95%. There are 2 main reasons for this - our unplanned absence was higher than planned for and the Chief Auditor attended a senior management development programme which was planned part way through the year 31 March 2024Deliver the Internal Audit Plan for 2023/24 The learning management system is now live and all the records from the previous system has been transferred. Phase 2 has commenced, and new reporting is in draft format and continues to be developed. 31 March 2024Support the wider workforce with learning and professional development opportunities. As part of the review of the priorities in the Council’s ‘Our People’ strategy, removing barriers to employability identified by The Promise (and others) will feature in our revised recruitment processes. 31 March 2026Contribute to the Council’s commitment to The Promise for all care experienced people Report submitted and approved by the CMT in March 2024. The procurement of an M365 Backup Solution will be completed by the end of April 2024. The procurement of Phishing Prevention Software will be completed by the end of April 2024. In addition, a review of Business Continuity Plans (BCP) is being undertaken with the support of an external organisation to review our approach in the event of a cyber-attack. A written update including an action plan will be provided to the CMT in the next month or so following this review. 31 March 2024Continue to implement a range of technical and non-technical measures to bolster our cyber resilience, protecting our digital assets Page 35 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Living Our Values Explanation of performance 2023/242022/232021/22Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue The service has consistently met the performance target throughout the year and answered above 90% of all calls. 90%95%90%96%90%97%Customer Service Unit -% of calls answered The 2023/24 figure will not be available until August 2024. 11.5n/a11.57.9711.58.04Cost of collecting council tax per chargeable dwelling Council Tax collection for 2023/24 was down by 1.03% on the 2022/23 position. During the previous year awards of £150 were made on behalf of the Scottish Government to 62,130 households to attempt to offset some of the effects of the cost of living crisis. No such payments were made during 2023/24 year which contributed to the decrease in collection. Recovery of Council Tax remains challenging with continued pressure on many household budgets. The service will continue to maximise collection through timeous recovery activity and utilising all tools at its disposal, including working with our recovery agents. Collection performance may be relatively static until the cost of living crisis eases. 96%94.28%96%95.31%96%95.48% Percentage of Council Tax due in the year, collected by the end of the year (cumulative position to date) Page 36 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Living Our Values Explanation of performance 2023/242022/232021/22Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue 150 Investigation complaints were received in total during 2023/24. To date, 141 complaints have been completed within the required timescale and 9 were complaint completed outwithtimescale. The service has achieved target (85%) for this annual reporting period. 85%94%85%84.9%85%87.73% Total % of investigation (Stage 2) complaints responded to within targets by Finance & Resources (cumulative to date) At the end of 2023/24 a total of 241,143 invoices were received of which 233,387 were processed within 30 days (96.78%). Performance has exceeded target (96%) for the 2024/25 annual reporting period and year on year is a marked improvement on last years performance reported as 90.21%. 96%96.82%96%90.21%96%95.5% Number of invoices paid within 30 days of receipt, as a percentage of all invoices paid council wide (cumulative) Page 37 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Living Our Values Explanation of performance 2023/242022/232021/22Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue During 2023/24 FAR has recorded a provisional overall absence rate of 8.9 days lost per FTE employee which is 0.4 days above the FARS target of 8.5. 8.58.98.58.958.57.77 Average number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee (F&R) (FTE) There were 422 single service FOIs dealt with by FAR in 2023/24 of which 378 were completed within timescale. Target has not been achieved and performance has decreased year on year. 100%89.6%100%97.2%100%97% % of Finance and Resources FOI requests completed within timescale Page 38 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Living Our Values Explanation of performance 2023/242022/232021/22Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue Follow up continues to be run each month. Both the current year and previous years' collection is monitored. The 2023/24 previous years' position is slightly behind that for 2022/23 (0.02% down). 97.27%97.19%97.27%97.21%97.27%97.21% Percentage of income due from Council Tax for prior years (cumulative position to date) Business rates collection levels for 2023/24 are up by 1.28% from the 2022/22 position. Whilst current year performance is also better than that for 2019/20, rates collection has yet to reach typical pre-pandemic levels. 98%96.95%98%95.67%98%92.61% Percentage of Non Domestic Rates due in the year, collected by the end of the year (cumulative to date) 92% is the final reporting position for 2023/24 which is noted as slightly below target. This was a result of two main factors -we had a higher level of unplanned leave than was budgeted for and also the Chief Auditor participated in a senior management development programme which was unplanned for as it commenced part way through the year. Target of 95% was not achieved (although targets were achieved for Qtr1 & 2) and year on year performance has slightly declined. 95%92%95%93.2%95%92.1%Percentage of Audit Plan completed (cumulative) Page 39 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Living Our Values Explanation of performance 2023/242022/232021/22Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue 584 Complaints were received in total during 2023/24. 506 have been completed within timescale, 70 completed outwith timescale and a further 8 are still being followed up outwith timescale. Target has been achieved for this annual reporting period. 85%86.6%85%86.6%85%75.87%F&R Front Line complaints (Cumulative) At the end of 2023/24 reporting year (01/04/23 –16/04/24) 93,030 SME invoices were received of which 81,642 were processed within 28 days with the average days to process an invoice reported at 7.5 days –well within target (28 days) and a year on year improvement of 5.56 days from 2022/23. 287.52813.062811.84 Average days Small and Medium sized businesses invoices paid Page 40 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Improving Outcomes for Children and Young People Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do As part of the review of the priorities in the Council’s ‘Our People’ strategy, removing barriers to employability identified by The Promise (and others) will feature in our revised recruitment processes. 31 March 2026Contribute to the Council’s commitment to The Promise for all care experienced people Page 41 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance and Resources Service Improvement Plan 2023 -26 Outturn Report 2023/24 For more information, please contact: policycefar@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 42 of 396
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Finance and Resources 2024-2027 Service Improvement Plan ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Service Improvement Plan for Finance and Resources is a three-year plan covering the period 2024-2027. The purpose of the Plan is to identify the priorities being addressed, the key tasks to be implemented, the implementation timetable and our measures of success. 1.2 The Service Improvement Plan is part of a suite of documents which describe the strategic direction for the Service and the Council, and also includes the Council Plan, Community Plan, Risk Management Plan, and the Workforce Plan. Following recommendations from the Council’s auditors, the Council Plan priorities are being refocused, and this is reflected in Service Improvement Plans, with services reducing the number of priority areas each year. The new, more accessible, format of Service Improvement Plans, introduced in 2023- 2024, has been well-received and will be retained. 1.3 The Service Improvement Plan is appended to this report and includes performance indicators and an action plan grouped under the Council Plan themes. A mid-year progress update on the Service Improvement Plan will be submitted to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board in the autumn of 2024. Item 3 Page 43 of 396
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2 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: (a) approves the attached Service Improvement Plan; and (b) notes that mid-year progress of this Service Improvement Plan will be reported to this Board in the Autumn of 2024, with updates to the performance indicators and action plan. 3. Background 3.1 Finance and Resources enables and supports the smooth running and strategic management of the Council’s financial, legal, property, procurement, ICT, human resources, and customer and business services as well as maintaining sound audit and governance across the Council. The service leads on the delivery of strategic change and organisational development across the Council. Support services such as those provided by Finance and Resources have been critical to shifting focus back to a strategic, forward-looking approach after the pandemic, and will remain critical as the Council addresses its financial sustainability and stability. 4. Service Improvement Plan 2024-2025: What do we want to achieve? 4.1. Council services continue to operate in a challenging context. The Council and services remain ambitious for our people and our place, and the Service Improvement Plan process ensures a clear focus on continuous improvement. The Service Improvement Plans process allows us to describe where activity is targeted, and through the 6-monthly updates described below, provide a balanced view on progress. 4.2. Our Service Improvement Plan sets out actions for the next three years, and in 2024/25 our particular areas of focus will be: • Continuing to lead on financial sustainability • Lead on the delivery of the Council’s governance review • Delivering a new approach to recruitment and talent management, ensuring that the Council is an employer of choice and that current employees can develop and progress here; • Working with local suppliers to increase the proportion of our procurement spend on local businesses which in turn supports the local economy; Page 44 of 396
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3 • Progressing the Purchase to Pay (P2P), delivering a far more efficient, consistent process, with improved data and insight and reduced duplication; • Continuing to deliver a broad range of support services to the rest of the Council, including elected members; • Continuing to bolster our cyber-resilience through technical and non-technical measures, protecting our digital assets; • Rolling out the Leadership Development Programme to senior managers across the Council; • Complete the roll out of Wi-Fi across the corporate and education estate, providing 100% coverage in schools and increased availability across other Council buildings; • Progress the delivery of the new Customer Strategy, an ambitious programme of transformation that will see the ongoing development of our digital service offering and investment in future technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) that will improve the service we offer our customers; • Implement the Green Print Strategy, creating a ‘think digital first’ culture; • Engage and participate in trauma informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme. 5. Monitoring progress 5.1 Progress on the implementation of the Service Improvement Plan is regularly monitored by the Senior Management Team and will be reported to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board on a six-monthly basis. A mid-year review of progress will be brought to this Board in Autumn 2024 and an annual outturn report in Spring 2025. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – This report notes the financial challenges facing the local authority and the work that will be undertaken by the service to manage this. 2. HR & Organisational Development – The Service Improvement Plan details several pieces of work being progressed by the People & OD team. 3. Community/Council Planning – Service Improvement Plans reflect the contribution of each service to the Council and Community Plans. 4. Legal – None Page 45 of 396
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4 5. Property/Assets – None 6. Information Technology – Digital resources are now key to the delivery of services and strategies are in place to manage this. 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 because it is for noting only. The delivery of actions included in the appendix will be impact assessed where appropriate. 8. Health & Safety – The Service Improvement Plan includes actions relating to employee wellbeing and absence. 9. Procurement – The Service Improvement Plan includes actions relating to procurement activity. 10. Risk – Risks related to the delivery and management of services are regularly monitored and included in Renfrewshire Council’s Corporate and Strategic Risk Registers. 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. COSLA Policy Position – None 13. Climate Change – The Service Improvement Plan includes actions and indicators under the theme “Green” demonstrating how it will contribute to Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Lisa Fingland, Policy Manager Contact: lisa.fingland@renfrewshire.gov.uk Appendix 1: Service Improvement Plan 2024-2027 Page 46 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan 2024 -27 Page 47 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance & Resources –our service Strategic and operational financial advice and accountancy, Council Tax, rates and benefit processing Business services providing administrative support across services including payroll and employee services Human resources including health & safety, training and workforce planning Legal services providing advice and support to all council services Internal audit, fraud, insurance and risk management Customer services providing professional front facing customer and administrative support councilwide Transformation, providing project & programme management ICT services, provision of ICT equipment, security and compliance, hosting, storing & connectivity Support for elected members and boards including delivering elections £ Strategic and commercial procurement supporting tendering, fair working practice and sustainability Page 48 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance & Resources -about us Finance and Resources leads the delivery of a wide range of professional services which support the smooth running and strategic management of the Council. Finance and Resources is led by the Director, Alastair MacArthur, and he is supported by four Heads of Service, the Chief Auditor and the Strategic Service Delivery Manager. Business Services delivers financial operations including Revenues and Benefits, and provides business support to other Council services Corporate Governance provides legal services and supports the governance and effective running of Council and policy boards Digital, Transformation and Customer Services leads on ICT provision, project and programme management, and our front-facing customer services, and leads on our Digital Strategy Finance and Procurement provides financial and budgetary management services and a corporate procurement service to all council services Internal Audit leads on audit activity and risk management, ensuring robust controls are in place to manage risks associated with council activity People and OD delivers HR services including supporting recruitment, professional development and employee wellbeing Director of Finance and Resources Alastair MacArthur Head of People and OD Raymond Cree Head of Corporate Governance Mark Conaghan Head of Finance and Procurement Christine McCourt Chief Auditor Andrea McMahon Head of Digital, Transformation and Customer Services Patrick Murray Strategic Service Delivery Manager Emma Shields Page 49 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our resources and risks BUDGET For 2024/24, the revenue budget approved for General Services on 29 February 2024 was £549m. The capital budget approved for General Services on 29 February 2024 was £147.8m for the period 2024/25 to 2028/29. The Finance & Resourcesrevenue budget for 2024/25 is approximately £44.5m Finance and Resources also supports all other council services with financial and budget management as well as providing support to our capital projects. RISK MANAGEMENT The Council’s risk management arrangements are well established with all strategic, corporate and service risks being reported to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board. Corporate and strategic risks, where senior officers in the Finance & Resources service are owners or joint owners are shown on the right. The service also plays a significant role in the management of many ‘business as usual’ risks that exist within the council. EvaluationsRisks Our strategic and corporate risks Very HighFinancial Sustainability Very HighSuccessful Cyber Attack HighFinancial Stability HighWorkforce planning, recruitment and retention ModerateNational Care Service – governance and financial implications Page 50 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Transformation and financial sustainability The Council’s financial outlook is significantly challenging. The most recent analysis reported to Council on 29 February 2024 suggests that Renfrewshire Council will experience a funding deficit in the range of £45m-£50m in the three years following 2024/25, unless mitigating action is taken. The Council continues to explore ways to transform how we deliver our services –to improve the experience of our customers and service-users but also to ensure the Council’s financial sustainability. Finance & Resourcescontinues to support this through: Delivering transformation savings workstreams for Finance & Resources Leading with the cross- service Financial Sustainability workstreams led by the Corporate Management Team Providing Council services with finance and HR partner advice and support to deliver service-specific savings Providing project and programme management support to the transformation programme Page 51 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Workforce innovation and wellbeing The Council launched its people strategy “Our People, Our Future”in 2021, which was updated in 2023 with the following 3 priorities: Improving our Workforce Planning Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Employee Experience The strategy describes the Council’s organisational development vision and workforce planning activities under three strategic outcomes – improving our employee experience, workforce planning and equality, diversity and inclusion. The strategy is aligned with the Council Plan and is focussed on the Council improving our employees’ experience whilst at work,looking at living our values, employee voice and recognitions which all positively impact on the culture within our workplace. There is a focus on workforce planning, there are many changes and challenges facing the Council in the coming years and this will ensure the right workforce and right skills are in place to deliver this. The last priority is focussed on inclusion, the council wants to be a place where everyone feels included and has a richness of diversity. Finance and Resources will ensure these priorities are reflected in both our strategic and day-to-day operations. High-level actions areembedded in our Service Improvement Plan. A key focus this year is the roll-out of the senior leadership development programme. This has already been delivered to the Corporate Management Team and the programme for the next group of staff has recently launched. ThePeople and OD team have the overall lead for the programme and are continuing to support a range of activities, including establishing Staff Forums. Page 52 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level National policy context Cost of living crisis A New Deal for Local Government The Promise Community Wealth Building National Care Service Best Value Climate change New powers on Council Tax for second homes Page 53 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Renfrewshire Council’s Service Improvement Context Reflecting our values Delivering financially sustainable services Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion Delivering Best Value Aligning to our Council Plan and the Community Plan Page 54 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our local policy context •Brings together existing programmes of work focused on achieving fairness and equity, and tackling the inequalities that exist across Renfrewshire’s communities. Fairer Renfrewshire Programme •Successful outcomes are driven by good data, its analysis and the business intelligence it provides. The Data Strategy Framework supports council services to improve their data management and embed the culture and skillsets required to make data-driven, evidence-based decisions. Data Strategy Framework •We understand what trauma is, and how it can affect people. We will focus on awareness raising, skills development and our communications approach in order that services respond appropriately to those with current or past experience of trauma. Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire •Every customer interaction matters, and we will continue to develop our digital service offering whilst also investing in the skills of our people so that customer needs are fulfilled no matter how they contact the Council. Customer Strategy 2023- 2028 • Ensuring our policies remain relevant to a modern workplace with staff wellbeing a core component. HR Policy Review • Aligning digital activity across the Council under this single vision and direction, maximising the benefits for customers and staff.Digital • Managing demand, delivering social value and best value, and aligning our procurement activity with the vision and priorities of the Council. Procurement Strategy Page 55 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Key plans and strategies Internal Audit Plan Risk Matters Annual Accounts Customer Services and Business Services performance reportsOur People Strategy 2021-26 Corporate Procurement Strategy 2023-25 Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy Customer Strategy For Finance & Resources, a wide range of reports are presented to the Finance, Resources & Customer Services Policy Board. Papers and access to video recordings of past meetings can be found on the Council’s website. Other plans, strategies and reports Page 56 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our key priorities Ensuring the financial sustainability of the Council Supporting our citizens through the cost-of-living crisis Supporting the Council on governance and oversight Improving the employee experience Delivering modern, efficient services via a range of channels including digital Supporting the council on effective resource planning Supporting transformation and change across the organisation Protecting our digital assets and service delivery through strong cyber security and compliance Page 57 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our focus for 2024/25 • Continuing to lead on financial sustainability and transformation programmes across the Council; • Lead on the delivery of the Council’s governance review arising from the Bowles report; • Delivering a new approach to recruitment and talent management, ensuring that the Council is an employer of choice and that current employees can develop and progress here; • Working with local suppliers to increase the proportion of our procurement spend on local businesses which in turn supports the local economy; • Progressing the Purchase to Pay (P2P) project, delivering a far more efficient, consistent process, with improved data and insight and reduced duplication; • Continuing to deliver a broad range of support services to the rest of the Council, including Elected Members; • Continuing to bolster our cyber‐resilience through technical and non‐technical measures, protecting our digital assets; • Rolling out the Leadership Development Programme to senior managers across the Council, supporting workforce innovation through skills development, career progression and talent management; • Complete the roll out of Wi‐Fi across the corporate and education estate, providing 100% coverage in schools and increased availability across other Council buildings; • Progress the delivery of the new Customer Strategy, an ambitious programme of transformation that will see the ongoing development of our digital service offering and investment in future technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) that will improve the service we offer our customers; • Implement the Green Print Strategy, creating a ‘think digital first’ culture and supporting our RenZero agenda; • Engage and participate in trauma informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme, with a particular focus on our frontline services. Page 58 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan -PLACE When will we do it by? What difference will we make?What will we do? 31 March 2026Renfrewshire’s residents have access to a range of modern, fit for purpose facilities. Support delivery of the Council’s infrastructure investment programme 31 March 2027The Council is able to maintain a balanced budget within the context of a challenging financial environment. Support delivery of the Council’s financial sustainability work 31 March 2027We will provide a range of services to all Renfrewshire residents, including the delivery of billing, registration services, customer service provision and digital services such as those available through My Account. Delivering strong universal services to all Renfrewshire citizens 31 September 2024We will ensure that all premises currently used for short-term lets are compliant with the law. Implement the first phase of the Scottish Government’s new licensing regime for short-term lets Page 59 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –PLACE 2024/25 Target Latest Value Latest Update 2022/23 ValueFrequency Performance Indicator n/a49.22022/2349.2AnnualFINSUS1 Total useable reserves as a % of council annual budgeted revenue 1.8%2.22022/232.2AnnualFINSUS2 Uncommitted General Fund Balance as a % of council annual budgeted net revenue 3.47%32022/233AnnualFINSUS3 Ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream ‐ General Fund 28.59%32.52022/2332.5AnnualFINSUS4 Ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream ‐ Housing Revenue Account 100%101.72022/23101.7AnnualFINSUS5 Actual outturn as a percentage of budgeted expenditure Page 60 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan -ECONOMY When will we do it by?What difference will we make?What will we do? 31 March 2025Increasing local procurement spend supports local job creation and the sustainability of local businesses. It contributes to community wealth building and post-pandemic economic recovery Actively engage with Renfrewshire suppliers to increase the percentage of procurement spend 31 March 2025This action will be delivered jointly with Economic Development. Supporting local businesses to bid for public sector work, encouraging entrepreneurs and promoting a ‘buy local’ approach will contribute to a stronger local economy, and may address some inequalities. Develop a Community Wealth Building Plan for Renfrewshire 2024/25 Target Latest Value Latest Update 2021/22 Value FrequencyPerformance Indicator 23%N/A2021/2218.87%Annual% of procurement spend spent on local enterprises Page 61 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan -FAIR When will we do it by?What difference will we make?What will we do? 31 March 2025We understand what trauma is, and how it affects people, so we will now work differently: Learning and working together to co-create fair and helpful collaborations to support healing and recovery with people affected by trauma. Engage and participate in trauma informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme 31 March 2025People experiencing hardship are supported to maximise their income.Continue to support residents with the cost-of-living crisis through the provision of advice services, grants and other funding Page 62 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan -FAIR 2024/25 Target Latest Value Latest Update 2022/23 ValueFrequencyPerformance Indicator 2219.86Q3 2023/2438.51QuarterlyTime taken for processing new housing benefit applications up until the posting of notification of outcome of the application (cumulative) 99.55Q3 2023/2414.35QuarterlyTime taken for processing change of circumstance housing benefit applications up until the posting of notification of outcome of the application (cumulative) 22Q3 2023/242QuarterlyAverage speed of processing a Crisis Grant (Scottish Welfare Fund) in days 1512Q3 2023/2413QuarterlyAverage speed of processing a Community Care Grant (Scottish Welfare Fund) in days Baseline to be established NEWNEWNEWSix monthlyPercentage of Finance and Resources staff completing Level 1 Trauma Informed training Page 63 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan -GREEN 31 March 2025Working together with other services we can support the reduction of emissions, waste and consumption by challenging usage, taking an innovative approach to specification, better utilising technological solutions and promoting the circular economy. Ensure that climate considerations are taken into account in our procurement strategies and tenders with a focus on reducing emissions 31 March 2025Reducing print use will contribute to the Council’s Net Zero goals, improve the customer experience through provision of end-to-end digital services, and reduce the risk of information security incidents. Implement the Green Print Strategy in order to reduce our reliance on paper, drive down printing costs and support the organisation’s work towards net zero 2024/25 Target Latest Value Latest Update 2023/24 ValueFrequencyPerformance Indicator Baseline to be established NEW FOR 24/25 NEW FOR 24/25 NEW FOR 24/25 QuarterlyPrint volume –number of pages printed by council services Page 64 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –LIVING OUR VALUES When will we do it by?What difference will we make?What will we do? 31 March 2025Reduce absence across the council, to ensure a more consistent service delivery to our customers and deliver cost savings. Embed the new Managing Absence Policy across the Council. 31 August 2023Set a positive culture around health and wellbeing, reduce burnout and improve attendance across the council. Embed the Wellbeing Strategy and support services to implement it. 31 March 2024Given the national challenges in recruitment, the council needs robust workforce planning to ensure it attracts and retains the right candidates for new jobs, provides working learning and development for all employees, and has a clear pathway for career progression.. Deliver a refreshed approach to workforce planning and workforce innovation. 31 December 2025Customers and suppliers benefit from more efficient processing. Deliver the Purchase to Pay programme which will streamline payments and deliver a more efficient process 31 March 2025Robust internal scrutiny provides assurance of good governance to senior leaders, elected members, citizens and external bodies. Deliver the Internal Audit Plan for 2024/25. Page 65 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –LIVING OUR VALUES When will we do it by?What difference will we make?What will we do? 31 March 2029Our staff and our technology will be developed in a way that ensures our customers are central to everything we do. The service our customers receive will be the same whether they call, visit or do it online. and no matter how the customer chooses to do interact with us, we will aim to get it right for them first time. Implement the new Customer Strategy. 31 March 2025We make use of technology to minimise the risk of cyber threats, and through training and awareness raising we support our staff and elected members to understand and mitigate the risks. Continue to implement a range of technical and non-technical measures to bolster our cyber resilience, protecting our digital assets Page 66 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –LIVING OUR VALUES 2024/25 Target Latest Value Latest Update 2022/23 ValueFrequencyPerformance Indicator 90%93%Q3 2023/2496%QuarterlyCustomer Service Unit -% of calls answered 11.5N/A2022/237.97AnnualCost of collecting council tax per chargeable dwelling 96%85.83%Q3 2023/2495.31%QuarterlyPercentage of Council Tax due in the year, collected by the end of the year (cumulative position to date) 85%96.6%Q3 2023/2484.9%QuarterlyTotal % of investigation (Stage 2) complaints responded to within targets by Finance & Resources (cumulative to date) 95%97.19%Q3 2023/2490.21%QuarterlyNumber of invoices paid within 30 days of receipt, as a percentage of all invoices paid council wide (cumulative) 8.5 Days2.45Q3 2023/248.95QuarterlyAverage number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee (F&R) (FTE) 95%84%Q3 2023/2497.2%Quarterly% of Finance and Resources FOI requests completed within timescale 97.27%97.17%Q3 2023/2497.21%QuarterlyPercentage of income due from Council Tax for prior years (cumulative position to date) 96.5%80.36%Q3 2023/2495.67%QuarterlyPercentage of Non Domestic Rates due in the year, collected by the end of the year (cumulative to date) 90%64.2%Q3 2023/2493.2%QuarterlyPercentage of Audit Plan completed (cumulative) 85%88.3%Q3 2023/2486.6%QuarterlyF&R Front Line complaints (Cumulative) 15 Days6.85Q3 2023/2413.06QuarterlyAverage days Small and Medium sized businesses invoices paid Page 67 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan –Cross-cutting theme When will we do it by?What difference will we make?Additional actions for cross-cutting theme 31 March 2026Care experienced young people have better outcomes and a more positive experience of care; feel listened to and valued; can build and maintain good relationships. Contribute to the Council’s commitment to The Promise for all care experienced people IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ‘Across all of our work and all of our efforts, we hope for loving and happy lives for Renfrewshire’s children – working together to get it right for children, families and communities – protecting, learning, achieving and nurturing. Every priority of this Council Plan will contribute to improving the lives of Renfrewshire’s children and their families. It is our fundamental duty as an organisation and our shared responsibility as citizens of this place to ensure that our children inherit a Renfrewshire where their wellbeing is nurtured, their futures are bright, and their environment is safe and healthy.’ Page 68 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan 2024–27 For more information, please contact: policycefar@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 69 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Finance and Resources’ Health and Safety Report and Plan 2023/2024 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 1.2 The Council’s Health and Safety Policy places a responsibility on each service to prepare an annual report evaluating the management of health and safety performance. The Finance and Resource Service’s (FARS) report attached sets out the health and safety activity within the service from the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 24 and demonstrates the service’s commitment to continuous improvement in health and safety performance. The report summarises achievements and contains the service health and safety action plan for 2022/24. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board notes the content of the report. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The FARS health and safety governance arrangements were last refreshed during 2022/23, as was the health and safety policy. Opportunities that were identified to strengthen the service’s health and safety arrangements have now had the time to bed in and a further review of arrangements will take place by summer 2024. Item 4 Page 70 of 396
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3.2 The FARS health and safety planning group continues to meet throughout the year taking cognisance of continued hybrid working arrangements. The service continues to be represented at, and contribute to, meetings of the Corporate Health and Safety Committee. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Continuing to improve health and safety performance within FARS will reduce accidents/occupational ill health/claims and associated costs. 2. People & Organisational Development – This report supports FARS commitment to the health, safety, and wellbeing of our employees. 3. Community/Council Planning – this report supports the objectives contained within the community and council plans. 4. Legal – not relevant to report recommendations 5. Property/Assets – Having a robust health and safety management system in place and an effective risk control system can reduce the risk of property damage and potential loss of premises. 6. Information Technology – not applicable 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 as it is for noting only. 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 – this report supports and demonstrates FARS commitment to ensuring effective health and safety management. 9. Procurement – not applicable 10. Risk – this report supports the overarching management of risk within Renfrewshire Council. 11. Privacy Impact – not applicable 12. Cosla Policy Position – not applicable 13. Climate Risk – good health and safety practices support environmental controls. _____________________________________________________ List of Background Papers - none ______________________________________________________ Author Ryan Phillips, Project Manager Tel: 07811052540, Email: ryan.phillips:@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 71 of 396
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Page 1 Finance and Resources ANNUAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REPORT 2023/24 21/05/2024 Page 72 of 396
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Page 2 This annual report is prepared by Finance and Resources in accordance with Renfrewshire Council’s Health and Safety Policy and Plan, the purpose of which is to evaluate the health and safety performance of the service and set future health and safety objectives. 1. Management of Health and Safety within the Service 1.1 Broad context of Health and Safety Policy. 1.2 The service continues to make progress implementing its approved health and safety plan. The Director is, so far as is reasonably practicable, responsible for ensuring the health, safety and well-being of employees and others who may be affected by the service’s activities. 1.3 The Head of People and OD replaced the former chair (Head of Property Services) and has supported the FARS Health and Safety Planning Group and the FARS Health and Safety Committee since late 2023. The Head of People and OD provides health and safety updates to the Senior Management Team and ensures service areas are appropriately represented on the planning group and committee. 1.4 The FARS Health and Safety Co-ordinator continues to support the FARS Chair in their role and associated groups. The co-ordinator gathers information for health and safety reporting, preparing information (such as accident data and performance data), for meetings of the planning group and committee and representing the service on the corporate health and safety committee. 1.5 All Heads of Service within FARS, support the implementation of the service health and safety policy and plan across their teams and service managers engage in actions required to support the health and safety plan. 1.6 There has been significant progress made on the health and safety plan covering the 2022/24 period, which can be found in (Appendix 2.) 2. Implementing Health and Safety Management. 2.1 Health and Safety Planning Group/Committees 2.2 The FARS Health and Safety Committee, (responsible for employee engagement and consultation) and the FARS Health and Safety Planning Group, (responsible for development and implementation of H&S plans) are the key stakeholders for H&S management across the service. 2.3 The Health and Safety Committee has representation from all divisions of the service as well as Trade Unions. The committee monitors the implementation of good health and safety practice across the service and progress being made in relation to agreed priorities. 2.4 The Health and Safety Planning Group assists with development and implementation of the service health and safety policy and plan and provides a forum where members can review relevant statistics, identify trends, areas for improvement and potential solutions. The group progresses corporate initiatives and shares both good practice and lessons learned from across the service. Page 73 of 396
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Page 3 3. Health and Safety objectives. 3.1 Reviewing our health and safety objectives remains a key priority and involves: Using data to better understand our key risk profile. Reviewing trends around accidents and incidents. Reviewing trends around employers’ liability claims; and, Considering any other appropriate priorities raised by stakeholders. 3.2 In line with the council’s new ways of working corporate guidance, many employees across the service continue to work on a hybrid basis. Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessments remain a priority for the service to ensure workspaces are adequate, practical, and comfortable. 3.3 Health and Safety Risk Profile 3.4 The service health and safety risk profile identifies the common risk presented to the service and highlights our priorities: Reduction of violence and aggression in the workplace. Managing DSE activities to reduce potential musculoskeletal disorders. Managing lone working activities. Managing contractors. Mental health and wellbeing. 3.5 The FARS Health and Safety groups recognise violence and aggression as the biggest risk within the service. Procedures have been put in place to address future incidents and we are monitoring the situation closely with employees receiving support from corporate health and safety colleagues for further mitigation opportunities. Due to the increase in violence and aggression incidents with FARS, spotlights have been prioritised within the FAR Health and Safety Planning Group and Committee, where we continue to keep our trade union colleagues informed and consulted on risk data and interventions. 4. New Ways of Working Group 4.1 Established during the COVID19 pandemic to help the council respond to government restrictions and transition to hybrid/new ways of working, updates and information have been circulated to FARS colleagues and trade unions to promote awareness of the redesign of Renfrewshire Office space as response to departmental changes. 5. New Health and Well-Being Plan 5.1 A key priority in the People Strategy is ‘the health and wellbeing of our staff”. A new plan was approved earlier this year by the FARS board and continues to be implemented by People and OD, supported by services and trade unions. 5.2 The new plan supports the council to take steps to provide a ‘safe, healthy, and inclusive workplace’ that recognises people are individuals with different life experiences and needs that may impact on our Physical, Mental, Social and Financial wellbeing. Building on previous interventions and supports Page 74 of 396
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Page 4 such as, the introduction of the health and wellbeing hub, promotion of credit unions and money management, flu vaccination programmes, employee assistance programmes, supportive new HR policies, training, employee benefits and discounts, and this has been shared within FARS. 6. Training Completed 2023/24 6.1 During 2023/24 a total number of 903 employees undertook health and safety-related courses (Appendix 1). 7. Annual Incident Statistics 2023/24 7.1 The table below details the different incident types reported with FARS. A total of 31 incidents have been reported in the year. 7.2 The numbers remain low meaning the incident reporting form is structured to encourage lessons to be learned from incidents on a case-by-case basis. Managers will continue to be supported and developed to ensure workplace precautions are in place to minimise the potential for incidents occurring. 7.3 There were no lost time or major injuries reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations. 7.4 During 2023/24 there were no employer’s liability claims received. The FARS Health and Safety planning group will focus on introducing preventative measures to reduce incidents relating to violence and aggression and slips and trips. 8. Measuring Performance 8.1 A review of the FARS Health and Safety Policy is scheduled for later this year in line with the Corporate Health and Safety Policy. Detailed below is an outline of our performance measuring. Accident / Incident Type Number Another kind of accident 2 Contact with electricity 1 Medical incident (e.g., a seizure) 1 Slip, trip or fall at same level 6 Contact with machinery/equipment 2 Struck Against 2 Struck by an object 2 Violence and aggression 13 Exposed to fire/other forms of heat 1 Injured by an animal 1 Total 31 Page 75 of 396
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Page 5 8.2 Active Monitoring 8.3 A monthly review meeting will take place between the FARS H&S coordinator and the corporate health and safety team, looking at incident trends and analysis, action plans, risk assessment programmes, HSE interventions and health and well-being activities. 8.4 Re-active Monitoring 8.5 The FARS Health and Safety Group is using data captured to ensure the safety of employees. More regular data metrics will be presented to the FARS senior management team. 9. Employee Supports 9.1 Support for employees is continually promoted within FARS and is a regular standing item in all group meetings. Significant progress has been made with the introduction of Mental Health First Aiders across the Council, with record numbers of employees completing accredited training. Currently there are approximately 80 MHFA’s across the council who support employees in times of need. 9.2 We will continue to work in partnership with our occupational health provider People Asset Management and our employee counselling provider Timefortalking, in reviewing and developing health and well-being programs with the focus on supporting attendance at work. 10. Annual Health and Safety Plan 10.1 A review of the actions and a progress update of the FARS H&S plan is detailed in (Appendix 2). Page 76 of 396
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Page 6 Appendix 1 H&S Course title FARS Employee Attendance Waste Recycling in Schools & Nurseries 6 Promoting Positive Behaviour Legislation and Guidance 3 Display Screen Awareness DSE 290 Ladder Safety Awareness 8 Using the Lifepak Defibrillator 6 Remote Health and Safety Module 3 Manual Handling Module 22 Fire Module 21 Supporting Employees Experiencing Domestic Abuse 3 Accident & Incident Reporting (RIDDOR) 10 Guidance on Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 3 Managing Distressed Behaviours (Module 1) 15 Evacuation Process Renfrewshire House 322 Violence and aggression at work 30 Fire Warden Training 23 Fire alarm Investigation 126 Sharps Awareness 6 Stress awareness and risk assessment 6 Asbestos Awareness 3 Page 77 of 396
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Page 1 Appendix 2: Action Plan 2022/2024 Risk statement Risk controls expected to be implemented Focused actions Action status If the potential for musculoskeletal disorders is not sufficiently addressed there is an increased risk to staff wellbeing and increasing absence levels. DSE assessments are undertaken as a matter of course every 18 months. DSE assessments are undertaken specifically and timely for any new starts, anyone moving desks, working from home or anyone with a material change of circumstances. DSE assessments are undertaken when hybrid working causes the need for a change in desk location within council buildings. Ensure DSE assessments are conducted online by staff using the new Business World assessment format. Moving and handling training to be developed to address any risk arising from activities by summer 2024. 80% If the risks associated with lone working are not sufficiently addressed there is an increased risk to staff safety and the potential for physical or psychological harm Corporate and local procedures to be followed to ensure staff safety and to assist with early identification where staff make be exposed to harm or ill- health. Identify lone workers and ensure risk assessments are updated by summer 2024. Promote training to reduce the risk associated with lone working. 60% If potential exposure to violence and aggression is not sufficiently addressed there is an increased risk to staff safety and the potential for physical or psychological harm Implementation of the corporate policy on violence and aggression. Implementation of corporate training (including for example breakaway techniques).Implementation of V&A Risk assessment. Promote awareness of this risk across all teams. Ensure regular reviews of the arrangements within premises to prevent incidents. Regularly review data to drive interventions and learning points. 70% Page 78 of 396
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Page 2 Employee wellbeing If the risks associated with limited social, physical, psychological, and financial are not sufficiently addressed there is an increased risk to staff safety and the potential for physical or psychological or financial harm. Access to and uptake of a range of wellbeing services and guidance. Promote health and wellbeing within the service following the corporate initiatives such as employee benefits programme. Promote health, safety, and wellbeing to all FARS employees. Ensure managers regularly communicate with staff to support mental and physical wellbeing, particularly throughout the winter season 60% Seasonal Flu Seasonal flu, there is an increased risk of higher levels of staff absence which could lead to impact on employee wellbeing and service disruptions. Uptake of the flu vaccination will be an essential part of mitigating this concurrent risk and minimising higher levels of employee absence. Service business continuity plans/ restoration plans are in place to minimise impact on service provision arising from higher levels of employee absence. Ensure managers regularly communicate with staff to support mental and physical wellbeing. Promote uptake of the Councils flu vaccination programme to all staff through managers promote the uptake to remaining staff who qualify for the NHS Scheme 100% Page 79 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Chief Executive’s Service - Service Improvement Plan Outturn Report 2023/24 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Chief Executive’s Service Service Improvement Plan 2023-26 was approved by the Finance, Resources & Customer Services Policy Board in June 2023. The plan set out the priorities for the development of the service over a three year period. These priorities are aligned to those set out in the 2022-27 Council Plan. The Service Improvement Plan sets out the actions which will ensure continuous improvement across the service and the performance indicators which ensure the impact can be measured. These reflect the priority themes of the Council Plan and the refreshed Community Plan, both approved by Council in September 2022. 1.2 This report provides a summary of the Chief Executive’s service’s performance against the actions and performance indicators agreed within the Service Improvement Plan for 2023/26. An outturn report is included as an appendix to this report. 1.3 An updated Service Improvement Plan for 2024-27 is being presented to this Board for approval, aligned to the priorities of the new Council Plan. 1.4 Over the past year, the service has made good progress in delivering positive outcomes for Renfrewshire and its residents. This is within an operating Item 5 Page 80 of 396
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context that remains complex and fast-moving. Economic conditions continue to be subject to risk and uncertainty and both households and organisations continue to experience cost pressures and supply issues, and this is likely to remain case for some time to come. 1.5 More detail of achievements is given in Section 4 but the list below notes some key highlights: • Completion of Paisley Town Hall and Paisley Learning and Cultural Hub; • Completion of Phase 1 of our Local Partnerships development work, with memberships refreshed and the new phase of grant funding launched; • Establishment of a joint venture company with our development partner to help maximise opportunities for the AMIDS site; • Delivery of another successful events programme which attracted almost 140,000 people; • Continuation of our ‘Meet the Buyers’ approach to support local businesses to bid for public sector contracts; • Continuation of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, which provided a wide range of support across our communities, including Summer of Fun and Winter Connections; • Commissioning of a feasibility study to consider options to expand the District Heating Network; • Completion of corporate self-assessment work with senior leaders across the organisation; • Delivery of cultural activities for care-experienced young people. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: a) the contents of this report; b) the progress to date on delivering the actions contained within the Chief Executive’s Service Service Improvement Plan; c) the current performance of the service as measured by the scorecard indicators. 3. Background 3.1 Our Service Improvement Plans are a clear statement of the outcomes each service wants to achieve, the actions it will take to achieve this, and the performance measures it will use to monitor progress and measure success. Page 81 of 396
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Updates on the actions and performance measures are included as an appendix to this report. 3.2 Service Improvement Plans fit within the wider framework provided by the Council Plan and the Community Plan. They allow elected members to have oversight of developments within the service and to consider and develop policy options which reflect customer need and resource availability. 3.3 Section 4 of this report gives details of service activity and achievements in 2023/24. Section 5 discusses actions delayed or cancelled since the Service Improvement Plan, and any new actions added to reflect additional priorities identified since the plan was approved. Section 6 provides a narrative on performance. 3.4 In line with our approach of refreshing Service Improvement Plans annually to ensure they still reflect our organisational priorities, an updated Plan covering the period 2024 to 2027 is also being presented to this Policy Board. 4. Key achievements in 2023/24 4.2 Specific achievements in relation to the Service Improvement Plan are highlighted below. Place 4.3 The Chief Executive’s service leads on placeshaping activity for the Council, and delivered two key plans in 2023/24: the Local Housing Strategy and the Strategic Housing Investment Plan. Work is currently underway on a new Local Development Plan; this includes a public engagement exercise. 4.4 Two major milestones in the Cultural Infrastructure programme were reached in 2023/24, with the re-opening of Paisley Town Hall in October 2023 and the opening of the new Paisley Learning and Cultural Hub in November 2023. Work is nearing completion on Paisley Arts Centre, and continues on the Paisley Museum project, with a scheduled opening in 2025. The fundraising campaign for Paisley Reimagined Ltd is progressing well, with a further £560,000 raised in 2023/24. 4.5 The Council has also been connecting with the owners of prominent buildings within the town centre to identify regeneration opportunities, and there has been recent investment in a number of listed buildings in Paisley. Beyond Paisley town centre, the Regeneration Team is working to progress town centre strategies across Renfrewshire. Page 82 of 396
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4.6 The flagship facilities at AMIDS are fully operational and the Council has completed the establishment of a joint venture company with our development partner, Buccleuch. This joint venture will focus on securing new opportunities for the site, and construction of the next facility is due for completion in 2025. 4.7 In 2023/24, Phase 1 of the review of Local Partnerships was completed; that phase included survey work and interviews with Local Partnership members to understand what was important to them as we develop the Renfrewshire approach. The review found that Local Partnerships were working well, but there was scope to increase the local community voice and achieve a greater spread of representation from the community. It also found that information on grant applications could be improved to strengthen decision making. In response, new guidance for Local Partnership grant applications has been developed and published, and work has been undertaken to refresh the community representative memberships of all the Partnerships. Development work has now moved into Phase 2, which will focus on local plans, local priorities and local voices. 4.8 The Future Paisley programme has closed and evaluation of its impact is underway. The Programme has provided some additional funding to support delivery of particular projects with young people. An evaluation report will be provided to Leadership Board in the autumn of 2024. Work has also been undertaken to evaluate the impact of the Paisley.is brand and recommendations for future development of the brand will also be provided to the Leadership Board in autumn 2024. Economy 4.9 In 2023/24, the Council-run events programme generated an economic impact of £5.4m for Renfrewshire. Almost 140,000 people attended the events, and the opportunities to volunteer provided skills development for local people. 4.10 Community Wealth Building – an approach to inclusive economic growth that focuses on wellbeing – features strongly in the Council’s work to support and grow the Renfrewshire economy. The Council was one of four local authorities in Scotland to take part in a national pilot, providing workshops to help councils analyse local spend and identify areas to target in future work. As part of this, Economic Development have been working with Procurement to support local businesses in tendering for public sector contracts. This has included a recent ‘Meet the Buyers’ event for the construction sector. Page 83 of 396
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Community benefits will remain a key part of our procurement processes. The impact of this is already being seen with our City Deal projects. 4.11 The Economy and Development team have worked with Marketing and Communications to create a new section on the Council’s website that signposts potential investors to Renfrewshire’s investment locations. Further work will be done to promote the area as a place to do business. Fair 4.12 Delivery of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme remained a priority in 2023/24. Elements delivered during the year included the second Winter Connections programme, the Summer of Fun programme, and the implementation of the new School Support Service, which embeds advice workers within schools. That service is complemented by the Family Support Service, and both support families to maximise their income. Funding from Fairer Renfrewshire has also continued to support an energy adviser and breakfast clubs, both of which help address the ongoing cost-of-living challenges and child poverty. 4.13 One strand of the Council’s employability work has focused on individuals who have health issues which can make economic participation harder. External funding has allowed for the creation of two roles to specifically support people with health issues who want to get back into work. There has also been focused employability support for disabled parents or for parents with a disabled child. A new Supported Employment Initiative provides subsidies for businesses to develop job roles for people with complex disabilities. This work will be mainstreamed into the existing work of the employability team. 4.14 The delivery of the Alcohol and Drug Change Programme continued to make good progress throughout the year. A number of projects have now concluded and others have been mainstreamed. In 2023, the Alcohol and Substance Awareness Education Pack won a COSLA Excellence Award and the resource continue to be used in schools. Additional funding has been agreed for the My Life Ahead project, which supports people to sustain settled housing, and the Safeguarding Vulnerable Young People project, which provides additional pastoral support for a group of young people in a local school. A new training resource for Council staff which looks at stigma has been developed by I Am Me and will be rolled out in the first half of 2024/25. 4.15 The Chief Executive’s service leads on the delivery of the Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire Programme, and a roadmap for implementation was approved by the Leadership Board in February 2024. A Page 84 of 396
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range of teams across the Council have benefitted from accessing trauma- informed training, and have begun to share their learning with colleagues. Work is underway on an introductory course to be hosted on the Council’s online learning platform. 4.16 Following a restructure, Community Learning and Development has been a part of the Chief Executive’s service since April 2023. Throughout the year, the team offered a wide range of courses and activities for adults, including workshops on digital skills, numeracy courses and ESOL – English for Speakers of Other Languages – classes. The CLAD team also lead on initiatives such as Team up to Clean Up and this year launched ‘Take the Lead’ to promote responsible dog walking behaviours. Green 4.17 The Council is keen to build on the success of the District Heating Network which supplies energy to the AMIDS site. The DHN was designed to allow for further connections as more buildings occupy the site and we have also commissioned a feasibility study to consider options for expanding the DHN to a wider geographical area. We have also commissioned a sustainable travel plan for the AMIDS site and will begin implementation in 2024/25. 4.18 Work has been carried out to identify infrastructure and skills gaps in relation to the green economy. Training courses will be provided in partnership with West College Scotland as part of Phase 2 of this work. 4.19 In 2023/24, the Sustainable Communities Fund was created, combining the Community Empowerment Fund and Climate Change Action Fund into a single pot. Over £1m will be available to community groups seeking funding opportunities for projects that promote community empowerment and/or will help deliver Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero. Living our Values 4.20 The extended Corporate Management Team (CMT) completed a corporate self-assessment exercise in 2023/24. This produced an agreed set of priorities for improvement activity. Further work was then undertaken with a wider group of senior management, and a programme of future work and monitoring is being developed. 4.21 This year, we refreshed our approach to performance management and reporting. A new format for service improvement planning was introduced last year, and feedback has indicated that this is more accessible and engaging. Page 85 of 396
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A new CMT performance scorecard was introduced, and this is considered quarterly, with those discussions then generating an area for a ‘deep dive’. 4.22 Work has continued on the development of our digital platforms, to provide the best possible experience for our customers. Much of the preparation work for the delivery of a new Council website has been done, and the Digital Experience team are linking with colleagues across the Council to ensure that information on the current website remains relevant. Improving Outcomes for Children and Young People 4.23 Renfrewshire Council is committed to delivering The Promise for all care- experienced people, and the ethos is embedded in the activity of the Chief Executive’s service. Our events programme has provided opportunities not only for volunteering but for co-creation of installations and for performing. The partnership with Art Boss provides access to cultural activity. Youth Services have delivered the annual “LOVE2WEEK” and distributed self-care packs designed by care experienced young people. The service have also provided work experience for a care-experienced young person. 5. Actions which have been delayed or cancelled 5.1 The due date for the action on Community Wealth Building has been extended so that the Council framework can reflect any elements arising from the Community Wealth Building Act which is still to progress through Parliament. 6. Progress against performance measures 6.1 The Chief Executive’s Service measured 42 performance indicators as part of the 2023/26 Service Improvement Plan. Of these, 33 are collected quarterly and 9 are collected annually. 6.2 In 2023/24, 20 indicators met or exceeded the target set, 4 narrowly missed the target set, 5 missed their target by 10% or more and 4 indicators are still to be updated. There are 10 indicators which do not have a target. 6.3 Of the five which missed the target, three relate to building standards and the timeliness of reports being issued. This has been an issue both nationally and within the service for some time and it is hoped that recent recruitment will lead to improved performance. Page 86 of 396
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6.4 A downturn in the average weeks to complete planning applications has also been impacted by staff levels and again, this is a national challenge and it is hoped that recent recruitment will contribute to improved performance. 6.5 Performance in responding to frontline complaints did not meet the target in any of the four quarters of 2023/24. The service receives relatively few complaints and of the 28 received in the year, 10 were responded to within five days. Work will be undertaken to identify whether these were complex complaints which should have been escalated to the investigation stage. 6.6 There was strong performance from the Building Communities team within CLAD, with above-target levels of engagement with Team Up to Clean Up. There were over 500 visits to flytipping hotspots against a target of 375, and the team delivered 44 presentations during school visits, against a target of 25. 6.7 There was positive performance in relation to marketing and communications activity. Almost 3000 people took up opportunities to participate in the events programme, taking part in prop making, workshops and dance. Opportunities to see and hear something positive about Paisley and Renfrewshire exceeded the target, with over 268,000 possible views against a target of 240,000. 6.8 Employability services continue to deliver for high numbers of Renfrewshire residents experiencing unemployment or low-paid employment. In 2023/24, 1521 people were supported by the Employability Programme (target was 1100); 618 achieved a qualification (target was 400); and 528 secured paid employment (against a target of 350). Implications of the Report 1. Financial - The Service Improvement Plan highlights resourcing pressures arising from increasing demand for services and the current financial environment. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None 3. Community/Council Planning – the report details a range of activities which reflect local council and community planning themes. 4. Legal – None Page 87 of 396
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5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology – Digital resources are now key to the delivery of services and strategies are in place to manage this. 7. Equality & Human Rights - The recommendations contained within this report do not require an impact assessment as they are asking member to note progress only. 8. Health & Safety –none 9. Procurement – There are no direct implications but the report updates on work undertaken jointly by Economic Development and Procurement. 10. Risk – Risks related to the delivery and management of services are regularly monitored and included in Renfrewshire Council’s Corporate and Strategic Risk Registers. 11. Privacy Impact - none 12. COSLA Policy Position – none. 13. Climate Risk – There are no direct implications but the report updates on progress on actions to tackle the climate risk. List of Background Papers: None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Lisa Fingland, Policy Manager, lisa.fingland@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 88 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Chief Executive’s Service Service Improvement Plan 2023 - 26 Outturn Report June 2024 Page 89 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Outturn Report for 2023/24 • This outturn report covers the last twelve months of our Service Improvement Plan, highlighting areas where we are already making progress and some areas we want to focus on more, perhaps because performance isn’t moving in the direction we anticipated or because of other pressures or factors that makes this even more of a priority for us. • Different services will contribute more towards some Council Plan Strategic Outcomes than others, so this report focuses on areas to which the Chief Executive’s Service contributes more significantly. However, a full update against all the actions and performance indicators we use to measure progress is included within this report. • The Chief Executive’s Service reports on 42 performance indicators of which 8 which are reported annually, and the remainder reported quarterly. This report provides annual data on all indicators for 2023/24 and includes data from 2021/22 and 2022/23 to show recent trends. Page 90 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Place: Working together to enhance wellbeing across communities Spotlight: Paisley Learning and Cultural Hub Another milestone in the Cultural Infrastructure programme was reached with the opening of the Paisley Learning and Cultural Hub on Paisley’s High Street. Our new modernised facility includes a dedicated children’s library and an IT suite that provides free internet access for everyone. Areas for improvement and development Meeting the target of issuing Building Standards first reports remains challenging. There has been an improvement in performance in 2023/24, and recent recruitment will increase the capacity of the team and should bring about further performance improvements. £560,000 worth of donations generated to support the new Paisley Museum New Local Housing Strategy approved Page 91 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Economy: building an inclusive, green and resilient economy Spotlight: Employability Services The Council’s employability team support Renfrewshire residents who are unemployed or in low-paid employment to gain new qualifications and/or move into paid employment. In 2023/24, the team supported more than 1500 people. Over 600 people gained new qualifications during the year. There were 528 people being supported who moved into paid employment during the year. Areas for improvement and development Renfrewshire Council is working in partnership with the Scottish Government and with other national groups to target inclusive economic growth and focus on a wellbeing economy. We are developing our own framework and reviewing current work. The timeframe for the work has been altered so that it can accommodate any requirements from the new Community Wealth Building Act, which is still to come before the Scottish Parliament. 366 local businesses getting growth support, training or grants from Renfrewshire Council 305 new business start-ups supported £5.47m generated for the local economy by Council-run events Page 92 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Fair: nurturing bright, happy and healthy futures for all Spotlight: Winter Connections This was the second year of the successful Winter Connections initiative. The Winter Connections programme allocated over £80,000 in grants to community groups to provide a variety of activities across Renfrewshire, all targeted at tackling isolation and improving wellbeing. More than 40 groups offered sessions, whether craft sessions, music appreciation or a game of dominoes. Hot drinks and food were on offer and there were also opportunities to get advice and support on a range of issues. It’s estimated that around 3,900 people participated. 424 people currently engaged with Adult and Family Learning team 44 school visits to raise awareness of environmental action £50 extra winter clothing grant paid to all children in receipt of school clothing grant Areas for Improvement and Development Officers across the community planning partnership are working to develop a potentially different approach to tackling child poverty in Renfrewshire. This included a deep dive session involving senior officers across the partnership to challenge our thinking and local response, and at a local level we have been working with the HSCP to start a new piece of work in Gallowhill – thinking about how different approaches on a community or locality basis could make a difference. This will be a longer term piece of work but we remain committed to working with partners to keep a strong focus on the need to tackle child poverty in Renfrewshire as a key priority Page 93 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Green: Leading Renfrewshire to Net Zero Spotlight: District Heating Network Our District Heating Network (DHN) at Inchinnan is the first of its kind in Scotland, and provides an energy solution that produces 90% less carbon than conventional heating. The DHN uses treated water from the White Cart which flows through a heat exchange energy centre and then connects to heat pumps in each of the buildings it serves. It’s been built with capacity to connect more buildings, and as well as reducing Renfrewshire’s carbon emissions, it should help attract more businesses to the area. Areas for improvement and development: We are continuing to encourage and support local businesses to submit applications for our Net Zero growth business grants. There were no applications in 2023/24 but we will continue to make businesses aware of this opportunity and promote the grant scheme. 50 local businesses working with the Council to progress our Net Zero agenda 93 Fixed Penalty notices issued for flytipping by the Environmental Taskforce 5400 members of the Team Up to Clean Up Facebook Community Page 94 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Living our Values 91.5% of FOI requests in a quarter completed within timescale in the Chief Executive's Department 6.5 days per FTE lost to staff absence in 2023/24 Almost 73,000 engagements with the Council’s digital channels 80.8% of building warrants or amendments issued within 10 days of receipt of all satisfactory information 35% of frontline resolution complaints responded to within timescales agreed with customer 76.9% of investigation complaints responded to within timescales agreed with customer Page 95 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Improving Outcomes for Children and Families Spotlight: The Promise Arts and Cultural Engagement Programme The ethos of The Promise is well-embedded in the activity of the service. This year, we offered opportunities for care-experienced young people to co-create an installation for Paisley’s Halloween festival and an escape room experience as part of Sma’ Shot Day. A group of young people created a mural at Wallace Primary whilst our partnership with Art Boss has delivered sessions of cultural activities .We have recently launched SKATE, which is offering skateboarding lessons and design and graffiti skills. Page 96 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Actions and indicators Full list June 2024 Page 97 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Place Action Due Status Progress update Develop new options for services and partners to work together more closely across localities to provide advice and support to local people and develop community capacity (CF) 31 Dec 25 We are progressing new Connected Communities approach - considering how we develop our ‘front door’ services for people accessing advice and support; exploring family advice services; and developing options for locality working. The first stage is the development of a new Connected Communities structure which has now commenced and involves the Partnerships and Inequalities and Community Learning and Development Teams. Deliver a participatory budgeting framework for the Council (CF) 31 Mar 24 This year £1.2M was allocated by Environment, Housing & Infrastructure through their #Youdecide programme. The project delivery is well underway, and an evaluation report is being finalised. The updated CONSUL site for Renfrewshire is now ready to be put into use. Arrangements are being put in place for the Data Analytics teams to manage the site in the interim while a permanent host is agreed. A range of services have undertaken training in CONSUL to enable potential future PB projects to take place within their services. The planning of the £25k PB project for Johnstone Christmas event is ongoing with a steering group including residents being formed and the group are currently planning the initial engagement work. Progress the next phase of Local Partnerships development 31 Mar 24 A report setting out recommendations for the next phase of development of Local Partnerships was presented to Leadership Board on 6 December 2023. A follow-up paper was presented to Leadership Board on 21 February 2024. Phase 2 of Local Partnership development will focus on Local Plans, Local Priorities and Local Voices. The outcome of the review is being reported to Local Partnerships in the April/May 2024 round of meetings. Following the reports approved by Leadership Board in December 2023/February 2024, 6 monthly update reports will be presented to Local Partnerships and the Leadership Board. An exercise to refresh the community representative membership of Local Partnerships took place during March and April 2024. Refreshed guidance on Local Partnerships grant applications was developed and published in March 2024. Page 98 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Place Action Due Status Progress update Deliver Renfrewshire’s Cultural Infrastructure Investment Programme 31 Jul 24 Paisley Town Hall completion has now been achieved and building has been successfully opened to the public. Paisley Learning & Cultural Hub has also completed construction and fit out and has been open to the public since 30 Nov 2023. The building has been a great success with the public so far seeing 18,000 visitors pass through the doors in the first month. Paisley Arts Centre is scheduled to complete construction imminently and will then progress to fit out with a target to complete this process by late spring 2024. Paisley Museum is expected to complete construction in late 2024 and will then move to an intense exhibition fit out and operational readiness process that will see the doors open in 2025. Participate in and monitor progression of the Clyde Metro in partnership with Glasgow City Council, Transport Scotland and other stakeholders. 31 Mar 25 SPT now leading on case for investment. Senior Council Officers participating in SPT board and City Region Senior Users Group. Work with the development partner and stakeholders to maximise the potential of AMIDS for Renfrewshire 31 Mar 26 Development partner (Buccleuch) now in place with LLP joint venture company now set up. Work ongoing to secure new opportunities at AMIDS. Investment zone bid has been submitted to City Region. Construction of phase 1 which will deliver the next building on site, is progressing through the design phase. Construction of this phase is due for completion in 2025. Branding exercise underway to develop a core brand for AMIDS. This will see the launch of material and a specific website. Work ongoing with strategic advisory group to develop AMIDS further as well as discussions with key public and government agencies for support. Carry out evaluation of Future Paisley and prepare a transition plan for the mainstreaming/external funding of projects beyond April 2024. 30 Sep 24 The Future Paisley team have closed the Future Paisley programme and work to evaluate the social, economic and cultural impact of the Future Paisley programme (300+ projects, activities and events) is in its fourth, and final stage. This involves distilling qualitative data to highlight specific impacts linked to each of Future Paisley’s 5 Step Changes, and present highlighted projects that exemplify the programme. The draft evaluation report will be completed at the end of June, with the final Evaluation Report will be presented to Leadership Board in September 2024 and the due date of this action has been amended to reflect that. Several projects within the programme will continue beyond April 2024 due to reprofiling or confirmed transition arrangements – this includes confirmation of OneRen ongoing FP investment, a new 3-year cultural funding programme, Culture, Arts, Health and Social Care post, Castlehead School of Creativity, Paisley Museum Opening Programme, cultural venue programming, public programme (Paisley Book Festival 2024 and PACE Youth Theatre commission with Frances Poet), Jupiter Arts + Paisley, Pathways Programme, Building the Future, Art Boss and posts supporting social prescribing, cultural champions in schools and The Promise. Page 99 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Place Action Due Status Progress update Successfully deliver the Capital Appeal for Paisley Museum Reimagined Ltd. 31 Mar 25 The fundraising campaign continues to progress positively, with total income at £1.6m. The overall income target for Trusts and Foundations having been achieved. The team submitted an Expression of Interest to the Community Ownership Fund and have been invited to submit a full application for the next round in May/June. Implement the destination marketing plan to promote Renfrewshire as a day- visitor location, maximising existing audience and product intelligence and ensuring brand relevance across Renfrewshire. 31 Mar 24 The focus of Q4 has been on planning for 24/25 and facilitating a review of Paisley.is. An independent consultant, Steve Brown from Mypraxis LLP, was commissioned to evaluate the journey of the brand and the effectiveness of Paisley.is and provide recommendations for the future evolution of the brand. The research included 35 face-to-face interviews with economic, educational, cultural and industry leaders in Renfrewshire. All elected members were invited to take part in an online questionnaire. 12 councillors and 20 other stakeholders responded to the online questionnaire. 67 individuals participated in total. involved in the consultation. The final report will be taken to Leadership Board in September. Final year performance stats include: · 1648 articles in the press (printed and online) · More than 247m combined opportunities to see and hear (OTSH) · 364,009 total page views (across whole website) · Facebook organic reach: 1,243,265 reach · Instagram organic reach: 244,573 reach · Facebook and Instagram paid reach: 1,042,489 Page 100 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Place Action Due Status Progress update Deliver on the ambitions of our town centre strategies/visions and specifically working with partners to transform our key centres. 31 Mar 26 The transformation of Paisley following delivery of the Action Plan is advancing at pace, with achievements such as creating an international culture and heritage destination and acting as a stimulus for property investment, development and re-use. Completed regeneration projects include the refurbishment of the Town Hall and the creation of a new Culture and Learning Hub on the High Street. Other major projects including the restoration of the museum and Arts Centre are due to be completed within the next year. The publication of the Paisley Vision document will also act as a further catalyst to inspire future development in and around the town centre. The Liberal Club, which was identified as a key building in the Vision, is currently under restoration, securing its long- term status. The Regeneration Team will be looking to refresh our town centre strategies to reflect changes that have taken place in a post pandemic environment. These strategies will align with the guidance and principles outlined in NPF4 The team has been outlining potential regeneration priorities and projects, including commissioning visioning work in Johnstone and a review of potential projects in Erskine. The team will continue to bring forward regeneration proposals across our town centres. Proactively work with property owners to bring some of the area’s most valued assets back into use 31 Mar 25 The Council has been proactive in seeking out property owners of prominent buildings within our town centres in respect of potential regeneration opportunities. This includes the potential redevelopment of the Paisley Centre into a thriving mixed-use development. Recent and ongoing investment in a number of listed buildings includes St Matthew’s Church, County Place, 5 George Place and the Liberal Club. These have been facilitated with in-depth discussions with the respective owners. The goal is to get these buildings back into use. There has also been engagement with landlords in respect of promoting the new Town Centre Premises Grant scheme, which launched early 2024. Its aim is to reduce the number of commercial vacancies within Renfrewshire’s town centres. The Regeneration Team have also recently announced another run of the Retail Improvement Scheme, which allows shop owners to upgrade their shopfronts. It is hoped that in some cases the scheme will act as a catalyst for some prospective businesses to invest in the area. Finally, the Regeneration have also launched Historic buildings in villages grants scheme, where owners of privately owned historic buildings (built before 1945 in the villages) can apply for funding to plan and carry out repairs. Page 101 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Place Action Due Status Progress update Deliver Renfrewshire’s Strategic Housing Investment Programme in partnership with other housing providers in Renfrewshire 31 Mar 29 The Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2024-2029 has been the subject of consultation and engagement following discussions with the Scottish Government and Registered Social Landlords operating in Renfrewshire. The Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) is updated annually to take account of progress and completions in relation to delivering the affordable housing programme in Renfrewshire. The SHIP was presented to the Communities and Housing Policy Board on 31st October 2023 and was thereafter submitted to the Scottish Government. Work is progressing to prepare the SHIP for 2025/2030 and this draft will be presented in August 2024. Deliver Renfrewshire’s Local Housing Strategy 2022- 27 31 Mar 27 The draft Local Housing Strategy 2022-27 was approved at board March 2022 and went out for statutory consultation. The final Local Housing Strategy which will cover 2023-28 was approved by Communities and Housing Policy Board October 2023. This action will be closed and a new action to deliver the Local Housing Strategy Plan 2023-28 will replace it in the Council Plan and the new Service Improvement Plan. Deliver the Local Development Plan, the 10 year spatial strategy for Renfrewshire 31 Aug 27 Following the enactment of the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019,the Scottish Government have been taking steps to successfully implement the wider reforms to transform planning including the introduction of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) and subsequent guidance and regulations. Renfrewshire Council now has a national vision, spatial strategy and principles along with polices and actions to embrace and translate into plans and placemaking at the local level. We will do that through the preparation of the next Plan, Renfrewshire Local Development Plan 3. The Participation Statement was subject to consultation and the outcomes reported to the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board in August 2023. In addition, the Board also approved the Development Plan Scheme 2023 which outlines the key stages and timeline in the preparation of the LDP3. Work has commenced on the evidence report and early engagement with communities for LDP3. Page 102 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Place Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Fundraising income target £384,6114 £548,191 Opportunities to see or hear something positive about Paisley and Renfrewshire as part of Paisley.is destination brand 314,041,621 204,638,66 8 27 Number of properties on the Buildings at Risk Register 27 27 Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Fundraising Income Target 881,000 500,000 969,000 500,000 560,000 500,000 Clore Duffield (£200,000), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (£100,000) plus arrangements to transfer ownership of 16 paintings from her collection - valued at c.£180,000. £80,000 corporate donations. Opportunities to see or hear something (OTSH) positive about Paisley and Renfrewshire as part of Paisley is destination brand 314,041,6 21 240,000, 000 204,638,6 68 240,000, 000 268,082, 849 240,000, 000 This indicator is focused on measuring the reach of the Paisley.is destination brand. The significant drop in articles in Q4 (2 February 2024 – 1 March 2024) was due to downtime experienced by the media monitoring service provided to the council. This significantly impacted on the platform’s ability to capture and measure coverage for clients, including Renfrewshire Council for several weeks. Number of properties on Buildings at Risk Register 27 42 27 27 28 27 The Buildings at Risk Register, prepared and managed by Historic Environment Scotland, includes 28 Renfrewshire properties, with 4 in progress of restoration. Properties are located across the council area including Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch, Paisley and Renfrew. Discussions are ongoing with HES to get some buildings no longer at risk removed from the list. Page 103 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Place Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Percentage of first reports (Building Standards) issued within 20 days 53.4 95.0 66.1 95.0 69.6 95.0 Performance is increasing but remains lower than target. The section is still carrying two vacancies both of which have been offered and verbally accepted should be filled by May 2024 bring the section to a full complement. This should lead to a further increase in performance. We are also currently using a part time temporary worker. Amount of Vacant and Derelict Land (hectares) 208.6 n/a 254 n/a 248 n/a The vacant and derelict land survey is undertaken each year covering the period between the 1 April to the 31 March. In 2023 there are 248 hectares of land recorded as vacant and derelict on the Council’s survey. The total amount of vacant and derelict land continues to reduce across Renfrewshire with a 6-hectare reduction since last year. This will be reviewed following the completion of the latest audit. Page 104 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Place Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Amount of land brought forward for re-use and development contributing to economic activity and enhancing the built and natural environment (hectares) 28 20 7.5 20 The vacant and derelict land survey is undertaken each year covering the period between the 1 April to the 31 March. 7.5 hectares of vacant and derelict land was brought back into use during this time period. New development site starts have slowed during the past year which has reduced the amount of vacant and derelict land being brought back into use. The Council’s Vacant and Derelict Land Strategy will be refreshed later this year which will consider future opportunities to maximise the redevelopment of land. This indicator will be refreshed following the publication of the new strategy. Page 105 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Place Indicator Curr ent Stat us Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Affordable housing completions 170 243 369 200 The affordable newbuild housing programme involves both Council and Housing Association developments across a range of sites in Renfrewshire. In 2022/2023 there were 369 affordable housing completions across Renfrewshire including new homes being built in Paisley, Johnstone, Renfrew and Bishopton. The Council continues to increase the supply and delivery of a range and choice of affordable homes to meet the housing needs of different groups.The final Renfrewshire Local Housing Strategy was presented to the Communities and Housing Policy Board on 31st October 2023. In future updates of this indicator the target will be changed to reflect the emerging LDP3. Private housing completions 572 500 422 500 The Renfrewshire Housing Land Audit is completed annually. The audit is a snapshot in time covering the duration between the 1 April to the 31 March each year. The audit records 422 private completions across Renfrewshire during this time period. New site starts have slowed during the past year however it is anticipated that private completions will increase again to over 500 during 2024. In relation to all homes under construction or future housing sites, 88% of these new homes will be built on previously used brownfield land, creating attractive and sustainable places. The final Renfrewshire Local Housing Strategy was presented to the Communities and Housing Policy Board on 31st October 2023. In future updates of this indicator the target will be changed to reflect the emerging LDP3. Page 106 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Economy Action Due Status Progress update Monitor benefits of City Deal Projects, including Glasgow Airport Investment Area, Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside and City Region wide employment programmes 31 Mar 25 Clyde Waterfront & Renfrew Riverside All required community benefits have been delivered to date, with the rest remaining on track during the project lifespan. Project is advancing with the fabricated bridge components expected to arrive on site in April 2024. Glasgow Airport Investment Area project is now complete which is enabling the development of AMIDS. Work on going for provision of information for Gateway Review 2. Lead development of a new event strategy for Renfrewshire, expanding programming across Renfrewshire and undertaking work to understand the social impact of events for Renfrewshire communities 31 Mar 25 The 2023 council events programme was fully delivered, attracting 139,927 attendees. Independent event evaluation confirmed an average visitor satisfaction rating of 97.5% and a combined economic impact of £5.4m for Renfrewshire. Evaluation extends to social impacts - the numbers of people who participate in the development and delivery of the events programme and the volunteering and skills development opportunities for local people, offered by the programme. Further evidence of the social impacts of the programme is being evaluated by Future Paisley and the Centre for Culture, Sports and Events. Performance of the 2023 programme and confirmation of the programme for 2024 will be reported to Leadership Board in May. Scotland’s National Event StrategyScotland the Perfect Stageis being refreshed and will be released shortly. The events team have supported the consultation exercise and are using the national strategy to shape the development of a new council event strategy to 2027. The strategy development will include a consultation exercise with local stakeholders, event partners and audiences and will be delivered to inform the 2025 programme. The events programme for 2024 (eleven events) has been confirmed. Develop an Investment Proposition for Renfrewshire that is clear on our economic ambitions for place 31 Mar 24 Two reports have been commissioned to analyse Renfrewshire’s Growth Sectors. The first highlighted that there are several opportunities which Renfrewshire needs to capitalise on to support the growth of its economy further. The second report aims to reconcile existing priorities, team capacity and skills engaged in the economic development and regeneration functions of the Chief Executive’s Department, with the future opportunities and challenges outlined in the first report and the Council’s Economic Strategy. This report highlights that there is a requirement to grow and increase visibility of Renfrewshire’s inward investment proposition to drive future economic growth and development. A new web page has been created which signposts the area’s main investment locations. (https://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/article/13818/Renfrewshire-investment-prospectus) Future works includes looking at developing a dedicated investment website. This will be done in conjunction with the Marketing/Comms team. Page 107 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Economy Action Due Status Progress update Develop a Community Wealth Building Plan for Renfrewshire 31 Mar 25 Community Wealth Building [CWB] is at the heart of the council’s approach to inclusive economic growth and aims to support a wellbeing economy in Renfrewshire. A new Community Wealth Building Act is expected next year, and a council framework/plan is currently being prepared. Key actions to report are: • Ensuring the Council CWB plan is aligned to a regional approach with Glasgow City Region. • Reporting quarterly to the Scottish Governments Community Wealth Building Policy Manager and liaising directly with colleagues in the SG CWB policy team • Contributing to Economic Development Association Scotland (EDAS) and Centre for Local Economic Strategies [CLES] workshops. • As part of a Scottish Government pilot, Renfrewshire Council (Economic Development and Procurement) were one of four local authorities to participate in a CWB project delivered by Scotland Excel. The project involved data analysis of local spend, practice sharing workshops and a Spotlight on Community Wealth Building from the Scottish Government’s Heads of Procurement. • Economic Development are working on a draft paper which will provide an overview of CWB practice within the Council and will outline the Council’s key objectives and levers to maximise the impact of CWB at a local level. In order to ensure the paper is aligned to national policy, the draft paper will be revised to reflect the proposed new CWB Bill due to be put forward during the current parliamentary term. A new Community Wealth Building Lead Officer has been approved and will shortly be recruited to allow more prominence to the agenda. Support and grow supply chain management and knowledge exchange among manufacturing SMEs to supply Scottish / UK businesses and global supply chain 31 Mar 25 A key aim of the recent Growth Sectors report is for the Council to identify opportunities for local supply chain growth and development. For the past 18 months the Economic Development and Procurement teams in the council have been developing and delivering a wide range of new supports to local businesses to encourage them to bid for public sector contracts. This builds on existing work with the Supplier Development Programme and Business Gateway support. The main driver of this is work around the Community Wealth Building agenda and the aim of increasing and sustaining local economic growth and also increasing council, and other public sector spend, in the local area. NMIS has recently been approved a £100k allocation from the Business Challenge Fund to support and bring together manufacturing SMEs for innovation development and new productivity models. The programme commences in April 2024 for 12 months. Page 108 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Economy Action Due Status Progress update Maximise funding for regeneration of Renfrewshire’s places through grant submissions to external sources including UK and Scottish Governments 31 Mar 26 The Regeneration and Place Team have successfully secured funding through various external sources. Between 21/22 and 25/26 it has been allocated £4.4m from the Place Based Investment Fund for capital regeneration projects. Between 22/23 and 24/25 we have received £1.5m in funding for capital and revenue regeneration spend from the Shared Prosperity fund. The Council has consistently been successful in RCGF funding applications, most recently receiving £800k in funding for the PACE theatre project. Four applications have been submitted this year for the 24/25 allocation. We were invited to Stage 2 for two of these applications, which were duly submitted in November 2024. An application was also submitted this year to the Scottish Governments Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP) which, again we have been successful in progressing to Stage 2, with a further application submitted in November. However, due to funding reductions to the Scottish Government’s Regeneration funding, it has recently been announced that both the RCGF and VDLIP schemes have been put om hold indefinitely. Funding worth £85k has been secured from SEPA to investigate the potential deculverting and environmental enhancement of the Candren Burn in Ferguslie. The Regeneration team will continue to explore external funding opportunities to help deliver our place shaping agenda. Page 109 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Economy Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Measure of Civic Pride related to events (% of people agreeing that local events make them proud of their hometown) New in 2022/23 84 85 91 85 91% of people surveyed at events in 2023, agreed that local events made them feel proud of their hometown against the baseline target of 85%. Number of people participating in the events programme 789 300 3,140 300 2,904 1,750 The events programme delivered in 2023, concluded in Q3 and provided participation opportunities for 2904 local people against a target of 1750. Opportunities ranged from cooking and gardening workshops at the Food and Drink Festival, dance and choreography as part of Sma’ Shot Day to visual art and prop making for key installations as part of Paisley Halloween Festival. Increasing accessibility was an important goal through the 2023 programme, with the aim of designing ‘the Renfrewshire standard’. Service users at Disability Resource Centre and Spinners Gate directly contributed to and tested our approach, resulting to adaptations to our event sites. Number of people performing in the event programme 307 100 568 150 509 400 The 2023 programme concluded in Q3 and provided 509 performance opportunities for 2904 local people against a target of 400. Performance opportunities were available across the entire programme including live music, theatre, dance, spoken word. Page 110 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Economy Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of people performing in the event programme 307 100 568 150 509 400 The 2023 programme concluded in Q3 and provided 509 performance opportunities for 2904 local people against a target of 400. Performance opportunities were available across the entire programme including live music, theatre, dance, spoken word. Number of local businesses securing growth support, training or grants from Renfrewshire Council Business Team New for 2022/23 350 300 366 300 366 local businesses received support in the last year. Overall, the economy and the business climate remain uncertain due to economic challenges and interest rates and so Council support is welcomed by local businesses. Number of Social Enterprises supported to grow / develop / income generate with Council support New for 2022/23 89 80 62 80 In 23/24 a total of 38 different Social Enterprises were supported. Throughout the year this resulted in 62 separate instances of support to help them grow, develop or income generate. Page 111 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Economy Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Economic impact and local spend of attendees to the visitor events programme (New) (£) New in 2023/24 5,473,640 N/A The 2023 programme delivered a combined economic impact of £5.4m for Renfrewshire. The events evaluated as visitor events were: • Paisley Food and Drink Festival £1,383,654 • Sma’ Shot day delivering £168,106 • Renfrew Pipe Band competition £137,821. • Paisley Halloween Festival £1,556,473 • Paisley’s Christmas £525,359 In addition, An Comunn Gaidhealach commissioned an economic impact report for the Royal National Mod which returned a reported £1.7m in economic impact. Average spend per head of attendees to the events programme (New) (£) New in 2023/24 136.03 N/A Through evaluation, we can confirm an average spend per head of £45.34 to provide a baseline for 2024. Spend recorded against the spring summer programme ranged from £38.49 at Sma’ Shot day to £64.36 at Paisley Food and Drink Festival the Autumn winter programme ranged from £35.08 at Renfrew Christmas Switch on to £57.74 at Paisley’s Christmas. Number of new business start-ups in Renfrewshire with Business Gateway support 272 320 206 320 305 320 During 23/24, 305 new businesses have started trading with the support of Business Gateway. This is slightly below the target set but a significant increase from the year before. Start Up numbers were significantly affected by Covid and this is the first year of pre-covid figures. The team work with and support considerably more businesses (than 320) over the year but don’t have control over when they start to trade. Page 112 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Economy Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of trainee type posts created for unemployed people at Renfrewshire Council New in 2022/23 68 40 65 40 In 23/24 a total of 38 different Social Enterprises were supported. Throughout the year this resulted in 62 separate instances of support to help them grow, develop or income generate. Number of unemployed/ low waged people being supported through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme 859 1,100 1,370 1,100 1,521 1,100 There are a further 367 new registrations to report in Q4. Bringing the total for 23/24 to 1,521 with several hundred other clients already registered in 2022-23 and still receiving support in 23-24. Number of unemployed / low waged people securing qualifications through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme New in 2022/23 507 400 618 400 An additional 166 unemployed/low waged people achieved a qualification in this quarter, bringing the total for 23/24 to 618. Number of unemployed people moving into paid employment through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme 686 350 538 350 528 350 A further 109 unemployed/low waged people secured paid employment in quarter 4, bringing the total for 23/24 to 528. Number of people supported, sustained in work at 6 Months through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme 221 180 340 180 268 180 Of those moving into work 268 have responded to say they are still in employment. The actual number may be higher than this, not all people respond / are in contact. Page 113 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Fair Action Due Status Progress update Develop the Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire Programme 31 Mar 25 The TIRR roadmap was approved by Leadership Board in February 2024. Actions within the roadmap have been prioritised, with four identified as Priority 1 actions to be delivered in the period January to June 2024. These are the delivery of a post-STILT session to CMT, the roll out of STILT to a wider senior management group, the development of an internal communications approach for the TIRR programme, and the provision of the Level 1 learning (Trauma-Informed) on the Council’s iLearn platform. A half-day development workshop for the TIRR Steering Group took place in November, providing an opportunity to reflect on progress to date, as well as consider barriers to implementation. The Steering Group has moved to a quarterly, in-person, workshop-style format to allow for greater participation and information sharing. Colleagues from Housing Support shared their experiences in both learning and implementation with the group in March 2024. Training has been delivered to a range of teams across the Council, and there has been engagement with our partner organisations One Ren and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership. Officers continue to engage in regional and national trauma networks, as well as with partner organisations including the Improvement Service and NHS Education Scotland. Deliver the Stigma/Language Matters project. 30 Sep 24 I Am Me were commissioned to deliver a training resource for Council staff on stigma and its impact, with a specific focus on people who use alcohol and drugs. The I Am Me team have engaged with a group of people with lived experience to develop and test the materials. The materials are in the final stage of review and will be available on the Council's iLearn platform within the next quarter, and work is ongoing with colleagues in HR and Comms to promote the new resources and encourage uptake. Work is underway to launch the resource in Summer 2024. The due date has been revised to 30 September 2024. Page 114 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Fair Action Due Status Progress update Take forward the recommendations of the Alcohol and Drugs Commission 31 Mar 25 The Alcohol and Drug Change Programme is in its final phase and during 2024/25 evaluation work will be undertaken and responsibility for governance and oversight will transition to Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership. The Programme Board will continue to meet in 2024 until those arrangements have been finalised. As the funding associated with the Programme will also come to an end, decisions will be required as to the future of projects in receipt of test-of-change funding. Qualitative research has been commissioned to support project leads in gathering information about the impact of their work which can support decision making. This research will also help inform the programme evaluation which will be reported in the autumn. Several projects have been mainstreamed or completed: · The Alcohol and Substance Awareness Education pack is in use in education establishments across Renfrewshire; · The additional specialist training for First Crisis means that specialist support for people using alcohol or drugs is now part of the core First Crisis service; · The Youth Health and Wellbeing pilot has concluded; · Two research pieces on Hidden Harm and Family Support are complete; · The Alcohol Policy post has ended and elements will be incorporated into a new ADP post; · Connecting and Caring Renfrewshire is near completion, with only the evaluation element to complete; · Recovery Change Fund has concluded. Several projects have funding remaining and so continue: · MYLA, supporting people to sustain settled housing; · Safeguarding Vulnerable Young People, creating additional pastoral support for a small number of pupils in a Renfrewshire secondary school; · Peer support work as part of CIRCLE; · HARRT, delivering mobile outreach services for those not currently engaged with other services; · Stigma/Language Matters, a training resource for staff. Specific work on trauma is part of the wider Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire programme. This action will be closed and the final evaluation work and transition to new governance will be reported as part of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme. Page 115 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Fair Action Due Status Progress update Work with partners to support Renfrewshire residents through the cost- of-living crisis 31 Dec 24 A £50 per child additional payment for winter clothing will be paid to all families in receipt of free school clothing grants in November 2024. Winter Connections ran for a 2nd year, from October 23 to March 2024, with a varied activities taking place across Renfrewshire, and offering food and drink to participants. This includes all libraries where hot drinks and cup a soup are available free during opening hours. Renfrewshire is also one of three areas in Scotland where the Citizens Advice Bureau has been funded to work collaboratively with the Council on a Council Tax Debt Pilot. The pilot focuses on exploring how local Citizens Advice Bureau and local authorities can work together to improve the journey of those who are in council tax arrears or struggling to make council tax payment. The aim is to provide better outcomes for people and for local authorities. This work will continue throughout 2024. Fairer Renfrewshire funding continues to support an Energy Adviser in the Energy Management Unit as well as free breakfast clubs in a number of primary schools. In addition, schools are supported with additional Cost of the School Day funding to support families, especially lower income families with uniform items, costs of trips and other supports. Develop mechanisms for supporting individuals with lived experience of poverty to influence policy in this area 31 Mar 24 Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience was established over the past 18 months, supported by the Poverty Alliance and Star project. The Panel has a regular programme of meetings and has engaged with services, partners and elected members on issues identified. Officers will continue to work with Panel and ensure there is a strong link to the wider Fairer Renfrewshire programme. Page 116 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Fair Action Due Status Progress update Develop the Fair Food Renfrewshire strategy. 31 Dec 24 The Fair Food Renfrewshire Steering Group, which met initially in September 2023 has continued to meet. A baselining exercise was carried out to establish the current position within Renfrewshire regarding three priority areas: • Working to reduce, then eradicate food poverty, by promoting a collaborative approach across all communities, ensuring a dignified and fair access to healthy and affordable food for all. • Increased access and availability of growing grounds in every town and village within Renfrewshire. • Widen access and availability to educational opportunities regarding nutrition and cooking skills, and wider use of "home economics" type classes within education, health, and community settings. The survey will inform the Fair Food Renfrewshire Plan, and Renfrewshire is pursuing membership of Sustainable Food Places. Develop the new Fairer Renfrewshire programme (CF) 31 Mar 25 The Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee has been meeting since August 2022 and a Fairer Renfrewshire Officers Group from across services is meeting monthly. In March 2023 existing funds were brought together into a single resource for Fairer Renfrewshire at around £5million, and partners are working together to further develop the programme. There are four key emerging themes which are shared across all elements of the programme, under which key projects are being funded: • Improving financial security • Advancing equality of opportunity • Building community capacity and resilience • Listening to lived experience The new School Support service is now in place across all Renfrewshire secondary schools. This service, provided by Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau (RCAB), embeds advice workers in schools, and referrals can be received by pupils over 16, parents/carers, and school staff. Advice Works is providing a Family Support service to families with younger children, which can be accessed by telephone or online. Both services provide support to maximise family income and both also receive referrals under the new school meal debt processes, which prioritises supporting families. Winter Connections ran for a 2nd year in Winter 23/24, providing opportunities for communities to come together and take part in free activities and including food. This has contributed to wellbeing over the winter. The Fairer Renfrewshire Panel has provided insight in a number of areas including holiday provision in Renfrewshire, with the Panel contributing to the plans for our ‘Summer of Fun’, both for summer 23 and 24, the Council’s new School Meal Debt processes, digital exclusion employability, especially parental employability. Page 117 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Fair Action Due Status Progress update Carry out deep dive (planned for early 2023) focusing on child poverty, which will inform delivery of local child poverty action plans (CF) 31 Dec 23 Initial Data has been gathered as part of the Deep Dive and this was presented to was it the CCP executive in January 2024. Feedback has been sought from this group as well as any other data sources available to them for inclusion. The draft data has initially been used to inform initial work in the Gallowhill area, where a sharp increase in child poverty had been observed. Carry out an evaluation of the Tackling Poverty programme and develop a transition plan for mainstreaming this work. 31 Sep 23 Transition discussions have taken place with all legacy Tackling Poverty projects and decisions on which projects to continue as well as updating of these projects to ensure relevance to current landscape in Renfrewshire have been made, with recommendations for projects to be continued under Fairer Renfrewshire going to Leadership Board in May 24 for approval. Bring forward actions to reduce health inequalities, improving economic participation, more secure earnings and greater earning power 31 Mar 24 This action is complete, and the team will continue to deliver on it. The Local Employability Partnership Health Conditions and Recovery Group, chaired by the HSCP, focuses on those in recovery from health conditions and brings together and supports services while identifying gaps to people accessing support to work or in-work support. With adults with a disability within a household being an indicator of child poverty, this group also looks at support for those with a disability and those in recovery from addictions and mental health. Current actions to improve economic participation include: • New post of capabilities co-ordinator to focus on health and disability issues across employability • 2 new UK SPF funded employability roles to work specifically with those economically inactive due to health • New Supported Employment Initiative offering up to £11k subsidy to develop job roles for people with complex disabilities • New condition management programme with multiple services to support people to improve / manage health conditions and get back to work • Year 9 of the very successful Project Search programme at Renfrewshire Council supporting young people with learning Disabilities / Autism • Focussed support to disabled parents or parents with a disabled child to move back into work. Page 118 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Fair Action Due Status Progress update Deliver targeted programmes of community-based adult literacy and numeracy, ESOL, digital, personal and social development, and family learning activities in response to identified need and as set out in Renfrewshire’s CLD Strategy 2021-24 (CF) 31 Mar 26 61 courses and activities delivered across Renfrewshire between Jan-March 24, with the following delivered weekly: · 12 numeracy courses for adult learners and families with Fun With Numbers and Talk, Learn & Do delivered in 2 primary and 6 early years campuses. · 10 New Scots groups working on their languages skills and integration into the community though Beginners ESOL classes and conversation sessions, including a new Craft, Culture and Conversation group established for older Ukranian refugees in Gallowhill. · 7 adult literacies sessions for people needing help with reading, writing, spelling or numbers both in-person and online. · 18 groups for learners wanting to build confidence, skills and self esteem with a range of activities including crafting, sewing, singing, gardening and growing and lively discussion-based sessions including an evening tabletop gaming sessions for autistic adults from the Lived Experience group. · 10 digital learning groups including Get Safe Online, Digital Beginners and Digital Life Skills supporting people access technology. 4 family Play and Learn events were held in February on school in-service days for parents and younger children to have fun together with games and creative activities in Southend Action Centre, Bargarran CLD Centre and Glenburn Learning Centre Continue to deliver new approaches to Building Communities and identify further new opportunities for locality area-based support which builds community capacity. 31 Mar 26 “Take the Lead” was launched in May 2023 to promote responsible dog walking behaviours and reduce instances of dog fouling. Dog owners who sign the pledge agree to good practices such as picking up after their dog, and receive a free lead, bag dispenser and bags, and bandana promoting the Campaign. The Team attended 4 events in 2023 to speak to dog owners and encourage responsible behaviours. The Environmental Taskforce continued their work with communities, investigating flytipping in residential and open spaces, and removing where occurring on Council adopted land. The Team work closely with local businesses and private landowners offering guidance and support to remove waste on their land. 24 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued between October 2023 and Jan 2024. Team up to Clean Up presentations to schools have been adapted to deliver to smaller groups in PSE classes (Personal & Social Education) and rebranding as “Litter and Climate Change Talks”. This encourages greater interaction and interest in the subject matter. 33 presentations have been delivered in the assigned period. A further 44 presentations were delivered to P7 and S1 pupils from the Youth Team who discuss the impact and consequences of anti- social behaviour on communities and themselves. Again, these are delivered to small groups to encourage group participation. The Green Spaces, Play Parks and Villages Investment Fund has supported 119 community projects since its launch in 2018. In the period 2023, 11 projects have been supported including gala days, community gardening projects and community murals. Feedback from communities demonstrates the Team’s support is appreciated and the funds bring neighbourhoods together, as well as deliver physical improvements. Page 119 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Fair Action Due Statu s Progress update Deliver services in line with the CLD strategy 2021-24, such as Youth Voice programme and Street Stuff (CF) 31 Mar 24 • Renfrewshire Youth Voice (RYV) held a variety of events throughout the year, encouraging young people to take part in stalls along themes of youth rights, gender-based violence, youth voice and democracy, LGBT+, and mental health and wellbeing. • Learning activities have been designed to be delivered in youth clubs and groups about a variety of issues such as a Fair and Just Transition to Net Zero, misogyny, and a weekly safe space group for LGBT+ young people covering activities around health and wellbeing. • Young and Equally Safe continues to work on Gender based violence campaigns to deliver capacity building training to teachers and youth workers. • Groups have been created to explore and promote positive masculinity, and young people have been working with an illustrator to create content to influence positive attitudes and reduce negative targeting of young women and girls. • A youth consultation has been completed and the key concerns will be taken to a Youth Assembly in autumn 2024 for young people to discuss responses. • DofE Licence renewed for a further 3 years, and the Renfrewshire DofE Development Plan has been agreed. A Renfrewshire DofE Celebration Event was held in Paisley Town Hall in February 2024. • Street Stuff have continued to deliver core activities in antisocial behaviour hotspot areas identified by the Partnership Analyst in the evenings and weekends with the provision of healthy food supported by Fairer Renfrewshire. • Work continues with High Schools to deliver the Street to School programme supporting young people who are disengaged from mainstream schooling. • Street Stuff have been working with Renfrewshire Young Carers delivering activities on a weekly basis. Page 120 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Fair Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Community Asset Management Transfer - number of months from receipt of an application to a determination being issued from the Council 0 6 4 6 2 6 The legislation requires that the Council makes a decision (determination) on an asset transfer request within 6 months (26 weeks) of validation (application date). We manage the process to ensure that we only validate fully formed applications and that we can allow minimum time for publication and responses and present at a Board meeting for determination well within the time allowed. Number of people engaged with Adult and Family learning team (snapshot) New in 2023/24 New 424 220 Figures include attendance of adults and children attending our programmes and engaging in family learning events during holidays and school in-service days. More than 200 refugees and people seeking asylum engaged with our ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) provision this quarter for support with language learning. Number of people engaged with Youth Services (snapshot) New in 2023/24 New 1683 N/A This indicator measures the number of people with regular engagement. It includes community based youth provision, accredited awards schemes, Youth Voice, and projects targeted at care experienced young people. A much larger group of young people are registered for initiatives promoted by Youth Services, such as the National Entitlement Card and Young Scot. Number of school visits undertaken to raise awareness of environmental action and the impact of anti-social behaviours. New in 2023/24 New 44 25 Presentations have been delivered throughout the year through the Building Communities Team Up to Clean Up Team. The Youth Team have reinstated their relationships with Renfrewshire Schools post- pandemic and ASB presentations have been adapted with more of an emphasis on the local environment. School visits, with a focus on preventing anti-social behaviour increased from October Page 121 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Fair Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of young people who hold a valid Young Scot NEC card New in 2023/24 New 25,420 N/A The number of NEC cards goes up and down depending on the number of young people who have turned 25, etc. Figures are drawn from PI report from Young Scot. Year end, 25,420 children and young people (ages 5-21) have a National Entitlement Card, which is approx.. 86% of eligible youth population – of this 87% have a travel product enabled on their Card (September 2023 PI Report) Youth Services have renewed 30,600 NEC cards in 2023-24 Page 122 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Green Action Due Status Progress update Provide strategic and policy support for the Council’s Plan for Net Zero 31 Mar 26 This is an ongoing action. Recent progress includes working closely with stakeholders on phase 2 of the Plan for Net Zero (the route map) with a series of engagement events. Following the Community Climate Conversation in June, an online Teams key stakeholder organisation event was held in September - with local, regional and national organisations such as many of our CPPs, local housing associations, Scottish Power, Scottish Gas, Scottish Water, Transport Scotland, UWS and all 8 GCR local and neighbouring authorities (57 attendees in total) to understand their influence and their role in progressing to net zero as well as partnership working opportunities. InOctober, the internal workshop was held in the Lagoon Leisure Centre, with 70 officers from across all Services to identify opportunities and collaborate in the development of the road map and action matrix. These events delivered with colleagues developing Renfrewshire’s Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy, to maximise the engagement opportunity. Review opportunities within the Council’s infrastructure pipeline projects to align with the skills transition and green skills development for local people 31 Dec 24 This action was new in 23-24 and will be developed following phase 2 of the Plan for Net Zero which sets out the phased road map and costed, area-based delivery plans. Phase 2 is currently underway and the infrastructure pipeline of projects and the identification of skills gaps will follow on once the outcomes and the phasing are known. West College Scotland was recently awarded up to £100k from the Business Challenge Fund to allow local businesses to train staff in net zero / sustainability for FREE to contribute to this agenda. The programme will run financial year 24-25 Page 123 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Green Action Due Status Progress update Explore opportunities to extend the District Heating Network beyond AMIDS 31 Mar 25 Buro Happold have developed a feasibility study which considers options for the future expansion of AMIDS DHN including the wider geographical area surrounding AMIDS. The draft report was provided to Zero Waste Scotland and the Council at the start of April and final presentation of results planned for end of April. A new action relating to next stages will be included in the 2024-2027 Service Improvement Plan. Investigate options for a sustainable transport plan for AMIDS. 31 Sep 24 Work has commenced with the production of an options paper by consultants Systra. Buccleuch, as the councils joint venture development partner, are also have now appointed a travel coordinator who will be tasked with taking forward and implementing the AMIDS Travel Plan. Develop a new Sustainable Communities Fund. 31 Mar 24 Officers have now defined the main aims and priorities of the new fund. It combines the Community Empowerment Fund and Climate Change Action Fund into one single, easy-to-access £1m+ fund. It will be part of a series of initiatives which promote community collaboration and better wellbeing, providing for a greener future. The fund will be boosted by funding from the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. It is proposed to adopt a tiered funding approach to reflect different sized community projects and ensure ease of access to the application process to enable a range of initiatives that align with community empowerment. A paper will be brought to the Leadership Board in September 2023 to determine the governance of the fund going forward. Page 124 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Green Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of local businesses working with the Council to progress the Net Zero agenda New in 2022/23 48 40 50 40 Our project with Strathclyde University (Extend Plus) is now underway, this project allows local businesses to be provided with a carbon baseline report which they can then use to apply for the Net Zero Grant. We have circa 50 businesses who have requested details on how to access the report (5 of whom have Net Zero projects they are keen to move on). Number of local businesses securing Net Zero growth grants from Renfrewshire Council Business Grants New in 2022/23 2 N/A 0 N/A We are continuing to encourage and support businesses to submit applications in order start their net zero journey. Number of visits by Environmental Taskforce to flytipping hotspots New in 2022/23 559 260 506 375 The Environmental Taskforce, created specifically to reduce flytipping in Renfrewshire, have issued 93 Fixed Penalty Notices across 2023. Engagement with communities, businesses, private landowners and housing associations has increased significantly, ensuring flytipping is removed quickly by Renfrewshire Council or the responsible organisation. Number of members of the Team Up to Clean Up Facebook Community New in 2023/24 New New 5,400 5,000 Team Up to Clean Up member numbers continue to grow with 5,100 current members actively engage on the group, discussing environmental issues and work alongside Renfrewshire Council to deliver improvements to their neighbourhoods. Page 125 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Living Our Values Action Due Status Progress update Lead engagement with services to embed the new Council Plan as the framework for delivering the Council’s priorities 31 Dec 24 Recent progress includes developing a more accessible progress report to meet the needs of a range of audiences. A designed version of the Council Plan has been developed and will be shared with colleagues and on the relevant platforms. All Service Improvement Plans were approved by the relevant Boards in the May/June cycle, reflecting the new Council Plan priorities and with a new, more accessible format. Mid term updates have also been updated to reflect this new format. Following the annual audit and thematic work by the Council’s external auditors, Azets, they recommended the organisation considers reducing the number of priorities which sit under the Council Plan strategic outcomes, to best reflect the key priorities of the Council at this time. This work is underway with a paper due to the Leadership Board in June. Therefore, this action has been extended until 31 December 2024 to allow this work to be undertaken and, thereafter, further engagement with services reflecting this approach. Undertake a corporate self-assessment exercise in line with revised best value audit methodology 31 Dec 23 Approach and model were agreed by the Corporate Management Team and the survey element of the CSA has been completed by the extendedCorporate Management team. Follow up workshops took place over the summer of 2023 and CMT agreed a range of actions which align with key priorities. CMT also agreed that a further self-assessment should be carried out with the ‘Our Leaders Forum’ senior management cohort, and this activity was carried out with the survey in November and workshop in December 2023. Next steps now include taking forward the monitoring of improvement activity and planning a programme of future self-assessment activity aligned to the best value audit programme. A new action reflecting this will be included in the new SIP for CEs. Review and refresh the Council’s performance management framework 31 Dec 23 All services have been supported by the policy team to update their performance indicators and targets as required. This work also fed into the development of a new Council Plan scorecard, which was approved at Leadership Board in November 2022. Sitting alongside this, a new CMT scorecard has been developed, with a new quarterly performance focus at CMT, followed by ‘deep dives’ on a specific area - the first deep dive was on complaints and the second on planning and building standards. We are also reviewing how we present performance data to ensure this is accessible for all audiences – elected members, employees, citizens and partners. A refreshed format for the Council Plan performance update was presented to the June Leadership Board. This format was also tailored for the SIP mid-term progress updates due to go to the relevant Policy Boards during this cycle. Page 126 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Living Our Values Action Due Status Progress update Lead implementation of strategic communications to support the Council’s financial strategy 31 Mar 24 The Head of Service continues to attend Budget Strategy Group to provide communications support and advice as required. A resident engagement strategy will be developed for roll out in autumn 2024. Launch a new Council website – Renfrewshire.gov.uk – and implement the digital experience strategy, transforming how citizens interact with the Council across digital platforms. 31 Mar 27 In Q4, the following has been completed by the Digital Experience team: confirmed procurement strategy in collaboration with the Procurement team and launched procurement exercise for the Renfrewshire.gov.uk delivery phase and started procurement spec for the future hosting and maintenance contracts. procured renewal for GovDelivery and currently preparing GOSS renewal. re-wrote Council tax and Benefits and money advice sections on the current Renfrewshire.gov.uk and waiting for fact checking and approval from various colleagues. carried out an accessibility audit and cookie compliance review of Renfrewshire.gov.uk in collaboration with Digital Ops to ensure compliance with newest regulations.developed a user research and testing plan for the new website. The following will start or continue in Q1: prototyping of service, funding, and guide visuals for the new Renfrewshire.gov.uk. re-design of Housing and anti-social behaviour sections on the current Renfrewshire.gov.uk. continue option appraisal for the HSCP website in collaboration with the HSCP leadership team. develop a delivery timeline for the future Intranet. carry out an accessibility audit of Paisley.is to ensure compliance with newest regulations. continue assessment of email communication platform needs and preparation for potential GovDelivery replacement. participate in waste routing system procurement exercise. The DXP team has also been providing support to colleagues to review and maintain information on the existing websites. Page 127 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Living Our Values Action Due Status Progress update Support engagement opportunities to influence national policy direction and align the focus of the organisation in response to national legislation 31 Mar 27 The Council continues to respond to national consultations and calls for views, either directly, via COSLA, or through participation in the wide range of professional bodies of which our officers are members. Officers continue to closely monitor emerging national legislation and consider any implications for the organisation. Renfrewshire is also well represented in the Improvement Service/Solace Transformation workstreams at a national level. Lead implementation of the Council brand, prioritising tone of voice, inclusive communications and audience insights 31 Mar 25 One of six goals within the council’s marketing and communication strategy is to present a recognisable and unified brand across all council services to stand as a mark of quality, trust, customer service and innovation. This requires us to manage the brand consistently,ensuring all marketing and communication materials and channels maintain a consistent brand identity that reflects the council’s values, leadership role and tone of voice. InQ4 we have · Progressed on the creative development of the visual identity, including colour palette, typography, layout and mark. The new brand will be more accessible, sustainable and economical. · Undertaken an application, function and service audit. · Completed qualitative audience research and delivered a new audience segmentation model. Page 128 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Living Our Values Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target % of investigation complaints responded to within timescales agreed with customer (Chief Executive’s) 77% 85% 71% 85% 76.9% 85% The Chief Executive's Service received 13 investigation complaints during 2023/24. 10 of these were completed within timescale, the other three were completed outwith timescale. Target (85%) has not been met for this indicator. % of frontline resolution complaints responded to within timescales agreed with customer (Chief Executive’s) 40% 85% 54% 85% 35.7% 85% The Chief Executive's service received 28 Frontline complaints during 2023/24, 10 of which were responded to within timescales. Target of 85% was not achieved and the year’s data will be reviewed to identify areas for improvement. Average number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee (Chief Executive's) (FTE) 5.98 6.5 1.21 6.5 6.5 6.5 It has been noted that absence performance is within target for 2023/2. Monitoring of absence continues across the service with service absence stats are presented to CMT and reported to Board. % of FOI requests in a quarter completed within timescale in the Chief Executive's Department 93.5% 100% 97% 100% 91.5% 100% During 2023/24, CEx received 106 single service FOIs. 97 were completed within timescale. Page 129 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Living Our Values Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of people engaging with the Council’s digital channels (not including website). 64,822 56,800 69,287 54,000 72,847 72,000 The council’s social media followers continue to rise steadily. X (Twitter) followers began to drop in Q1 after changes to the platform and its ownership but since Q2 have started to grow. Followers on the council’s other channels (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube) have continued to rise steadily. A Threads account (Meta) was launched in Q2 and already has over 500 followers. A WhatsApp Channel has also been set up but not officially launched yet. Renfrewshire Council is a member of 171 local community Facebook groups, enables considerable cascade of council information. In Q3, festive content performed very well, with a video of Riverbrae School Choir singing to Mosswood Care Home residents receiving over 71,000 engagements across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. In Q4, Reels content has continued to perform well for us, boosting our engagements on Facebook and Instagram. Changes to the council’s YouTube channel are having a positive impact, with Shorts videos performing well. These videos have given the council access to a younger audience (previously men 65+ and now an 18-24 audience) and importantly, more female viewers (previously 21% and now 45.6%). In addition, and not measured within the SIP, are 30,049 subscribers to the council’s seven digital newsletters. Page 130 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Living Our Values Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Opportunities to see or hear something (OTSH) positive about Renfrewshire Council activity 371,061,6 73 125,000,0 00 316,560,95 8 200,000, 000 290,935,192 250,000,00 0 Q4 figures were impacted by downtime from our media monitoring service meaning no articles were delivered between 2 February and 1 March 2024. We are unable to track media coverage and OTSH during that time. Positive highlights include coverage of the Provost’s Community Awards, launch of Paisley Food and Drink Festival, award wins for Paisley’s Learning and Cultural Hub and Paisley Museum, and coverage providing updates on the new River Clyde bridge. Total pieces of coverage tracked in available data for Q4 – 561 Positive – 54% Balanced – 21% % of staff who feel that the information they receive from internal communications is helpful 85% 85% N/A 85% 88% 85% Not measured by quarters. An employee Pulse survey was conducted in May 2023. 438 responded (6% of workforce). 88% of employees found the information from internal communications channels (Take 5, staff info, Chief Executive’s blog) was very helpful or helpful with council news, learning and development and information/guides on how to do their job, the most preferred topics of interest. 90% of employees found the staff info section of renfrewshire.gov.uk very helpful or helpful. Page 131 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Living Our Values Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Time to issue a building warrant or amendment to warrant from receipt of application (days) 101.2 60.0 96.5 60.0 104.0 60.0 The internal target has been set at 60 days and measures the overall time it takes from receipt of a valid building warrant application to issuing the building warrant approval. This KPO measures both building standards officers and external agents response times and, as a result, there are aspects of this KPO that are out with our control. The KPO stems from the Building Standards Performance Framework - KPO1, which places a responsibility on LA verifiers to constantly seek to reduce and minimise turnaround times for building warrant applications. Given current performance and that elements of this KPO are out with our control, consideration should be given to reviewing this target and setting it at 95 days. Percentage of building warrants or amendments issued within 10 days of receipt of all satisfactory information 60.1 90.0 80.5 90.0 80.8 90.0 Performance is increasing but remains lower than target. The section is still carrying two vacancies both of which have been offered and verbally accepted should be filled by May 2024 bring the section to a full complement. This should lead to a further increase in performance. We are also currently using a part time temporary worker Average Time for processing Planning Applications (Householder) (weeks) 7.2 8 12.35 8 10.18 8 Performance in relation to Q1 and Q2 is due to a number of vacancies within the team and staff absence. We continue to carry one staff vacancy which is having an impact on performance. Going forward once the position is filled, together with the recruitment of an enforcement officer, will result in increased performance. Page 132 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Improving Outcomes for Children and Families Action Due Status Progress update Contribute to the Council’s commitment to The Promise for all care experienced people 31 Mar 27 The ethos of The Promise is well-embedded in the activity of the Chief Executive’s Service. The events team work closely with partners including Art Boss, Kibble and Young Producers to provide opportunities for care experienced young people to be involved in co-creation and volunteering in the Council’s events programme. In 2023/24, this included the design of an escape room experience on Sma’ Shot Day, the creation of installations for the Halloween festival, and the opportunity for a young care-experienced singer-songwriter to perform on the community stage at Paisley’s Christmas. Future Paisley and Youth Services have delivered a range of activities through The Promise Arts and Cultural Engagement Programme. In the past year, this has included the Youth Services annual ‘LOVE2WEEK’ with self-care packs designed by care-experienced young people being distributed; a Promise Champs day trip; a continuation of the partnership with Art Boss to deliver sessions of cultural activities, the creation of a mural at Wallace Primary School, and the recent launch of ‘SKATE!’ which is offering professional skateboarding lessons and sessions to develop design and graffiti skills with a local graffiti artist. Future Paisley has provided funding to allow the programme to continue into 2024/25. Youth Services worked with Promise Keepers to organise a Christmas present drive to provide gifts to care-experienced young people. The Marketing and Communications team have all attended training from The Promise team, and with Policy & Partnerships provided a week’s work experience for a care- experienced pupil from a local secondary school. Deliver targeted activities for children and young people including Street Stuff 31 Mar 26 Supported DofE groups will now be working towards completing their Bronze and Silver Awards and looking to move onto the next level of award going into 2024-25 A pilot project was run in partnership with Riverbrae School providing a Junior and Senior Youth club programme with a variety of youth work activities. Evaluations show it is having a positive impact on young people who were able to experience socialising out of school with their peers, and enjoying playing and being creative together. Evaluation completed and plans to revisit and deliver another programme in partnership with the Riverbrae Inclusion Team. This project has been evaluated and the partnership will continue with further programme planning into 2024-25. StreetStuff links in with Team Up to Clean Up and participating young people improve and litterpick the area they are attending. CLD delivered a summer camp for children and young people aged 5-14 over the summer holiday period. There were over 4000 attendances with each attended being offered a hot meal and free activities across 6 areas. Street Stuff delivered Multi-sport activities during the October school week and over the festive period with the provision of healthy food. Linking in with the National Youth Work Strategy 31 Mar 26 The Scottish Government is due to publish a new National Youth Work Strategy (2023-2028) which will recognise the significant impact on improving the life chances of Scotland’s young people. Renfrewshire Youth Services will continue the dialogue with youth work providers and young people in our local authority to ensure a local youth work plan will help to address the priorities on a local level, which will support the work to improve outcomes for young people. Page 133 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Plan – Improving Outcomes for Children and Families Action Due Status Progress update Support youth participation and engagement through projects such as Celebrating Renfrewshire and support for the Scottish Youth Parliament. 31 Mar 25 Follow-up to the “Welcome to Your Vote” event, a partnership with RYV, Young Scot and the Electoral Commission to promote youth democracy and empowerment. Schools re-contacted to continue working with S3 school pupils who attended to support them to put their ideas into action; priority areas included cost of living and poverty, vaping and mental health and wellbeing, places for young people to meet and make friends, combatting bullying, opportunities for youth culture and arts, raising awareness of drugs and alcohol misuse, reducing violence. Launch of the Scottish Youth Parliament Election process, and the call out for candidates to stand in the SYP elections; 5 candidates are standing unopposed and therefore this year there will be no voting process to the election. The voting period will be used to outreach to schools and colleges, to promote them and democracy. A Democracy Roadshow during election week which offered a range of activities, to promote democracy and the MSYP elects: • All 12 High Schools across Renfrewshire participated in the SYP Elections Programme. • MSYP’s and Youth Services Staff delivered 52 inputs across Renfrewshire throughout the SYP Elections programme engaging with 3770 young people. • 94% of young people who took part in youth democracy sessions know more about SYP. The results of the Scottish Youth Parliament elections were announced in December and the new Members of Scottish Youth Parliament have completed their national a local induction and training and have officially taken up their role. They have also been attending RYV and offering local surgeries and planning future opportunities. The Celebrating Renfrewshire Fund 23/24 was delivered. 6 Young people from a range of backgrounds designed the funding themes, vetted the applications and delivered the funding award presentation event. 126 project applications submitted, 1683 individual young people voted in total, 5043 choices were made in total. Through Future Paisley, facilitate improved access to cultural activity for children and families. 31 Mar 27 Significant engagement with children and young people took place through several Future Paisley funded projects and a number which will continue due to mainstreaming/long-term activity – co-production in events and through Paisley Museum, Castlehead School of Creativity, Art Boss, partnership with The Sculpture House, Building the Future and ongoing childrens’ programming. This will be reported in the final evaluation. In Q4 we delivered: The Pathway Programmewas delivered in February and March to develop secondary school students’ understanding of Renfrewshire’s culture and visitor economies across the region. The purpose was to inform students about both further education routes and professional development opportunities in Renfrewshire’s cultural sector, including internships, volunteering opportunities, courses available at West College of Scotland, and the UWS Foundation Academy. Page 134 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Chief Executive’s Service Service Improvement Plan 2023 - 26 Outturn Report June 2024 For more information, please contact: policycefar@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 135 of 396
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2 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Chief Executive’s Service 2024-2027 Service Improvement Plan ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Service Improvement Plan for the Chief Executive’s service is a three-year plan covering the period 2024-2027. The purpose of the Plan is to identify the priorities being addressed, the key tasks to be implemented, the implementation timetable and our measures of success. 1.2 The Service Improvement Plan is part of a suite of documents which describe the strategic direction for the Service and the Council, and also includes the Council Plan, Community Plan, Risk Management Plan, and the Workforce Plan. Following recommendations from the Council’s auditors, the Council Plan priorities are being refocused, and this is reflected in Service Improvement Plans, with services reducing the number of priority areas each year. The new, more accessible, format of Service Improvement Plans, introduced in 2023- 2024, has been well-received and will be retained. 1.3 The Service Improvement Plan is appended to this report and includes performance indicators and an action plan grouped under the Council Plan themes. A mid-year progress update on the Service Improvement Plan will be submitted to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board in the autumn of 2024. Item 6 Page 136 of 396
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3 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: (a) approves the attached Service Improvement Plan; and (b) notes that mid-year progress of this Service Improvement Plan will be reported to this Board in the Autumn of 2024, with updates to the performance indicators and action plan. 3. Background 3.1 The Chief Executive’s service is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organisation and for delivering cross-cutting services. It also manages the public profile and reputation of the Council and leads on collaboration with national organisations and partnerships across the public, private and third sectors. The service has four main divisions: Policy and Partnerships; Marketing and Communications; Economy and Development; and City Deal and Infrastructure. 3.2 The City Deal and Infrastructure Team is responsible for delivering large-scale projects across Renfrewshire, including those which are part of the Glasgow City Region City Deal programme. This includes leading on the delivery of the Glasgow Airport Investment Area (GAIA) and the Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside project, and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) and the AMIDS South development. The team are also delivering Renfrewshire’s significant cultural infrastructure programme. 3.3 The Economy and Development team delivers the Local Development Plan and provides planning and building standards services, economic development and regeneration. The team delivers the economic strategy and provides support to the existing business community as well as new business start-ups and leads on employability services supporting people into work as well as upskilling people to progress into higher paid positions. It also works to attract inward investment and develops and implements regeneration and place plans for Renfrewshire’s towns and settlements. 3.4 The Marketing and Communications team manages the Council’s reputation and brand, and communicates with local people, partners, Council employees and the media. The team delivers marketing campaigns to raise awareness of Council services and delivers the annual programme of major events in Renfrewshire. It also leads on the Future Paisley programme which seeks to Page 137 of 396
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4 build on Renfrewshire’s cultural heritage and delivering the fundraising strategy for the regeneration of Paisley Museum. 3.5 The Policy and Partnerships team supports corporate and service level policy, strategy and performance management, as well as corporate data analytics, GIS and research. The team coordinates the Council’s approach to tackling inequalities in Renfrewshire, leading on the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, supporting the work of the Alcohol and Drugs Commission and developing the new Trauma-informed and Responsive Renfrewshire programme. The service works closely with community groups and organisations to strengthen relationships and promote community empowerment. A number of universal and targeted community learning services are delivered, such as ESOL, adult literacy, and digital skills courses, but also community capacity building initiatives, such as encouraging volunteering, funding support, and participating in local decision making. 4. Service Improvement Plan 2024-2025: What do we want to achieve? 4.1. Council services continue to operate in a challenging context. The Council and services remain ambitious for our people and our place, and the Service Improvement Plan process ensures a clear focus on continuous improvement. The Service Improvement Plans process allows us to describe where activity is targeted, and through the 6-monthly updates described below, provide a balanced view on progress. 4.2. Our Service Improvement Plan sets out actions for the next three years, and in 2024/25 our particular areas of focus will be: • Deliver major infrastructure programmes which build on Renfrewshire’s strengths to drive economic, cultural and physical regeneration; • Work in partnership to deliver increased investment and high-value jobs to the AMIDS site; • Drive place-based regeneration for our town centres • Transition the Capital Appeal for Paisley Museum to a long-term sustainable fundraising model; • Deliver the second phase of the Local Partnerships through our new Local Plans, Local Priorities and Local Voices programme; • Lead the Council’s strategic approach to migration, asylum and population change; • Continue to deliver the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, with a focus on equalities, tackling child poverty and the evaluation of the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme; Page 138 of 396
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5 • Through ongoing service review, design new models of service delivery that support Council and Community Planning priorities, with a focus this year on Connected Communities and on being a data-driven organisation; • Deliver a new Renfrewshire.gov.uk and an approach to transform digital information and services and enhance service design; • Evaluate the Future Paisley programme, implement cultural policy and deliver new partnerships with Renfrewshire’s cultural sector; • Define a council-wide model for publishing and promoting citizen engagement as part of a new council marketing and communications strategy; • Support workforce innovation through engagement, collaboration and a programme of personal development planning; • Co-ordinate the work programme to ensure the Council achieves a positive best value assessment. 5. Monitoring progress 5.1 Progress on the implementation of the Service Improvement Plan is regularly monitored by the Senior Management Team and will be reported to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board on a six-monthly basis. A mid-year review of progress will be brought to this Board in Autumn 2024 and an annual outturn report in Spring 2025. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – This report notes the financial challenges facing the local authority and the work that will be undertaken by the service to manage this. 2. HR & Organisational Development – The Service Improvement Plan notes work linked to ongoing service reviews. 3. Community/Council Planning – Service Improvement Plans reflect the contribution of each service to the Council and Community Plans. 4. Legal – None 5. Property/Assets – None 6. Information Technology – Digital resources are now key to the delivery of services and strategies are in place to manage this. Page 139 of 396
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6 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 because it is for noting only. The delivery of actions included in the appendix will be impact assessed where appropriate. 8. Health & Safety – None 9. Procurement – None 10. Risk – Risks related to the delivery and management of services are regularly monitored and included in Renfrewshire Council’s Corporate and Strategic Risk Registers. 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. COSLA Policy Position – None 13. Climate Change – The Service Improvement Plan includes actions and indicators under the theme “Green” demonstrating how it will contribute to Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Lisa Fingland, Policy Manager Contact: lisa.fingland@renfrewshire.gov.uk Appendix 1: Service Improvement Plan 2024-2027 Page 140 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan 2024 - 27 Page 141 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance & Resources – our service Strategic and operational financial advice and accountancy, Council Tax, rates and benefit processing Business services providing administrative support across services including payroll and employee services Human resources including health & safety, training and workforce planning Legal services providing advice and support to all council services Internal audit, fraud, insurance and risk management Customer services providing professional front facing customer and administrative support councilwide Transformation, providing project & programme management ICT services, provision of ICT equipment, security and compliance, hosting, storing & connectivity Support for elected members and boards including delivering elections £ Strategic and commercial procurement supporting tendering, fair working practice and sustainability Page 142 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance & Resources - about us Finance and Resources leads the delivery of a wide range of professional services which support the smooth running and strategic management of the Council. Finance and Resources is led by the Director, Alastair MacArthur, and he is supported by four Heads of Service, the Chief Auditor and the Strategic Service Delivery Manager. Business Services delivers financial operations including Revenues and Benefits, and provides business support to other Council services Corporate Governance provides legal services and supports the governance and effective running of Council and policy boards Digital, Transformation and Customer Services leads on ICT provision, project and programme management, and our front-facing customer services, and leads on our Digital Strategy Finance and Procurement provides financial and budgetary management services and a corporate procurement service to all council services Internal Audit leads on audit activity and risk management, ensuring robust controls are in place to manage risks associated with council activity People and OD delivers HR services including supporting recruitment, professional development and employee wellbeing Director of Finance and Resources Alastair MacArthur Head of People and OD Raymond Cree Head of Corporate Governance Mark Conaghan Head of Finance and Procurement Christine McCourt Chief Auditor Andrea McMahon Head of Digital, Transformation and Customer Services Patrick Murray Strategic Service Delivery Manager Emma Shields Page 143 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our resources and risks BUDGET For 2024/24, the revenue budget approved for General Services on 29 February 2024 was £549m. The capital budget approved for General Services on 29 February 2024 was £147.8m for the period 2024/25 to 2028/29. The Finance & Resources revenue budget for 2024/25 is approximately £44.5m Finance and Resources also supports all other council services with financial and budget management as well as providing support to our capital projects. RISK MANAGEMENT The Council’s risk management arrangements are well established with all strategic, corporate and service risks being reported to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board. Corporate and strategic risks, where senior officers in the Finance & Resources service are owners or joint owners are shown on the right. The service also plays a significant role in the management of many ‘business as usual’ risks that exist within the council. Risks Evaluations Our strategic and corporate risks Financial Sustainability Very High Successful Cyber Attack Very High Financial Stability High Workforce planning, recruitment and retention High National Care Service – governance and financial implications Moderate Page 144 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Transformation and financial sustainability The Council’s financial outlook is significantly challenging.The most recent analysis reported to Council on 29 February 2024 suggests that Renfrewshire Council will experience a funding deficit in the range of £45m-£50m in the three years following 2024/25, unless mitigating action is taken. The Council continues to explore ways to transform how we deliver our services – to improve the experience of our customers and service-users but also to ensure the Council’s financial sustainability. Finance & Resources continues to support this through: Delivering transformation savings workstreams for Finance & Resources Leading with the cross- service Financial Sustainability workstreams led by the Corporate Management Team Providing Council services with finance and HR partner advice and support to deliver service-specific savings Providing project and programme management support to the transformation programme Page 145 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Workforce innovation and wellbeing The Council launched its people strategy “Our People, Our Future” in 2021, which was updated in 2023 with the following 3 priorities: Improving our Workforce Planning Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Employee Experience The strategy describes the Council’s organisational development vision and workforce planning activities under three strategic outcomes – improving our employee experience, workforce planning and equality, diversity and inclusion. The strategy is aligned with the Council Plan and is focussed on the Council improving our employees’ experience whilst at work, looking at living our values, employee voice and recognitions which all positively impact on the culture within our workplace. There is a focus on workforce planning, there are many changes and challenges facing the Council in the coming years and this will ensure the right workforce and right skills are in place to deliver this. The last priority is focussed on inclusion, the council wants to be a place where everyone feels included and has a richness of diversity. Finance and Resources will ensure these priorities are reflected in both our strategic and day-to-day operations. High-level actions areembedded in our Service Improvement Plan. A key focus this year is the roll-out of the senior leadership development programme. This has already been delivered to the Corporate Management Team and the programme for the next group of staff has recently launched. The People and OD team have the overall lead for the programme and are continuing to support a range of activities, including establishing Staff Forums. Page 146 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level National policy context Cost of living crisis A New Deal for Local Government The Promise Community Wealth Building National Care Service Best Value Climate change New powers on Council Tax for second homes Page 147 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Renfrewshire Council’s Service Improvement Context Reflecting our values Delivering financially sustainable services Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion Delivering Best Value Aligning to our Council Plan and the Community Plan Page 148 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our local policy context •Brings together existing programmes of work focused on achieving fairness and equity, and tackling the inequalities that exist across Renfrewshire’s communities. Fairer Renfrewshire Programme •Successful outcomes are driven by good data, its analysis and the business intelligence it provides. The Data Strategy Framework supports council services to improve their data management and embed the culture and skillsets required to make data-driven, evidence-based decisions. Data Strategy Framework •We understand what trauma is, and how it can affect people. We will focus on awareness raising, skills development and our communications approach in order that services respond appropriately to those with current or past experience of trauma. Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire •Every customer interaction matters, and we will continue to develop our digital service offering whilst also investing in the skills of our people so that customer needs are fulfilled no matter how they contact the Council. Customer Strategy 2023- 2028 • Ensuring our policies remain relevant to a modern workplace with staff wellbeing a core component. HR Policy Review • Aligning digital activity across the Council under this single vision and direction, maximising the benefits for customers and staff.Digital • Managing demand, delivering social value and best value, and aligning our procurement activity with the vision and priorities of the Council. Procurement Strategy Page 149 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Key plans and strategies Internal Audit Plan Risk Matters Annual Accounts Customer Services and Business Services performance reportsOur People Strategy 2021-26 Corporate Procurement Strategy 2023-25 Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy Customer Strategy For Finance & Resources, a wide range of reports are presented to the Finance, Resources & Customer Services Policy Board. Papers and access to video recordings of past meetings can be found on the Council’s website. Other plans, strategies and reports Page 150 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our key priorities Ensuring the financial sustainability of the Council Supporting our citizens through the cost-of-living crisis Supporting the Council on governance and oversight Improving the employee experience Delivering modern, efficient services via a range of channels including digital Supporting the council on effective resource planning Supporting transformation and change across the organisation Protecting our digital assets and service delivery through strong cyber security and compliance Page 151 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our focus for 2024/25 • Continuing to lead on financial sustainability and transformation programmes across the Council; • Lead on the delivery of the Council’s governance review arising from the Bowles report; • Delivering a new approach to recruitment and talent management, ensuring that the Council is an employer of choice and that current employees can develop and progress here; • Working with local suppliers to increase the proportion of our procurement spend on local businesses which in turn supports the local economy; • Progressing the Purchase to Pay (P2P) project, delivering a far more efficient, consistent process, with improved data and insight and reduced duplication; • Continuing to deliver a broad range of support services to the rest of the Council, including Elected Members; • Continuing to bolster our cyber-resilience through technical and non-technical measures, protecting our digital assets; • Rolling out the Leadership Development Programme to senior managers across the Council, supporting workforce innovation through skills development, career progression and talent management; • Complete the roll out of Wi-Fi across the corporate and education estate, providing 100% coverage in schools and increased availability across other Council buildings; • Progress the delivery of the new Customer Strategy, an ambitious programme of transformation that will see the ongoing development of our digital service offering and investment in future technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) that will improve the service we offer our customers; • Implement the Green Print Strategy, creating a ‘think digital first’ culture and supporting our RenZero agenda; • Engage and participate in trauma informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme, with a particular focus on our frontline services. Page 152 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - PLACE What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Support delivery of the Council’s infrastructure investment programme Renfrewshire’s residents have access to a range of modern, fit for purpose facilities. 31 March 2026 Support delivery of the Council’s financial sustainability work The Council is able to maintain a balanced budget within the context of a challenging financial environment. 31 March 2027 Delivering strong universal services to all Renfrewshire citizens We will provide a range of services to all Renfrewshire residents, including the delivery of billing, registration services, customer service provision and digital services such as those available through My Account. 31 March 2027 Implement the first phase of the Scottish Government’s new licensing regime for short-term lets We will ensure that all premises currently used for short-term lets are compliant with the law. 31 September 2024 Page 153 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – PLACE Performance Indicator Frequency 2022/23 Value Latest Update Latest Value 2024/25 Target FINSUS1 Total useable reserves as a % of council annual budgeted revenue Annual 49.2 2022/23 49.2 n/a FINSUS2 Uncommitted General Fund Balance as a % of council annual budgeted net revenue Annual 2.2 2022/23 2.2 1.8% FINSUS3 Ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream - General Fund Annual 3 2022/23 3 3.47% FINSUS4 Ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream - Housing Revenue Account Annual 32.5 2022/23 32.5 28.59% FINSUS5 Actual outturn as a percentage of budgeted expenditure Annual 101.7 2022/23 101.7 100% Page 154 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - ECONOMY What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Actively engage with Renfrewshire suppliers to increase the percentage of procurement spend Increasing local procurement spend supports local job creation and the sustainability of local businesses. It contributes to community wealth building and post-pandemic economic recovery 31 March 2025 Develop a Community Wealth Building Plan for Renfrewshire This action will be delivered jointly with Economic Development. Supporting local businesses to bid for public sector work, encouraging entrepreneurs and promoting a ‘buy local’ approach will contribute to a stronger local economy, and may address some inequalities. 31 March 2025 Performance Indicator Frequency 2021/22 Value Latest Update Latest Value 2024/25 Target % of procurement spend spent on local enterprises Annual 18.87% 2021/22 N/A 23% Page 155 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - FAIR What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Engage and participate in trauma informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme We understand what trauma is, and how it affects people, so we will now work differently: Learning and working together to co-create fair and helpful collaborations to support healing and recovery with people affected by trauma. 31 March 2025 Continue to support residents with the cost-of-living crisis through the provision of advice services, grants and other funding People experiencing hardship are supported to maximise their income. 31 March 2025 Page 156 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - FAIR Performance Indicator Frequency 2022/23 Value Latest Update Latest Value 2024/25 Target Time taken for processing new housing benefit applications up until the posting of notification of outcome of the application (cumulative) Quarterly 38.51 Q3 2023/24 19.86 22 Time taken for processing change of circumstance housing benefit applications up until the posting of notification of outcome of the application (cumulative) Quarterly 14.35 Q3 2023/24 9.55 9 Average speed of processing a Crisis Grant (Scottish Welfare Fund) in days Quarterly 2 Q3 2023/24 2 2 Average speed of processing a Community Care Grant (Scottish Welfare Fund) in days Quarterly 13 Q3 2023/24 12 15 Percentage of Finance and Resources staff completing Level 1 Trauma Informed training Six monthly NEW NEW NEW Baseline to be established Page 157 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - GREEN Ensure that climate considerations are taken into account in our procurement strategies and tenders with a focus on reducing emissions Working together with other services we can support the reduction of emissions, waste and consumption by challenging usage, taking an innovative approach to specification, better utilising technological solutions and promoting the circular economy. 31 March 2025 Implement the Green Print Strategy in order to reduce our reliance on paper, drive down printing costs and support the organisation’s work towards net zero Reducing print use will contribute to the Council’s Net Zero goals, improve the customer experience through provision of end-to-end digital services, and reduce the risk of information security incidents. 31 March 2025 Performance Indicator Frequency 2023/24 Value Latest Update Latest Value 2024/25 Target Print volume – number of pages printed by council services Quarterly NEW FOR 24/25 NEW FOR 24/25 NEW FOR 24/25 Baseline to be established Page 158 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – LIVING OUR VALUES What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Embed the new Managing Absence Policy across the Council. Reduce absence across the council, to ensure a more consistent service delivery to our customers and deliver cost savings. 31 March 2025 Embed the Wellbeing Strategy and support services to implement it. Set a positive culture around health and wellbeing, reduce burnout and improve attendance across the council. 31 March 2025 Deliver a refreshed approach to workforce planning and workforce innovation. Given the national challenges in recruitment, the council needs robust workforce planning to ensure it attracts and retains the right candidates for new jobs, provides working learning and development for all employees, and has a clear pathway for career progression.. 31 March 2025 Deliver the Purchase to Pay programme which will streamline payments and deliver a more efficient process Customers and suppliers benefit from more efficient processing. 31 December 2025 Deliver the Internal Audit Plan for 2024/25. Robust internal scrutiny provides assurance of good governance to senior leaders, elected members, citizens and external bodies. 31 March 2025 Page 159 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – LIVING OUR VALUES What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Implement the new Customer Strategy. Our staff and our technology will be developed in a way that ensures our customers are central to everything we do. The service our customers receive will be the same whether they call, visit or do it online. and no matter how the customer chooses to do interact with us, we will aim to get it right for them first time. 31 March 2029 Continue to implement a range of technical and non-technical measures to bolster our cyber resilience, protecting our digital assets We make use of technology to minimise the risk of cyber threats, and through training and awareness raising we support our staff and elected members to understand and mitigate the risks. 31 March 2025 Page 160 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – LIVING OUR VALUES Performance Indicator Frequency 2022/23 Value Latest Update Latest Value 2024/25 Target Customer Service Unit - % of calls answered Quarterly 96% Q3 2023/24 93% 90% Cost of collecting council tax per chargeable dwelling Annual 7.97 2022/23 N/A 11.5 Percentage of Council Tax due in the year, collected by the end of the year (cumulative position to date) Quarterly 95.31% Q3 2023/24 85.83% 96% Total % of investigation (Stage 2) complaints responded to within targets by Finance & Resources (cumulative to date) Quarterly 84.9% Q3 2023/24 96.6% 85% Number of invoices paid within 30 days of receipt, as a percentage of all invoices paid council wide (cumulative) Quarterly 90.21% Q3 2023/24 97.19% 95% Average number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee (F&R) (FTE) Quarterly 8.95 Q3 2023/24 2.45 8.5 Days % of Finance and Resources FOI requests completed within timescale Quarterly 97.2% Q3 2023/24 84% 95% Percentage of income due from Council Tax for prior years (cumulative position to date) Quarterly 97.21% Q3 2023/24 97.17% 97.27% Percentage of Non Domestic Rates due in the year, collected by the end of the year (cumulative to date) Quarterly 95.67% Q3 2023/24 80.36% 96.5% Percentage of Audit Plan completed (cumulative) Quarterly 93.2% Q3 2023/24 64.2% 90% F&R Front Line complaints (Cumulative) Quarterly 86.6% Q3 2023/24 88.3% 85% Average days Small and Medium sized businesses invoices paid Quarterly 13.06 Q3 2023/24 6.85 15 Days Page 161 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Cross-cutting theme Additional actions for cross-cutting theme What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Contribute to the Council’s commitment to The Promise for all care experienced people Care experienced young people have better outcomes and a more positive experience of care; feel listened to and valued; can build and maintain good relationships. 31 March 2026 IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ‘Across all of our work and all of our efforts, we hope for loving and happy lives for Renfrewshire’s children – working together to get it right for children, families and communities – protecting, learning, achieving and nurturing. Every priority of this Council Plan will contribute to improving the lives of Renfrewshire’s children and their families. It is our fundamental duty as an organisation and our shared responsibility as citizens of this place to ensure that our children inherit a Renfrewshire where their wellbeing is nurtured, their futures are bright, and their environment is safe and healthy.’ Page 162 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan 2024– 27 For more information, please contact: policycefar@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 163 of 396
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_________________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 Report By: Chief Executive Heading: Chief Executive’s Service – Annual Health and Safety Report 2023/2024 and Action Plan & Performance Indicators 2024/2025 1. Summary 1.1 The Council’s Health, Safety and Welfare Policy requires each service to submit an annual report and an annual Health and Safety action plan to the relevant Policy Board. 1.2 The Chief Executive’s Service annual progress report is attached as Appendix 1. This summarises the achievements from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 setting out the arrangements for the management of health, safety and wellbeing within the service. 1.3 In terms of looking forward, the Chief Executive’s Service action plan and performance indicators for 2024/2025 is attached as Appendix 2 to this report. It sets out the planned actions the service will undertake during 2024/2025, outlining the service’s commitment to continuous improvement in health and safety performance in accordance with the People Strategy – Ongoing implementation of key priorities (Health and Wellbeing Plan 2024/2029). ________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: i) notes the content of the annual report attached at Appendix 1; and ii) approves the Chief Executive’s Service health and safety action plan and performance indicators for 2024/2025 at Appendix 2. __________________________________________________________________ Item 7 Page 164 of 396
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3. Background 3.1 The Chief Executive’s Service delivers a range of strategic services within the organisation. We do this through a range of activities delivered across our service areas: policy and partnerships, economy and development, City Deal and infrastructure, and communications, marketing and events. Our services are delivered by 241 employees, led by the Chief Executive who is supported by the Head of Policy and Partnerships, the Head of Marketing and Communications, the Head of Economy and Development, and the Programme Director (City Deal and Infrastructure). 3.2 The Chief Executive’s Service Head of Policy and Partnerships is the lead officer for health, safety and wellbeing within the service and is supported by the Strategy, Policy and Insight Manager and a Policy Officer We have a proactive approach and commitment to health, safety and wellbeing which is supported by the service’s working group. 3.3 As with other Council services, employees have been hybrid working, splitting their working week between home and office. The service has adapted its processes and procedures to ensure that standards for all employees working from home or in the office are maintained, with the health, safety and wellbeing of employees being a priority. The service’s health and safety working group meet’s quarterly via Teams. Since 1 April 2023, Community Learning and Development have been part of the Chief Executive’s service, and Procurement has transferred to Finance and Resources. 3.4 The annual report 2023/2024 (Appendix 1) looks back at health, safety and wellbeing achievements over that period. 3.5 The action plan and performance indicators 2024/2025 identifies areas for future and continued action which is included as Appendix 2 to this report. The action plan is monitored on a quarterly basis by the service’s health and safety working group and a biannual progress report will be presented to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board in both Autumn 2024 and Spring 2025. 3.6 The preparation of this annual report and action plan has been supported by the Finance and Resources, People and Organisational Development (People & OD) Health and Safety Team. Page 165 of 396
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial Implications – None. 2. HR & Organisational Development Implications – This report has taken into account the restructuring of services with Community Learning & Development now part of the Chief Executives Service and procurement having left the service and now report to Finance & Resources. 3. Community/Council Planning Implications – None. 4. Legal Implications – None. 5. Property/Assets Implications – None. 6. Information Technology Implications – None. 7. Equality & Human Rights Implications - 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 Implications - The report supports and demonstrates the Council and the Chief Executive’s service’s commitment to ensuring effective health and safety management. 9. Procurement Implications - None. 10. Risk Implications - The report supports the overarching management of risk within Renfrewshire Council. 11. Privacy Impact Implications - None. 12. Cosla Policy position – None. 13. Climate Risk – None. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Pamela McDonald, pamela.mcdonald@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 166 of 396
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APPENDIX 1 CHIEF EXECUTIVES SERVICE ANNUAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REPORT 2023/24 Page 167 of 396
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The Council’s new Health and Wellbeing Plan 2024/2029 sets out the vision for employee wellbeing. It aligns to the Council Plan 2022/2027 and our People Strategy “Our People Our Future 2021-2026”. This Plan builds on the progress made within the previous Health, Safety and Wellbeing Strategy 2019- 22. This annual report has been prepared by the Chief Executive’s Service in accordance with the plans referenced above jointly with Renfrewshire Council’s Health and Safety Policy and Plan, the purpose of which is to evaluate the health and safety performance of the service during 2023/2024 and set future health and safety objectives for 2024/2025. The Council’s vision is to provide a ‘safe, healthy, and inclusive workplace’ considering physical, mental, social and financial wellbeing and we will support this and continue to raise the profile of health and wellbeing across the service. 1. Management of health and safety within the Chief Executive’s Service 1.1 The corporate policy on health, safety and wellbeing was revised and approved in December 2021 and due for review in 2024. The current policy outlines the organisational responsibilities of the Chief Executive, managers, employees and others (e.g. fire wardens, first aiders and lone workers). The following details are included: the health and safety arrangements within the service; the specific information regarding health and safety advice and training; and how to raise health and safety concerns and how to report an accident. 1.2 The policy is available for employees to read within the service or from the Chief Executive’s Service health and safety page on the intranet. While the Chief Executive has overall responsibility for the implementation of the policy, the Senior Management Team and managers have a general responsibility to ensure that safe conditions of work apply at all times. 1.3 The service’s strategy aims to ensure that health and safety is an integral part of the overall management of the service and the service continually seeks ways to ensure a safe workplace for all employees. 2. Organisation for implementing health and safety management 2.1 The Head of Policy and Partnerships is the lead officer for health, safety and wellbeing within the Chief Executive’s Service and is supported by the Strategy, Policy and Insight Manager. This ensures that health and safety remain a priority within the service. 2.2 The service’s health and safety co-ordinator attends the Corporate Health and Safety Committee (CHSC) and provides a service update on health, safety and wellbeing. The working group is informed of outcomes from the CHSC which they then share with their local teams and managers. Page 168 of 396
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The CHSC also enables the escalation of any health, safety and wellbeing issues that cannot be resolved at local level and also to share lessons learned across services. 2.3 The service has a working group which is attended by representatives from across the service and meets quarterly. It is also attended by a Health & Safety Adviser from People and Organisational Development (People & OD) Health and Safety Team. 2.4 This year say the introduction of quarterly meetings with the Head of Policy and Partnerships, the service H&S Coordinator and Corporate Health & Safety Adviser to provide an update from both the service working group meetings and Corporate Health & Safety committee. This provides the opportunity to discuss both service and councilwide issues and any further action deemed necessary. These meetings ensure there is effective communication across all levels of the service. 2.5 It is a requirement of the Corporate Health, Safety and Welfare Policy 2021 that the service should engage with trade union appointed safety representatives and, where elected, non-trade union representatives of employee safety. We do this in relation to any specific service developments and any other issues which would require union input. 3. Planning and setting standards: Plan - Do - Check - Act 3.1 The Chief Executive’s service health & safety arrangements are be based on the Plan – Do – Check – Act approach referred to in the Corporate Health & Safety policy. This methodology achieves a balance between the systems and behavioural aspects of management. It also treats health and safety management as an integral part of good management generally, rather than being stand- alone. Page 169 of 396
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3.2 The Chief Executive’s service has a risk control strategy in place to minimise employees and service users’ exposure to significant risks. The risk profile includes delivering public events, activities undertaken by Communities, Learning & Development, Building Standards, City Deal, Estates, Development Management as well as management responsible for premises outwith Renfrewshire House. These risks include: Musculo-skeletal (DSE); Working at height; Lone working; Occupational driving; Violence & aggression; Stress (work and non work related); Council managed public events; Fire, safety & management; and Slips, trips and falls The service has a Risk Register to monitor general risk assessments (tasks undertaken by employees) and fire safety risk assessments to ensure they are current and accurate. 3.3 Following the recent restructure and the movement of Community Learning & Development (CLAD) to the Chief Executive’s service we will review current practice and identify any learning or improvements within CLD that can also be shared across the service. 3.4 Going forward during 2024/25, the review of risk assessments will remain a key focus for the service with the introduction of a performance indicator to ensure risk assessments are reviewed within 30 days of their planned review date. The service recognises that risk assessments may be required to be reviewed before their review date based on change of tasks, legislation or following an adverse event. 3.5 The events team manage a programme of public events each of which are individually risk assessed. A bespoke Event Management pack is created in conjunction with multi agency partners and Council services for each event, with public safety the main priority. The Executive Events Group chaired by the Head of Marketing, Comms and Events with membership from Events, Health and Safety, Civil Contingencies, Risk Management and Regulatory Services have oversight of all event management plans and provide final sign off on the major events management and delivery plans. 3.6 Over the past few years the team have upskilled in crowd management profiling and science by working alongside a crowd management industry expert and undertaking crowd management training. The team continue to work with council services, blue light partners and freelance health and safety support to design and deliver the major events programme. Page 170 of 396
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3.7 During 2023/24, the service has continued to monitor DSE assessments across the service, we recognise the monitoring of DSE compliance has been mainly reactive. Now that Business World has a DSE Manager report, this will enable managers to proactively monitor compliance within their local teams. This will be taken forward as a new action for 2024/25. 3.8 Fire safety is managed by fire evacuation drills, risk assessments and training for all premises occupied by employees. 3.9 As of 1 July 2023, Scottish Fire and Rescue no longer automatically attend 999 calls to ‘non-exempt’ premises including offices and shops unless a fire or sign of fire has been confirmed to reduce the amount of responses to unwanted fire alarm signals (UFAS). For Chief Executive’s this affected the Russell Institute, InCube and premises occupied by CLAD. Prior to the implementation date, the FAR HR and OD Health and Safety team issued regular comms and prepared an iLearn course to help managers prepare. 3.10 Managers collaborated with other services on site to ensure adequate arrangements were in place for this change. There was also communication and discussion with employees to ensure awareness. 3.11 Following the approval of the Health and Wellbeing Plan 2024 – 2029, the Chief Executive’s service for 2024/25 will address wellbeing by having it as a standing item on the working group agenda. Our programme of personal development plans and one-to-ones allow us to identify the impact of any work-related or personal issues on colleagues and provide support and early intervention linked to personal wellbeing and resilience. We also require senior management to ensure health, safety and wellbeing is included as a standing item as part of regular team meetings and the Chief Executive’s SMT. 3.12 We are at present actively monitoring absence reasons including utilisation of employee support services (i.e. Occupational Health and employee counselling) to help inform our approach to wellbeing during 2024/25. Collaboration and suggestions from employees across the service about what matters most will allow the group to focus on these, this may involve guest speakers on topics or short spotlight session similar in approach to what is offered corporately. 3.13 The Chief Executive’s service has a wealth of knowledge and expertise which will allow us to address the four key themes specified within the Health and Wellbeing Plan 2024 – 2029 which are mental, physical, social and financial wellbeing. 4. Measuring performance – Active and Reactive monitoring Active monitoring 4.1 Due to the recovery phase coming out of the Covid pandemic, the Chief Executive’s Service Health & Safety Action Plan 2023/24 included a number of actions to monitor key areas with no specific performance measures put into place at that time. Following the development of the Chief Executive’s Service Health & Safety Action Plan 2024/25, a number of leading performance indicators have been identified which will be monitored through the reporting year. Page 171 of 396
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4.2 As stated in paragraph 2.5 above, we will engage with trade union appointed safety representatives and, where elected, non-trade union representatives of employee safety. They will include being added to the membership of the Chief Executive’s Service Health & Safety working group. 4.3 In relation to ensuring statutory compliance within our outlying premises, relevant managers collaborate with other services on site to ensure compliance with the Council’s current statutory inspections and maintenance guidance. The logbook used to record compliance checks requires to be reviewed to enable recording of any UFAS, mentioned in paragraph 3.9 above. The FAR (People & OD) Health and Safety Team and Environmental, Housing & Infrastructure (EHI) have jointly reviewed the safety check logbook and this was issued to managers. This logbook will be regularly audited by the responsible manager, by FAR (People & OD) Health and Safety Team, SFR and the Council’s Fire Alarm maintenance contractor. 4.4 The service has been encouraged to utilise the health and safety training available on iLearn with the main focus for 2023/24 being the mandatory Display Screen Assessment (DSE), with 170 iLearn courses completed over the two year period as well as fire related training as evidenced within the table below. The training with lower numbers is additional and has been completed by employees where it does not directly relate to their job roles. 4.5 Within the service we currently have 8 trained renumerated first aiders based in Renfrewshire House and the Russell Institute. There is a central list of all trained Mental Health First Aiders published on our website, employees who would benefit from support for their own mental health and wellbeing can reach out to anyone on the list. Employees will be listened to in confidence, without judgement and be signposted to access support. The service working group will continue to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing support and resources in 2024/25. 4.6 Going forward for 2024/25 the service, with management support will produce a matrix to aid with monitoring health and safety training relating to the job role/tasks undertaken by employees. During the reporting year 2024/25 we aim to raise the profile of Accident & Incident Reporting – Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrence Regulations (RIDDOR) and Stress Awareness and Risk Assessment training. Page 172 of 396
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From 2025/26 we aim to have a quantitative performance indicator to monitor health and safety training compliance in relation to job role requirements. 4.7 The Chief Executive’s service health and safety working group is made up of representatives from across the service and a member of the FAR (People & OD) Health and Safety Team. The working group met quarterly and monitored the service Health & Safety plan actions. Any information communicated via the CHSC was shared with the group to share with their local teams. Looking forward to 2024/25, with the introduction of leading health and safety performance indicators, management input to these will be essential. 4.8 The Building Standards team have reviewed the risks in relation to exposure to blood borne viruses and it has been established that the risk of exposure, though limited, could be present during general day to day inspection activities. Therefore, the vaccine has been offered to all Building Standards staff and those who wish to take up the offer will be referred to Occupational Health for the inoculation. Reactive monitoring 4.9 During 2023/24 it has been noted that the main absence reasons for the service include psychological, respiratory, stomach and cancer. Support is provided via Occupational Health and employee assistance provider (currently Time for Talking). It is noted that a new absence policy was launched at the start of March 2024 and anticipate the benefits of this new policy will become apparent during 2024/25. 4.10 Re-active monitoring also includes analysing accidents and incidents reported to identify and implement an accident prevention programme. Historically the number of accidents and incidents reported within the Chief Executive’s service has been low. However, the working group continued to encourage a culture of accident/incident reporting within the service. Number of service reported accidents/incidents per reporting year Reporting Year Who was involved? Accident/Incident Description Severity Outcome 2021/22 - - - - 2022/23 1 x Employee Another kind of accident (removal of PPE footwear) Minor Employee supported after incident 1 x Employee Violence & Aggression (V&A) Incident Management actions to review procedures for visiting clients and review risk assessment. V&A training requested. 2023/24 1 x Employee Struck by object (Back of head) Minor Employee supported after incident 1 x Employee Medical incident First Aid Employee supported after incident and on return to work 1 x Employee Lifting/handling issue Minor Review of task RA Page 173 of 396
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(Wedged between the objects) and importance of dynamic RA 1 x Employee Slip, trip or fall at same level (slip on uneven/wet ground whilst wearing work boots) Minor Employee supported after incident 1 x Employee Slip, trip or fall at same level (minor fall) Minor Employee supported after incident 4.11 During the last reporting year there were a total of four work related accidents and one medical incident recorded. The four work related accidents all involved employees who sustained minor injuries. 4.12 We have identified we require to raise management awareness regarding their responsibility for the reporting and investigating of accident/incidents. This will be addressed during 2024/25 with the introduction of a new health and safety training matrix based on job role/tasks undertaken. 5. Review of support services 5.1 As noted in this report we are at present actively monitoring absence reasons including utilisation of employee support services (ie. Occupational Health and employee counselling) to help inform our approach to wellbeing during 2024/25, this will include summer and winter themed campaigns. 6. Annual H&S Plan 2024/2025 6.1 We considered the Service Improvement Plan 2024/2027 when preparing this annual Health and Safety plan and have identified our main risks. We also considered the significant risks referenced in the Corporate Health and Safety policy, and those specific to the service are listed in paragraph 3.2. 6.2 The Chief Executive's Service Health and Safety Action Plan and Performance Indicators 2024-2025 is included in this report as Appendix 2. 6.3 The service will ensure all performance reporting is uploaded into our performance management software, Pentana. This will be monitored on a quarterly basis at the service working group and progress of the action plan and performance indicators reported to Board biannually. This meets the requirement of the Plan – Do – Check – Act cycle in the Health and Safety policy. 7. Conclusion 7.1 Health, safety and wellbeing is a key priority within the Chief Executive’s Service. Managing health and safety in the workplace is not only morally and legally responsible, it also makes good financial sense. Reducing workplace accidents and ill health saves on compensation claims, medical expenses, and legal fees while increasing productivity and efficiency. This should encourage retention of employees as they feel valued and ultimately positively impact on Renfrewshire Council’s reputation and brand. Page 174 of 396
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Chief Executive's Service Health and Safety Action Plan & Performance Indicators 2024-2025 Appendix 2 Action Code Action Title Due Date CEH&S24.01 Recognise the Council’s Health & Wellbeing Strategy ensuring all employees are aware of initiatives and participate where relevant / required, including any related performance management measures 31-Mar-2025 CEH&S24.02 Awareness and compliance with the revised Council’s Corporate Policy on Health, Safety and Wellbeing (Dec 2021 – due for review in 2024) 31-Mar-2025 CEH&S24.03 Monitor and review all workplace risk assessments to ensure they remain suitable and sufficient and maintain the service’s risk assessment register - this will include associated safe working procedures for employees. 31-Mar-2025 CEH&S24.04 Implement and monitor a manager led health and safety inspection programme across all service locations. 31-Mar-2025 CEH&S24.05 Monitor DSE assessments across the service with regular updates from managers. 31-Mar-2025 CEH&S24.06 Encourage and monitor health and safety training on iLearn and in-person training as required and determined by employee activities and roles. This would include all mandatory health and safety training to be determined by the service as a result of producing a health and safety training matrix for the service relating to the job role/tasks undertaken by the employee. 31-Mar-2025 CEH&S24.07 Continue to encourage reporting of incidents and monitor any workplace accidents involving employees in the Chief Executive’s service. 31-Mar-2025 CEH&S24.08 Ensure that all events planned have an individual event manual which includes health and safety. 31-Mar-2025 CEH&S24.09 Ensure all service areas are represented at the Chief Executive’s health and safety working group, including after any service reviews/restructures. 31-Mar-2025 CEH&S24.10 Review health and safety arrangements within Community Learning and Development and identity opportunities for cross-service learning and/or improvement. 31-Mar-2025 PI Code Performance Indicator CEHSRA Ensure risk assessments have been reviewed within 30 days of their planned review date Page 175 of 396
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PI Code Performance Indicator CEHSWOIR Introduce a planned WOIR programme ensuring inspections are completed within the relevant reporting quarter CEHSDSE Monitor the number of DSE assessments completed within 28 days Page 176 of 396
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2 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Environment, Housing and Infrastructure - Service Improvement Plan 2023-26 Outturn Report ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Service Improvement Plan 2023-26 was approved by the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board on 8 June 2023. The plan sets out the priorities for the development of the service over a three-year period. 1.2 The Service Improvement Plan is part of a suite of documents which describe the strategic direction of the service and the Council and also includes the Council Plan, Community Plan, Risk Management Plan and the Workforce Plan. 1.3 The Service Improvement Plan sets out the actions which will ensure continuous improvement across the service and the performance indicators which ensure the impact can be measured. These reflect the priority themes of the new Council Plan which was approved by Council on 29 September 2022. 1.4 Full details of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure performance and achievements over the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 are appended to this report. The main purpose of the report is to provide: • details of the key achievements of the service over the period; • an update on changes made to the action plan and scorecard to reflect the new Council Plan themes; Item 8 Page 177 of 396
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3 • a progress update on implementing the action plan linked to the 2022-25 Service Improvement Plan; and • an assessment of performance in relation to the service scorecard of core performance indicators; 1.5 During 2023/24, the service has made good progress in delivering positive outcomes for Renfrewshire and its residents. This includes through the actions within the Service Improvement Plan and also other areas of activity which did not form part of the Service Improvement Plan actions which have subsequently arisen during 2023/24. 1.6 A new Service Improvement Plan covering the period 2024-26 is also being presented to this meeting of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board. 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board 2.1 Note the content of this report 2.2 Note the progress to date on delivering the actions contained within the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure - Service Improvement Plan; 2.3 Note the current performance of the service as measured by the scorecard indicators. 3. Background 3.1 The Service Improvement Plan is a comprehensive statement of the outcomes the service aims to achieve, and the actions it will take to achieve these. It fits within the wider planning framework of the Council by taking account of Community Planning themes and Council priorities as set out in the new Council Plan. It enables elected members to have oversight of developments within the service and to consider and develop policy options which reflect customer need and resource availability. 3.2 The service improvement plan also provides a mechanism by which elected members can evaluate the performance of the service. It contains an action Page 178 of 396
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4 plan and performance indicators against which progress can be measured. This outturn report provides an update on progress against the 2023-26 plan. 4. Service Update and Key Achievements April 2023 to March 2024 4.1 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure continues to deliver essential frontline services across Renfrewshire. Key achievements for Environment, Housing & Infrastructure under the remit of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board are detailed throughout the action plan and performance indicators in the appendix. 5. Areas where actions have been delayed or cancelled 5.1 As previously reported, there have been challenges for Building Services/Hard FM around the WorkHub system that is used for job management and recording across the repairs and maintenance service, work has continued with regards to the contract. Work has commenced on an upgrade of the system which will add more operatives to the system and remove some of the manual workarounds that have been in place for some time. 6. Progress against performance measures 6.1 Environment, Housing, and Infrastructure report on 10 performance indicators, all reported on quarterly. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The Service Improvement Plan highlights resourcing pressures arising from increasing demand for services and the current financial environment. 2. HR & Organisational Development – The Service Improvement Plan also highlights workforce development and wellbeing considerations. 3. Community/Council Planning – The report details a range of activities which reflect Council and Community Planning themes and a direct link to the delivery of the Council Plan. 4. Legal – none. 5. Property/Assets – none. 6. Information Technology – Service developments relating to information technology are key enablers of service improvement and modernisation and support service-level and corporate objectives. 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’ Page 179 of 396
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5 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 – Risks related to the delivery and management of services are regularly monitored and included in Renfrewshire Council’s Corporate and Strategic Risk Registers. 11. Privacy Impact – none. 12. COSLA Policy Position – none. 13. Climate Change – Actions and indicators within the SIP covers the ‘green’ theme of Renfrewshire’s Council Plan which highlights activities across the Council to tackle climate change. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board; 8 June 2023, Environment, Housing, and Infrastructure – Service Improvement Plan 2023/24 - Item 11. Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board; 23 November 2023 Environment, Housing, and Infrastructure - Service Improvement Plan 2023/26 Mid- Year Monitoring Report - Item 7. ___________________________________________________________________ Author Gordon McNeil, Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Email: gordon.mcneil@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 180 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Service Improvement Plan 2023 - 26 Outturn Report May 2024 Page 181 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Welcome to our outturn report • This update reflects progress over the last year of our Service Improvement Plan (SIP) and the following pages shine a spotlight on some great projects or practice and highlight areas where we’d like to improve or develop further. • Our Service Improvement Plan is closely aligned to the Council Plan and each of the actions and performance indicators within the SIP are grouped under the appropriate Council Plan theme to show the linkage between what we are aiming to achieve and the corporate priorities of the Council. Towards the end of this document, you’ll find a full update against all the actions and performance indicators we use to measure progress. • We report on 10 performance indicators, all reported quarterly. Page 182 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level About us This update covers the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure service areas within the remit of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board. These are: Facilities Management & Property Services covers four key service areas: soft facilities, hard facilities, support services and property services. Soft facilities cover janitorial, cleaning, catering, housekeeping and school crossing patrollers. Hard services cover building services operations, repairs and maintenance for housing and public buildings. Support services is responsible for compliance in schools and public buildings, life cycle maintenance in schools & public buildings and PPP contract management. Property Services is a multi- disciplinary design consultancy commissioned by Council Departments to deliver projects. Page 183 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan Economy: Environment, Housing & Infrastructure continue to provide apprenticeship and trainee opportunities across services, encouraging positive destinations. Green: Renfrewshire’s focus on the journey to Net Zero is supported by efforts in Facilities Management and Property services. Place: Partnership working informs the facilities management provision across new developments. The delivery and turnaround of void properties review continues to work towards returning properties to the letting pool as soon as possible. The Strategic Property review across the Council estate is progressing well. Page 184 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - Place Achievements: • The percentage of compliance tasks for public buildings is trending to meet the 90% target. • The Strategic Property review continues to progress. Work has been undertaken to collect and assess data for the Council portfolio. All properties have now been assessed via a matrix to allow strategic decisions to be made with regards to the property portfolio. • Property Services is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy commissioned by Facilities Management or Council Departments to deliver projects, including managing and delivering solution to the RAAC panels within Castlehead HS gym areas, delivery in September 2023 of the Paisley Learning and Cultural Hub, completion of the Paisley Arts Centre project in April 2024 and the Renfrewshire House Car Park works. • Review of the voids process in partnership with consultants to improve and minimise the time taken to turnaround properties and release back to the letting pool has been completed and action plan being implemented through the creation of a Single Voids Team. Page 185 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - Economy Achievements: • Employment, training and apprenticeship opportunities are positively received in identified groups of young people in Renfrewshire. • Building Services currently have 2 people from the traineeship programme Invest in Renfrewshire, and also have 2 adult trade apprentices from Catch. 2 apprentices have been nominated for APSE Apprentice of the year award. • 2 Invest trainees now have permanent jobs in Soft FM, a third is currently going through recruitment for a post. Page 186 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - Fair Achievements: • Provision of healthy meals to meet the requirements of the Nutritional Requirements of the Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 continues to be delivered. A new menu is being launched in June 2024. • Full redesign of kitchen facilities in Mossvale/St James’, Barsail and Bushes Primary schools have been completed. All 3 kitchens are now full production cooking kitchens. Page 187 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Living our Values: making a difference together We are focusing on understanding the impact of trauma and reflecting our learning in how we deliver our services, alongside the language we use to help tackle stigma. 100% of Freedom of Information requests were responded to on time. 85% of frontline resolutions responded to within agreed timescales. 89% of complaints investigations resolved within agreed timescales Performance and management processes continue to provide focus on analysis and improvement. Work continues to develop the depth and breadth of content to continue to provide robust data led intelligence to shape future service delivery. Operations, Infrastructure & Service Development have been successfully re-accredited through strategic review for the next three years of accreditation to the ISO9001 Quality Management Systems standard. Page 188 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Improving Outcomes for Children and Families Achievements: • Environment, Housing & Infrastructure have been liaising with the Council's Promise lead officer to ensure the service is supporting The Promise. • Facilities Management continue to focus on getting it right for children, families and communities through the delivery of a programme of engagement with schools, parents and pupils, encouraging participation in the development of school meal menus. Across all of our work and all of our efforts, we hope for loving and happy lives for Renfrewshire’s children – working together to get it right for children, families and communities – protecting, learning, achieving and nurturing. Every priority of our Council Plan contributes to improving the lives of Renfrewshire’s children and their families. Page 189 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Actions and indicators Outturn Report May 2024 Page 190 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Place What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Review and strategically plan both proactive planned preventative maintenance and reactive repairs to public buildings in Renfrewshire including schools 31 March 2024 The 5-year building condition surveys of the education estate is now complete. The data is currently being assessed and further engagement will be required with Children Services and finance partners to help shape the spend profile/priorities moving forward. Any works planned will need to align with the current Net Zero strategy. Continue to review and deliver an electronic job management and stores system. 31 March 2024 Building Services are working with the current hybrid system and are planning to increase the electronic diary management. Reports on time and materials have been developed and checked for robustness via the lead Financial Partner. There has been some operational progress with the supplier of the Workhub system with an upgrade taking place in 2024. Lead and drive the Strategic Property Review across Renfrewshire Council’s estate. 31 March 2024 Work has been undertaken to collect and assess data for the Council portfolio. All properties have now been assessed via a matrix to allow strategic decisions to be made with regards to the property portfolio. The long term lease at Abbey House has ended with staff being relocated to Renfrewshire House. Other leases e.g. 5a High Street have ended and work continues to review different strands/themes e.g. Community Halls/Self Managed Halls, surplus properties etc. Page 191 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Place Indicator Current Status 2021/22 2022/23 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2023/24 2023/2 4 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Value Value Value Target Value % of Overall repairs completed within time by building services 93.68% 95% 93.43% 95% 91% 95.9% 92.3% 91% 95% 92.1% The value for 2023/24 is slightly below target of 95% Average length of time taken to complete non-emergency repairs – public buildings (days) 17.2 15 N/A 15 N/A N/A N/A N/A 15 N/A As previously reported, there have been challenges for Building Services/Hard FM around the WorkHub system that is used for job management and recording across the repairs and maintenance service. Manual workarounds have been put in place with regards to updating and processing completed work. Whilst the work is being done timeously, the manual closing of the jobs (process delay) means that figures are not meaningful or accurate. Work is being undertaken with contractor to upgrade the system to resolve these on-going issues. % of compliance tasks undertaken per year –Statutory compliance for public buildings 72% 80% 82% 80% 90% 87% 85% 89% 90% 88% Compliance is sitting just below target. We continue to monitor performance at the contractors monthly progress meetings and we reiterate the importance of contractors issuing certificates timeously to ensure these are recorded as complete within timescale. Page 192 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Economy What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Provide employment, training and apprenticeship opportunities for identified groups of young people in Renfrewshire 31 March 2024 Building Services currently have 2 people from the traineeship programme Invest in Renfrewshire inaddition we also have 2 adult trade apprentices from Catch. For 2024 apprentice intake we have advertised 7 youth apprentices and 1 adult apprentice. 2 apprentices have been nominated for APSE Apprentice of the year award. 2 Invest trainees now have permanent jobs in Soft FM, a third is currently going through recruitment for a post. Page 193 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Fair What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Provide healthy meals that meet the requirements of the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020 by analysing the school menus to comply 31 March 2024 A new Primary menu is being launched in June 2024. The service continually seeks feedback and updated the menu regularly to improve the quality of meals and meet service user’s needs. Work in partnership with Community Learning and Development Team as an integral part of the holiday programme through the provision and delivery of healthy meals 31 March 2024 This partnership programme is ongoing across school holiday periods. Work with the Scottish Government to continue to deliver the further expansion of free school meals to all P6/P7 pupils and to deliver a free breakfast service for all primary school pupils. 31 March 2024 Capital funding of £1.569m for P6/7 expansion for SCP has been received. Work is underway with colleagues In Property Services to commence upgrading 5 primary schools to full production kitchens, with an estimated completion date of August 2025. The five primary schools Heriot, Our Lady of Peace, Howwood, St Margaret’s and Kilbarchan. Further capital funding is expected from Scottish Government for 2024-25. Page 194 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Fair What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Deliver the capital investment of £867k across 3 primary schools in Renfrewshire to allow fully equipped cooking kitchens to be put in place. 31 March 2024 Refurbishments competed in December 2023, all 3 kitchens now full production cooking kitchens. Page 195 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Fair Indicator Current Status 2021/22 2022/23 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2023/24 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Value Value Value Target Value % uptake of free school meals in primary schools TBC 49.3% 75% 53.4% 52% 51.6% 49.3% 52% 55% 60% 52.5% Although the overall figure is 52.5%, you can see the increase in Q3 and Q4. This is a direct result of activity in the schools, specifically targeting P5, where we see a very low uptake. Menus are being changed regularly in line with survey feedback from teacher, parents, children and catering staff. (new menu June 2024). Taster sessions being run in schools with particularly low uptake. Also working with Head Teachers looking at ways to improving the dining experience, staggered lunches being considered, this will allow longer for children to eat. In Q3, 3 kitchens changed from import to cooking kitchens, so that increased the uptake too. % uptake of free school meals in secondary schools TBC 32.3% 49% 39.1% 35% TBC TBC TBC TBC 42% TBC TBC Page 196 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Living our Values What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Provide our employees with the appropriate support to manage their attendance, health and wellbeing 31 March 2024 The members of the Health and Wellbeing forum are being reviewed as many people have left the employment of Renfrewshire Council. This forum looks at various ways to support employees health and wellbeing across all service areas. Various topics are discussed including menopause and mental health walking groups have been established. Poster frames have been distributed across all premises for the display of information for staff. Mental Health Booklet now updated and published along with a Z card this is being distributed to all frontline staff. This will be added to the employees record and be included in induction packs. Pocket sized cards have been handed out to all frontline employees, the cards provide all contact information for Staff mental health and wellbeing support. Senior Managers continue to strive to assist employees with regards to attendance, health and wellbeing. Work is underway to understand and feed into the new Managing Absence Policy. Funding has been earmarked for continued wellbeing work and will be led on by Senior Manager in Building Services. Implement the next phase of transformation as part of Right for Renfrewshire (Council Plan) 31 March 2024 The Right for Renfrewshire workstream has been closed down for Facilities and Property Services. However, work continues on the review of Community Lets across Renfrewshire. Discussions with OneRen continue to assess lets, particularly at the weekend to maximise income and ensure it is allocated to the appropriate department. Better use of data and technology to improve services performance and delivery 31 March 2024 Following successful trials and testing, the digitisation and delivery of the cleaning audits audit management system (CLAMS) was rolled out in November and December alongside the revised cleaning specification. The app has been downloaded onto staff phones to facilitate digital audits of cleaning across all premises. The development of the app aligns with the British Institute of Cleaning Science system that is also online. The CLAMS app can also produce reports on Power Bi that help the service to manage and improve performance. E,H&I staff have been trained in the use of Power Bi which will assist in the continued development of content to provide robust data led intelligence to help inform future service delivery. Page 197 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Living our Values What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Engage and participate in trauma informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme. 31 March 2024 As part of the Trauma response the service has invested in Mental Health First Aid training. This has been provided to staff to assist in helping to deal with aspects of trauma. Embed new approaches to staff communication and engagement across all areas of the service 31 March 2024 A series of manager away days have been held, with the last one taking place in May 2024. The Strategic Communications Business Partner is now embedded within the service and is supporting the service develop a wide range of approaches to communication and engagement with staff. Ensure robust and up to date business continuity arrangements are in place 31 March 2024 Civil Contingencies Service continues to support services across the council ensuring that they have in place robust arrangements for continued delivery of essential services in the event of significant incidents such as disruptive weather, cyber-attacks, or widespread power outage. Updated draft versions of Business Continuity Plans for all four service areas within E,H&I have been completed and are now waiting feedback from an external cyber consultation before final approval. Embed the enquiry systems for public and elected members across Environment, Housing & Infrastructure services 31 March 2024 There has been progress to report the performance of Elected Member enquiries across EH&I but the recording and monitoring of other enquiries continues to be undertaken separately. Work is ongoing to address this but has been delayed until the new Service Development Team is established. Review Health & Safety and Risk Assessments 31 March 2024 The new Service Development Team are in the process of reviewing H&S and Risk assessments, with the operational services across the whole of E,H&I. Page 198 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Living our Values What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Ensure robust financial monitoring 31 March 2024 The Senior Leadership Team and service managers continue to meet on a period by period basis with finance colleagues to monitor budgets and to ensure the service is provided with the most up to date information to ensure robust financial systems are in place to support the service. Review and maintain continuous improvement frameworks 31 March 2024 Infrastructure & Service Development services have been successfully re-accredited through strategic review for the next three years of accreditation to the ISO9001 Quality Management Systems standard. Following this, a six monthly audit was carried out in March 2024 which resulted in no major non-conformances. Support the Council in developing New Ways of Working (Council Plan) 31 March 2024 A lot of work and preparation on the New Ways of Working has been undertaken with an initial focus on Renfrewshire House as the Council headquarters. This has included setting up cross service Operational and Strategic Groups. Work continues to review the New Ways of Working across Renfrewshire House, with the focus in the coming months also being the office accommodation in Johnstone Town Hall. The staff from Abbey House have been brought back into Renfrewshire House with them conforming to New Ways of Working. In the Spring months in 2024, a focus will be on the 2nd and 3rd floors to get them into Village/hybrid working and ensuring the same set up as other floors. There will also be a review of the Annexe. Work continues with other organisations e.g. RVJB about the potential for them to work from Renfrewshire House. Pilots of sound proof pods, new ICT meeting equipment, head phones and break out areas have been undertaken and reviewed. The work has been undertaken to give the flexibility for staff to continue to work in a hybrid model (wherever possible) and therefore rationalise the number of desks for each team. Work has also been undertaken to understand leases and assess if other organisations e.g. RVJB could be located in Renfrewshire House. Page 199 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Living our Values What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Develop and undertake a Strategic Property Review of Council operational, non- operational and surplus assets (Council Plan) 31 March 2024 Work has been undertaken to collect and assess data for the Council portfolio. All properties have now been assessed via a matrix to allow strategic decisions to be made with regards to the property portfolio. The long term lease at Abbey House has ended with staff being relocated to Renfrewshire House. Other leases e.g. 5a High Street have ended and work continues to review different strands/themes e.g. Community Halls/Self Managed Halls, surplus properties etc. A report will be provided to the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board in either June or after the Summer recess in 2024. Page 200 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Living our Values Indicator Current Status 2021/22 2022/23 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2023/24 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Value Value Value Target Value % of members enquiries completed within timescale by E,H&I 87% 85% 93% 85% 91% 92% 94% 93% 85% 92% Environment, Housing & Infrastructure received 5,084 members enquiries in 2023/24, of which 92.3% were responded to within timescale. % of FOI requests completed within timescale by E,H&I 96% 100% 100% 100% 100% 99% 100% 100% 100% 100% Environment, Housing & Infrastructure dealt with 257 Freedom of Information requests in 2023/24, of which 256 (99.4%) were responded to within timescale. 103 of these requests were cross departmental and 154 were departmental. % of front-line resolutions dealt with within timescale by E,H&I 81% 85% 87% 85% 88% 89% 88% 77% 85% 85% Environment, Housing & Infrastructure received 9,395 front line resolutions in 2023/24, of which 85.1% were responded to within timescale. Page 201 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Living our Values Indicator Current Status 2021/22 2022/23 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 2023/24 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Targe t Value Value Value Value Target Value % of complaint investigations completed within timescale by E,H&I 65% 95% 93% 85% 95% 95% 81% 84% 85% 89% 88.8% of 508 investigation complaints received have been responded to on time Average number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee (FTE) (cumulative) This is a new indicator in 2023/24 covering new service 3.5 days 3.36 days 3.93 days 4.12 days Awaiting HR target info 14.91 days As reported to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board in March 2024 (agenda item 9) Page 202 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Cross Cutting Theme - What we will do Due Date Status Progress update EH&I will work towards keeping The Promise 31 March 2024 Service Areas have been liaising with the Council's Promise lead officer to ensure the service is supporting The Promise. Deliver a programme of engagement with schools, parents, and pupils, encouraging participation in the development of school meal menus 31 March 2024 Officers continually liaise with schools, in particular Head Teachers to understand what is working well (or not so well). Where feedback is received, this is actioned - this has been the case with parts of the new menu which have been changed following feedback. Facilities Managers continue to visit all schools to meet Head Teachers and discuss any issues. The latest survey got over 2,000 responses, with a new Primary menu being implemented in June 2024 in line with feedback. Page 203 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Service Improvement Plan 2023 - 26 Six-monthly progress update November 2023 Page 204 of 396
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2 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Environment, Housing and Infrastructure - 2024-2027 Service Improvement Plan ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Service Improvement Plan for Environment, Housing and Infrastructure is a three-year plan covering the period 2024-2027. The purpose of the Plan is to identify the priorities being addressed, the key tasks to be implemented, the implementation timetable and our measures of success. 1.2 The Service Improvement Plan is part of a suite of documents which describe the strategic direction for the Service and the Council, and also includes the Council Plan, Community Plan, Risk Management Plan, and the Workforce Plan. Following recommendations from the Council’s auditors, the Council Plan priorities are being refocused, and this is reflected in Service Improvement Plans, with services reducing the number of priority areas each year. The new, more accessible, format of Service Improvement Plans, introduced in 2023- 2024, has been retained. 1.3 The Service Improvement Plan is appended to this report and includes performance indicators and an action plan grouped under the Council Plan themes. A mid-year progress update on the Service Improvement Plan will be submitted to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board in the autumn of 2024. Item 9 Page 205 of 396
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3 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: 2.1 Approves the attached Service Improvement Plan; and 2.2 Notes that mid-year progress of this Service Improvement Plan will be reported to this Board in the Autumn of 2024, with updates to the performance indicators and action plan. 3. Background 3.1 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure delivers a wide range of vital services to the people, communities and businesses of Renfrewshire. Within the remit of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board, this includes Corporate Asset Management including Hard and Soft FM, Property Services and Building Services. 4. Service Improvement Plan 2024-2025: What do we want to achieve? 4.1. Council services continue to operate in a challenging context. The Council and services remain ambitious for our people and our place, and the Service Improvement Plan process ensures a clear focus on delivering our priorities. The Service Improvement Plans process allows us to describe where activity is targeted, and through the 6-monthly updates described below, provide a balanced view on progress. 4.2. Our Service Improvement Plan sets out actions for the next three years, and in 2024/25 our particular areas of focus for those areas under the remit of the board will be: • Lead on the “Strategic Property review” across the Council’s estate • Develop and focus on repairs and compliance within the Council’s property portfolio – with short, medium and long-term plans • Continue to develop large capital projects, including schools for Renfrewshire Council. • Deliver repairs and maintenance to around 12,200 Council housing properties, including re-letting/void properties and produce a robust business plan that looks at the short, medium and long term. Page 206 of 396
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4 5. Monitoring progress 5.1 Progress on the implementation of the Service Improvement Plan is regularly monitored by the Senior Management Team and will be reported to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board on a six-monthly basis. A mid-year review of progress will be brought to this Board in Autumn 2024 and an annual outturn report in Spring 2025. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – This report notes the financial challenges facing the local authority and the work that will be undertaken by the service to manage this. 2. HR & Organisational Development – The Service Improvement Plan details several pieces of work being progressed by the People & OD team. 3. Community/Council Planning – Service Improvement Plans reflect the contribution of each service to the Council and Community Plans. 4. Legal – None 5. Property/Assets – None 6. Information Technology – Digital resources are now key to the delivery of services and strategies are in place to manage this. 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 because it is for noting only. The delivery of actions included in the appendix will be impact assessed where appropriate. 8. Health & Safety – The Service Improvement Plan includes actions relating to employee wellbeing and absence. 9. Procurement – The Service Improvement Plan includes actions relating to procurement activity. Page 207 of 396
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5 10. Risk – Risks related to the delivery and management of services are regularly monitored and included in Renfrewshire Council’s Corporate and Strategic Risk Registers. 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. COSLA Policy Position – None 13. Climate Change – The Service Improvement Plan includes actions and indicators under the theme “Green” demonstrating how it will contribute to Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero. ___________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Gordon McNeil, Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Email: gordon.mcneil@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 208 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Service Improvement Plan 2024 - 27 Page 209 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Welcome to our Service Improvement Plan As Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure,I’mdelighted to introduceour new Service Improvement Plan which covers the period 2024 to 2027. This plan describes how our team will focus our efforts to deliver thestrategic outcomes described in the Council Plan 2022 to 2027 of Place, Economy, Fair,Green and LivingOur Values. Environment, Housing & Infrastructure delivers a wide range of vital services to the people, communities and businesses of Renfrewshire. This includes universal provision such as waste collection, road maintenance, environmental health services and facility management across our housing stock and public buildings. We manage over 12,200 Council houses and support vulnerable people experiencing homelessness and those threatened by homelessness. Our service has also played a critical role in supporting the Council’s response to the asylum and refugee programmes over the last two years. Although this is a challenging time for local government, we are still ambitious for Renfrewshire and our service lead on the over £100m Housing led regeneration programme, which forms part of our £400m investment in our housing stock across all of Renfrewshire over the next 30 years. We also lead on the council’s Plan for Net Zero, which sets out how the area will work towards net zero by 2030. As a Council, we will play a leadership role by striving to become a net zero organisation while working closely with businesses, partners and stakeholders to make radical, but essential, changes across the whole of Renfrewshire. Environment, Housing & Infrastructure also supports strategic Council projects such as the City Deal programme , the refurbishment and new school build programmes and town centre projects including the new museum. I know the dedication of our colleagues across all areas of the service will ensure the ambitious agenda outlined within the Service Improvement Plan is delivered to support individuals, communities and businesses across Renfrewshire to flourish. Page 210 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Environment, Housing and infrastructure - Our service Page 211 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level About us • Climate, Public Protection & Roads responsibilities include the Council’s Roads, Public Transport, Parking & Active Travel services, as well as leading the response to Climate Change and Ren Zero, along with Energy Management, Regulatory & Public Protection services. This includes partnership working with police, fire and other multiagency partners. • Operations & Service Development responsibilities include Waste Services, Fleet & Social Transport, Neighbourhood Services, Grass, Grounds & Cemeteries Maintenance, Burials & Country Park Management, Civil Contingencies and Service Development. Environment, Housing & Infrastructure is responsible for the provision of every day essential services, directly to the public of Renfrewshire, to other services within the Council and to community planning partners. • Facilities Management & Property Services covers four key service areas: soft facilities, hard facilities, support services and property services. Soft facilities cover janitorial, cleaning, catering, housekeeping and school crossing patrollers. Hard services cover building services operations, repairs and maintenance for housing and public buildings and streetlighting maintenance. Support services is responsible for compliance in schools and public buildings, life cycle maintenance in schools & public buildings, PPP contract management. Property Services is a multi- disciplinary design consultancy commissioned by Council Departments to deliver projects. • Housing Services responsibilities include managing and investing in our housing stock of approximately 12,200 properties and providing services to Council tenants, alongside housing advice and support, assisting homeless people and those threatened with homelessness and ensuring people have safe and healthy places to live, and supports the council’s response to migration and asylum. Page 212 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Renfrewshire Council’s Service Improvement Context Reflecting our values Delivering financially sustainable services Promoting equality, diversity and inclusion Delivering Best Value Aligning to our Council Plan and the Community Plan Page 213 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Transformation and financial sustainability The Council’s financial outlook remains subject to significant uncertainty.The most recent analysis reported to Council on 29 February 2024 suggests that Renfrewshire Council will continue to experience an extremely challenging financial outlook. Incorporating an affordable level of pay increase over the period 2024/25 to 2027/28, and a reducing level of inflation on supplies and services costs suggests that the Council is facing a £45- 50 million funding gap over this period, unless mitigating action is taken. The Council continues to explore ways to transform how we deliver our services – to improve the experience of our customers and service-users but also to ensure the Council’s financial sustainability. Environment, Housing & Infrastructure continues to support this through; Supporting the cross- service Financial Sustainability workstreams led by the Corporate Management Team Delivering Ren Zero embedded within financial planning Page 214 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Workforce innovation and wellbeing The Council launched its people strategy “Our People, Our Future” in 2021, which was updated in 2023 with the following 3 priorities: Improving our Workforce Planning Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Employee Experience The strategy describes the Council’s organisational development vision and workforce planning activities under three strategic outcomes – improving our employee experience, workforce planning and equality, diversity and inclusion. The strategy is aligned with the Council Plan and is focussed on the Council improving our employees’ experience whilst at work, looking at living our values, employee voice and recognitions which all positively impact on the culture within our workplace. There is a focus on workforce planning, there are many changes and challenges facing the Council in the coming years and this will ensure the right workforce and right skills are in place to deliver this. The last priority is focussed on inclusion, the council wants to be a place where everyone feels included and has a richness of diversity. Environment, Housing and Infrastructure - will ensure these priorities are reflected in both our strategic and day-to-day operations. High-level actions are embedded in our Service Improvement Plan, with a particular emphasis this year on workforce and succession planning - supporting our staff to ensure they have the right skills to deliver our services now, and in the future. As well as our established workforce there will also be a focus on apprenticeship training and developing. Building Service will provide apprenticeships this year to 8 people. We will also be providing Modern Apprenticeship places within our Housing Services and within our Public Protection teams to provide opportunities for young people in Renfrewshire to access the workplace and develop skills and experience. Page 215 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our resources and risks BUDGET The Non-Housing Capital Investment Programme approved for General Services on 29 February 2024 was £450m for the period 2024/25 to 2028/29. For 2024/25, the Revenue Budget approved for General Services on 29 February 2024 was £519m. The Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Services revenue budget for 2024/25 is approximately £58.924 million. Income and expenditure in relation to a local authority's direct provision of housing must be recorded separately within a Housing Revenue Account (HRA). The HRA Account Budget was presented to Council on 29 February 2024 with total rental and other income for 2024/25 of£61.208m. Renfrewshire Council has a statutory duty to consult tenants before increasing rents. To help inform the decision on rents for 2024/25, consultation was undertaken during December 2023 and January 2024. Around 1,440 tenants took part in the consultation with 78.2% favouring a rent increase of 6.0%. This was approved by Council in February 2024. At this meeting, Council also approved the Housing Capital programme of £281m over the next 5 years. Page 216 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our resources and risks RISK MANAGEMENT - The Council’s risk management arrangements are well established with all strategic, corporate and service risks being reported to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board with the last update being in May 2024. Here is a list of the Risks sitting within E,H&I reported to the board. Page 217 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Nationalpolicy context Humanitarian support and resettlement Upcoming PROTECT Legislation Housing to 2040 Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy Social Housing Net Zero Standard Circular Economy Bill Climate Change Act 2019 Housing (Scotland) Bill 2024 Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 / National & Regional Transport Strategies Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 Cost of living crisis National Policy Context Page 218 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our local policy context • Our Values describe our promise to our communities, staff, and partners. They guide how we deliver services and make decisions Our Values • Our Council Plan and Community Plan set the strategic framework for our organisation and describe what we want to achieve for Renfrewshire Council and Community Plans • Brings together existing programmes of work focused on achieving fairness and equity, and tackling the inequalities that exist across Renfrewshire’s communities Fairer Renfrewshire Programme • Renfrewshire is currently experiencing a range of significant supply and demand pressures across the housing sector, in common with the rest of Scotland. Housing Pressures • Support the Council’s pledge to tackle climate change, working towards net zero by 2030 Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero • Takes forward projects to deliver Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drugs Commission’s recommendations to reduce drug and alcohol-related harms and promote recovery Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme • Environment, Housing & Infrastructure will support the next phase of the Council’s transformation programme Transformation Programme • Supporting people who arrive in Renfrewshire through the UK and Scottish Governments’ humanitarian resettlement schemes, including asylum and Ukrainian resettlement Support for humanitarian schemes Page 219 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our key priorities Continue to develop our service models to support the Council’s financial sustainability and maximise income Deliver the 2024/25 capital investment Asset Management programmes across Public Buildings, Housing, Roads, Fleet and Open spaces. Ensure implementation of legislative changes, with appropriate strategies and plans Better use of data and technology to improve service performance and delivery Deliver the agreed priorities within the Council’s Costed Delivery Plans for Net Zero Support staff and apprenticeship development to ensure they have the right skills and training to meet the needs of the service, now and in the future Supporting the most vulnerable members of our communities, including people experiencing and those threatened by homelessness Page 220 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our focus for 2024/25 •Progress the priority areas outlined within the approved the Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) •Implementation of the Renfrewshire wide Parking Strategy, including implementing the pavement parking ban, as part of phase 1 of the strategy. •Delivery of the Council's New Local Transport Strategy and associated action plan to support theeconomic regeneration and revitalisation of town centres, having a specific focus on the public realm andtransport access. •Implementation of provisions of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to enhancesocial and economic wellbeing, improve environmental outcomesand a focus on health and wellbeing for all. •Deliver the objectives and requirements of the Scottish Household recycling charter and Circular Economy scheme •Lead on the “Strategic Property review” across the Council’s estate •Develop and focus on repairs and compliance within the Council’s property portfolio – with short, medium and long-term plans •Continue to develop large capital projects, including schools for Renfrewshire Council. •Support Council services to implement the proposed Protect Duty once it becomes law. The proposed legislation will ensure parties are prepared, ready to respond and know what to do in the event ofa terrorist attack. Page 221 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Our focus for 2024/25 •Continue to support the Council's various refugee and asylum programmes including the provision of settled accommodation. •Implement provisions of the Housing Bill when this becomes law •Deliver the £400m Housing investment including a £100m Housing-led regeneration programme across 8 areas in Renfrewshire. •Develop and implement the range of measures in place to mitigate the impacts from the increased homeless pressures, especially in relation to changes in national migration and resettlement policies and programmes •Deliver repairs and maintenance to around12,200 Council housing properties, including re-letting/void properties and produce a robust business plan that looks at the short, medium and long term •As part of the £38million Levelling Up Fund, a new road bridge is being constructed over the White Cart River, and this will be operated and managed by Environment, Housing and Infrastructure staff. •Through workforce and succession planning, we will support our staff to ensure they have the right skills to deliver our services now, and in the future •Modernisationof business processes and more efficient use of management data, steering the focus of service delivery. •Explore how modern technologies and innovations could improve service delivery, such as the use of robotics. Page 222 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Appendix: Actions and Performance Indicators relevant to the remit of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board Page 223 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - PLACE What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Work with colleagues to advise on facilities managementrequirements at new developmentse.g.Paisley Grammar andthe handover of upgraded propertiese.g.Paisley Town Hall This will allow for clear financial planning and appropriate levels of funding. This will ensure lifecycle maintenance, appropriate public building repairs & maintenance, as well as full compliance with Planned Preventative Maintenance. In the case of Paisley Grammar, this will provide appropriate Passivhaus standards and financial provision. 31 December 2025 As part of the new Department, Officers will work together to review the delivery and turnaround of void properties across Renfrewshire to minimise times, wherever possible, to allow properties to be re-let. Housing properties within Renfrewshire that have become void and re-let, will be turned around as quickly as possible to ensure an adequate stock of Council properties and maximise rental income. 31 March 2025 Review and strategically plan both proactive planned preventative maintenance and reactive repairs to public buildings in Renfrewshire including schools. Ensure Renfrewshire’s public building estate (circa 230 buildings) is compliant with all required statutory legislation. 31 March 2025 Continue to review and deliver an electronic job management and stores system. Ensure that the service has robust job management information and an effective stores management process 31 December 2024 Lead and drive the Strategic Property Review across Renfrewshire Council’s estate. The review will identify key parts of the estate that may not be financially viable for the Council and lead to planning with communities for the building to be used in different ways e.g. Community Asset Transfer 31 March 2025 Page 224 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - PLACE What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Work with Savills to produce a robust business plan that looks at the short medium and long term for Building Services. Building Services has not had a Business Plan since 2013 – 2016. By devising and delivering a Business Plan, this will detail the current staffing and work undertaken by Building Services but also look to the next 3 years and set out plans including budgets and workforce planning. 31 March 2025 Develop and focus on repairs and compliance - short, medium and long term plan on property portfolio. Renfrewshire Council has a large building portfolio that is currently being reviewed under the Strategic Property Review. Given the current economic climate and limited budget, Officers require to set short, medium and long term goals, set priorities to ensure that the property portfolio is maintained in an appropriate condition for the services within. 31 March 2025 Continue to develop large capital projects, including schools for Renfrewshire Council. Facilities and Property Services deliver many of the Council’s large capital projects having recently completed the Paisley Town Hall, Paisley Learning and Cultural Hub and the Paisley Arts Centre. By project managing and delivering these projects, this will allow Officers to have oversight of delivery and report them to appropriate Boards. 31 March 2025 Page 225 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - PLACE Performance Indicators Reporting Frequency % of Overall repairs completed within time by building services Quarterly Average length of time taken to complete non-emergency repairs – public buildings Quarterly % of compliance tasks undertaken per year –Statutory compliance for public buildings Quarterly Page 226 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - ECONOMY What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Provide employment, training and apprenticeship opportunities for identified groups of young people in Renfrewshire Young people and people with vulnerabilities will have opportunities to enhance their chances of employment 31 March 2025 Page 227 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - FAIR What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Work with Children’s Services/pupils to enhance dining experience and develop the menus to be more attractive whilst meeting requirements of the Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. Increase school meals uptake of both UFSM and FSMs, resulting in increase in income 31 March 2025 Work with Childrens Services to provide a healthy breakfast to school pupils where possible. Help to enhance the learning experience for pupils. 31 March 2025 269K capital investment from Scottish Government to enhance the dining experience in preparation for eligibility of the Scottish child payment for the entitlement free universal school meals for P6 and P7. Continue to collaborate with Property and Technical to plan improvements across in up to 5 schools. Increasing the number of production cooking kitchens, improving the quality of food, providing the opportunity to engage with pupils to increase uptake 31 August 2025 Page 228 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan - FAIR Performance Indicators Frequency % uptake of free school meals in primary schools Quarterly % uptake of free school meals in secondary schools Quarterly Page 229 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – LIVING OUR VALUES What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Provide our employees with the appropriate support to manage their attendance, health and wellbeing Sickness absence levels and costs will be minimised 31 March 2025 Better use of data and technology to improve services performance and delivery Service delivery is improved, and resources allocated more efficiently and effectively 31 March 2025 Implement the next phase of transformation as part of Right for Renfrewshire (Council Plan) The service will play its role in delivering cross cutting change 31 March 2025 Engage and participate in trauma informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme. We understand what trauma is, and how it affects people, so we will now work differently:Learning and working together to co-create fair and helpful collaborations to support healing and recovery with people affected by trauma.Progress towards and achievement of improvement outcomes for people, systems and services as detailed of five strategic themes and outcomes in trauma-informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme 31 March 2025 Work with Services across EH&I to support further digitisation and business improvement of our processes to meet the needs of our customers. This approach will continue to increase the number of processes available to our customers at a time and way which suits them, or which are undertaken in a modern, digital way, ensuring efficient use of resources. 31 March 2025 Page 230 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – LIVING OUR VALUES What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? Continue to develop new approaches to staff communication and engagement across all areas of the service Staff will have greater opportunities to input to the future operation of the service 31 March 2025 Ensure robust and up to date business continuity arrangements are in place Services will be able to identify critical functions and the resources required to recover from disruptive events. 31 March 2025 Embed the enquiry systems for public and elected members across Environment, Housing & Infrastructure services Services will be able to identify emerging issues and provide an efficient and timeous enquiry system 31 March 2025 Review Health & Safety and Risk Assessments Health and Safety and Risk Assessment are managed more effectively 31 March 2025 Ensure robust financial monitoring Services will be able to monitor and plan their resources more efficiently 31 March 2025 Review and maintain continuous improvement frameworks Quality assurance will be undertaken; actions from the Best Value Audit report delivered, health & safety, staff and customer service accreditations maintained 31 March 2025 Support the Council in developing New Ways of Working (Council Plan) This will improve the accessibility and equipment in our workspaces and meeting rooms, as well as improvements in technology to improve collaborative working 31 March 2025 Develop and undertake a Strategic Property Review of Council operational, non-operational and surplus assets (Council Plan) This will ensure our properties are demand led, efficientandfinancially sustainable 31 March 2025 Page 231 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – LIVING OUR VALUES Performance Indicator Frequency Average number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee (FTE) (cumulative) Quarterly % of members enquiries completed within timescale Quarterly % of front line resolutions dealt with within timescale Quarterly % of complaint investigations completed within timescale Quarterly % of FOI requests completed within timescale Quarterly Page 232 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Delivering the Council Plan – Cross cutting theme What will we do? What difference will we make? When will we do it by? E,H&I will work towards keeping The Promise We will actively engage with any future planned activity around the implementation of The Promise Plan 24-30 (expected June 2024) in relation to the work of E,H&I. Continue to support the work of Renfrewshire’s Promise, the work of Renfrewshire’s Promise Team, Renfrewshire’s Promise Oversight Group. We will support any council initiatives around the recruitment of Care Experienced young people into our service. 31 March 2025 Deliver a programme of engagement with schools, parents, and pupils, encouraging participation in the development of school meal menus. School meal uptake will increase, resulting in more children and young people taking healthy meals. 31 March 2025 Consider implementing robotics for cleaning Secondary schools to improve the service provided. Reduce overheads and minimise the impact of staff absence. 31 March 2025 IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ‘Across all of our work and all of our efforts, we hope for loving and happy lives for Renfrewshire’s children – working together to get it right for children, families and communities – protecting, learning, achieving and nurturing. Every priority of this Council Plan will contribute to improving the lives of Renfrewshire’s children and their families. It is our fundamental duty as an organisation and our shared responsibility as citizens of this place to ensure that our children inherit a Renfrewshire where their wellbeing is nurtured, their futures are bright, and their environment is safe and healthy.’ Page 233 of 396
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Service Improvement Plan 2024 – 27 For more information, please contact: douglas.morrison@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 234 of 396
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Item To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 Report by: Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Heading: Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Annual Health and Safety Report (2023/24) and Plan (2024/25) 1. Summary 1.1 The Council’s Health and Wellbeing Plan, a key priority within the Council’s People Strategy 2021 – 2026, promotes a positive Health and Safety culture to ensure compliance with relevant Health and Safety legislation and supports the Council Plan in Working together to achieve a thriving and connected Renfrewshire, creating opportunities for all. 1.2 This report summaries Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Department’s approach to Health and Safety with Annual Health and Safety Report (Appendix 1) which sets out work undertaken in 2023/24 and the Annual Health and Safety Plan 2024/25 (Appendix 2) which sets out arrangements in place for the management of Health and Safety and continuous improvement in relation to this area for 2024/25. 1.3 It should be noted that the Report and Plan has already been considered by the Communities and Housing Policy Board on 21st May 2024 and the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board on 29th May 2024 in respect of the elements covered by those Boards’ remits. 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: 2.1 Approves the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Health and Safety Report for 2023/24 (Appendix 1) and as specific to the areas of activity delegated to this Policy Board and Item 10 Page 235 of 396
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9 2.2 Approves the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Annual Health and Safety Plan 2024/25 (Appendix 2) as specific to the areas of activity delegated to this Policy Board; and 2.3 Notes that the Report and Plan has also been presented to the Communities and Housing Policy Board and0 Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board to approve the elements covered within those Boards’ remits. 3. Background 3.1. Environment, Housing and Infrastructure is responsible for the provision of every day essential services, directly to the public of Renfrewshire, to other services within the Council and to community planning partners. These services are delivered by approximately 1,900 employees, employed on a full-time or part- time basis, with a gross expenditure budget of approximately £70.3 million. 3.2. The Department provides the following key frontline services: • Operations: Neighbourhood Services, Fleet and Social Transportation, Waste and Recycling (to over 91,000 households and businesses). • Climate, Public Protection and Roads: supporting our communities through our Regulatory and Community Safety Services and supporting more than 849 km of roads and transport infrastructure. • Facilities and Property Services: (Hard and Soft Services) including PPP and Compliance, Building Services and Property Services, a multi-disciplinary design team. • Housing Services: Management and investment in housing stock (approximately 12,300 properties) and providing a wide range of advice and support to our tenants. 3.3 Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Services deliver universal services for over 180,000 Renfrewshire residents, helping to run our schools and care homes, providing 12,300 homes for social rent, protecting and enhancing our local environment though a wide range of initiatives and work to make Renfrewshire a great place to live and work. 3.4 Our services are delivered by a diverse, skilled and committed workforce of around 1,900 who deliver services 24/7 over 365 days a year. The health, safety and wellbeing of all our employees is of paramount importance. 3.5 Governance for Health and Safety is provided through monthly discussions at Environment and Infrastructure Senior Leadership Team meetings and quarterly CRMT (Crisis Resilient Management Team). Implications of the Report Page 236 of 396
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9 1. Financial – Potential exists for financial liability from property damage, civil or criminal prosecutions through the outcome of accidents and/or ill-health. This report demonstrates Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Services compliance and commitment to Health and Safety policies and procedures. 2. HR & Organisational Development – This report supports Renfrewshire Council’s commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing of employees. 3. Community/Council Planning • Our Renfrewshire is well – EH&I will improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of employees through participation in the “Healthy Working Lives” and “Your Health Matters” Programmes and any other corporate initiatives promoting wellbeing. • Our Renfrewshire is safe – EH&I will provide training and support to employees to allow the to develop within the organisation and to gain the skills and experience necessary to provide a quality service to our customers. 4. Legal – Environment, Housing and Infrastructure will continue to comply with all current statutory Health and Safety legislation and Renfrewshire Council Corporate Health and Safety policies and guidance. 5. Property/Assets – The maintenance of appropriate registers (eg Asbestos Register with respect of domestic Council properties) and an obligation to conduct workplace inspections. 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. 8. Health & Safety – This report supports and demonstrates Environment, Housing and Infrastructure’s commitment to ensuring efficient Health and Safety management across the Department. 9. Procurement - None 10. Risk – This report supports the overarching management of risk by Renfrewshire Council. 11. Privacy Impact- None. 12. COSLA Policy Position – Not applicable 13. Climate Risk – Not applicable List of Background Papers Page 237 of 396
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9 (a) Background Paper 1: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board (20th May 2024), Risk Report – May 2024 (b) Background Paper 2: Health and Wellbeing Plan (For all council employees), The foregoing background papers will be retained within Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Department (Service Development) 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 Gill Darbyshire, Senior Service Development Manager, gill.darbyshire@renfrewshire.gov.uk Author: Gordon McNeil, Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure E-mail: Gordon.mcneil@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 238 of 396
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9 Appendix 1 Renfrewshire Council Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ANNUAL HEALTH AND SAFETY REPORT 1st April 2024 – 31st March 2025 (Achievement made during 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024) May 2024 Page 239 of 396
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9 This annual report is prepared by Environment, Housing and Infrastructure in accordance with Renfrewshire Council’s Health and Safety Policy and Plan, the purpose of which is to evaluate the health and safety performance of the Service and set future health and safety objectives. 1. Management of health and safety within the Service 1.1 Broad context of health and safety policy The Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure (EH&I) has overall responsibility for the application of Health and Safety Policy and welfare at work of employees within the Department. The Leadership Team of EH&I, comprising four Heads of Service and Senior Managers, take a lead and active role in the monitoring and application health and safety policy. The objective of EH&I is to ensure that health, safety and wellbeing are an integral part of the business and all services areas continually seek to develop a positive culture and attitude amongst employees to achieve this. As outlined below, regular discussion takes place on a wide range of health and safety policy areas and this allows the opportunity to ensure that arrangements are in place to reflect the service fully and to monitor the effectiveness of current arrangements, updating as required. 2. Organisation for implementing health and safety management 2.1 Health and Safety Planning Group/Committees EH&I is represented on the Corporate Health and Safety Committee (CH&SC) by the Senior Service Development Manager who attends the quarterly meetings. The Head of Operations and Service Development Chairs the Council’s Resilience Management Team (CRMT) which covers all services across the Council. Health and Safety is lead across EH&I by the Senior Service Development Manager supported by Service Co- ordination Assistant and officers across all Services. A monthly meeting of EH&I Senior Leadership Team is chaired by the Head of Operations and Service Development, arranged to align with the quarterly meeting cycle of the CH&SC, which discusses a wide range of health and safety work including: (a) Accidents - statistics, trends, investigations and other information to identify causes and provide so far as is practicable solutions for their prevention. (b) Workplace inspections (internal) and audits (Corporate and external) (c) The planning, performance management and review of EH&I’s approach to Health and Safety (d) The monitoring and implementation of the Health & Safety Action Plan Page 240 of 396
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9 (e) The identification, assessment and recording of risks (f) Actions arising from the Corporate Health & Safety Committee (CHSCM) (g) Actions arising from the corporate and service Risk Management and planning arrangements, and (h) New developments in Health & Safety arising from legislation and Government and Council policy The Health and Safety Policy continues to reflect and provide a guidance framework for the management of Health and Safety across EH&I. Consultation Mechanisms Information on health and safety issues are communicated to employees using a wide range of internal channels such as strategic meetings, operational meetings, Trade Union meetings, workload reviews, “toolbox talks,” emails and noticeboards. It is particularly important to note that a significant number of EH&I employees do not have access to electronic communications and therefore, as set out above, a range of approaches are taken in this area including joint working arrangements for employee and Trade Union consultation. Although the Department has an ability to communicate digitally with frontline employees through digital messaging, enabling a quick and effective way to communicate important information, this relies on employees providing a personal mobile number and signing up to receive notifications through “RenTalk”. Regular meetings take place with EH&I Directorate and Trade Union Representatives where key health and safety issues may be discussed, supporting ongoing awareness and practice of health and safety, management of risks, prevention of accidents and ill health and the maintenance of safe working practices. 3. Planning and setting standards: 3.1 Setting of health and safety objectives The Council’s new Health and Wellbeing Plan sets the Council’s strategic aims in this area and together with, “Our People, Our Future 2021- 2026”, provides a high- level guide on which EH&I bases all health and safety objectives to support with wider outcomes. Across EH&I there is a clear understanding of the wide range of services and the risks associated with these. When setting health and safety objectives the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Health and Safety Senior Leadership Team (SLT) consider matters such as: • Developments or changes in the regulation of health and safety in the workplace or in working practices: • The identification of areas where there is a need for improvement that may entail the implementation of safe working practices or investment in equipment; and Page 241 of 396
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9 • The need for training and raising awareness in relation to health and safety. A summary of the significant risks, including potential occupational health risk faced by EH&I employees is outlined below. Health and Safety Risk Management Update The Annual Risk Update 2024 sets out the key area of risk for Renfrewshire Council. Risks are evaluated used the Council’s risk matrix multiplying the likelihood of a risk occurring by its potential impact. Risks are then evaluated as “low,” “moderate”, “high” or “very high”. Following the integration of Housing Services into Environment, Housing and Infrastructure all risks were revisited. The latest report outlines a number of risks carried by EH&I and the actions proposed to mitigate these. The work outlined in this report contributes to wider health and safety objectives and the minimisation of risk in this area. Health and Safety Training EH&I recognise that health and safety training is a key factor in the reduction of accidents, incidents and the prevention of ill-health. Services actively support, organise and carry out such training on a regular basis as required. Across EH&I the current management system which assists with monitoring of health and safety training and performance has reached the end of the contract. Work, supported by the Project Management Unit and ICT, is already underway to support this area of work and provide a longer-term business management approach with the transfer of all training records to the ERP Business World. This will, in due course, allow for increased monitoring and reporting of training requirements across EH&I. Fire Safety Information/Drills A range of regular fire safety drills is undertaken across EH&I services and within each Council owned and operated property on a regular basis in line with all relevant legislation. An EH&I Fire Group has been established, with representatives from all services, which discusses and addresses work in this area. Over 2023/24 Housing Services have undertaken fire risk assessments for all multi- storey blocks (14) and sheltered housing complexes (10) and is addressing any work highlighted. The Head of Housing Services chairs a quarterly Fire Safety Liaison meeting which brings together relevant services from across the council and colleagues from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. This is an excellent example of collaborative work with a wide range of colleagues and community planning partners. Wellbeing Initiatives The Health and Wellbeing Forum, comprising representatives from across EH&I, meets monthly to discuss a wide range of initiatives. Recent work has included the distribution of mental health “Z” cards for all frontline employees. As a result of the excellent feedback in relation to this work the initiative is being rolled out corporately. Page 242 of 396
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9 The” Walk and Talk” Group continue to meet regularly on a Sunday to promote health and wellbeing with a particular focus on mental health. The number of people attending varies but this is an important option to those wishing to informally meet with colleagues and friends in a healthy and positive way. Occupational Health Usage EH&I has a wide range of measure to support the health and wellbeing of our workforce. This includes health surveillance (annual assessments) around “hand arm vibration” (HAVS) and noise for those potentially exposed to these risks. The School Crossing Patrollers were all invited to attend a role specific medical assessment. Findings from any assessment are actively followed up and referral to the appropriate medical professional if required is put in place. Service Drive Health and Safety Audits/Inspections The Operation Service (Neighbourhood Services, Fleet and Sustainable Transport, Waste and Recycling), Service Development Team and Roads and Infrastructure maintained the British Standards Institute ISO 9001 – Quality Management Systems that supports the teams to monitor and continually improve the quality of our services. Health and Safety Plan 2023/24 Update - Achievements This is the first report which covers Environment, Housing and Infrastructure following the significant restructure and alignment of the services to include Housing Services in the previous Environment and Infrastructure Department. As part of the restructure and changes in remits there are now several new Managers and Senior Managers across the Department. During 2023/24 a wide range of health and safety related work was undertaken and a summary of achievements is outlined below. Operations and Service Development: • All HGV drivers have completed the required Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) hours which involves vehicle safety/checks and low bridge strikes. • Review and establishment of the EH&I Senior Leadership Team Health and Safety Group to discuss all operational aspects of health and safety. • Establishment of Fire Safety Group with representation from all areas • Establishment of the “Working at Heights” Group with representation from all areas • Successful implementation of the new Neighbourhood Services structure has increased the number of qualified first aiders available to administer first aid directly to frontline workforce. • Memorial Safety inspections continue to be completed in line with Scottish Government guidance, increasing safe working practices and environment safety within our cemetery operations. • Neighbourhood Services trained two new JCB operators and refreshed external training in large mechanical operations. Page 243 of 396
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9 Facilities and Property Services: • Introduction of a “Walk and Talk” walking Group on a Sunday morning to promote mental health and wellbeing. • Mental Health booklet and “Z card” created and distributed to all frontline staff. • Two managers attended and completed Advanced Mental Health Training • Rolled out new Safety Check Logbooks in all premises. • Establishment of Asbestos Working Group -involving representatives from areas which are likely to come across asbestos. • Monthly Property Service/Health and Safety meetings take place to discuss any health and safety project issues, safety flashes, recent HSE guidance/legislation and good practice. This is fed back to the respective teams for incorporation into future projects where applicable. Climate, Public Protection and Roads • Monthly Health and Safety site inspection sheets have been implemented and are conducted by either the team leader or supervisor. • Daily packs are now issued with work instructions to all Road Operations crews outlining risk assessment and safe working practices for each activity they are undertaking that day. • Conflict Management Training has been undertaken by our Wardens Service. • Our Environmental Health teams have been working with colleagues in OneRen in relation to swimming pool interventions at their premises. Housing Services • 5 Fire Safety workshops held, which were attended by 37 housing staff. • 3 Fire Safety Warden courses held, which were attended by 23 housing staff. • Asbestos Awareness training delivered to officers. • Quarterly Fire Safety Liaison Meeting with Scottish Fire & Rescue Service • Participated in Asbestos Working Group to review asbestos management procedures. • All staff have access to online Health & Safety courses on I-Learn • Health & Safety inspections carried out and recorded at multi-storey blocks, sheltered housing complexes and supported accommodation units. 4. Measuring performance The Annual Health and Safety Plan is monitored on a regular basis and quarterly reports are discussed to review and monitor performance against the key actions detailed in the Plan. 4.1 Active monitoring The EH&I Health and Safety SLT monitor the health and safety performance to identify any trends and implement initiatives to address these. This work considers both internal and external HSE inspections, accident reviews and investigations, wellbeing information and legislative and industry guidance. All services continue to undertake a range of work to ensure statutory compliance. Page 244 of 396
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9 During 2023/24 EH&I Department Audits were undertaken in the Cleansing and Graffiti. All findings and recommendations were shared with the teams and are being addressed. A Corporate Health and Safety programme of planned workplace inspections for 2024/25 is currently being developed. 4.2 Re-active monitoring The ongoing health, safety and wellbeing of employees and service users continues to be a priority for EH&I. The focus to promote an open, positive health and safety culture and to encourage employees and management to report all incidents, accidents, and occurrences. All reported incidents, accidents and occurrences are reviewed on a weekly basis, resulting in more accurate data. Every incident, accident or occurrence is investigated and associated risk assessments reviewed and amended where necessary. During 2023/24, across EH&I, there were 178 incidents, accidents and near misses reported compared to 66 in 2021/22 and 105 in 2022/23. The table below (Figure 1) shows the breakdown of these incidents by service area and category. Figure 1: EH&I Total Number of Accidents, Incidents and Near Misses Reported in 2023/24 Under The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) there were 15 accidents across EH&I in 2023/24 which were reported (Figure 2). Over 7-day absences, which must be reported, accounted for over 80% of these reports. Figure 2 below shows RIDDOR data and the breakdown by the type of accident or incident for 2023/24 compared to previous data from 2022/23 and 2021/22. Page 245 of 396
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9 Figure 2: Breakdown by category for 2023/24 compared to 2022/23 and 2021/22 Figure 3 below shows the top 5 incident types in 2023/24. The information indicates that “violence and aggression” was the most comment type accounting for 46 out of 178 or just over 25% of the total followed by “slip, trip and fall at the same level” with a further 37 incidents (around 21%). Figure 3: Top 5 health and safety incident type in 2023/24 During 2023/24 there was one Health and Safety Executive (HSE) intervention following an onsite inspection in September 2023. A fee notice was issued in relation to the use of new equipment. All recommendations and findings in the report were accepted and changes implemented. The HSE have subsequently confirmed they are satisfied with the steps taken and the compliance in place. Page 246 of 396
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9 Having previously identified that late reporting of incidents, accidents and occurrences as a significant risk across EH&I work has been undertaken to support managers, supervisors and employees across services to increase knowledge of incident reporting, incident investigation requirements and RIDDOR requirements. EH&I has fully implemented use of the Corporate Accident/Incident Recording system on the ERP Business World. Local arrangements are in place to support employees who do not have access to the corporate network. This work has reduced the number of accidents/incidents being reported late, increased the number being reported (increasing visibility of these and providing an opportunity for further corrective work to be undertaken) demonstrating a positive incident reporting culture across EH&I. Key themes have been identified from the Health and Wellbeing Plan including physical, mental, financial and social wellbeing which will be developed in 2024/25. 5. Review of support services Supporting our employees and attendance is a key priority for EH&I and arrangements are in place to utilise the services of the Council’s Occupational Health provider. During 2023/24 a number of referrals have been made and systems and processes are in placed for manager or employee self-referrals to the Occupational Health Service or employee counselling service. The key elements used have been: • Early intervention programme • Employee counselling service • Treating employees referred to the Service • Physiotherapy and • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) for employees • Statutory Occupational Health Benchmarking (eg Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), Audiometry) 6. Annual Health and Safety Plan 2024/25 (Appendix 2) The Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Health and Safety Action Plan 2024/25 sets out the key actions that will be undertaken in 2023/24. The Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Health and Safety SLT will continue to review Health and Safety management across EH&I respective areas of responsibility. Page 247 of 396
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Appendix 2 Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Annual Health and Safety Action Plan 2024/25 Service Area Title of Action Due Date Operations and Service Development Neighbourhood Services • Service managers to review all risk assessments related to tasks completed and ensure they are updated, relevant and meet the needs of employees. • Refresh and deliver health and safety training in the fundamentals of safe working including manual handling, risk profiling, safe systems of work and regular toolbox talks. • Review and refresh the induction process for all employees, ensuring training records are completed, updated and relevant to the role. • Develop current Safe Systems of Work for tasks ensuring they are communicated with employees. • Contribute to the development of the Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) working group, support the implementation of the guidance document and aid the referral process for employees identified through routine monitoring and screening. • Review all fire safety documentation in premises managed by Neighbourhood Services and update as required. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 Fleet and Sustainable Transport • Ensure that all HGV vehicles have an Operator Licence undertakings obligation to be roadworthy as shown by the pass rate at MOT for the fleet maintenance schedule. • The Fleet Compliance Team will provide gate checks both internally and, on the roadside, to ensure that fleet compliance is being adhered to by the fleet drivers. • As part of the driver performance within all operational departments, ensure the appropriate training is being provided and recorded. • As part of the driver performance within all operational department, ensuring all fleet vehicles are on the fleet tracking system and reports, detailing driver behaviour, are sent to the operational line managers. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 Page 248 of 396
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• Ensure a fleet asset management plan and driver handbook are created and distributed to operational departments. • Ensure that all areas of the Underwood Road Depot are secure and employee access are enabled. • Ensure that the Underwood Road Depot has an updated fire plan and that all signage within the depot is visible to all employees and members of the public. • Ensure all Underwood Road Depot users are consulted on a regular basis and kept up to date with the ongoing Depot works. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 Waste and Recycling • Service managers to review all risk assessments related to tasks completed and ensure they are updated, relevant and meet the needs of employees. • Refresh and deliver health and safety training in the fundamentals of safe working including manual handling, risk profiling, safe systems of work and regular toolbox talks. • Review and refresh the induction process for all employees, ensuring training records are completed, updated and relevant to the role. • Review all current risk assessments and update as required. • Refresh manual handling training for all staff. • DSE Equipment assessment to be carried out for all staff. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 Service Development • Increase representation at the Health and Wellbeing Forum, ensuring that there is a named representative or substitute at each meeting. • Ensure mental health “Z” cards are delivered to all frontline employees and are included in the inductions for new members of staff. • Encourage employees to complete health and safety and welfare modules on i-Learn and attend training courses as required (eg Personal Safety, Violence and Aggression, Mental Health First Aid, Wellbeing etc. • Promote and health and safety incident reporting system and encourage reporting of incidents and near misses. • Monitor and review the number of workplace accidents and ensure appropriate action is taken to prevent future incidents. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 Page 249 of 396
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• Develop a 3-year rolling Departmental audit plan which consists of 6 audits per year. 31/03/2025 Facilities and Property Services Facilities Management (Hard FM) • Work collaboratively with Health & Safety colleagues to ensure Guidance Booklet for Statutory Inspection and Maintenance is relevant and is up to date. • Ensure onsite training is carried out within properties that have with sprinkler systems to ensure routine checks are carried out. • Procure new contract for the inspection and maintenance of fire dampers across the estate. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 Facilities Management (Soft FM) • Ensure all accidents/near issues are recorded on Business World within the agreed timescales. • Monitor iLearn mandatory courses for new and existing employees. • Embed the new Absence Management process into Soft FM with support from HR. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 30/09/2024 Building Services • Review all risk assessments across the business and update as required. • Continue to roll out on-line and toolbox talks to the frontline staff on areas of health and safety/health and wellbeing. • Ensure there is ongoing CPC training to ensure all staff are appropriately qualified for driving duties. • Ensure mental health booklets and “Z” cards are delivered to all frontline employees and are included in the inductions for new members of staff. • Work with the Corporate Health and Safety Team to promote/review and update where required across the business. • Promote and health and safety incident reporting system and encourage reporting of incidents and near misses. • Continue to develop the on-line and toolbox talks for the operatives and staff. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 Page 250 of 396
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• Ensure all CPC licences are up to date and renewed as required. 31/03/2025 Property Services • Ensure all Technical Unit Officers have a valid Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card and training is arranged for new officers/expired certification. 31/03/2025 Climate, Public Protection and Roads Climate and Public Protection • Review and transfer all risk assessments for Public Protection to the new risk assessment template. • All public facing staff in Public Protection to complete violence and aggression training. • Develop and implement a staff induction pack. • Stress management training to be carried out. • Complete specific risk assessment for handling XL Bully Dogs. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/12/2024 31/03/2025 30/06/2024 Roads and Transportation • Review and update risk assessment within roads. • Arrange phone and SOS function in winter maintenance vehicles and wider road fleet. • Arrange SVQ winter maintenance training. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 Housing Services Housing Services • Undertake a regular programme of risk assessment and safe systems of 31/03/2025 work reviews. • Compile departmental risk assessment and safe systems of work register. • Undertake a regular programme of health and safety training and 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 information sharing for all employees. • Undertake violence aggression training for all at risk employees. • Monitor accident trends and statistics to identify risk and provide, as far as 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 is practicable, for its prevention/reduction. • Promote the use of Mental Health First Aiders within Housing Services • Record and report on all health and safety related training. 31/03/2025 31/03/2025 Page 251 of 396
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_________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Business Services Performance Report ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report details performance across key Business Services functions including revenue collection and benefit administration for the period ending 28 April 2024. _______________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board: Note the contents of the report. _______________________________________________________________ 3. Revenue Collection 3.1 Council Tax 3.1.1 This section details the collection performance as at 28 April 2024 for Council Tax. It also provides details of the total sums collected for the previous financial year. 3.1.2 The billable sum for 2024/25 is £102,049,076. Item 11 Page 253 of 396
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3.1.3 The sums collected to date for 2024/25 are £15,109,905 which is 14.81% of the billable sum (14.80% last year). This represents an increase of 0.01% in cash collection as a proportion of net charges billed compared with the same position for 2023/24. 3.1.4 The Council Tax Reduction (CTR) awarded is £13,663,188, amounting to 11.81% of the billable sum, which is 0.24% less than at the same point last year. 3.1.5 The Service continues to encourage the take-up of CTR, and process claims following notification of Universal Credit awards being in place. Take-up activities will continue this year including tracking of potential applications, data matching and analysis to maximise CTR awards and support customers, where possible. 3.2 Non-Domestic Rates 3.2.1 This section details the collection performance as at 28th April 2024 for Non- Domestic Rates (NDR). 3.2.2 The Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) charges billed for 2024/25 amount to £129,377,362, compared with £118,354,875 in 2023/24. The reasons for the 9% increase in charges will include increased intermediate and large property poundage supplements and the tapering of transitional relief. 3.2.3 Cash receipts to date amount to £799,826 which is 0.62% of the sum billed. This is a decrease in cash collection as a proportion of net charges billed of 1.30% compared with the same position for 2023/24. 3.2.4 Payment collection for Non-Domestic Rates commences in May each year. 4. Benefit administration This section details the processing performance in relation to Housing Benefit and the Scottish Welfare Fund, as at the end of April 2024. Also provided is an update on the funding and expenditure position in relation to Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) and the Scottish Welfare Fund. 4.1 Workload and Performance 4.1.1 The Service aims to balance the varied and changing workload resulting from the impacts of the ongoing Cost of Living Crisis and any post-pandemic effects. 4.1.2 The Service is anticipating a significant decrease in Housing Benefit claims over the next 12-18 months as the Department for Work and Pensions implements Universal Credit Migration Plans which includes the transition of legacy benefits such as Income Support and Employment Support Allowance. Page 254 of 396
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4.1.3 In collaboration with stakeholder partners, processes have been put in place to monitor caseloads, ensuring that customers are supported through this change and assisted to receive, where appropriate, CTR and DHP support which are administered by the Council. 4.1.2 The Service continues with a positive trend; this is reflected in the performance data below showing the majority of indicators within target for the period. 4.1.4 Training and support remains in place for new and less experienced staff members. Training for benefits work is an extensive process, taking several weeks for a new team member to become proficient in a single process, and many months to be fully trained in all areas and be fully productive. 4.2 Speed of Processing – Housing Benefit 4.2.1 Targets have been amended for 24/25; for New Housing Benefit 22 days compared with 23 days, Change in Circumstances 9 days compared with 10 days last year. 4.2.2 As detailed in Table 1 below, processing speed for New Claims is well within target for the period. 4.2.3 In relation to New Claims processed within 14 days of all information received, this measure is marginally out of target for the period. The target would have been met but for increased numbers of joint applications for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction being received in response to the issuing of annual Council Tax bills where there proved to be no eligibility for Housing Benefit. 4.2.4 Processing of Changes in Circumstance (CIC) is well within target for the reporting period. (Supplementary processing information is attached in Appendix 2 for members’ reference) Table 1 – Performance Summary Performance measure 4 Week Reporting Period 12 April 2024 to 9 May 2024 Year to date position Annual Target New Claims – processing time (no. of days) 14 days 19 days 22 days New Claims - % processed within 14 days of all information received 91% 94% 92% Changes in Circumstance – processing time (no. of days) 6 days 4 days 9 days Page 255 of 396
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4.3 Discretionary Housing Payments 4.3.1 The total budget for Discretionary Housing Payments for 2024/25 is shown in Table 2 below. This includes an additional amount of £13k allocated by the Council during 2023/24 which was carried forward to 2024/25. 4.3.2 The budget shows the indicative spending spilt categories provided to the Council by Scottish Government. 4.3.3 The Scottish Government Financial Hardship funding amount detailed in Table 2 has been augmented as part of re-distribution activities undertaken by Scottish Government. Unspent funds from the 23/24 Scotland-wide budget have been pooled and redistributed fairly across local authorities. The Council did not have any unspent Scottish Government funds during last year and has been allocated additional resources of £466,331 which has significantly boosted the budget for Financial Hardship support. 4.3.4 The DHP budget has been calculated to include the full Scottish Government estimate of the amount of funding required to fully mitigate the effect of both the Benefit Cap and the Bedroom Tax. These estimates include a 20% reserve allocation, which will be paid in May 2025, if required. 4.3.5 In line with DHP Policy and Regulations, the Service makes awards to fully mitigate the effect of the Benefit Cap and the Bedroom Tax and maximise spend within the year. 4.3.6 Stakeholder partners have been advised of the change in approach this year to enable them to provide alternative support to customers, where appropriate. 4.3.7 Table 3 shows the performance information in relation to DHPs. The table shows that the average processing time in relation to DHP is within target. Table 2 – DHP Budget Funding – indicative allocations Amount Renfrewshire Council (brought forward from 2023/24) £13,051 Financial Hardship** – Scottish Government tranche 1 £242,987 Financial Hardship – Scottish Government tranche 2 £466,331 Benefit Cap* – Scottish Government £145,388 Bedroom Tax* – Scottish Government £2,503,648 Total budget for the year £3,371,405 *These figures represent the maximum amount required to cover the estimated shortfall of customers impacted by the Benefit Cap or Bedroom Tax. **Financial Hardship budget for 23/24 was £811,256 of which £465,409 was allocated by SG and £345,847 was Council funding carried forward. Page 256 of 396
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Table 3 – DHP Performance Summary Measure 1 April 2024 to 30 April 2024 Volume of DHP applications received 1,593 applications Volume of DHP decisions made 1,193 decisions Number of DHP awards 1,191 awards Average processing time (target 29 days) 4 days Total amount committed/paid £1,011,048 4.4 The Scottish Welfare Fund 4.4.1 The Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) provides a safety net for vulnerable people on low incomes through the provision of Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants. The Scottish Welfare Fund is a national scheme, underpinned by law and delivered on behalf of the Scottish Government by all local councils. The SWF replaced elements of the Social Fund abolished by the Department for Work and Pensions in 2013. 4.4.2 The Service makes awards in 2024/25 in line with Scottish Government guidance and had spent 9% of its total budget for the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) by the end of April 2024. The service is on track to spend its full budget by the end of March 2025. 4.4.3 The total budget for the Scottish Welfare Fund for 2024/25 is shown in Table 4 below. This includes an additional amount of £400,000 allocated by the Council. 4.4.4 The performance data relating to the Fund is presented in Table 4 below. The Service processed both Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants within target for the period. Page 257 of 396
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Table 4 – SWF Performance Summary (Crisis & Community Care Grants) Measure 1 April 2024 to 30 April 2024 Number of Crisis Grant applications received 847 Number of Crisis Grant Awards 582 Total amount paid for Crisis Grants £58,714.49 Average Processing time year to date (2 working days target) 2 days Average Processing time within April 2 days Number of Community Care Grant applications received 210 Number of Community Care Grant Awards 110 Total amount paid for Community Care Grant £91,488.20 Average processing time year to date (15 working days target) 9 days Average processing time within February 9 days Total amount paid/committed from the fund £150,202.69 Budget from Council 2024/25 £400,000 Budget provided by Scottish Government £1,252,119 Total Budget £1,652,119 _____________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - The level of collection of Local Taxation continues to provide funding for the delivery of Council services throughout Renfrewshire. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None. 3. Community/Council Planning – Our Renfrewshire is fair - An effective Benefits service is vital to the quality of life of many of our citizens as it provides vital support for low income households to sustain tenancies and meet their rent obligations. Working together to improve outcomes - An efficient and effective billing and administrative process for the collection of local taxes is vital for ensuring the recovery of income to the Council to support the provision of local services. This is supported by a range of payment opportunities for the public, including electronic and digital payments (e.g. Direct Debit, Website and Telephone). Page 258 of 396
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Working together to improve outcomes – Efficient and effective customer service is vital to ensuring that citizens have equality of access to Council services, whether this is digitally, by telephone or face to face. 4. Legal – None. 5. Property/Assets – None. 6. Information Technology – None. 7. Equality & Human Rights - The recommendations contained within this report in relation to performance updates has been considered in relation to its impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for consideration of performance only. 8. Health & Safety – None. 9. Procurement – None. 10. Risk – None. 11. Privacy Impact – None. 12. Cosla Policy Position – None. 13. Climate Risk – None. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Emma Shields, Strategic Service Delivery Manager Page 259 of 396
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Appendix 1 RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL REVENUES COLLECTION STATEMENT AS AT 28 APRIL 2024 COUNCIL TAX 2023/24 2024/25 £m £m Projected Yield 108.473 110.304 Gross Charges 114.218 115.712 Less rebates 13.862 13.663 Net Charges Billed 100.356 102.049 Cash Collected 94.203 15.110 Rebate Grant 13.862 13.663 108.065 28.773 Cash collected as % of Net Charges 93.87% 14.81% Income as % of Projected Yield 99.62% 26.09% NON DOMESTIC RATES 2023/24 2024/25 £m £m Projected Yield 115.988 126.790 Gross Charges 143.620 151.795 Less reliefs 25.265 22.418 Net Charges Billed 118.355 129.377 Cash Collected 114.969 0.800 Cash collected as % of Net Charges 97.14% 0.62% Cash collected as % of Projected Yield 99.12% 0.63% Page 260 of 396
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Appendix 2 Business Services Performance Report Supplementary KPIs – Finance & Resources Policy Board APPEALS Where a claimant disputes a Benefits decision and also disputes a revision decision, they can formally make an Appeal. The Benefits Service will prepare a detailed submission which is then considered by the Independent Tribunals Service. Preparation of a submission is a very involved process and requires significant data gathering. Target processing speed (number of days) 60 Result: last 3 months (days) February: 1 day March: n/a April: 53 days Average (12 months to date) 43 days Average Appeals Completed 3 Appeals per month Comment:- Appeals volumes are very low, which is expected due to reducing Housing Benefit caseload. February appeals workload consisted of a single straightforward case. REVISIONS Where a claimant disputes a benefits decision in the first instance, they can request for it to be looked at again. This is known as a Revision. The process involves a Senior Benefit Assessor reviewing the decision thoroughly to decide whether the decision should stand. Target 28 days Result last report December 23: 21 January 24: 24 February 24: 20 Result Last 3 months February 24: 20 March 24: 22 April 24: 32 Comment:- Higher than normal volumes of revisions being received around the busy year-end period led to performance being slightly over target during April. ACCURACY The Service proactively monitors the accuracy of benefits decisions made through a robust audit checking programme. The Service targets to audit a minimum of 4% of calculations. Target % Actual % Volume of Audits 2024/25 4% 26% Accuracy – April 2024 95% 91% Accuracy – 2024/25 95% 91% Comment:- The Service continues to analyse errors and action trends/patterns by providing additional guidance/training where needed. While accuracy was above target for the period, this is recognised as a key priority for sustained improvement, targeted training takes place following errors being identified and a detailed training matrix is being developed as more capacity for training activity is available. Page 261 of 396
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Appendix 2 Business Services Performance Report Supplementary KPIs – Finance & Resources Policy Board HOUSING BENEFIT OVERPAYMENTS The service is responsible for raising overpayments where Housing Benefit has been paid in error. If these have resulted from errors made by claimants, the cost is partially funded by the DWP. The service attempts to recover both newly raised and historic debts from claimants or landlords as appropriate. Overpayments raised 2024/25 £102,362 Overpayments raised and recovered in year £17,686 % Recovery 17.28% All recovery in year £91,916 All recovery vs raised in year 89.80% All recovery vs all debt 1.26% Total debt outstanding at end of reporting period £7,221,262 Page 262 of 396
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Customer Services Performance Report ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report details performance across key Customer Service functions including Call Centre, E-mail, Face to Face and Digital Support for customers during April 2024. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board: • Note the contents of the report. _________________________________________________________ 3. Customer Service Provision 3.1 This section details the performance of the customer service centre for April 2024. The report provides an update on the overall contact centre call and e- mail volumes. Face to Face services continue in Renfrewshire House, and details of customer volumes are provided in this report. Demand for Digital Services remains high, and this report will update members on the level of online transactions being completed. Item 12 Page 263 of 396
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2 3.2 Contact Centre Performance 3.2.1 High level monthly summary – for the month of April, the contact centre received 28,864 calls and answered 96% against a primary target of 90% for the period. Table 1 – Customer Service Unit – Primary Target (call handling) Primary target Year Calls Received April Performance Year to Date 90% calls answered 2024 28,864 96% 96% 2023 24,373 96% 96% 3.2.2 The contact centre received an additional 4,491 calls compared to the same period last year and achieved the primary target of answering above 90% of all calls. 3.2.3 The secondary target is to respond to 70% of all calls within 40 seconds. Table 2 – Customer Service Unit – Secondary Target (call handling) Secondary target Year April Performance Year to Date 70% calls in 40 seconds 2024 64% 64% 2023 64% 64% 3.2.4 The contact centre was below the secondary target of answering 70% of calls within 40 seconds. April is historically a challenging month for the contact centre with service levels the same as April 2023. Performance levels are impacted by Easter and school holidays resulting in reduced resources alongside an increase in demand for Recycling and Bulky Waste Uplifts. This in addition to the start of the new year for Garden Waste Permits contributed to the increase of 4,491 calls compared to the same period last year. The team have also processed 4,663 applications for Free School Meals and Clothing Grants and paid £782,100 in clothing grants to 5,858 children. Page 264 of 396
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3 Parents can continue to apply for Free School Meals, however clothing Grant applications for the current school year are now closed. Applications for next school year will re-open at the start of June. 3.2.5 In addition to the calls outlined above, customers also contact the Council using e-mail as their preferred channel. Since the new contact system was implemented, this has given greater visibility to the volumes handled through this route. The e-mails received in the last three months for each service are outlined in table 3 below. Table 3 – E-mail contact volumes Service February 2024 March 2024 April 2024 Blue Badge 371 332 394 General Enquiry 988 1382 792 Environmental 60 64 60 Free School Meals / Clothing Grants 55 64 39 Housing Repairs 770 671 717 Licensing 530 472 538 Mybins 483 437 524 Roads and Lighting Faults 193 160 136 Garden Waste 506 449 347 Total e-mails handled 3,956 4,031 3,547 3.3 Face to face provision 3.3.1 The Customer Service Centre offers face to face support to customers by appointment where this is required. 3.3.2 Table 4 below shows the volume of customers who received face to face support during the month of April 2024. Table 4 – Face to Face Customer Volumes Service Total Customers Birth Registration 104 Marriage Registration 75 Licensing 89 TOTAL 268 3.4 Digital Services 3.4.1 The Council continues to see a high level of requests processed through the online platform, with an additional 6,941 customers registered in the last year. Page 265 of 396
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4 The total number of registered users on the MyAccount platform is now 104,792. 3.4.2 The level of online transactions, shown in the graph below, is significantly higher for the month than the same period last year with the platform supporting 20,884 requests in April. The highest level transactions are payments and garden waste permit applications. 3.4.3 In the last financial year, 216,083 transactions were completed online, which is the highest volume in a year since the platform launched. An increase of 57,919 on the previous year. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – None 2. HR & Organisational Development – None 3. Community/Council Planning – • Working together to improve outcomes – An efficient and effective Customer Services Unit is vital to ensuring citizens have equality of access to Council services whether this is digitally, by telephone or face to face. 4. Legal - None 5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology - None - 0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000 30000 35000 Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Online Transactions 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Page 266 of 396
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5 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 because it is for consideration of performance only. 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. Cosla Policy Position – Non applicable. 13. Climate Risk – none. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Gary Innes, Senior Service Delivery Manager (Customer and Digital Operations) Page 267 of 396
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_________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 __________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources __________________________________________________________________ Heading: Civic Hospitality __________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The following requests for civic hospitality have been received for the financial year 2024/25. a) Correspondence was received from our twin town of Furth in relation to a visit by members of Friends of Renfrewshire on Saturday 11th May 2024 requesting the possibility of a tour of Paisley. Following consultation with the Provost, in was agreed to provide a lunch in Pendulum in tandem with the tour for five people and the Head of Corporate Governance used his delegated authority to approve the request and made the necessary arrangements at the cost of £158.55. b) Correspondence was received in relation to the 70th anniversary of the Douglas Street Nursery requesting the possibility of a civic reception in the form of a buffet for 110 people at their premises to accompany their celebrations on Saturday 15th June 2024. Following consultation with the Provost, the Head of Corporate Governance used his delegated authority to approve the request and made the necessary arrangements at the cost of £900. c) Correspondence has been received from The Wynd Counselling & Conference Centre in relation to their 40th anniversary requesting the possibility of a civic reception to accompany this celebration on Saturday 28th September 2024 for approximately 100 people. Item 13 Page 268 of 396
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Following consultation with the Provost, it is proposed that the Board agree to provide a civic reception in the form of an evening meal at the cost of approximately £2500 and that it be delegated to the Director of Finance & Resources in consultation with the Provost to make the necessary arrangements. d) Correspondence has been received from Accord Hospice in relation to their Ladies Lunch event at Ingliston Country Club on Saturday 5th October 2024. Accord Hospice is a local charity providing palliative and end of life care and support to families within Renfrewshire. Following consultation with the Provost, it is proposed that the Board agree to take a table of 10 at the event detailed above at the cost of £500 and that it be delegated to the Director of Finance & Resources in consultation with the Provost to make the necessary arrangements. e) Correspondence has been received from the Tannahill McDonald Club requesting the possibility of a civic reception to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Paisley’s esteemed poet Robert Tannahill. It is proposed that a civic reception in the form of a wine reception and afternoon tea for approximately 80 be held in Paisley Town Hall on Saturday 7th September 2024. Following consultation with the Provost, it is proposed that the Board agree to provide the hospitality as detailed above at a cost of approximately £2500 and that it be delegated to the Director of Finance & Resources in consultation with the Provost to make the necessary arrangements. f) Correspondence has been received in relation to the official switching on of the Tweedie Hall lights in memory of William McNally, a young Renfrewshire boy who tragically drowned after getting into difficulty in the River Gryffe on 5th June 2021. It is proposed that the lights be officially switched on in the evening of July 25th, to coincide with World Drowning Prevention Day as the family tirelessly highlight the dangers of open water swimming and a small buffet reception for approximately 25 people be provided in Tweedie Hall afterwards. Following consultation with the Provost, it is proposed that the Board agree to provide the hospitality detailed above at the cost of approximately £600 and that it be delegated to the Director of Finance & Resources in consultation with the Provost to make the necessary arrangements. g) Correspondence has been received from OneRen requesting that a civic reception in the form of drinks and canapes be provided for the official opening of Paisley Art Centre on 31st July 2024 for 110 people. Following consultation with the Provost, it is proposed that the Board agree to provide the hospitality as detailed above at the cost of £1000 and that it be delegated to the Director of Finance & Resources in consultation with the Provost to make the necessary arrangements. Page 269 of 396
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h) Correspondence has been received from the Paisley & District Battalion of the Boys Brigade requesting civic hospitality to accompany their presentations for the Queen’s Badge and Duke of Edinburgh Awards on Thursday 19th September 2024. They have suggested the possibility of a civic reception for 175 people at St Mark’s Church, Paisley. Following consultation with the Provost, it is proposed that the Board agree to provide hospitality in the form of light refreshments at a cost of approximately £1750 and that it be delegated to the Director of Finance & Resources in consultation with the Provost to make the necessary arrangements. 1.2 The budget provision for 2024/25 for Civic Hospitality (including international Links) is £46,460. Should the above be agreed, and taking account of previous decisions, the remaining balance would be approximately £13,700. 2. Recommendations 2.1 That the Board agrees to: (a) provide the hospitality as detailed above for the Wynd Counselling & Conference Centre, the Tannahill McDonald Club, the official light switch on for Tweedie Hall, the reopening of Paisley Art Centre and the Boys Brigade Queen’s Badge Awards (b) agree to take a table at the Ladies Lunch for Accord Hospice and; (c) that it be delegated to the Director of Finance & Resources in consultation with the Provost to make the necessary arrangements. 2.2 That the Board note the action taken by the Head of Corporate Governance in terms of his delegated authority in respect of the Friends of Renfrewshire visit and the Douglas Street Nursery event. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The costs of the request from civic hospitality will be met from the 2024/25 budget provision. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None. 3. Community/Council Planning – Civic receptions provide recognition of the contributions made by individuals and organisations to the fabric of life in Renfrewshire. 4. Legal - None. 5. Property/Assets - None. 6. Information Technology – None. Page 270 of 396
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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. Cosla Policy Position – Not applicable. __________________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) Background Paper 1 – Email correspondence from Friends of Renfrewshire (b) Background Paper 2 – Email correspondence from Douglas St Nursery (c) Background Paper 3 – Email correspondence from Wynd Counselling & Conference Centre (d) Background Paper 4 – Email correspondence from Accord (e) Background Paper 5 – Email correspondence from Tannahill McDonald Club (f) Background Paper 6 – Email correspondence in relation to the Tweedie Hall Lights (g) Background Paper 7 – Email correspondence from OneRen in relation to Paisley Art Centre (h) Background Paper 8 – Email correspondence from Paisley & District Boys Brigade The foregoing background papers will be retained within Finance & Resources 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 Donna Gallagher, Member Services Officer (Telephone – 0141 487 1115, e-mail – donna.gallagher- pt@renfrewshire.gov.uk Author: Donna Gallagher – Member Services Officer. Tel: 0141 487 1115 E-mail donna.gallagher-pt@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 271 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Report on the Voluntary Redundancy/Early Retirements Scheme ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1. An annual report detailing the number of employees leaving through the voluntary redundancy or voluntary early retirement schemes (VR/VER), and associated financial implications for the Council, is presented to the Board in June. 1.2. This report provides an update for the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 confirming that 74 employees (70.35 FTE) have left the Council through voluntary redundancy or early retirement in that period. __________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 Members are asked to note the report. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1. This report provides details of the workforce planning arrangements to support the delivery of service changes, predominantly linked to the Right for Renfrewshire programme, over 2023/24. Expressions of interest in VR/VER from across the workforce were reviewed to assess the impact of any proposed reduction in headcount on services and the remaining workforce, including the cost to the Council of early release. As part of the Council’s 2023/24 budget strategy, VR/VER has been utilised to achieve service changes and savings. Item 14 Page 272 of 396
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3.2. The Chief Executive, in consultation with the Head of People and Organisational Development, is authorised to determine all requests received from employees for VR/VER under the schemes. 3.3. During the financial year 2023/24, a total of 74 employees (70.35 FTE) accepted voluntary redundancy or early retirement in the interests of the efficiency of the service. 3.4. The financial costs and savings of these decisions are detailed in Appendix A. An assessment is carried out in each VR/VER exercise to confirm the length of time for savings to accrue. For the 74 individuals being released in 2023/24, this averages at 24 months. 3.5. In determining requests for VR/VER, the Chief Executive and the Head of People and Organisational Development, in conjunction with the appropriate service Director, continue to take into account the potential to implement efficiencies and support the modernisation of the Council’s workforce in addition to the financial savings to be gained. Consideration was given to both the one-off costs of VR/VER, and the additional ongoing annual costs and in these cases it has been deemed to be of benefit to the Council for VR/VER to be agreed. 3.6. Appendix A contains details of the number of employees leaving the Council through either VR/VER in the interests of the efficiency of the service. It includes the following terms: • Redundancy Payment: the total lump sum redundancy payments paid to employees leaving the Council. • Enhanced Element of Pension (Annual Compensation): where the employee is a member of the Pension Fund and is awarded compensatory added years, the Council requires to pay on a monthly basis to the Pension Fund an amount that covers the costs associated with these added years. • Enhanced Element of the Lump Sum: where an employee is a member of the Pension Fund and is awarded compensatory added years, the Council requires to pay the lump sum directly to the employee as a one-off payment. • Strain / Factored Costs: where an employee is a member of the Pension Fund and retires early on grounds of efficiency / redundancy, the Council requires to pay to the Pension Fund a ‘strain on the fund’ charge for early payment of retirement benefits or where the employee would otherwise have suffered an actuarial reduction to their benefits for early retirement; this strain on the fund charge is paid as a one-off payment. Page 273 of 396
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• Pay in Lieu of Notice: where an employee has not received the appropriate notice of their employment terminating, a payment in lieu of notice is paid by the Council. • Full Year Savings: these will accrue from the release of staff under the scheme. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of this report 1. Financial – as detailed in Appendix 1 of report. 2. HR & Organisational Development – as detailed in the report. 3. Community Planning – none arising from this report. 4. Legal - none arising from this report. 5. Property/Assets - none arising from this report. 6. Information Technology - none arising from this report. 7. Equality & Human Rights - none arising from this report. 8. Health & Safety – none arising from this report. 9. Procurement – none arising from this report. 10. Risk – none arising from this report. 11. Privacy Impact - none arising from this report . 12. Cosla Policy Position - none arising from this report. 13. Climate Risk - none arising from this report. _________________________________________________________ Author: Alastair MacArthur, Director of Finance and Resources Page 274 of 396
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VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCY/EARLY RETIREMENT SCHEME/EFFICIENCY OF THE SERVICE Financial Implications 1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024 No of Employees FTE Total Annual Salary Redundancy Enhanced Element of Pension Enhanced Element of Lump Sum Strain / Factored Costs Payment in Lieu of Notice Full Year Savings 3.00 2.50 £ 178,671 £ 67,830 £ 13,293 £ 4,431 £ 234,351 £ - £ 178,671 51.00 49.25 £ 2,187,522 £ 1,051,231 £ 180,511 £ 60,170 £ 3,271,400 £ - £ 2,187,522 20.00 18.60 £ 1,093,696 £ 475,656 £ 94,048 £ 31,349 £ 1,342,507 £ - £ 1,093,696 74.00 70.35 £ 3,459,889 £ 1,594,718 £ 287,852 £ 95,950 £ 4,848,259 £ - £ 3,459,889 APPENDIX 1 Service Chief Executives Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Finance and Resources Page 275 of 396
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: 2023/24 Health, Safety and Wellbeing achievements and future plans within Renfrewshire Council. ___________________________________________________________________ Summary 1.1 This report provides an update on the health, safety and wellbeing arrangements and performance of Renfrewshire Council in effectively managing health, safety, and wellbeing for the period 1 April 2023 to 31st March 2024. 1.2 The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (as amended) place duties on the Council to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health of their employees and others that could be affected by work activities. 1.3 This report demonstrates the council’s continued commitment to ensuring the health, safety, welfare, and wellbeing of our employees. It supports the aims of the “Our People, Our Future” strategy document, the councils’ values and contributes to the delivery of best value outcomes. 1.4 This report takes into consideration the HSE’s strategy documents “Protecting People and Places” and “Helping Great Britian Work Well”. 1.5 Managing health and safety in the workplace is not only morally and legally responsible, but it also makes good financial sense. Reducing workplace accidents and ill health saves on compensation claims, medical expenses, and legal fees while increasing productivity and efficiency. This should encourage retention of employees as they feel valued and ultimately positively impact on Renfrewshire Council’s reputation. Item 15 Page 276 of 396
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2 __________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 The board notes the attached report on the health, safety and wellbeing arrangements and performance of the council. 3.0 Background 3.1 A safe and healthy organisation is one that successfully balances the needs of individuals with the needs of the organisation. It is recognised that, over the past year, the council has been exploring different ways of working to reflect the financial position and the final elements of recovery from the pandemic. This, in turn, continues to drive organisational change and influence the council’s safety culture. 3.2 Health and safety at work is not only about health and safety management, occupational health and promoting healthier lifestyles, it is recognised that the way in which work is organised and how people behave, is significant to nurturing positive outcomes. To be truly effective, health and safety must be an everyday process and an integral part of the workforce culture at all levels across the council. 4.0 Key areas of activity 4.1 The Health and Safety team (part of People and OD), continued to work collaboratively with key stakeholders, including Trades Unions, Services, and external partners including One Ren, Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board (RVJB), Scotland Excel and the NHS. 4.2 The Health and Safety team were actively involved in supporting the NHS mobile vaccination team for covid, flu and shingles vaccinations within the community during 2023/24. 4.3 Protecting mental health and wellbeing has been a key priority for the Health and Safety team. The Quality of Working Life (Stress) Risk Assessment (QWLRA) is an important tool to identify perceived workplace stressors and to generate an action plan that may remove or reduce the impacts of the perceived stressors. A review of our guidance has taken place and a revised document was implemented in consultation with employee representatives and management. 4.4 The council has an ongoing commitment to reducing incidents, so far as is reasonably practicable and encourage employees to play their part in achieving this important objective. Each Service health and safety committee/group involving employee representatives, are required to focus on the apparent causes of incidents. Page 277 of 396
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3 Further to this, weekly meetings with the service health and safety coordinator and the Health and Safety team have been established and this will assist in the development of strategies and local accident reduction programmes. 4.5 Over the reporting period (2023/24) there were 2948 incidents reported in total, compared to 1883 reported the previous reporting period (2022/23). The incident total includes employees, service users, members of the public and contractors. The biggest presenting issue facing the council as a whole, is an increase in the violence and aggression incidents reported (reflecting the national picture). The majority of these incidents are identified by the service users and/or pupils. Post covid, incidents recorded against employees have resulted in more minor injuries being reported and the type of behaviours displayed that have increased include verbal abuse, use of weapons and physical contact. The Health and Safety team are currently working with national safety practitioner groups to identify strategies and incident reduction programmes. 4.6 The council has a duty to report certain incidents to the Health and Safety Executive under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR). The table below is a summary of employee RIDDOR Notifications during the reporting period: To ensure we meet our statutory requirements of the RIDDOR regulations, the Health and Safety team have undertaken a number of training sessions, in collaboration with our Businessworld colleagues across a number of council services and this will ensure timeous reporting and data collation. 4.7 Health and safety training is vital to ensure everyone is familiar with their responsibilities. The provision of face-to-face health and safety training has been further complimented this reporting period by an enhanced digital programme. There are a number of courses offered, and the most attended were: Accident/ incident reporting, Display Screen Equipment, Evacuation process for Renfrewshire House, Fire Alarm investigation, Fire Warden, Manual handling, violence and aggression. Over the reporting period there were a total of 5547 course completions. Service Number of reports Chief Executives 0 Childrens Services 13 Environment Housing & Infrastructure 15 Finance and Resources 0 Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership 5 Total 33 Page 278 of 396
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4 Throughout the reporting period, the Health and Safety team have also supported bespoke training on topics such as accident/incident reporting, needlestick injuries, fire safety in care homes and lone working. 4.8 To support everyone to work safely, a risk-based review of all our policies and guidance documents is under way, we will prioritise a refresh of the documents in line with statutory compliance as well as business needs. Several health and safety documents have been revised and include: Control of Smoking at working Control of Legionella Other health and safety policies and guidance in the process of revision include; hand arm vibration, fire, violence and aggression, risk assessment, manual handling, and lone working. 4.9 To ensure a collaborative approach to health and safety engagement with employees, the corporate health and safety committee (CHSC) continues to progress health and safety issues that cannot be resolved at Service level. The committee has representation from Services and Trade Unions. During this reporting period the CHSC met 4 times. 4.10 The Health and Safety team continue to provide data for insurance claims, subject access requests (SAR) and freedom of information (FOI) requests. During 2023/24 58 SAR/FOI data requests were completed and most relate to generic incident/accidents at work. 4.11 The Health and Safety team continue to evaluate contractor’s and supplier’s health and safety documentation when they apply for contracts with Renfrewshire Council, during the reporting period there were a total of 135 contractor evaluations that were completed, 43 Low Risk and 92 High Risk. This process continues to ensure correct governance arrangements are in place. Service Number of completions Chief Executives 306 Childrens Services 1405 Environment Housing & Infrastructure 1468 Finance and Resources 907 Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership 1248 Total 5547 Page 279 of 396
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5 4.12 The council’s occupational health provider, People Asset Management Ltd. Progress the occupational health surveillance programme. The programme continued throughout 2023/24 and has covered certain occupations within Building Services, Streetscene, Fleet and Roads, as well as school technicians and music teachers. Types of health surveillance carried out includes: Audiometry Spirometry Vibration Nightshift worker questionnaires Pre-employment medical screening School Crossing patroller health checks. 4.13 The Health and Safety team have been supporting Building Services and Housing colleagues with needlestick injury training. This is linked to a council wide review of our blood borne virus risk assessment documentation. We have expanded this project into a council wide working group and refreshed the risk assessments where there may be occupational exposures generated though work-related activities. This has led to a programme of vaccinations for certain occupations that can be exposed to Hepatitis A and B within Building services and Renfrewshire Drugs Service. 4.14 The Health and Safety team continue to produce health and wellbeing guidance and campaigns to support the workforce. Topics covered during the reporting period include; walking groups, mental health promotions and a range of employee benefits. 4.15 The Health and Safety team have supported the planning arrangements and the delivery of events across Renfrewshire including gala days and other local events, some of the significant events supported include: Paisley Food and Drink Festival, Sma Shot parade and event, Renfrew Pipe band Competition, Halloween event, Remembrance Sunday events, Winterfest event in Paisley and the Christmas Lights Switch on events in Renfrew and Johnstone. 4.16 During the reporting period, the Health and Safety team were actively involved in supporting and responding to 5 visits from the HSE. One visit was in relation to the cardboard compaction equipment within the EH&I Household waste and recycling centre (HWRC), whereby the improvements suggested by the Health and Safety team were adopted across the other HWRCs. 4 school visits were in relation to the HSE’s management of asbestos in schools’ intervention programme. This involved the Health and Safety team, collaborating with officers from Childrens Services and Finance and Resources to provide the HSE with all the associated documentation and plans that demonstrates our effective asbestos management plans. Page 280 of 396
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6 All the interventions above did not result in any type of punitive notice but did generate a fee for intervention payment ( which is the lowest form of action). This was the result of the Health and Safety team taking significant action with the services to reduce the potential outcomes that may have resulted in a formal outcome. 4.17 There have been 12 audits jointly carried out with Scottish Fire and Rescue (SFR). The audits are a result of SFR attending call outs to our premises. We discuss, where possible, improvements to the fire safety arrangements. Across the estate, there have been very low-level impact fires which have not resulted in any significant damage or property loss associated and this can be attributed to the fire risk assessment process (and associated controls) driven by the Health and Safety team. 4.18 A corporate Fire working group, led by the Health and Safety team with representatives from services and trade unions, continue to review the arrangements and training needs across the council and external partners premises. This has led to the development of procedures for alarm activations as well as looking at improvements within premises. 4.19 The Health and Safety team continue to support the new ways of working arrangements being developed across the council. This includes reviewing floor plate designs and ventilation impacts. The team supported the relocation of staff from Abbey House to Renfrewshire House. 4.20 The Health and Safety team continue to support the council’s construction activities though scheduled monthly meetings with the property services team and others. The team continue to be involved in meetings/site visits for the Paisley Town Hall project and the Paisley Arts Centre project, the schools new build (the new Paisley Grammar) and refurbishment projects (school kitchens) including extensive support to the Dargavel additional classrooms project, Oakshaw Church, steeple refurbishment and weathervane removal project, the WIFI extension project, The Paisley Cultural Hub project as well as other smaller projects. 4.21 The council offered the flu vaccine out to all staff not covered under the criteria for an inoculation from the NHS. We worked with our OH provider from October to December 2023 to deliver face to face inoculations for staff. As part of this programme, we worked closely with our partner organisations (One Ren, RVJB and Scotland Excel) to include their staff. 4.22 The Health and Safety team continue to drive improvements within the workplace and have instigated a number of working groups, with representatives from services and trade unions on the following subjects: asbestos management, working at height, hand arm vibration. The groups reports and outcomes will feed into policy development, safer working methods and support the governance arrangements. The group activities will also be reported to boards and the corporate health and safety committee. Page 281 of 396
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7 4.23 During the reporting period, the Health and Safety team were actively involved in supporting Childrens services, early years team to develop and implement a flight risk, risk assessment document (FRRA). This was in response to incidents whereby younger children were able to get out of the premises unaided. The FRRA was undertaken across all Early Learning and Childcare Centres, (38 visits in total) and suitable controls were identified and implemented. Each FRRA generates an action plan to ensure the appropriate controls are implemented. 5.0 Future Plans 5.1 The HSE have selected priority programmes which concentrate on hazards or sectors where improvements are needed. The HSE’s priority programmes that may impact on the council are: Dust; Legionella; Musculoskeletal disorders; Work related stress; Planned Preventative Maintenance; asbestos; construction related activities; and Raising awareness of the need to prevent injury to members of the public from accessing large commercial waste and recycling bins. In addition, we recognise and apply the HSE’s aims to their workplace strategy: 'Helping Great Britian work well’. those who create risks have a responsibility to manage them. action should be proportionate to the risks that need managing. The overall aim within the council is for services to continue to address concerns in relation to the above issues and incorporate these into their health and safety action plans which should include relevant performance indicators. This will ensure that health and safety continues to be a significant driver and may result in enhanced health and safety performance. 5.2 The council will continue to work in partnership with our occupational health provider People Asset Management and our employee counselling provider Timefortalking, in reviewing and developing health and well-being programs with the focus on supporting attendance at work. Over the next twelve months, key areas to be targeted in relation to health safety and wellbeing are: continued monitoring of ill health trends and analysis; promotion of occupational health services to support employees to remain at work, including physiotherapy; Page 282 of 396
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8 targeted promotion across the council, to increase the use of the employee counselling service by those identifying as males. health education and training of employees on occupational health related subjects for example occupational exposures or mental health awareness; provision of expert advice and development of occupational health-related procedures or guidance as required; continuation of the health surveillance plan. 5.3 In order to continue to promote and sustain a positive health, safety and well- being culture, further objectives have been set for 2024/25 which includes: The Health and Safety team will resume the audit and workplace inspection programme within services; continuing to examine the presentation of accident/ill health statistics within Businessworld ERP and how this may be improved to give clearer information and to encourage their use by services to provide a focus for proactive accident prevention programmes; continuing to promote, provide, develop, and expand the health and safety and well-being courses in line with the business needs; continuing to promote the mental health awareness and the use of the Quality of Working Life (stress) risk assessment Council wide to minimise work related stress; driving safety cultural change within the council through a challenge culture and safety felt leadership. Reviewing the safety risk assessment and legal registers to ensure compliance and governance with new and existing legislation. Linking health and safety interventions to support the four main themes contained within council’s health and well-being plan. Horizon scanning to ensure we adapt and control new and emerging technologies in the workplace such as artificial intelligence or green initiatives. In order to provide additional assurance with respect health and safety governance, capacity and structures an independent assessment of the service will be undertaken over the course of 2024. Page 283 of 396
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9 6. Conclusions 6.1 Organisations that successfully manage health and safety recognise that the relationship between controlling risks and general health is at the very centre of the organisation itself. Within Renfrewshire Council, this approach rests on the principles in the HSE document HSG 65 “Managing for Health and Safety” to which the Council is committed for all Services. The standard clearly states that managing health and safety successfully is founded on effective systems which: set and develop policy; plan for health and safety; implement and operate the plan; check and introduce corrective actions when appropriate; review overall performance; and work towards continuous improvement. By ensuring the application of these principles in partnership with all employees, Renfrewshire Council will continue to be seen as an exemplar employer. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - Continuing to improve health and safety performance will reduce accidents/occupational ill health/claims and associated costs. 2. HR & Organisational Development - This report supports the council’s commitment to the health, safety, and wellbeing of employees. 3. Community/Council Planning – This report and plan supports the objectives contained within the community and council plans. 4. Legal - The council will continue to comply with current health and safety legislation. 5. Property/Assets - Having a robust health and safety management system in place and an effective risk control system can reduce the risk of property damage and potential loss of premises which could be caused by fire for example. 6. Information Technology - Not applicable. Page 284 of 396
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10 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 as it is for noting only. 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 - This report supports and demonstrates the council’s commitment to ensuring effective health and safety management. 9. Procurement - Finance and Resources, HR, and Organisational Development (FAR, H.R. and O.D.) health and safety section has a valuable input to the Council’s procurement system. 10. Risk - This report supports the overarching management of risk within Renfrewshire Council. 11. Privacy Impact - Not applicable. 12. Cosla Policy Position - Not applicable. 13. Climate Risk – Good health and safety practices support environmental controls. _______________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None ________________________________________________________________ Author: Steven Fanning, Strategic Lead Partner (Health and Safety) steven.fanning@renfrewshire.gov.uk 07747790211 Page 285 of 396
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: ‘People Strategy 2021-26’ - Revised HR&OD Policies ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 As part of our People Strategy ‘Our People Our Future 2021-2026’ approved by Members in March 2021, key work continues to be progressed by officers in relation to the HR&OD Policy Review Plan. The review plan helps to improve the workplace culture and staff experience by creating the right conditions for change, to deliver future modernised and sustainable services. 1.2 Modern and inclusive HR&OD policies will create the right supportive foundations to ensure they adequately empower and support the level of organisational and cultural change we require. This policy review has incorporated our Council values and a has clear focus on flexibility, health and wellbeing, equality, diversity, and inclusion. 1.3 The purpose of this report is therefore to seek approval from members to implement the two policies attached in Appendices 1 & 2. These include: People, Performance and Wellbeing Policy (formerly known as People, Performance and Talent Policy) at Appendix 1. Revised Disciplinary Policy at Appendix 2. 1.4 Consultation has taken place with the Trade Unions and Services and feedback has informed the development of these policies. These policies have been modernised and are updated in line with best practice, our values and employment legislation. Item 16 Page 286 of 396
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2 1.5 Following approval from Members, additional guidance and training will continue to be developed to support the implementation of these policies. These policies will be fully implemented in the next few months. Communications will also be distributed to all managers and employees within the Council via the normal channels. __________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members: Approve the revised HR&OD Policies at Appendices 1 & 2. __________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Our workforce of the future requires to be skilled, flexible, adaptive, and motivated, committed to driving continuous improvement to achieve the Council’s vision and values which meets the needs and expectations of our communities. 3.2 These revised policies, developed in line with ACAS guidelines and best practice, provide a framework for supporting continuous service improvement and handling any concerns in relation to conduct or performance in a fair, structured, and supportive manner. 3.3 Through the implementation of these policies, the Council will promote and encourage employees to fully utilise all the supportive provisions available. 4. Revised HR&OD Policies 4.1 To help improve the employee experience in Renfrewshire, we aim through our policies to provide a workplace where our people feel valued and supported to undertake their role, realise their full potential, and are encouraged to consider their own goals and career aspirations. 4.2 We know our people perform most effectively when the expectations of their job role, work objectives and the wider Council aims are made clear. As a supportive and inclusive employer, we also recognise how important their commitment and performance contribute to effective service delivery. 4.3 The People, Performance and Wellbeing Policy attached at Appendix 1 replaces the current People, Performance and Talent Policy. It provides a focus on improving how we manage and support the performance, development, and the wellbeing of our people. It now aligns a key principle from the Health and Wellbeing Plan where managers will now be trained and supported on managing wellbeing matters, including trauma awareness to better understand how their support can positively impact on performance, development and health and wellbeing. Page 287 of 396
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3 4.4 Performance will be supported and managed by having structured ‘quality 1-2- 1 conversations’ with at least one yearly conversation as a minimum being held between managers and their people to set performance standards and expectations. Training needs and aspirations will also be discussed along with any areas for improvement. 4.5 The key changes to the policy include: The introduction of a phased cycle of continuous improvement (“Evaluate” “Meet”, “Support” and “Review”) will ensure our people are skilled to support organisational change and meet expected performance standards. Embedding the Council’s values into performance and development discussions to support our people “living the values” and performing to expected standards of behaviour. Introducing a greater focus on wellbeing, including trauma awareness so a manager and employee can openly discuss the impact health has on their performance, and explore the support provisions available from the council. The Council being able to identify skills gaps across its workforce and provide appropriate investment to support continuous development. The Council setting its expectations that continuous unsatisfactory performance cannot be sustained and provides a framework for supporting under performance. The annual recording and reporting of 1-2-1 quality conversations and supported improvement plans. 4.6 The revised Disciplinary Policy attached at Appendix 2 demonstrates the Council’s commitment to developing and maintaining constructive relations with all our people to promote an environment where they can perform at their best. We trust that our employees will always strive to meet the high standards we and the public expect but recognise that concerns regarding conduct and performance can arise. 4.7 When these matters arise, the revised policy will support managers to deal with conduct issues fairly, consistently, and quickly. Separate processes have been developed to deal with cases related to defalcation or alcohol or substance use, which may require support in addition to, or separate from, the disciplinary process. 4.8 The key changes to the policy include: Greater emphasis on accessing available supporting provisions whilst going through a disciplinary process, i.e., our employee assistance programmes. Greater awareness on health or trauma related matters which may impact on a person’s behaviour and/or conduct. Concluding a disciplinary outcome within a period of 3 months (investigation, hearing and appeal). Page 288 of 396
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4 The removal of the council’s defalcation process from the policy which will now sit outside the disciplinary process with Audit. Introduces an informal resolution process aimed at improving minor misconduct breaches without the need for a formal process. Details the importance of having an objective, consistent and structured process when carrying out investigations. Removal of an oral warning with only 2 formal stages remaining, a written warning and a final written warning. Embedding the Council’s values into all stages of the disciplinary process so conduct matters are dealt with fairly and in a supportive manner. __________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - The Council’s ongoing financial sustainability is dependent on the ability of the Council to transform and modernise services. 2. People & Organisational Development - As outlined in the report. 3. Community Planning – None. 4. Legal – These policies have been prepared in accordance with current employment legislation. 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 because for example it is for noting only. 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 - As outlined in the report. 9. Procurement – None. 10. Risk – None. 11. Privacy Impact – None. Page 289 of 396
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5 12. Cosla Policy Position – None. 13. Climate Risk – None. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None _________________________________________________________________ Author: Eddie Simpson, Strategic Lead Partner (Organisational Development) eddie.simpson@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 290 of 396
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APPENDIX 1 Issue Number: 1 Issue Date: 6/24 Review Date: 6/26 People, Performance and Wellbeing Policy This policy applies to Local Government Employees (excluding the Chief Executive, Chief Officers and Teachers) This document is available in alternative formats on request. Page 291 of 396
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2 CONTENTS 1 Introduction 4 2 Purpose and Aims 4 3 Scope 5 4 Responsibilities 5 5 Best Practice 5 6 People, Performance and Wellbeing (PPW) Cycle 5 7 Our Council Values 5 8 Supporting Performance 6 9 Supported Work Improvement 7 10 People Development 7 11 Confidentiality 7 12 Impact Assessment 8 13 Monitoring and Review 8 Page 292 of 396
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3 VERSION CONTROL Version Date Details of Review/Revisals made Next Review date 1 June 2024 This policy replaces the current People, Performance and Talent Policy (PPT) [June 2026] Page 293 of 396
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4 1. Introduction 1.1 The Council recognises that our people perform most effectively when the expectations of their job role, work objectives and the wider aims of the Council are made clear to them. As a supportive and inclusive employer, we recognise the commitment and performance of our people, and we aim to provide a workplace where they can feel valued and supported to undertake their role and are encouraged to consider their own goals and career aspirations. 1.2 We continue to operate in an environment dominated by change and continuous improvement. The People, Performance and Wellbeing Policy (PPW) supports and compliments the Council’s workforce planning approach by enabling services and colleagues to review performance and identify areas for development that align with the Council’s Values. 1.3 We have several policies which support the PPW Policy. Those impacted by capability as a result of sickness absence or conduct, may require to be managed, using Managing Absence Policy or the Disciplinary Policy. 2. Purpose and Aims 2.1 The purpose of the PPW Policy is to support the Council’s culture of continuous service improvement through providing a policy which ensures your performance, development and expectations are reviewed fairly and effectively and that objectives, aligned to the Council’s priorities are agreed with you and supported by your manager. 2.2 There are a wide and diverse range of roles across the Council and the requirements for supporting performance and development may vary between services and roles. Your role plays an essential part in contributing to the Council’s effective service delivery and this policy aims to ensure that we invest in you with valuable and meaningful focus. 2.3 The PPW Policy aims to: Ensure you have a discussion about your performance, development, wellbeing and aspirations and as a minimum have an annual conversation, resulting in meaningful objectives and a positive employee experience; Create a culture of continuous improvement, engagement, motivation and workforce resilience; Support organisational change to ensure we continue to meet future service demands and remain sustainable; Ensure you understand the performance standards and behaviours that are expected of you and how these positively impact on both your own, your team and the Council’s performance; Enable investment in your development by identifying any skills gaps and providing appropriate support; Provide support if you are not meeting the minimum standards expected of your role, by discussing reasons for this and identifying solutions. Page 294 of 396
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5 Support the Council’s Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Plan by making reasonable adjustments wherever possible, particularly for those protected under the Equality Act 2010, to enable everyone to achieve their objectives and reach their full potential. 3. Scope 3.1 The PPW Policy applies to Local Government Employees only. It does not apply to the Chief Executive, Chief Officers or Teachers, as alternative provisions are in place for these employees. 3.2 Where services and partner organisations have existing arrangements in place to support performance and development needs, for example, Supervision and Professional Development for Social Workers, Health and Social Care Partnership provision or professional development commitments, these will continue as the PPW Policy has been aligned to these. 4. Responsibilities 4.1 You, your manager and your service have a collective responsibility to follow the principles outlined in this policy. We require you to take accountability for your own performance and development which will be supported by your manager. More information is detailed in the PPW Supporting Guidance. 5. Best Practice 5.1 The PPW Policy has been developed in line with relevant ACAS guidelines on effective performance management and best practice. Feedback was also obtained from a range of key stakeholders to ensure the needs of our people are met. 6. People, Performance and Wellbeing (PPW) Cycle 6.1 The PPW Policy follows a continuous improvement cycle with four phases – Evaluate, Meet, Support and Review. The four phases of the cycle are to: Evaluate: Assess your wellbeing, performance and development against the Council’s Values and job specific skills; Meet: Identify and agree gaps and job specific objectives aligned to the Council’s Values and priorities; Support: demonstrate an ongoing commitment to your continuous development to achieve your objectives; Review: Record your performance against agreed objectives and if required, agree an action plan to support continuous/ongoing commitment to these. 7. Our Council Values 7.1 Our Values guide how we deliver services and make decisions every day. Our Values are for everyone working in the Council. They shape how we interact with the people we work with, our local communities, partners and all of our stakeholders. Page 295 of 396
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6 7.2 Our Values help you to understand that your role plays a part in ensuring that the Council performs to its highest potential and keeps you and your colleagues engaged and committed to performing, whilst achieving your own goals and personal development. Our Values are: We are fair. We treat each other and everyone we deal with respectfully and work hard to build trust in Renfrewshire Council. We are helpful. We care about getting things right and are always approachable. We are great collaborators. We work as one team and with people who care about this place. We value learning to help us innovate, improve and deliver better services. 7.3 Our Values provide the positive standards of behaviour you should demonstrate every day. You must consider our Values in relation to your job role, providing examples of how you live these values. Your manager will discuss at your PPW meeting any relevant development needs you may have. 8. Supporting Performance 8.1 We will support you to perform at your best by: Meeting regularly in structured one-to-ones (1-2-1s) Having Quality 1-2-1 Conversations As a minimum, having an individual Yearly Conversation Setting clear work objectives and performance standards and expectations Giving frequent feedback 8.2 Having Quality 1-2-1 and Yearly Conversations 8.2.1 You will have a Quality 1-2-1 conversation(s) with your manager to maintain and evolve a positive working relationship. We recognise that regular conversations between you and your manager offer support and ensure that you feel valued and engaged. They provide an opportunity for you to meet with your manager to talk about your wellbeing and how well you are performing your job role. Your manager will be trained and supported on managing wellbeing matters, including trauma awareness to better understand how their support can positively impact on performance, development and health and wellbeing. 8.2.2 We will offer an opportunity for you to have an individual yearly conversation with your manager, over and above your regular 1-2-1 conversations. You and your manager will reflect on what you have accomplished, explore and set agreed objectives for the year ahead. It is about having a valuable conversation, providing you with feedback on your performance, agreeing any support required and identifying your development needs and goals for the future. It is expected that you will fulfil your obligations in respect of what has been agreed and within the timescales. Page 296 of 396
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7 8.2.3 Conversations will be flexible to suit the needs of our people and fit into practices already present in services without adding to workload, such as supervision sessions and regular conversations or team briefing/meetings, toolbox talks, etc. 8.2.4 If at any point or for any reason during the PPW Cycle, your performance does not meet the minimum standards expected in your role, your manager will provide additional support to enable you to reach the required level of performance. This will be reviewed regularly in agreement with you. 8.2.5 If, despite additional support being provided, you cannot achieve an acceptable level of performance, your manager will arrange a supported work improvement meeting with you. 9. Supported Work Improvement 9.1 Your manager will meet with you to : Explore with you why your performance has remained unsatisfactory; Understand how you view your own performance; Encourage you to discuss any concerns you may have about your job or health, or the support and guidance previously provided; Ensure you are aware of the impact of not meeting expected levels of performance on your colleagues and service users: Agree specific areas for improvement with achievable timescales, recorded on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP); Ensure you understand that continued unsatisfactory performance cannot be sustained and if your performance does not improve to a satisfactory level, despite agreed supports, it may be managed under the Council’s formal Disciplinary Policy. Managers must consult People & OD Services prior to commencing any disciplinary proceedings; If underperformance is due to health, trauma or medical reasons, your manager will identify and agree with you, relevant workplace adjustments and supports. 9.2 Your manager will regularly review your Performance Improvement Plan with you and support you to meet all the objectives agreed in it. This may include additional training, providing a mentor, coaching or some other kind of ongoing support. The content and outcome of meetings will be confirmed in writing. 10. People Development 10.1 All managers and their teams will be asked to complete relevant training and development on the provisions of this policy. Further guidance on the policy and the training can be obtained from People and OD Services. 11. Confidentiality 11.1 Information relating to employee performance and development should only 7 be recorded and maintained by the relevant manager and shared with People & Page 297 of 396
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8 Organisational Development where appropriate in accordance with relevant data protection legislation. 11.2 Information processed may include paper or electronic records and will be done so in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation EU 2016/679) (“GDPR”), the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (as may be amended by the proposed Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications) and any legislation that, in respect of the United Kingdom, replaces, or enacts into domestic law, GDPR or any other law relating to data protection, the Processing of personal data and privacy as a consequence of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. 12. Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment 12.1 This policy has been impact assessed in line with the Council’s obligation to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. 13. Monitoring and Review 13.1 This policy will be reviewed regularly and in line with any legislative and organisational changes. The recognised Trade Unions will be consulted on any future changes to this policy. Page 298 of 396
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APPENDIX 2 Issue Number: 1 Issue Date: 6/24 Review Date: 6/26 Disciplinary Policy For all Local Government Employees and Chief Officers (excluding the Chief Executive, Directors and Teachers) This document is available in alternative formats on request. Page 299 of 396
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2 CONTENTS 1. Introduction……………………………………………………….. 4 2. Purpose and Aims….……………………………………………. 4 3. Scope ……………………………………………………………… 4 4. Our responsibilities.……………………………………………… 5 5. General Principles………………………………………………… 5 6. Types of Misconduct……………………………………………… 6 7. Timescales………………………………………………………… 7 8. Conduct Improvement Process (Informal)……………………… 7 9. Suspension………………………………………………………… 7 10. Investigation……………………………………………………….. 8 11. Disciplinary Hearing………………………………………………. 8 12. Appeals…………………………………………………………….. 9 13. Referral to other agencies……………………………………….. 9 14. Criminal offences or police involvement………………………… 9 15. Confidentiality……………………………………………………… 10 16. Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment……………… 10 17. Monitoring and Review…………………………………………… 10 Page 300 of 396
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3 VERSION CONTROL Version Date Details of Review Next Review date 1 June 2024 This replaces the current Disciplinary Procedures [June 2026] Page 301 of 396
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4 1. Introduction 1.1 We trust that our employees will always strive to meet the high standards we and the public expect, living our values each day. We recognise that concerns regarding conduct and performance can arise, and this policy provides a framework for handling these concerns in line with Our Values in a fair and supportive manner. 1.2 This policy should be read along with the Disciplinary Procedure and relates to any type of conduct that falls below the standard required by the Council as outlined in the Code of Conduct or is in breach of our organisational policies. This also covers situations where misconduct occurs outside of work and can have an impact on an employee’s ability to do their job and the Council’s reputation. 1.3 Any performance concerns will in the first instance be managed via the People, Performance and Wellbeing Policy. 1.4 All managers who will be involved in the disciplinary process will be asked to undertake relevant training and development. The Council will maintain a register of fully trained managers who can participate in the process. Advice and guidance on the application of the Disciplinary Policy and Disciplinary Procedure is available from the People & OD Team. 2. Purpose and Aims 2.1 The purpose of this policy is to provide a framework to manage disciplinary situations using a fair, inclusive and consistent process. 2.2 This policy aims to: Inform our employees about the Disciplinary process and what they should expect. Ensure our expectations are understood on managing disciplinary situations. 2.3 Managers will seek to resolve all employment issues promptly and where appropriate on an informal basis. 3. Scope 3.1 This policy applies to all Local Government Employees, and Chief Officers (excluding Chief Executive, Directors and Teachers). Further guidance is available from your link People Representative. 3.2 This policy is compliant with current employment legislation including the Public Sector Equality Duty, the Equality Act 2010 and the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance procedures. Page 302 of 396
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5 4. Our responsibilities 4.1 Managers are responsible for ensuring that all disciplinary issues are dealt with in a fair, inclusive and consistent manner. 4.2 We will ensure that our employees are made aware of available guidance and support, and that disciplinary issues are dealt with as quickly as the circumstances allow. 4.3 We understand that going through a disciplinary process can be stressful. Support is available via our employee assistance programme ‘Time for Talking’ and via our Occupational Health service. Further details on accessing support can be obtained via your link People Representative. 5. General Principles 5.1 We will seek to resolve employment issues quickly and transparently at the lowest possible level and, where appropriate, on an informal basis. 5.2 Disciplinary matters will be dealt with in the strictest confidence. All parties, including witnesses, must ensure that privacy and confidentiality are always maintained. Any person who fails to follow the rules of confidentiality may also find themselves subject to the disciplinary process. 5.3 If alleged misconduct relates to fraud, theft or embezzlement of monies, materials or allegations relating to corruption, bribery or other matters relating to the functions of the Council, it will be necessary to refer the case to the Council's Internal Audit team prior to any investigation under the Disciplinary Policy. 5.4 Alcohol and/or substance use may relate to a health condition and if an employee is impacted, they will be supported as far as possible, with disciplinary action being used only when appropriate. Further details on support options can be found in the Corporate Policy on Alcohol and Substance use. 5.5 If an employee raises a competent grievance during the disciplinary process, a manager may wish to pause the disciplinary and deal with the grievance first. It also may be appropriate to deal with both at the same time. 5.6 Where an employee is a trade union representative, no action in terms of the disciplinary process will be taken until a full time official of the trade union concerned has been informed. Page 303 of 396
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6 6. Types of Misconduct 6.1 The available disciplinary outcomes open to a Disciplinary Officer will depend on whether they believe the conduct constitutes misconduct or gross misconduct. 6.2 Gross Misconduct This is the most serious level of misconduct and may lead to summary dismissal or other punitive action. Gross misconduct is behaviour of such a nature that the Council cannot tolerate continued employment as it breaches the contract of employment. Gross misconduct may include the following (this list is not exhaustive): Child/Adult Protection concerns Theft or fraud Physical violence or bullying Deliberate and serious damage to Council property Serious misuse of the Council’s property or name Deliberately accessing internet sites containing pornographic, offensive or obscene material Serious insubordination Unlawful discrimination or harassment Bringing the Council into disrepute Serious incapability at work brought on by alcohol or illegal drugs Causing loss, damage or injury through serious negligence A serious breach of the health and safety rules A serious breach of confidence 6.3 Misconduct These acts are ordinarily less serious and may lead to formal warnings. In some more serious cases, action may be taken up to dismissal depending on circumstances and the employee’s disciplinary record. Misconduct may include the following (this list is not exhaustive): Poor timekeeping A minor breach of a Council policy or procedure Intentional refusal to follow a direct order or instruction, reasonable in nature and given with proper authority. Minor breach of health and safety rules Damage to Council property Misuse of Council property Page 304 of 396
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7 7. Timescales 7.1 Managers will deal with disciplinary matters promptly with no undue delay. We aim to conclude disciplinary matters within 3 months unless there are extenuating circumstances. The timescale, whilst indicative, may be subject to delay or circumstances out with the control of the disciplinary process and would be the subject of ongoing dialogue between the Investigating Officer or Disciplinary Officer and appropriate trade union officials. 7.2 Furthermore, timescales involved in completing an investigation will vary based on the nature and complexity of the investigation and advice on such matters should be taken from the People & OD Team. 8. Conduct Improvement Process (Informal) 8.1 The Conduct Improvement Process has been created to resolve problems in the workplace informally. This process provides a positive step to prevent minor misconduct concerns from escalating and offering an opportunity for the employee to improve their conduct without the need for the formal process. 8.2 The Conduct Improvement Process may be used in the following scenarios: Where there has been unsatisfactory conduct or a minor breach of council policy or procedure that, if continued could lead to more serious misconduct requiring action under the formal process. Where there is a requirement to take action following a formal investigation, but it is deemed more appropriate to take informal action to address the concern. 8.3 Mediation can sometimes help resolve disciplinary issues at an informal stage. This is a voluntary process where the mediator helps two or more people in dispute to attempt to reach an agreement. The Council have several trained and accredited individuals who can support with mediation. Please contact your link People Representative for more details. Further details on informal resolution options can be found in the Disciplinary Procedure. 9. Suspension 9.1 In all cases, suspension should be considered as a last resort. If gross misconduct is alleged, an employee may be suspended, which will be on full pay and benefits while an investigation is conducted. The period of suspension should be as brief as possible and will be reviewed by the Head of Service or nominated senior manager. The employee will be updated via their designated point of contact. As an alternative to suspension, an employee may temporarily be given alternative duties if there is no significant risk to the council or the safety of any other person or the integrity of the investigation. Page 305 of 396
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8 10. Investigation 10.1 The Council will always carry out a full investigation before arranging any Disciplinary Hearing to establish if there is a case to answer while ensuring everyone is treated fairly and evidence is gathered from all sides. 10.2 An Investigating Officer will be appointed, and the employee will be advised in writing detailing the allegations that are being investigated. The employee will be provided with 7 calendar days’ notice to allow them to prepare for this meeting. They will have a right to be accompanied at the meeting by a trade union representative or a work colleague. 10.3 Investigation meetings will also be conducted with witnesses and suitable notice will be provided. Notes from the meeting will be shared with the employee following the meeting and will form part of the investigation report. 10.4 If following an investigation, it is found there is no case to answer, the employee will be informed of this in writing. If there is a case to answer, the relevant Head of Service will make a decision on whether or not to proceed to a disciplinary hearing. 11. Disciplinary Hearing 11.1 If informal resolution is unsuccessful or following investigation the misconduct is deemed serious, a formal approach will be required. The employee will receive 7 days’ notice in writing of any disciplinary hearing and will be provided with a copy of the Investigation Report and relevant witness statements. They will have a right to be represented by a work colleague or trade union representative. 11.2 The disciplinary hearing will be attended by the following: The Disciplinary Officer (DO) The Investigating Officer (IO) People Representative supporting the Disciplinary Officer The employee The employees trade union representative or work colleague Witnesses called by the IO or by the employee. 11.3 The Investigating Officer will attend the Disciplinary Hearing to present the details of their investigation and will have no bearing on the final decision of the Disciplinary Officer. Page 306 of 396
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9 11.4 Depending on the outcome of the disciplinary hearing, the Disciplinary Officer (DO) may decide to issue the employee with one of the following disciplinary sanctions, depending on how serious the matter is and if they already have a live warning on file. These sanctions will be live for the timeframes below: Written Warning - 6 months Final Written Warning - 12 months Alternative sanctions short of dismissal Summary Dismissal (Gross Misconduct) 11.5 Alternative sanctions short of dismissal can include: Re-training A permanent or temporary demotion Withholding an increment Deployment to another suitable post Relocation to another suitable location All alternative sanctions short of dismissal shall be recorded and be admissible against further misdemeanour for a period of 12 months. 12. Appeals An employee has the right to appeal within 14 calendar days on receipt of the outcome letter against any formal sanction applied during the disciplinary process. The process for this will be explained in the disciplinary outcome letter including details of who to address their appeal to. The employee must identify the reason for their appeal as part of this process. 13. Referral to other agencies In certain cases, a manager will be required to inform professional bodies (e.g. SSSC) and/or regulators (e.g. Disclosure Scotland, Care Inspectorate etc) of the charge(s), conviction(s) or investigation(s), especially those relating to abuse, child and adult protection. This is not limited to criminal proceedings, but referrals may also be made where internal investigations or disciplinary proceedings are involved. 14. Criminal offences or police involvement 14.1 Disciplinary action will not be automatically taken because an employee has been charged with or convicted of a criminal offence committed out with their place of work unless this has a direct impact on their ability to carry out their role with the Council. If an employee is charged, cautioned, or convicted of any criminal offence, they must let their manager know as soon as possible. 14.2 If an incident occurs at work which is potentially criminal in nature, it must be reported immediately to an employee’s line manager, who will consult with the Page 307 of 396
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10 People & OD Service to decide how it will progress. Where the police are involved, the Council won’t usually wait for the outcome of any prosecution before deciding what action, if any, to take. Where an employee is unable or has been advised not to attend a disciplinary meeting or say anything about a pending criminal matter, the manager may make a decision on the evidence available to them. 15. Confidentiality 15.1 Information relating to Disciplinary Procedures should be recorded, maintained and processed confidentially and securely by the relevant Service, People & OD and Trade Union. 15.2 Information processed may include paper or electronic records and will be done so in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation EU 2016/679) (“GDPR”), the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (as may be amended by the proposed Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications) and any legislation that, in respect of the United Kingdom, replaces, or enacts into domestic law, or any law to data protection, the processing of personal data and privacy as a consequence of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union. 16. Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment 16.1 This policy has been impact assessed in line with the Council’s obligation to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. 17. Monitoring and Review 17.1 This policy will be reviewed regularly and in line with any legislative and organisational changes. The recognised Trade Unions will be consulted on any future changes to this policy. Page 308 of 396
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance & Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13th June ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance & Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Records Management Policy ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Records Management Policy for Renfrewshire Council was first approved by the General Management and Finance Policy Board on 28 April 2010 and is subject to regular review. 1.2 The Policy is due for review. The proposed revisals are minor and reflect the current structure of the Information Governance Team and incorporate reference to the Council’s Business Classification Scheme. A Business Classification Scheme provides the primary framework for the organisation and life-cycle management of Council information and records. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 That the Board approves the revised Records Management Policy which forms the appendix to this report and agrees that this be reviewed on a two-yearly basis. _________________________________________________________ Item 17 Page 309 of 396
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2 3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire Council’s records are essential for the Council to function and for staff to carry out their jobs. Records are a vital source of information providing evidence of the Council’s actions, policies and decisions. 3.2 The Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 places an obligation on the Council to prepare and implement a records management plan which sets out efficient arrangements for the management of the Council’s records. The records management policy corresponds with Element 3 of the Council’s records management plan and the Keeper states that the Council’s policy should be available to all staff. 3.3 This policy is the top-level management document for records management in Renfrewshire Council. It applies to all recorded information - regardless of format – relating to the Council’s actions and transactions during its business activities. 3.4 This policy applies to all staff and elected members, as all staff have a responsibility to manage our records from creation to disposal. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - none 2. HR & Organisational Development - none 3. Community/Council Planning - none 4. Legal - the updates to the Policy will ensure the Council’s continued compliance with its obligations under the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 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 will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of that assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety - none 9. Procurement - none 10. Risk - none Page 310 of 396
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3 11. Privacy Impact – Effective records management can only have a positive impact on people’s privacy whereby records are only retained for as long as necessary and are kept securely. 12. Cosla Policy Position – none 13 Climate Risk - none _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers none ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Stacey Anderson, Records Management Officer Stacey.Anderson@renfrewshire.gov.uk 0141 487 1085 Page 311 of 396
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4 Appendix 1 Renfrewshire Council Corporate Records Management Policy 4.3 2024 Page 312 of 396
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5 Document Details Title Corporate Records Management Policy Author Records Management Officer Issue Date Subject Records Management Description Version 4.3 Source Updating Frequency 2 yearly review unless required earlier Document History Version Date Author Reason for Issue / Change 1.0 April 2010 Archivist/ Records Manager To support Corporate EDRMS System 2.0 January 2014 Review of Policy 3.0 October 2015 Joseph Bartoletti, Records Manager Review of policy for Council’s Records Management Plan 4.0 September 2019 Andy Connor, Records Manager Removal of RM Guidance into separate document. 4.2 May 2022 Andy Connor, Records Manager Review of Policy 4.3 May 2024 Stacey Anderson, Records Management Officer Review of Policy and Update to Staff Details Related Documents Ref Document Name/ Version Document Location 1 Freedom of Information Policy Intranet 2 Data Protection Policy Intranet 3 Information Security Policy Intranet 4 Records Disposal Policy Intranet 5 Business Classification Scheme Intranet Document Review and Approval Name Action Date Communication Page 313 of 396
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6 1. Allison Black, Managing Solicitor (DPO) Approved May 2022 Email 2. Records Management Working Group Approved June 2022 Email and minute at meeting 3. Finance & Resources and Customer Service Policy Board Approved November 2019 Board Paper Submission 4. Finance & Resources and Customer Service Policy Board Board Paper Submission Page 314 of 396
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7 Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................... 5 Why manage records? ................................................................................................. 5 Roles and Responsibilities ........................................................................................... 6 The Council .................................................................................................................. 6 Directors ....................................................................................................................... 6 Managers ..................................................................................................................... 6 Records Management Officer ...................................................................................... 7 Records Management Working Group ......................................................................... 7 Further Information ....................................................................................................... 8 Relationship with existing policies ................................................................................ 8 Review of Policy ............................................................................................................ 8 Page 315 of 396
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8 Introduction Renfrewshire Council’s records are essential for the Council to function and for staff to carry out their jobs. Records provide information for decision making and evidence of the Council’s activities and provide evidence of the rights and responsibilities of the Council and of our citizens The Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011 places an obligation on the Council to prepare and implement a records management plan which sets out efficient arrangements for the management of the Council’s records. This policy is the top-level management document for records management in Renfrewshire Council. It applies to all recorded information – regardless of format – relating to the Council’s actions and transactions during its business activities. This policy applies to all staff and elected members, as all staff have a responsibility to manage our records from creation to disposal. Why manage records? Statutory Requirements The Council has a statutory requirement to “make proper provision for the preservation and management” of its records; to be publicly accountable for and able to justify its decisions and actions; and to enable compliance with the requirements of the Public Records (Scotland) Act, 2011, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004. Principles of Records Management • Information is a vital corporate resource; • Records belong to the Council – not to individual officers or departments; • Every member of staff has responsibilities to manage the records that they deal with; • Records should be held in a properly managed system; • Records should be reliable, accurate, up-to-date and fit for purpose; • Records should remain accessible for the lifetime of their retention; • Personal, sensitive or confidential information should be appropriately managed; • Records will be disposed of in accordance with the Council’s Records Retention Schedule; • Good records practice should be applied to information in ALL media – print AND electronic. Benefits of Records Management Good quality records and information management will benefit the Council by: • Delivering best value by encouraging efficiently in the accuracy, storage and retrieval of information; • Ensuring adherence to statutory obligations, including those established by the Public Records (Scotland) Act, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002; • Demonstrating evidence of accountability and information about the Council’s decisions and activities; Page 316 of 396
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9 • Supporting the delivery of efficient and effective frontline services by providing appropriate access to full and accurate records; • Saving of physical and virtual space through the reduction of duplication and timely destruction of obsolete information; • Ensuring the identification and survival of records for permanent preservation as part of the Council’s corporate memory. Roles and Responsibilities The Council The Council has a corporate responsibility for records management and compliance with the PRSA 2011. Employees Every employee (irrespective of grade or position) shall ensure that all key documents or records they are responsible for are filed in an appropriate manner. They shall ensure that they know: • Where the records relating to the business of their team are stored; • How they are handled / disposed of; • How long they should be retained for; • How their records management awareness and skills can be improved; • What electronic folder set up is used within their team for the sharing of information; and how the information relevant to the official corporate record is identified; • Ensuring that all actions and decisions of the Council are properly recorded and that records relating to their actions and decisions are authentic and reliable; • Managing records to support the Council’s business aims and objectives; • Complying with this policy for records management; • Complying with relevant legislation, policy and corporate guidance on records management. Elected Members Elected Members are required to ensure secure retention, disposal or return of Council information, as appropriate, at the end of their term. Directors Directors are accountable for: • Ensuring the records used by employees under their line management are managed in accordance with this policy and associated guidance and ensuring that all employees are aware of, receive guidance on and can adhere to this policy; • Support for records management in terms of resources and commitment; • Having in place control systems and measures to ensure the proper care and custody of records used under their line management; Page 317 of 396
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10 • Ensuring that records management is reflected in job descriptions and roles where appropriate; • Ensuring the general security of records. Managers All Managers are responsible for: • Ensuring the records used or created by employees under their line management are managed in accordance with this policy and associated guidance; • Ensuring that employees are adequately trained in records management according to their role, and are aware of and can adhere to this policy and associated guidance; • Ensuring that records are kept in a record keeping system with adequate controls and measures and designating employees to administrate the records keeping system; • Determining the sensitivity of records and defining restrictions on access and extraordinary access; • Ensuring that, where relevant, records are prepared and archived in line with Council procedures and in the approved place of deposit. • The secure and confidential destruction of records, when required by the Council Records Retention Schedule; • Ensuring that all partners delivering services to the service area for which they are responsible, have an effective records management policy which meets the requirements of this policy as a minimum, and that responsible employees of the partner are adequately trained to ensure the partner complies with that policy; • Ensuring that employees are aware of the Council’s arrangements regarding access to information and comply with them, and ensure that procedures are in place to document decisions concerning access. Records Management Officer The Records Management Officer is responsible for: • Overseeing the compliance of records management practice with this policy, the legislation and professional obligations; • Overseeing the operation of the Council’s Corporate Record Store; • To maintain, review and lead on the implementation completion of the Council’s Records Management Plan, in accordance with the Council’s responsibilities under the Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011; • Creating and maintaining guidance, and the provision of advice and support for all records management; • To advise Council Services and provide guidance on all aspects of records management, including the introduction of effective and appropriate management of electronic records; • To promote good records management and raise awareness of records management issues; • To develop and deliver training in records management; • To advise Services on retention and disposal periods and have oversight of Services’ retention and disposal schedules; • To manage the Council’s corporate records store; Page 318 of 396
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11 • To advise on electronic document and record management projects and initiatives, ensuring that records are managed to agreed standards and that current records management policies and procedures are adhered to; • Access to information arrangements and ensuring that the Council’s policies and procedures comply with the requirements of relevant legislation, guidance and codes of practice relating to access to information, such as the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, and the Data Protection Act 2018; • Providing guidance on the development of corporate records management tools, and the procedures for their use, including the: o Business Classification Scheme and File Plan; o Retention and Disposal Schedules, in conjunction with Services; and o Corporate File / Record Audit. • Providing guidance on the development and approval of record keeping systems and records management controls and measures; • The Council’s policy and procedures on archiving historic records; • The ownership and periodic review of this records management policy. Records Management Working Group Each Service and its senior management will retain a service responsibility for ensuring that its records are disposed of at the appropriate time, in accordance with the Council’s records retention schedules. All Services are required to nominate at least one departmental officer, of appropriate seniority, and a delegate to supervise this process. These officers will: • Attend quarterly meetings of the Records Management Working Group; • Act as service first point of contact for the Records Management Officer; • Be responsible for driving forward the RMWG agenda within their service in order to create positive change in relation to the management of records; • Report to the Records Management Officer any areas of concern within their service. The Records Management Officer will maintain an up-to-date list of members of the Group. Further Information Contact: The Records Management Officer First Floor, Renfrewshire House (0141) 487 1085 Relationship with existing policies This policy has been formulated within the context of Council documents including: • Data Protection Policy; • Freedom of Information Policy; • Information Security Policy; • Information Management Strategy; • Information Handling Policy; • Information Governance Strategy Page 319 of 396
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12 • Information Governance Framework; • ICT Acceptable Use Policy. Review of Policy This policy will be reviewed on at least a two-yearly basis by Records Management Officer, in consultation with the Records Management Working Group and approved by the Finance & Resources and Customer Services Policy Board. An earlier review will be carried out should any legislative or business change require this. Page 320 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance & Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Internal Audit ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Internal audit teams across many councils carry resilience risks owing to their small size, composition and difficulty recruiting experienced staff. This report outlines a proposal to develop options in conjunction with neighbouring councils to address these shared resilience issues. __________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 Members are asked to: (a) Note the informal discussions between Chief Finance Officers of Renfrewshire Council, Inverclyde Council and West Dunbartonshire Council with regards improving resilience within internal audit and counter fraud services; (b) Agree that further development work on potential options be progressed with a further report to a future Board meeting. __________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Councils in Scotland have an obligation under the Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2014 to “…operate a professional and objective internal auditing service in accordance with recognised standards and practices in relation to internal auditing.” Item 18 Page 321 of 396
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3.2 The role of the Chief Auditor within Renfrewshire includes responsibility for internal audit and assurance, fraud prevention and investigation, risk management and insurance. To fulfil these responsibilities the Chief Auditor is supported by a relatively small team of professionals who specialise in the areas above. Total headcount in the team is 11, of which 8 support internal audit and counter fraud activity. 3.3 Given both the size of the team and the composition, there is some risk that – given generally accepted difficulties with the recruitment of professional audit and fraud prevention staff within local government – the resilience of the team may be an issue should the situation arise where even one or two staff leave the team. It is likely there would be an immediate impact on the service’s ability to deliver the internal audit plan as agreed by the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board. While this position has been acknowledged for some time, the imminent retirement of the Council’s Chief Auditor has again brought this risk into focus. 3.4 Renfrewshire is not alone in facing this situation, with other councils also either struggling to fill vacant posts or are carrying considerable risk due to a lack of resilience in their internal audit service. 3.5 Informal discussions have recently been held with the Chief Financial Officers (Section 95 Officers) of Inverclyde Council and West Dunbartonshire Council to consider these risks and to begin to explore possible options which would address the resilience issues all three councils are facing. Tentative investigation has also been undertaken to review a range of existing service configurations across the other Scottish local authorities. While many Councils continue to operate their own internal audit service, there are examples of shared services between councils. For example, West Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde councils already have an agreement in place whereby the Chief Auditor role is a shared post covering both councils, with each council retaining local teams to undertake audit and fraud activity. Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Councils share a single internal audit service. East and Midlothian Councils share a Chief Auditor post. 3.6 Specifically in relation to their internal audit service, all three councils (Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde) have concerns regarding recruiting and retaining staff and ensuring sufficient resilience over service delivery. This has been evidenced recently by a period of absence for the West Dunbartonshire Council/Inverclyde Council Shared Service Manager for Audit & Fraud and as mentioned above, the imminent departure of our Chief Auditor. Page 322 of 396
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3.7 It should be noted that no decisions with regards progressing any option have been made, with preliminary discussions focused on considering options with the opportunity to provide: Improved resilience Better career progression and staff development Increased satisfaction and retention of key skills Knowledge sharing to provide better audit and fraud outcomes for the three Councils. It should be noted that the delivery of financial savings is not an objective of this exercise, and each Chief Financial Officer is committed to maintaining the current level of resource. It should be further noted that risk management and insurance arrangements are not being considered for including with any potential shared service. 3.8 Before any options could be more formally considered, the following issues would require to be explored: Responsibilities, liabilities and costs and potential benefits Governance and information sharing protocols Ensuring sufficient capacity to delivery internal audit across multiple Councils including associated bodies such as IJBs, Valuation Joint Boards and other small bodies Consideration of potential alignment of roles, salaries, grades and role descriptions Any TUPE implications (if applicable). 3.9 In order to develop any options beyond preliminary discussions there is a need to engage with the existing Internal Audit teams and other stakeholders including trade union colleagues, and also to secure professional advice in relation to legal, HR and information governance issues. The options which could be explored may include a single shared service, with a nominated lead council employing all staff in a single location; a single shared service with teams based locally in each council area; shared senior posts with local teams continuing to be employed by their respective council with no cross-council working or other options as may be appropriate. 3.10 As outlined above there are existing models of shared internal audit services in Scotland which will be examined as part of this work; and in addition, there is an existing shared service model across the three councils along with East Renfrewshire Council which delivers a civil contingencies service which may provide a model which could be considered. Page 323 of 396
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3.11 Approval is sought to work with the teams in each of the three authorities to explore the issues outlined above, with the aim of developing a list of potential models – highlighting the associated issues, risks and benefits – for consideration at a future Policy Board. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial: The proposal to explore options for the development of a shared service has no immediate financial implications. The generation of savings is not an objective of this review. 2. HR & Organisational Development: The report recommendation in themselves have no HR implications, however should an option for any form of shared service be progressed then there may be staff implications. The development of shared services is highlighted by the Accounts Commission as a potential route for workforce innovation and will be the subject of review over the course of the upcoming Best Value audit. 3. Community/Council Planning: none 4. Legal: any consideration of a shared service would require to be underpinned by appropriate legal agreements between the three councils. 5. Property/Assets: none 6. Information Technology: 7. Equality & Human Rights : the recommendations in the report have no equalities impact, however should an option for any form of shared service be progressed, an equalities impact assessment would require to be undertaken. 8. Health & Safety: none 9. Procurement: none 10. Risk: the service is carrying a degree of risk currently in terms of service resilience which the development of options for improving resilience aims to address. 11. Privacy Impact: none 12. Cosla Policy Position: none arising directly from this report. 13. Climate Risk: none _____________________________________________________________ Author: Alastair MacArthur, Director of Finance & Resources Page 324 of 396
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To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 Report by: Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Heading: Facilities and Property Services - Service Update Report 1 Summary 1.1 Environment, Housing & Infrastructure brings together a range of Council services and activities, with both strategic and operational responsibilities. This report provides an operational performance update on Facilities Management (Hard and Soft Services), Building Services and Property Services delivered by Environment, Housing & Infrastructure since the last Policy Board in April 2024. 2 Recommendations It is recommended that members of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: 2.1 Notes the content of this report. 3 Operational Update Hard FM 3.1 Compliance – Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 3.1.1 Overall performance continues to meet 90% target; however, ongoing governance is required to ensure this trend remains. To help deliver this, and to drive contractor performance and best practice, Officers continue to hold regular contractor review meetings (monthly) to ensure planned tasks are met and certification is issued timely. Item 19 Page 325 of 396
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New separate maintenance contracts are now in place for smoke vents, sprinklers systems and dry risers. The current performance is 87% due to delays in the fall arrest contract award which has impacted the overall performance. Officers continue to work with colleagues in procurement to ensure the new contract is in place. 3.2 Public Buildings Repairs data 3.2.1 The repairs profile remains as expected, as detailed below for 2023/24: 2023/24 Repairs Education Core Prestige OneRen Total 7,209 2,765 726 271 10,971 3.3 Capital/Lifecycle Projects 3.3.1 Work is underway to develop and prioritise capital/lifecycle works across the Council portfolio. Given that some of the works will be undertaken in the learning estate, these need to be planned well in advance of work starting and can often only be undertaken during holidays to minimise disruption. 3.3.2 In addition to routine capital/lifecycle works, options are being reviewed for upgrades from the Council budget announced in March 2024, in particular: • £800k for the provision of artificial playing surfaces through investment and match funding bids from external grant providers. • £130k for the further refurbishment and repair work within Community Halls. 3.3.3 A further update will be provided to the appropriate Policy Board once the process and projects are known. 3.4 Lifecycle Replacement works 3.4.1 The following commissions have been progressed/completed since the previous Board: • Hillview Nursery – Intruder Alarm renewal • St Mary’s Primary School – Boiler renewal • Paisley Pre 5 Centre – Boiler renewal • Brown Institute – on-going demolition of unsafe structure 3.4.2 The Hard FM team are currently working on the following commissions: • Gallowhill Primary School - Refurbishment of all pupil toilets • Park Mains High School – field drain/flooding remediation works • Council wide Passenger Lifts – Upgrade of alarm signalling from BT to GSM (analogue switch off) Page 326 of 396
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3.5 Fire Safety 3.5.1 A new group has been formed with service partners and Health and Safety colleagues to focus on fire safety within properties with sleeping accommodation. This will involve an overall review of fire safety management and mitigation within Care Homes and Children’s Homes. Works are currently ongoing to review fire/smoke travel prevention and fire stopping within these properties. To date, Beech Avenue Children’s Home, Weavers Linn, Barochan, Linwood and Arkleston Children’s Home have been actioned. 3.6 Building Responsible Persons 3.6.1 A review of the responsible persons for properties is currently underway. An internal Officer Group has been established between Facilities and Property Services (Hard FM, Soft FM, Property Services), Corporate Health and Safety and HSCP. This will ensure that all responsibilities are understood, and maintenance is actioned quickly via the Corporate Asset Management Information System (CAMIS). This is ongoing, with the service liaising with senior managers with properties details having been sent to services for them to populate and return. 3.7 Responsive Repairs 3.7.1 The chart below shows the overall volume of repairs for 2023/24 for responsive repairs reported by tenants. In total there were 73,413 individual repairs for housing clients with 27,550 of these being classed as an emergency (attendance within 4 or 24 hours) of these 7,415 were attended out of working hours. These are only the repairs that Building Services attended as there are other repairs that will be issued directly to other contractors. Page 327 of 396
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3.7.2 Comparing 2022/23 to 2023/24 the total numbers of repairs has reduced by 5%, however, this decrease is entirely within the emergency category and can be directly attributable to a milder winter in 2023/24. 3.8 Domestic Gas Servicing 3.8.1 In quarter 4 of 2023/24 the domestic gas servicing and repairs team carried out 3,701 gas services. The overall number of gas services carried out in 2022/23 was 12,644 and in 2023/24 the total number was 12,757. Total number of services Financial Year Quarter 2,952 2022/23 Quarter 1 3,533 2022/23 Quarter 2 2,379 2022/23 Quarter 3 3,780 2022/23 Quarter 4 Total number of Services Financial Year Quarter 3,083 2023/24 Quarter 1 3,202 2023/24 Quarter 2 2,771 2023/24 Quarter 3 3,701 2023/24 Quarter 4 3.9 Voids 3.9.1 Building Services continue to work closely with our colleagues in Housing Services to maximise the number of houses that are returned to the letting pool. Some of the new interim voids team are now located within Underwood Road with a view of working closer together to enable more houses to be returned to the letting pool quicker. The team will cover pre-terminations, void inspections and voids being completed by Building Services. 3.9.2 The figures below are only for Building Services and does not include any external Total number of repairs Financial Year Quarter 16,482 2022/23 Quarter 1 17,282 2022/23 Quarter 2 21,413 2022/23 Quarter 3 22,121 2022/23 Quarter 4 Total number of repairs Financial Year Quarter 16,340 2023/24 Quarter 1 16,989 2023/24 Quarter 2 19,397 2023/24 Quarter 3 20,687 2023/24 Quarter 4 Page 328 of 396
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contractors who also carry out void works for Housing Services. Comparing 2022/23 with 2023/24 shows that there has been an increase of 25% in the number of completed voids despite the 15% increase in the installation of new central heating systems within void houses. Financial Year Quarter Total number of completed voids *Inclusive Gas Central Heating (GCH) install *Inclusive Asbestos Removal (ASB RE) Preliminary Works 2022/23 Quarter 1 183 25 27 176 2022/23 Quarter 2 199 38 22 138 2022/23 Quarter 3 144 19 20 126 2022/23 Quarter 4 208 19 3 210 3.10 Electrical Testing programme 3.10.1 As part of the on-going electrical compliance requirement of landlords, Building Services, and other external contractors, have been working in partnership with Housing colleagues to carry out the statutory 5-year check of electrics within every tenanted household across Renfrewshire (approx.12,200 houses). 3.10.2 On behalf of Housing Services, Building Services have fully electrically tested 2,361 houses since the start of the programme in 2021. It should also be noted that following these tests there are often remedial electrical works requiring to be undertaken. This follow on work is carried out on an appointment basis with the tenant. Financial Year Quarter Total number of completed voids *Inclusive Gas Central Heating (GCH) install *Inclusive Asbestos Removal (ASB RE) Preliminary Works 2023/24 Quarter 1 245 26 13 141 2023/24 Quarter 2 208 25 25 145 2023/24 Quarter 3 243 34 9 190 2023/24 Quarter 4 225 31 32 264 Financial Year Quarter Number of electrical tests competed 2022/23 Quarter 1 639 2022/23 Quarter 2 280 2022/23 Quarter 3 42 2022/23 Quarter 4 187 Financial Year Quarter Number of electrical tests competed 2023/24 Quarter 1 77 2023/24 Quarter 2 163 2023/24 Quarter 3 471 2023/24 Quarter 4 382 Page 329 of 396
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3.10.3 Building Services complete the electrical testing based on the number of appointments booked in by the tenants via the letter process carried out by our colleagues in Housing Services. 3.10.4 Unfortunately, there are now a number of houses that have been through the whole lettering process and have failed to book an appointment for the electrical check to be carried out. A forced entry process in now in place in line with the gas servicing process. Capacity for forced entries to carry out EICR tests has been increased to over 30 per week from April onwards due to the number of tenants that have failed to engage in the process. 3.11 Apprentices 3.11.1 Building Services recent advert for 7 youth apprentices and 1 adult apprentice attracted 97 applicants for the youth apprentice positions and 11 applicants for the internal adult apprenticeship. These applications have been shortlisted and interviews were undertaken at the end of May. The successful applicants will complete the recruitment process for a college start in August 2024. Soft FM (Facilities Management) 4.1 Capital Works 4.1.1 Additional Capital award from Scottish Government of £1.5 million has been received to facilitate provision of FSM to pupils in P6-7 whose families are eligible for Scottish Child Payment (SCP). 4.1.2 This additional Capital funding proposes kitchen upgrades focusing on 5 schools: • Heriot Primary School, Foxbar • St Margaret’s Primary school, Johnstone • Our Lady of Peace Primary School, Linwood • Kilbarchan Primary School, Kilbarchan • Howwood Primary school, Howwood 4.1.3 Work is underway with colleagues within Property Services (Technical Unit) to assess the resource required to commence work as quickly as possible, with a proposed completion date of August 2025 (resource dependent). 4.2 Assist Awards 4.2.1 Facilities Management (Soft FM) was shortlisted for 2 Assist awards and winners were announced at the Assist Conference on 17 May 2024. One of the staff was runner-up in the category for Outstanding Contribution to Catering Services. The Soft FM Team won the Digital & Technology award the Suited Locks project, which allows easier access to properties. Page 330 of 396
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4.3 Fairer Renfrewshire Group - Lived Experience Panel 4.3.1 Officers from Soft FM attended a session with the Lived Experience Panel as part of the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Group. This talked about the work undertaken by staff to introduce menus across Renfrewshire Schools whilst meeting the requirements of national legislation and guidelines on nutritional values (including salt and sugar). To assist, a taster session was undertaken with the group on 21 May 2024 to show the work undertaken and the challenges in producing a balanced menu for pupils. 4.4 Collaborative Robotics (Cobotics) 4.4.1 Over the last 6 months, Soft Facilities Management has been exploring the use of Robotic Scrubber Dryers and Sweepers. The service has been working with contractors to identify the best machines currently on the market. A facilitated demonstration of two machines has been undertaken to date, with both machines performing well during the trials. 4.4.2 The plan would be to use the robotic machines to clean large areas, such as games halls, dining halls, corridors, and large vestibules areas in larger school premises. This has been shown to provide a better clean of the area and this would also allow current staff to focus on other areas within the premise. A business case is currently being worked on to demonstrate the benefits of the additional cost and detail the long-term benefit of the change to Renfrewshire Council and the associated properties. Property Services 5.1 Current Commissions 5.1.1 Officers within Property Services continue to work across the Renfrewshire Council’s property portfolio and given the workload, major projects are reported to the respective Board e.g. Education and Children’s Services Board. 5.2 Castlehead High School - RAAC 5.2.1 As previously reported to the Board, the tender for strengthening the RAAC has been awarded, the pre-start meeting undertaken with work beginning in early June 2024. Work will continue throughout the Summer to complete the works as quickly as possible. 5.3 Paisley Arts Centre 5.3.1 Work has been completed with the Paisley Arts Centre and the building has been handed back to OneRen as the building manager. Final snagging works continue with the contractor and the Arts Centre is now fully operational for events. Page 331 of 396
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5.4 McKillop Institute 5.4.1 Officers have been liaising with Elected Members and hall users to improve the acoustics within the hall wherever possible. Designs have been undertaken by one of the Council architects to install curtains/drapes on the wall opposite from the stage to minimise reverberation of sound. These works are being progressed in conjunction with the lets team to minimise disruption. 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 – As detailed within the report in relation to work on the Council property portfolio. 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 – 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 government and health guidance. 9. Procurement – As noted within the report. 10. Risk – None 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. COSLA Policy Position – None 13. Climate Change – None Page 332 of 396
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List of Background Papers – None Author: Gordon McNeil, Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Email: gordon.mcneil@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 333 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: The Director of Finance and Resources and the Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract Award: Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; General Housing – Void & Repairs (RC-CPU-23-004) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek the approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to award a Services Contract for Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; General Housing – Void & Repairs, (RC-CPU-23-004) to Environtec Limited. 1.2 The recommendation to award the Contract follows a procurement exercise conducted in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts and the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Asbestos related Works and Services (Reference 0722) (“Framework”). 1.3 A Mini-Competition was conducted under Lot 4 (Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services) (“Lot 4”). 1.4 A Contract Strategy was approved by the Corporate Procurement Manager and the Head of Housing Services on 19 April 2024. ___________________________________________________________________ Item 20 Page 334 of 396
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2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: (a) Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award a Services Contract , being a Call-Off Contract made under Lot 4 of the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Asbestos Related Works and Services, reference 0722, for Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; General Housing – Void & Repairs, reference RC-CPU-23-004 in the form of NEC4 Term Service Short Contract June 2017 (as amended January 2019, October 2020 and January 2023) and ‘Z’ Clauses to Environtec Limited; (b) Authorises the maximum approved contract value of up to £720,000 excluding VAT for the service period, including use of any extension periods, for all Task Orders made under this Contract; (c) Authorises a service period of 1 year with the option to extend by 12 months on 3 separate occasions. The starting date is anticipated to be 29 July 2024. Any changes to the date will be confirmed in the Council’s Letter of Acceptance; (d) Authorises that the Contractor’s total liability is limited to the levels of insurance to be maintained for this specific Work Order. This is a minimum of £10 million each and every claim in respect of loss or damage to property (except Plant and Materials and Equipment), and in the aggregate in respect of Products, and a minimum of £5 million in the annual aggregate for Professional Indemnity; or such increased level as a Council may specify for a particular Work Order under the competitive selection procedure; and; (e) Notes the award of this Contract requires the provision of a Data Processor Agreement as indicated within the tender documentation. __________________________________________________ Page 335 of 396
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3. Background 3.1 A central requirement of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Service is to ensure Council properties are free of asbestos and are properly maintained in a manner that complies with statutory legislative standards and that the appropriate records are maintained. 3.2 Renfrewshire Council requires a suitably qualified and specialist Contractor to carry out Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Testing within domestic and non-domestic properties within Renfrewshire Council area for the General Housing – Void & Repairs team, as part of the Council Housing Investment Programme. 3.3 The Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Asbestos Related Works and Services, reference 0722, was identified as a suitable framework to use. The Framework has been in place since 14 December 2024. For this Contract a mini competition was conducted under Lot 4 (Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services) of the Framework. 3.4 In accordance with the Framework the Council invited all 11 Contractors appointed to Lot 4 to participate in the Mini Competition for the required Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; General Housing – Void & Repairs via Public Contracts Scotland – Tender Portal (PCS-T) issued on 24 April 2024. 3.5 By the closing date set for the return of electronic tender submissions, 4pm, 8 May 2024, five Contractors submitted a tender response to the mini competition, two Contractors declined, and four Contractors failed to respond, due principally to capacity concerns. 3.6 During the evaluation period, one Contractor was excluded from the tender process. The Framework allows Contractors to submit rates equivalent to or lower than the Framework rates. This Contractor submitted rates higher than the Framework that deemed their tender submission non-compliant. 3.8 The four remaining Contractor submissions were each evaluated against the Award Criteria of 30% Price and 70% Quality. 3.9 The scores relative to the Award Criteria for each of the four tender submissions are noted below: Page 336 of 396
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Tenderer Price (30%) Quality (70%) Total Environtec Limited 27.17% 62.00% 89.17% Environmental Essentials Limited 30.00% 57.25% 87.25% Socotec Asbestos Limited 20.89% 59.50% 80.39% OHS Limited 26.00% 51.25% 77.25% 3.10 The evaluation of tender submissions received identified that the tender submission by Environtec Limited was the most economically advantageous tender. 3.11 The form of Contract is NEC4 Term Service Short Contract June 2017 (as amended January 2019, October 2020, and January 2023) and ‘Z’ Clauses. 3.12 The costs for this Contract will be met from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Programme budget. 3.13 Community Benefits were requested as part of this procurement exercise and Environtec Limited confirmed that the following Community Benefits would be made available to the Council for this Contract: Community Benefit Description No of People / Activity Modern Apprenticeship 4 Industry Awareness Events 4 Industry Skills Transfer to Schools 4 Non-financial support for a Social Enterprise or other approved community initiative 8 Page 337 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The costs of up to £720,000 excluding VAT over the initial one-year period plus a further three extensions of 12 months each will be met through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Programme budget. The anticipated starting date is 29 July 2024. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None directly arising from this report. 3. Community/Council Planning – Our Renfrewshire is thriving – maximising economic growth, which is inclusive and sustainable. Our Renfrewshire is well – supporting the wellness and resilience of our citizens. Our Renfrewshire is fair – addressing the inequalities which limit life chances. Our Renfrewshire is safe – protecting vulnerable people and working together to manage the risk of harm. Place: - Working with partners to ensure our neighbourhoods are safe, vibrant, and attractive places to live. Economy: - Creating sustainable opportunities for people who live in Renfrewshire, attracting good employers to the area and encouraging growth of businesses already operating here, ensuring that all people can benefit from the inclusive growth in Renfrewshire. - Supporting our citizens, particularly those furthest from the jobs market, into fair work – well paid, fulfilling employment. - Matching the skills developed in Renfrewshire with the opportunities available in Renfrewshire and equipping all children and young people to achieve success in life. Fair: - Working with a range of partners to support the improved health and wellbeing of our citizens. Page 338 of 396
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Living our Values: - Ensuring Renfrewshire Council delivers best value for our citizens and customers, that we are well governed, effective organisation. 4. Legal – The Procurement of this Contract was conducted in accordance with the requirements for a Mini Competition under Lot 4 of the Scotland Excel Asbestos Framework Agreement for Related Works and Services (Reference 0722) and the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts. 5. Property/Assets – This Contract will ensure that Council properties and assets meet statutory legislate standards and that appropriate records are maintained. 6. Information Technology – None directly arising from this report. 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 – Environtec Limited health and safety credentials were evaluated by Corporate Health and Safety and met the Council’s minimum requirements regarding health and safety. 9. Procurement – The procurement procedures outlined within this report ensures that the Council meets its statutory requirements in respect of procurement procedures, efficiency, and modern Government. 10. Risk - This Contract includes limits on the Contractor’s liability to the required levels of insurance for the Contract which is a market standard position. These limits are also based on the Framework liability limits. The Council’s Risk Manager has also confirmed that the levels of insurance are adequate for the requirements of the Framework Agreement and this Call-Off contract. Environtec Limited insurances have been assessed and evaluated to confirm that they meet the requirements regarding insurance risk, including noted limits of liability. Page 339 of 396
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11. Privacy Impact – A Data Processor Agreement will be in place between Renfrewshire Council and Environtec Limited. 12. Cyber Security - Environtec Limited Cyber Security credentials were evaluated by Security and Compliance and have passed the Council’s minimum requirements. Environtec Limited have confirmed that they will obtain Cyber Security Essentials Certification within 6 months of award of contract. 13. Cosla Policy Position – None directly arising from this report. 14. Climate Risk – The level of impact associated with provision of these services have been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered to be overall Low Risk. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Claire Earnshaw, Senior Procurement Specialist, Corporate Procurement Unit, claire.earnshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 340 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: The Director of Finance and Resources and the Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract Award: Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; Housing External Capital Programme Works (RC-CPU-24-004) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek the approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to award a Services Contract for Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; Housing External Capital Programme Works, (RC-CPU-24-004) to Environtec Limited. 1.2 The recommendation to award the Contract follows a procurement exercise conducted in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts and the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Asbestos Related Works and Services (Reference 0722) (“Framework”). 1.3 A Mini-Competition was conducted under Lot 4 (Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services) (“Lot 4"). 1.4 A Contract Strategy was approved by the Corporate Procurement Manager and the Head of Housing Services on 19 April 2024. ___________________________________________________________________ Item 21 Page 341 of 396
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2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: (a) Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award a Services Contract being a Call-Off Contract made under Lot 4 of the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Asbestos Related Works and Services, reference 0722, for Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; Housing External Capital Programme Works, in the form of NEC4 Term Service Short Contract June 2017 (as amended January 2019, October 2020 and January 2023) and ‘Z’ Clauses reference RC-CPU-24-004 to Environtec Limited. (b) Authorises the maximum approved contract value of up to £492,000 excluding VAT for the service period, including use of any extension periods, for all Task Orders made under this Contract; (c) Authorises a service period of 1 year with the option to extend by 12 months on 3 separate occasions. The starting date is anticipated to be 29 July 2024. Any changes to this date will be confirmed in the Council’s Letter of Acceptance; (d) Authorises that the Contractor’s total liability is limited to the levels of insurance to be maintained for this specific Work Order. This is a minimum of £10 million each and every claim in respect of loss or damage to property (except Plant and Materials and Equipment), and in the aggregate in respect of Products, and a minimum of £5 million in the annual aggregate for Professional Indemnity; or such increased level as a Council may specify for a particular Work Order under the competitive selection procedure; and; (e) Notes the award of this Contract requires the provision of a Data Processor Agreement as indicated within the tender documentation. _________________________________________________________ Page 342 of 396
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3. Background 3.1 A central requirement of the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Service is to ensure Council properties are free of asbestos and are properly maintained in a manner that complies with statutory legislative standards and that the appropriate records are maintained. 3.2 Renfrewshire Council requires a suitably qualified and specialist contractor to carry out Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Testing within domestic and non-domestic properties within Renfrewshire for the Housing External Capital Programme Works team, as part of the Council Housing Investment Programme. 3.3 The Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Asbestos related Works and Services, reference 0722 was identified as a suitable framework to use. The Framework has been in place since 14 December 2024. For this Contract a mini-competition was conducted under Lot 4 (Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services) of the Framework. 3.4 In accordance with the Framework further competition requirements, the Council invited all 11 Contractors appointed to Lot 4 to participate in the Mini Competition for the required Asbestos Surveying & Analytical Services; General Housing – Void & Repairs via Public Contracts Scotland – Tender Portal (PCS-T) issued on 24 April 2024. 3.5 By the closing date set for the return of electronic tender submissions, 12 noon, 8 May 2024, five Contractors submitted a tender response to the mini competition, two Contractors declined and four Contractors failed to respond. 3.6 During the evaluation period, one Contractor was excluded from the tender process. The Framework allows Contractors to submit rates equivalent to or lower than the Framework rates. This Contractor submitted rates higher than the Framework that deemed their tender submission non-compliant. 3.7 The four remaining Contractor submissions were each evaluated against the Award Criteria of 30% Price and 70% Quality. 3.8 The scores relative to the Award Criteria for each of the four tender submissions are noted below: Page 343 of 396
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Tenderer Price (30%) Quality (70%) Total Environtec Limited 26.51% 62.25% 88.76% Environmental Essentials Limited 30.00% 57.25% 87.25% Socotec Asbestos Limited 20.92% 59.75% 80.67% OHS Limited 25.32% 52.50% 77.82% 3.9 The evaluation of tender submissions received identified that the tender submission by Environtec Limited was the most economically advantageous tender. 3.10 The form of Contract is NEC4 Term Service Short Contract June 2017 (as amended January 2019, October 2020 and January 2023) and ‘Z’ Clauses. 3.11 The costs for this Contract will be met from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Programme budget. 3.12 Community Benefits were requested as part of this procurement exercise and Environtec Limited confirmed that the following Community Benefits would be made available to the Council for this Contract: Community Benefit Description No of People / Activity Modern Apprenticeship 4 Industry Awareness Events 4 Industry Skills Transfer to Schools 4 Non-financial support for a Social Enterprise or other approved community initiative 8 ___________________________________________________________________ Page 344 of 396
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The costs of up to £492,000 excluding VAT over the full term of an initial one year period, plus a further three extensions of 12 months each, will be met through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Programme budget. The anticipated starting date is 29 July 2024. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None directly arising from this report. 3. Community/Council Planning – Our Renfrewshire is thriving – maximising economic growth, which is inclusive and sustainable. Our Renfrewshire is well – supporting the wellness and resilience of our citizens. Our Renfrewshire is fair – addressing the inequalities which limit life chances. Our Renfrewshire is safe – protecting vulnerable people and working together to manage the risk of harm. Place: - Working with partners to ensure our neighbourhoods are safe, vibrant, and attractive places to live. Economy: - Creating sustainable opportunities for people who live in Renfrewshire, attracting good employers to the area and encouraging growth of businesses already operating here, ensuring that all people can benefit from the inclusive growth in Renfrewshire. - Supporting our citizens, particularly those furthest from the jobs market, into fair work – well paid, fulfilling employment. - Matching the skills developed in Renfrewshire with the opportunities available in Renfrewshire and equipping all children and young people to achieve success in life. Fair: - Working with a range of partners to support the improved health and wellbeing of our citizens. Living our Values: - Ensuring Renfrewshire Council delivers best value for our citizens and customers, that we are well governed, effective organisation. Page 345 of 396
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4. Legal – The Procurement of this Contract was conducted in accordance with the requirements for a Mini Competition under Lot 4 of the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Asbestos Related Works and Services (Reference 0722) and the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts. 5. Property/Assets – This Contract will ensure that Council properties and assets meet statutory legislate standards and that appropriate records are maintained. 6. Information Technology – None directly arising from this report. 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 – Environtec Limited health and safety credentials were evaluated by Corporate Health and Safety and met the Council’s minimum requirements regarding health and safety. 9. Procurement – The procurement procedures outlined within this report ensures that the Council meets its statutory requirements in respect of procurement procedures, efficiency, and modern Government. 10. Risk - This Contract includes limits on the Contractor’s liability to the required levels of insurance for the Contract which is a market standard position. These limits are also based on the Framework liability limits. The Council’s Risk Manager has also confirmed that the levels of insurance are adequate for the requirements of the Framework Agreement and this Call-Off contract. Environtec Limited insurances have been assessed and evaluated to confirm that they meet the requirements regarding insurance risk, including noted limits of liability. 11. Privacy Impact – A Data Processor Agreement will be in place between Renfrewshire Council and Environtec Limited. Page 346 of 396
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12. Cyber Security - Environtec Limited Cyber Security credentials were evaluated by Security and Compliance and have passed the Council’s minimum requirements. Environtec Limited have confirmed that they will obtain Cyber Security Essentials Certification within 6 months of award of contract. 13. Cosla Policy Position – None directly arising from this report. 14. Climate Risk – The level of impact associated with provision of these services have been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered to be overall Low Risk. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers - None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Claire Earnshaw, Senior Procurement Specialist, Corporate Procurement Unit, claire.earnshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 347 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: The Director of Finance and Resources and the Director of Environment, Housing and Infrastructure ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract Award: Demolition and site clearance of Council properties at Tannahill area, Paisley (RC-CPU-23-218) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek the approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to award a Works Contract for Demolition and site clearance of Council properties at Tannahill area, Paisley (RC-CPU-23-218) to Caskie Limited. 1.2 The recommendation to award the Contract follows a procurement exercise conducted in accordance with both the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts and the requirements under the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Demolition and Deconstruction Works (Reference 1119) . 1.3 A Mini-Competition was conducted under Lot 2 (Demolition and Deconstruction Works on or over £50,000). 1.4 A Contract Strategy was approved by the Corporate Procurement Manager on 28 March 2024 and the Head of Housing Services on 4 April 2024. Item 22 Page 348 of 396
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__________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: (a) Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award a Works Contract, a Call-Off Contract under Lot 2 of the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Demolition and Deconstruction Works in the form of SBCC Minor Works Building Contract for use in Scotland, 2016 Edition as supplemented and amended by the Employer’s Amendments for Demolition and site clearance of Council properties at Tannahill area, Paisley, reference RC- CPU-23-218 to Caskie Limited; (b) Authorises the Contract Sum of £630,817.00 excluding VAT for this Contract (the approved contract value); (c) Notes the Date for Commencement of the Works is 15 July 2024 and the Date for Completion is 52 weeks from the Date for Commencement of the Works. The actual dates will be confirmed in the Council’s Letter of Acceptance to Caskie Limited. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 This procurement is for the appointment of a Contractor to carry out the Demolition and site clearance of 51 Housing blocks of empty Council- owned domestic dwellings at Ferguslie Park Avenue, Drums Avenue, Tannahill Road and Tannahill Terrace, Paisley. 3.2 The proposed demolition of these buildings was approved at the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board on 30 October 2018. The properties have recently been subject to fire-raising and instances of anti-social behaviour. The site will be landscaped on completion of the demolition works while longer term proposals for the site are considered within the context of the Community Led Development Framework that was approved by the Leadership Board on 01 December 2021. Page 349 of 396
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Opportunities for the redevelopment of the site will be considered within the context of the community and stakeholder consultation on the emerging development framework for the wider Ferguslie Park area. 3.3 The Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Demolition and Deconstruction Works (Reference 1119) (“Framework”) has been in place since 1 August 2020. The Framework has a Lot specific to Demolition and Deconstruction Works on or over £50,000 (Lot 2). This procurement exercise was conducted as a mini competition under Lot 2 of this Framework. 3.4 In accordance with the Framework, the Council invited all 17 Contractors appointed to the Renfrewshire Council area for Lot 2 to participate in the Mini Competition for the required Demolition and site clearance of Council properties at Tannahill area, Paisley via Public Contracts Scotland – Tender Portal (PCS-T) on 4 April 2024. 3.5 By the closing date set for the return of electronic tender submissions, 12 noon on 25 April 2024, five Contractors submitted a tender response to the mini competition, one Contractor declined, and eleven Contractors failed to respond. 3.6 During the evaluation period one Contractor withdrew from the tender process due to an error in their price submission. 3.7 The four remaining Contractor tender submissions were each evaluated against the Award Criteria of 60% Price and 40% Quality. The scores relative to the Award Criteria for each of the four tender submissions are noted below: Tenderer Price (60%) Quality (40%) Total Caskie Limited 54.67% 38.00% 92.67% George Beattie & Sons Limited 45.45% 40.00% 85.45% Central Demolition Limited 60.00% 22.75% 82.75% Dem-Master Demolition Limited 47.56% 33.75% 81.31% 3.8 The evaluation of tender submissions received identified that the tender submission by Caskie Limited was the most economically advantageous tender. Page 350 of 396
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3.9 The form of Contract is the SBCC Minor Works Building Contract for use in Scotland, 2016 Edition as supplemented and amended by the Employer’s Amendments. 3.10 The costs for this Contract will be met from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Programme budget. 3.11 Community Benefits were requested as part of this procurement exercise and Caskie Limited confirmed that the following Community Benefits would be made available to the Council for this Contract: Community Benefit Description No of People / Activity Job for a young person (16-24) 1 Work Experience for individual 16+ 2 Industry Awareness Event 1 ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial –The cost of £630,817 will be met through the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Programme budget. The anticipated Contract start date is 15 July 2024 for duration of 52 weeks. 2. HR & Organisational Development – None directly arising from this report. 3. Community/Council Planning – Our Renfrewshire is safe – removing wholly vacant properties within regeneration areas that are causing security and safety concerns to tenants and residents. Place: - Working with partners to ensure our neighbourhoods are safe, vibrant, and attractive places to live. Page 351 of 396
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- Economy: - Creating sustainable opportunities for people who live in Renfrewshire, attracting good employers to the area and encouraging growth of businesses already operating here, ensuring that all people can benefit from the inclusive growth in Renfrewshire. - Supporting our citizens, particularly those furthest from the jobs market, into fair work – well paid, fulfilling employment. - Matching the skills developed in Renfrewshire with the opportunities available in Renfrewshire and equipping all children and young people to achieve success in life. - Green: - Working across partners and communities to deliver the priority areas highlighted in our Plan for Net Zero, working towards a net zero Renfrewshire by 2030. - Ensuring our journey to net zero is a just transition with climate justice and fairness at the heart, finding opportunities to challenge inequalities in new green ways as we tackle the climate crisis. - Empowering colleagues, organisations, businesses, and communities to access the information they need to make informed and positive green choices. - Living our Values: - Ensuring Renfrewshire Council delivers best value for our citizens and customers, that we are well governed, effective organisation. 4. Legal – The Procurement of this Contract was conducted in accordance with the requirements for a Mini Competition under Lot 2 (Demolition and Deconstruction Works on or over £50,000) of the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Demolition and Deconstruction Works (Reference 1119) and the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts (1 January 2024). 5. Property/Assets – Demolition of 51 Housing blocks of empty Council- owned domestic dwellings at Ferguslie Park Avenue, Drums Avenue, Tannahill Road and Tannahill Terrace, Paisley. 6. Information Technology – None directly arising from this report. Page 352 of 396
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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 – Caskie Limited health and safety credentials were evaluated by Corporate Health and Safety and met the Council’s minimum requirements regarding health and safety. 9. Procurement – The procurement procedures outlined within this report ensures that the Council meets its statutory requirements in respect of procurement procedures, efficiency, and modern Government. 10. Risk – Caskie Limited insurances have been assessed and evaluated to confirm that they meet the requirements regarding insurance risk. 11. Cosla Policy Position – None directly arising from this report. 12. Climate Risk – The level of impact associated with provision of these works have been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered High Risk. To mitigate against the High Risk, impact the Contractor: - Has an Environmental Policy and Emissions Policy that is reviewed annually. - Use only deforestation free paper that is 100% recycled. - Company policy is not to leave office equipment on standby. - Offices have been transferred to a 100% renewable electricity supplier and all lighting within building replaced with low energy LED fitments. - Waste will be collected and segregated using a licensed Waste Management Contractor - The Waste Management Contractor will provide detailed monthly waste reports to inform of recycled waste and waste to landfill. Copies of waste reports will be made available to the Council’s Contract Administrator. - Anticipate that around 95% of all materials arising from demolition works will be recycled in line with normal company outcomes. Page 353 of 396
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- Clean timber will be recycled for use as Biomass or Timber chip for board manufacturers. Metal and electrical cables will be recycled through specialist scrap metal dealers and concrete, brick and masonry crushed to form aggregates for supply to local construction projects. Only contaminated materials will be disposed of to landfill. - Aim to work with organisations such as Circular Communities Scotland to support reuse and recycling charities in their efforts to prevent materials from entering landfill. Where possible suitable materials and broken but repairable items would be segregated for refurbishment through this network enabling existing material and products to remain in use for as long as possible. - Site management will monitor dust emissions daily ensuring appropriate methods to damp down debris using pressure washers to minimise dust generated and water canon to suppress any airborne particles that do arise. Drivers will undertake wheel cleaning protocol prior to leaving site, where necessary we will deploy a road brush to maintain the surrounding highways. - On site Plant Equipment in intermittent use shall be shut down during the periods between work or, where this is impractical, shall be throttled to a minimum. - Where practical, the use of HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) will be utilised as a renewable diesel alternative and means of reducing emissions. Battery powered hand tools will be used in preference to petrol driven alternatives. The Contractor is also required as per the Scope to: - Provide a site-specific waste management plan to reflect the key elements of the waste hierarchy i.e. Prevention, Re-use, Recycling, Recovery & Disposal. - Comply with all requirements stipulated by ISO14001 standards across the project in terms of environmental best practice - All on site waste management will be in line with the requirements of the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012, with Zero Waste to be applied where possible. - Fully comply with the Duty of Care requirements set out in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (including the use of sub- contractors). _________________________________________________________ Page 354 of 396
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List of Background Papers (a) Report to Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board on 30 October 2018 titled “Housing Investment Strategy for the Tannahill Area, Ferguslie Park”. (b) Report to Leadership Board on 01 December 2021 titled “The Making of Ferguslie – Framework Report and Place Plan”. ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Claire Earnshaw, Senior Procurement Specialist, Corporate Procurement Unit, claire.earnshaw@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 355 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: The Director of Finance and Resources and the Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract Award: Supply and Delivery of 3x Refuse Collection Vehicles (RC-CPU-23-339) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek the approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to award a contract for the Supply and Delivery of 3x Refuse Collection Vehicles (RC-CPU-23-339) to Farid Hillend Engineering Limited as part of the Council’s Vehicle Replacement Programme for 2024/25. 1.2 The recommendation to award the Contract follows a procurement exercise conducted in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts and the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Supply and Delivery of Heavy and Municipal Vehicles (Reference 0321) (“Framework”). 1.3 A mini competition was conducted under Lot 10 (Bodies for Refuse Collection Vehicles) (“Lot 10”). 1.4 A Contract Strategy was prepared by the Corporate Procurement Unit which covered the purchase of vehicles for the vehicle replacement programmes from 2023 to 2027 and was approved by the Director of Environment, and Infrastructure, and the Strategic Commercial and Procurement Manager in February 2023. ___________________________________________________________________ Item 23 Page 356 of 396
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2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: 2.1 Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award a Contract for the Supply and Delivery of 3x Refuse Collection Vehicles to Farid Hillend Engineering Limited made following a mini competition under Lot 10 (Bodies for Refuse Collection Vehicles) of the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for the Supply and Delivery of Heavy and Municipal Vehicles (Reference 0321). 2.2 Authorises the approved contract value of £669,702 excluding VAT; and 2.3 Notes that Farid Hillend Engineering Limited have confirmed that delivery of the vehicles will be made 38 weeks from receipt of the Letter of Acceptance. Delivery of these vehicles will be made to Fleet Services, Underwood Road, Paisley. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 As part of the Vehicle Replacement Programme for 2024/25, Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Services identified a requirement to purchase 3 new Euro 6 diesel Refuse Collection Vehicles. 3.2 The Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Supply and Delivery of Heavy and Municipal Vehicles (ref: 03/21), Lot 10 Bodies for Refuse Collection Vehicles was identified as the best option for these vehicle purchases. This procurement exercise involved a mini competition under the Lot 10 (Bodies for Refuse Collection Vehicles) of the Framework. 3.3 In accordance with the Framework, all eight Suppliers on Lot 10 were invited to participate in the mini competition, which was issued on 26 April 2024, with the tender documentation available for downloading from the Public Contract Scotland - Tender platform on this date. 3.4 By closing date set for return of electronic tenders of 12 noon on 3 May 2024, two Suppliers submitted a Tender Submission with six failing to provide a response. 3.5 The two Suppliers who submitted a response continued to meet the requirements of the Single Procurement Document (SPD) they completed when applying for a place on the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Supply and Delivery of Heavy and Municipal Vehicles. Page 357 of 396
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3.6 The Tender Submissions received were evaluated against the Award Criteria of 70% Price and 30% Quality. The quality score each Supplier achieved through the Framework Agreement evaluation process was carried forward as the quality score attributable to this procurement exercise. The scores achieved by the tenderers are detailed in the table below: Price (70%) Quality (30%) Total (100%) 1 Farid Hillend Engineering Limited 70.00 27.50 97.50 2 Faun Zoller (UK) Limited 69.00 27.00 96.00 3.7 Community Benefits were sought for this Contract and Farid Hillend Engineering Limited has committed to the following: Community Benefit Description No of People / Activity Industry Skill Transfer to Schools 2 Financial Support for a Community Project 1 Non-Financial Support for a Community Project 2 Industry Awareness Events • Schools • Invest in Renfrewshire – Employability • Further Education 5 ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - The costs of £669,702 excluding VAT will be met from the Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Capital budget allocation for the Vehicle Replacement Programme for financial year 2024/25. Payment will be made following delivery of each vehicle. 2. HR & Organisational Development - No TUPE implications have arisen or are anticipated. 3. Community/Council Planning Place - Delivering those strong universal services we all receive, and all rely on - like safe roads, clean and well-lit streets, efficient waste and recycling - making Renfrewshire a great place to live. Page 358 of 396
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4. Legal - The procurement of this Contract was conducted in accordance with the requirements for a mini competition under Lot 10 of the Scotland Excel Framework Agreement for Supply and Delivery of Heavy and Municipal Vehicles (ref: 03/21) and the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts. 5. Property/Assets – When delivered the vehicles will replace an older Refuse Collection Vehicles and become an integral part of the Council’s fleet. Once replaced, the older vehicles will be sold at auction. 6. Information Technology - No Information Technology implications have arisen or are anticipated. 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 because for example it is for noting only. 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 – Farid Hillend Engineering Limited’s health and safety standards have been assessed and evaluated by Scotland Excel to confirm they meet the minimum requirements regarding health and safety. 9. Procurement – The procurement procedures outlined within this report shall ensure that the Council meets its statutory requirements in respect of procurement procedures, efficiency, and modern Government. 10. Risk – Farid Hillend Engineering Limited’s insurances have been assessed and evaluated by Scotland Excel confirm they meet the minimum requirements regarding insurable risk. 11. Privacy Impact - No Privacy Impact Assessment requirements were identified within this procurement. 12. Cosla Policy Position - No Cosla Policy Position implications have arisen or are anticipated. Page 359 of 396
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13. Climate Risk – The level of impact associated with provision of the supply of these vehicles has been assessed by Scotland Excel using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is low risk. Vehicles Emissions - The continued replacement of current Renfrewshire Council vehicles with new vehicles of Euro 6 emission standards, helps Renfrewshire Council continue to reduce the carbon footprint of the fleet by removing older and less environmentally friendly vehicles. The Council will continue to explore alternative fuelled models including electric, hydrogen and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuelled vehicles. _____________________________________________________ List of Background Papers None. ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Sam Smith, Procurement Advisor, sam.smith@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 360 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: The Director of Finance & Resources and Chief Executive’s Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract Award: Linwood On-X: Refurbishment of Hockey Pitch (RC- CPU-23-275) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Service Policy Board to award a Works Contract for the Linwood On-X: Refurbishment of Hockey Pitch (RC-CPU-23-275) to Allsports Construction & Maintenance Limited. 1.2 The recommendation to award the SBCC Design and Build Contract follows a procurement exercise conducted in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts 01 January 2024 for a below Quick Quote procedure for a works contract. 1.3 A Contract Strategy was approved by the Programme Director (City Deal & Infrastructure) and the Strategic Commercial Category Manager on 05 April 2024. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: Item 24 Page 361 of 396
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(a) authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award a Building Contract in the form of SBCC Design and Build Contract for use in Scotland (DB/Scot) (2011 Edition) as supplemented by the Employer’s Amendments for Linwood On- X: Refurbishment of Hockey Pitch (RC-CPU-23-275) to Allsports Construction & Maintenance Limited. (b) authorises the Contract Sum of £456,224.41 excluding VAT. (c) authorises a contingency spend of £89,766.00 excluding VAT, which equates to 19.68% of the Contract Sum. (d) authorises a total Approved Contract Value of £545,990.41 excluding VAT (which is the total of the Contract Sum plus the contingency spend). (e) notes that the Date of Commencement of the Works is anticipated to be 15 July 2024 and the Date of Completion of the Works is anticipated to be 04 October 2024. Any changes to these dates will be confirmed in the Council’s Letter of Acceptance to Allsports Construction & Maintenance Limited. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Council requires to replace the existing hockey pitch at the On-X sports centre in Linwood, which has reached end of life. This Contract is part of the Council’s commitment to improve external sport facilities in Renfrewshire as part of the cultural infrastructure programme. Along with the recent investment in the running track at On-X to support Kilbarchan Amateur Athletics Club (KAAC), investment to upgrade the hockey pitch will support local Renfrewshire based teams such as Kelburne Hockey Club (KHC) and further support sport development in Renfrewshire. 3.2 The current pitch is only suitable for lower-level hockey leagues and therefore, KHC is no longer able to train and play senior team matches in Renfrewshire, and are instead based at Glasgow Green. The Council is keen to attract KHC, a very successful club, back to Renfrewshire. KHC is the only club in Renfrewshire with a children’s development section, which currently loses out on promising young local talent if they cannot travel to Glasgow for training. 3.3 This Contract will replace the existing pitch with a system capable of meeting Federation for International Hockey (FIH) standards. The successful Contractor will be required to uplift the existing hockey pitch Page 362 of 396
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carpet and underlay and replace with new pitch and carpet system. There is also a requirement to replace the floodlighting with LED bulbs. 3.4 7 organisations were invited to submit a quote on 05 April 2024 and the tender documentation was available for downloading from the Public Contracts Scotland – Tender portal from this date. 3.5 The Contract was tendered using the Quick Quote procedure for a works contract in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts 01 January 2024. 3.6 By the closing date set for tender submissions, 12 noon on 03 May 2024, 4 organisations submitted a tender response. 3.7 In accordance with section 11.5 of the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts 01 January 2024, Bidders were required to complete a Single Procurement Document (Scotland) (SPD) to be submitted with their tender submission. All 4 tender submissions were evaluated against a predetermined set of criteria in the form of the SPD by representatives from the following Council Services: Property Services, the Corporate Procurement Unit, Corporate Risk and Corporate Health & Safety. 3.8 The 4 tender submissions received, complied with the minimum selection criteria of the SPD. 3.9 The 4 tender submissions were each evaluated against the Award Criteria of 55% Quality and 45% Price. The panel for the evaluation of the quality criteria included representatives from the Scottish Hockey and Kelburne Hockey Club. 3.10 The scores relative to the Award Criteria for the 4 tender submissions are noted below: Tenderer Quality (55%) Price (45%) Total Score Allsports Construction & Maintenance Limited 50.75% 31.34% 82.09% Fairways Sportsgrounds Limited 37.00% 40.92% 77.92% Sportex Group Limited 30.75% 45.00% 75.75% Tony Patterson Sportsgrounds Ltd 29.25% 30.90% 60.15% Page 363 of 396
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3.11 Following the evaluation of tender submissions received the Tender Submission submitted by Allsports Construction & Maintenance Limited was the most economically advantageous tenderer. 3.12 Standing Order 26.3 of the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts 1 January 2024 allows for the use of Post Tender Negotiation (PTN) to be used to refine and improve the most economically advantageous tender offered. The Allsports Construction & Maintenance Limited tender submission contained a genuine error in rates. This error was held for evaluation purposes in accordance with the conditions of the Invitation to Tender (ITT). The Council invited the recommended Tenderer to correct the genuine error in their price submission, using PTN, which revised the tendered Contract Sum, improving value for money (VfM) and bringing the tender submission within the Contract budget. 3.13 The Form of Contract is SBCC Design and Build Contract for use in Scotland (DB/Scot) (2011 Edition) as supplemented by the Employer’s Amendments. 3.14 Community Benefits were requested as part of the procurement process and Allsports Construction & Maintenance Limited confirmed that the following Community Benefits would be made available to the Council for this Contract: Community Benefit Description No of People/ Activities Financial Support for a Social Enterprise within Renfrewshire 2 ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial The cost for this Building Contract will be up to £545,990.41 exclusive of VAT met by the Capital General Services budget. Date of Commencement of the Works is anticipated to be 15 July 2024 until 04 October 2024. 2. HR & Organisational Development None arising directly from this report. Page 364 of 396
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3. Community/Council Planning Place: Working together to ensure our neighbourhoods are safe, vibrant, and attractive places to live. Developing our relationships with and working alongside communities on decisions that affect them. Delivering strong universal services for everyone. Economy: Linking opportunities to enhance economic benefits for Renfrewshire. Ensuring that all people can benefit from the inclusive growth in Renfrewshire. Equipping all children and young people to achieve success in life. Fair: Reducing inequalities. Supporting improved health and wellbeing for our citizens. Creating inclusive and supportive learning environments for children and young people. Green: Protecting, enhancing, and supporting equal access to nature across all our communities. Living our Values: Ensuring our organisation is financially sustainable. Delivering Best Value for our citizens and customers. 4. Legal The Procurement of this Contract was conducted as a below GPA Quick Quote procedure relating to a works contract in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts 1 January 2024. 5. Property/Assets The Contract will facilitate the replacement of the Hockey Pitch at the ON-X, Linwood that will ensure the Council’s assets are upgraded and maintained to a proper standard. Page 365 of 396
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The use of the hockey pitch is leased to Renfrewshire Leisure Limited, trading as OneRen (OneRen) therefore a Licence for Works requires to be agreed between the Council and OneRen prior to the construction works commencing. 6. Information Technology None arising directly from this report. 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 Allsports Construction & Maintenance Limited’s health and safety credentials were evaluated by Corporate Health and Safety and met the Council’s requirements regarding health and safety. 9. Procurement The procurement procedures outlined within this report ensures that the Council meets its statutory requirements in respect of procurement procedures, efficiency, and modern Government. 10. Risk Allsports Construction & Maintenance Limited’s insurances have been assessed and evaluated to confirm that they meet the requirements regarding insurance risk. The project team reports on the project through the existing City Deal and Infrastructure (CD&I) Programme Board and maintains a risk register, which is reviewed and updated regularly. Any risks, issues and changes encountered on this Contract will be reported, managed and approved as required by relevant officers in accordance with the CD&I Programme Board governance arrangements. 11. Privacy Impact None arising directly from this report. Page 366 of 396
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12. Cosla Policy Position None arising directly from this report. 13. Climate Risk The level of impact associated with works connected with the Contract has been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered to be low risk. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Aileen Ross, Procurement Advisor, Corporate Procurement Unit, mailto:aileen.ross@renfrewshire.gov.uk aileen.ross@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 367 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: The Director of Finance and Resources and the Chief Executive Services ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract Award: Tandlemuir Farm Peatland Restoration (RC-CPU-23- 247) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to award a Works Contract for Tandlemuir Farm Peatland Restoration (RC-CPU-23-247) to McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd. 1.2 The recommendation to award the Contract follows a procurement exercise conducted in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts for a below Regulated (Works) contract using the Open Procedure. 1.3 A Contract Strategy was approved by the Strategic Commercial Category Manager and the Head of Economy and Development Services on 28 March 2024. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: Item 25 Page 368 of 396
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(a) Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award a Works Contract in the form of NEC3 Engineering and Construction Short Contract with Z clauses, for Tandlemuir Farm Peatland Restoration (RC-CPU-23-247) to McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd, subject to confirmation of funding from NatureScot. (b) Authorises the award of the Contract for the Total of the Prices (Approved Contract Value) of £297,498.22 excluding VAT, subject to confirmation of funding from NatureScot. (c) Notes that the anticipated starting date is 2 September 2024, and the completion date is 16 weeks from the starting date. The actual dates will be confirmed in the Council’s Letter of Acceptance to McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Planning and Climate Change Board on 7 November 2023 noted the development of the Glasgow City Region ‘Clyde Peatlands’ project and delegated authority to the Head of Economy and Development to progress implementation of peatland restoration works at West Tandlemuir Farm, Lochwinnoch. As Renfrewshire Council is aiming to be net zero by 2030, this project will have a positive impact by reducing the risk of flooding and the impact of climate change. The project will support the Council’s response to climate change and the delivery of Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero through the storage of carbon emissions and works which support, enhance and connect existing habitats. This is one of the most effective ways of locking in carbon, offering a clear nature-based solution to the climate crisis. 3.2 The works comprise of Peatland Restoration within an area of 250 hectares at Tandlemuir farm Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, Lochwinnoch. 3.3 The award of this contract at Tandlemuir Farm Peatland Restoration is dependent upon Peatland Action funding from NatureScot. The Council expects to know the outcome of this funding application in June 2024. 3.4 To initiate this procurement process, a Contract Notice was published on the Public Contracts Scotland advertising portal on 8 April 2024 with the tender documentation available for downloading from the Public Contracts Scotland- Tender portal from this date. Page 369 of 396
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3.5 During the live tender period, twenty organisations expressed interest in the tender. By the closing date set for the return of electronic tender submissions, 12 noon on Thursday 2 May 2024, five organisations submitted responses and fifteen organisations did not respond. 3.6 In accordance with the Council’s Standing Order relating to Contracts standing order 11.5, Tenderers were required to complete a Single Procurement Document (SPD) to be submitted along with their tender submission. One of the tenderers failed SPD question 4C.1 as none of the examples provided demonstrated relevant experience to deliver the work as stated within the Contract Notice and Works Information, therefore they were removed from the procurement process. The remaining four tender submissions were evaluated against a pre- determined set of criteria in the SPD by representatives from the following Council services: Regeneration, NatureScot, the Corporate Procurement Unit, Corporate Risk and Corporate Health & Safety. 3.7 The remaining four tender submissions received each complied with the minimum selection criteria of the SPD. Each tender submission was then evaluated against the Award Criteria of 60% Quality and 40% Price. 3.8 The scores relative to the Award Criteria for each of the four tender submissions are noted below: Tenderer Price (40%) Quality (60%) Total (100%) McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd 27.47% 57.25% 84.72% Net Zero (North) Limited 40.00% 34.25% 74.25% Robertson Fencing Ltd 20.44% 38.75% 59.19% DC Restoration Contracts Ltd 29.48% 12.50% 41.98% 3.9 The evaluation of tender submissions received identified that the tender submission by McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd was the most economically advantageous tender. 3.10 The form of Contract is NEC3 Engineering and Construction Short Contract with Z Clauses. 3.11 The costs for the Tandlemuir Farm Peatland Restoration are dependent on Peatland Action grant funding from NatureScot. Page 370 of 396
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3.12 Community Benefits were requested as part of the procurement process and McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd confirmed that the following Community Benefit would be made available to the Council for this Contract. Community Benefit Outcome Description No of People / Activity Financial support for a Social Enterprise 1 ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial- The cost of £297,498.22 excluding VAT will be fully funded by a Peatland Action grant from NatureScot. If the full amount of funding is not received this contract will not be awarded. The anticipated starting date is 02 September for a period of 16 weeks. 2. HR & Organisational Development - None directly arising from this report. 3. Community/Council Planning – Creating a Sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy - Clyde Peatlands will support the Council’s response to climate change and delivery of Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero and Renfrewshire Biodiversity Strategy 2018-2022 through the storage of carbon emissions and works which support, enhance and connect existing habitats. Place- Adopting a 'place shaping' approach to developing our communities - working together to maximise our collective impact and influence across economic, social, physical, cultural and environmental policies and practices. Economy- Improving lives and securing wellbeing through a stronger, inclusive and sustainable economy, being creative, imaginative and linking opportunities to enhance the benefits for Renfrewshire. McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd has committed to deliver Community Benefits as set out within 3.12 of this report. Green- Protecting and enhancing nature in Renfrewshire and encouraging equal access to opportunities to enjoy nature across all people and communities. Page 371 of 396
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4. Legal- The Procurement of this Contract was conducted as a below Regulated (Works) Open Procedure in accordance with the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts. 5. Property/Assets- The contract will facilitate Peatland Restoration works at west of Tandlemuir farm, Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, Lochwinnoch. 6. Information Technology - None directly arising from this report. 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 – McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd health and safety credentials were evaluated by Corporate Health and Safety and met the Council’s minimum requirements regarding health and safety. 9. Procurement - The procurement procedure outlined within this report ensures that the Council meets its statutory requirements in respect of procurement procedures, efficiency, and modern Government. The contract will only be awarded on confirmation of the Peatland Action grant funding from NatureScot. 10. Risk – McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd insurances have been assessed and evaluated to confirm that they meet the minimum requirement regarding insurance risk. 11. Privacy Impact - None directly arising from this report. 12. Cosla Policy Position – None directly arising from this report. Page 372 of 396
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13. Climate Risk – The level of impact associated with provision of these works has been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and it is considered a Low Risk. Energy will be consumed while carrying out this work through the use of vehicles and machines on site. Until they are restored, peatland can be a significant emitter of carbon and once restored, are one of the most effective ways of locking in carbon, offering a clear nature-based solution to the climate crisis. Carbon Energy Consumption – The contractor is required to consider energy saving measures where possible, as part of the peatland restoration works. Waste Production – None directly arising from this report. _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers (a) Clyde Peatlands – Update, Planning and Climate Change Board, 7 November 2023 ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Abimbola Olutola, Procurement Advisor, Corporate Procurement Unit, Abimbola.olutola@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 373 of 396
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract authorisation report for Procurement Cards (RC-CPU-23- 329) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to award a Contract (Call-Off Contract) for Procurement Cards to National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company. 1.2 The recommendation to award the Call-Off Contract follows a desk top analysis, which was conducted in accordance with the Call-Off Award Procedure under the Crown Commercial Services Payment Solutions 2 Framework Agreement (RM6248) (“Framework”) Lot 1 Procurement Cards by Scotland Excel on behalf of Scottish Councils and other Public Sector Bodies (known as the Cluster Members who are named in the Cluster Schedule) and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts for a service contract above Threshold. 1.3 The Contract Strategy was approved and signed by the Head of Finance and Procurement and the Corporate Procurement Manager on 28 May 2024. ___________________________________________________________________ Item 26 Page 374 of 396
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2 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: 2.1 Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award the Call-Off Contract, being a Call-Off Contract made under Crown Commercial Services Payment Solutions 2 Framework Agreement (RM6248), Lot 1 Procurement Cards for the Provision of Procurement Cards (RC-CPU- 23-329) to National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company, who have confirmed that they will be subcontracting the performance of this Service to The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company. 2.2 Authorises the Call-Off Contract for an initial period from 19 August 2024 until 30 October 2025 with the option to extend for a further two periods of 12 months. The actual start date will be confirmed in the Order Form issued following the Framework Call-Off Award Procedure. 2.3 Notes that the annual spend through the Call-off Contract is anticipated to be up to £5,000,000 excluding VAT, however Council spend via procurement cards will fluctuate during the contract term. 2.4 Notes that this is a collaborative procurement and the annual rebate available will be calculated based on collective spend of Cluster Members which anticipated to be in excess of £100million. It is therefore anticipated that the rebate to the Council will be up to £63,000 per annum. There is no contract cost to the Council, as the provider takes a transaction fee from the supplier of the goods being purchased via the card. 2.5 Authorises the Core Terms of the Framework Agreement aggregate liability cap for this Contract which will not exceed the greater of £5 million or 150% of the Estimated Yearly Charges. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire Council requires a Supplier who can supply a procurement card solution that would facilitate payments made by Council employees via Card Present transactions and Card Not Present Transactions. The Procurement Cards will be used to facilitate low value purchases for goods and services with multiple suppliers. There is no obligation for a Council service to have a procurement card and these cards are utilised on an ad-hoc basis. Page 375 of 396
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3 The Supplier is expected to provide an online management information system which will enable the Council to manage purchases and fund dispersal payments effectively and in real time. 3.2 The Council currently has a Call-Off contract in place with National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company who sub-contract performance of the procurement card solution to their group company, The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company. The current Call-Off contract will expire on 18 August 2024. 3.3 Scotland Excel Savings Team carried out a review on a collaborate approach for procurement cards for Scottish Councils and other Public Bodies. The review identified that savings could be made if a cluster arrangement was set up under the Framework. 3.4 Scotland Excel conducted a desk top analysis in line with the Call-Off Award Procedure across all four Suppliers under Lot 1 of the Framework. This was done to facilitate a collaborative procurement and have as many Council and public sector bodies as possible signed up to the one cluster agreement, which would increase the value of the purchasing card rebate % for all cluster members, and therefore achieve economies of scales for the public sector. 3.5 The Scotland Excel desktop analysis identified that National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company offered the highest percentage rebate % for the anticipated spend of £100million (based on previous annual spend by all Councils). 3.6 Further analysis of Scotland Excel’s desktop exercise by the Council indicates that the Council will receive a rebate of up £63,000 per annum. 3.7 National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company has confirmed that the performance of this Service will be sub-contracted to The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company. 3.8 Scotland Excel as the lead buyer will retain high level supplier relationship responsibilities with Crown Commercial Services, National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Public Limited Company, however, in accordance with the Framework cluster agreement arrangements the Council will complete the Crown Commercial Services Payment Solution 2 pre- populated Order Form and relevant Schedules to create its own Call- Off Contract. Page 376 of 396
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4 ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - The annual spend through the Call-off Contract is anticipated to be £5,000,000 excluding VAT. As this is a collaborative procurement and the annual rebate available will be calculated based on collective spend of Cluster Members which anticipated to be in excess of £100m. It is therefore anticipated that the rebate to the Council will be up to £63,000 per annum. The anticipated contract start date is 19 August 2024. There is no contract cost to the Council, as the provider takes a transaction fee from the supplier of the goods being purchased via the card. 2. HR & Organisational Development - No HR and Organisation Development implications have arisen or are anticipated. 3. Community/Council Planning – Working together to improve outcomes - aligns to the procurement card contract as the Council must work smarter and in fundamentally different ways, sharpening the focus of our organisation to meet the significant financial challenges the Council face and this can be done by collaborating with other Scottish Councils and other Public Bodies under the Cluster Agreement. 4. Legal - This Procurement was carried out in following a desktop analysis and accordance with the Call-Off Award Procedure under the Crown Commercial Services Payment Solutions 2 Framework Agreement (RM6248), Lot 1 Procurement Cards and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts for a service contract above Threshold. 5. Property/Assets - No property/assets implications have arisen or are anticipated. 6. Information Technology – National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company are required to have Cyber Essential Plus to be awarded a place on the Framework Agreement and will be required to confirm and agree to the ICT requirements as noted within the Order form and relevant schedule. 7. Page 377 of 396
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5 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 - No Health and Safety implications have arisen or are anticipated. 9. Procurement – The procurement exercise was conducted in accordance with the Call-Off Award Procedure as a direct award under the Crown Commercial Services Payment Solutions 2 Framework Agreement (RM6248), Lot 1 Procurement Cards and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts. 10. Risk - National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company insurance documentation was evaluated by Crown Commercial Service at the time of award onto the Framework and was deemed to meet the minimum requirements. The Council’s Risk Manager has also confirmed that the levels of insurance are adequate for the requirements of the Framework Agreement and this Call-Off contract. An aggregate liability cap which will not exceed the greater of £5 million or 150% of the Estimated Yearly Charges as per the conditions set out in the Core Terms of the Framework Agreement, applicable to both the Framework and any Call-Off Contract made under it. 11. Privacy Impact – A data processing impact assessment was completed by the Service and National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company will be required to confirm and agree to the Data Protection requirements as noted within the Order form and relevant schedule. 12. Cosla Policy Position – No Cosla policy position implications have arisen or are anticipated. 13. Climate Risk - The level of impact associated with provision of this service has been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered to be low risk. _________________________________________________________ Page 378 of 396
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6 List of Background Papers (a) None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Gillian Gordon, Senior Procurement Specialist, gillian.gordon@renfrewshire.gov.uk 0141 487 1528 Page 379 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Active Multi Asset Investment Manager (RC-CPU-23-222) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek the approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to enter into a contract for an Active Multi Asset Investment Manager with LGT Wealth Management Limited (CRN SC317950). 1.2 The recommendation to award this Contract follows a procurement exercise which was conducted in accordance with the above GPA Threshold Open Procedure for Services and the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts for a service contract above Threshold. 1.3 A Contract Strategy for this Contract was approved by: 1.3.1 The Director of Finance and Resources on 01 March 2024; 1.3.2 The Head of Finance and Procurement on 27 February 2024; 1.3.3 Corporate Procurement Manager on 27 February 2024. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: 2.1 Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award the Contract for an Active Multi Asset Investment Manager, reference RC-CPU-23-222, to LGT Wealth Management Limited; Item 27 Page 380 of 396
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2.2 Authorises the maximum approved Contract value of £698,610 excluding VAT for the full Contract period, including any extensions (£139,722 per annum). 2.3 Authorises the Contract for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for up to a further 2 years. The anticipated Commencement Date of the Contract is 01 September 2024; the actual Commencement Date will be confirmed in the Council’s Letter of Acceptance. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Council has a current Contract for an Active Multi Asset Investment Manager which expires on 31 August 2024. The Contract is for a provider with relevant experience to invest the cash resources of the Paisley and Renfrew Common Good Funds; Renfrewshire Council Insurance Fund and Renfrewshire Educational Trust Fund (a charity) to generate a return which is then distributed in accordance with the individual funds to support relevant projects. 3.2 A contract notice was published on the Find a Tender Service via the Public Contracts Scotland website on 05 March 2024. The Invitation to Tender was also published and available on this date from Public Contracts Scotland - Tender. The Tender Deadline for submission was 12 noon on 05 April 2024. 3.3 During the tender period, 31 economic operators viewed the tender opportunity; 5 submitted tender responses and 26 failed to respond by the Tender Deadline. Feedback was sought from those who did not submit; responses included lack of resource to complete the tender exercise, or non-alignment with organisational activities. 3.4 Tender submissions were evaluated against a pre-determined set of criteria in the form of the Single Procurement Document (SPD) evaluated by representatives from the Corporate Procurement Unit (CPU) and by representatives from Finance, Cyber Security, Health and Safety and Risk teams, against pre-determined bidder selection criteria which assessed competence and expertise. 3.5 All tenderers confirmed compliance with the minimum selection criteria set within the SPD. Each tender submission was then evaluated against the published award criteria of 80% Quality and 20% Price by both CPU and representatives from Finance and Resources. Page 381 of 396
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3.6 The Contract Notice and Invitation to Tender required that all tenderers had to obtain a quality score of 60% to be invited to undertake a presentation of the tender submission to validate the Quality scoring and to have their Commercial submissions (Pricing Schedule) evaluated (weighted at 20%). Any tenderer who obtained a score of 59.99% or below was excluded from the Procurement Process. Following evaluation, 4 tenderers achieved 60% or more for Quality and were invited to a presentation based on their submission on 14 May 2024. 3.7 The Invitation to Tender stipulated that the Council reserved the right to amend the quality submission scoring based on the presentation, where it did not fully validate or affirm the written responses submitted by the Tenderer. The Quality score of 1 tenderer was amended downward, in line with the instructions contained within the Invitation to Tender. 3.8 CPU then evaluated the tender submissions of the 4 remaining Tenderers and arrived at a Total Score for each tenderer. The Total Scores (Quality 80% and Commercial 20%) were as follows: Tenderers Name Quality (80%) Commercial (20%) TOTAL (100%) LGT Wealth Management Limited 73.50% 20.00% 93.50% Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Limited 69.50% 18.11% 87.61% Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management Limited 67.75% 17.13% 84.88% Rathbones Investment Management Limited 69.25% 14.05% 83.30% The evaluation of the tender submissions received identified that LGT Wealth Management Limited tender submission was the most economically advantageous tender. 3.9 Community Benefits were requested as part of the evaluation process. The following Community Benefits will be delivered by LGT Wealth Management Limited as part of the Contract: Community Benefit Number Offered Business advice/support to an SME/Social Enterprise/Vol Org 2 Financial support for a community programme/Charity. 2 Industry awareness events 2 Industry skill transfer to schools 1 Non-Financial Support for a community programme/Charity 3 Page 382 of 396
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Implications of the Report 1. Financial - The maximum approved Contract value of £698,610.00 excluding VAT for the full Contract period, including any extensions (£139,722 per annum). The anticipated Commencement Date of the Contract is 01 September 2024. Financial costs in respect of this contract will be met from the Council, the Paisley and Renfrew Common Good Funds and the Renfrewshire Educational Trust. 2. HR & Organisational Development – No HR/Organisational Development have arisen or are anticipated. 3. Community/Council Planning – o Our Renfrewshire is thriving: Maximising economic growth, which is inclusive and sustainable - Achieving Inclusive Growth by making sure Renfrewshire’s investment and opportunities deliver for all o Economy - building an inclusive, green and resilient economy (matching people, skills and opportunities) - Continuing to maximise the opportunities from large investment programmes from the UK and Scottish Governments, ensuring Renfrewshire is well positioned to attract funding for projects that will enhance our economy and benefit our communities. o Living our values - making a difference together - Sharpening the focus of our organisation to ensure future financial sustainability. 4. Legal – The procurement of this Contract was conducted in accordance with the above GPA Threshold Open Procedure for Services and the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts. 5. Property/Assets - No property/assets implications have arisen or are anticipated. 6. Information Technology - ICT and Cyber Security was evaluated by the Council’s ICT Services and LGT Wealth Management Limited has provided evidence of Cyber Essential Accreditation. 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. Page 383 of 396
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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 – LGT Wealth Management Limited health and safety credentials were evaluated by Corporate Health and Safety and met the Council’s minimum requirements regarding health and safety. 9. Procurement - The procurement of this Contract was conducted in accordance with the above GPA Threshold Open Procedure for Services and the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts. 10. Risk – LGT Wealth Management Limited insurance documentation was evaluated the Council’s Risk team and met the Council’s minimum requirements set out in the Contract Notice. There are financial risks in investing in the stock market, however these are understood and managed by providing the investment manager with clear investment principals and risk tolerances within which to invest and these principals are reviewed annually by the Investment Review Board. The Council’s Risk Manager advised on the required Insurance policies. 11. Privacy Impact - No Privacy Impact implication has arisen or is anticipated. 12. Cosla Policy Position – No Cosla policy position implications have arisen or are anticipated. 13. Climate Risk – The level of impact associated with provision of this service has been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered to be low risk. Restriction on the Paisley Common Good Fund and Renfrewshire Common Good Fund include no direct investment in fossil fuel stocks, i.e., oil and gas majors and thermal coal extractive companies _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers - n/a ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Shona Brydson, Senior Procurement Specialist, shona.brydson@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 384 of 396
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract Authorisation Report for Payment Processing Service (RC-CPU-23-236) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to award a Contract (Call-Off Contract) for Payment Processing Services to Access Paysuite Ltd. 1.2 The recommendation to award a Call-Off Contract follows a procurement exercise conducted in accordance with the Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud 13 Framework Agreement RM1557.13 Framework Schedule 5: Award Procedure and the RM1557.13 G-Cloud 13 (lots 1,2 and 3) Buyer Guide (Buyer Guide) and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts for an above Threshold Services contract. 1.3 The contract strategy was approved by the Director of Finance and Resources and Strategic Category Manager on the 23 May 2024. Item 28 Page 385 of 396
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2 ___________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: 2.1 Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award the Contract for Payment Processing Services to Access Paysuite Ltd being a Call-Off Contract made under Lot 2 of the Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud 13 Framework Agreement (RM1557.13). 2.2 Authorises the Call-Off Contract for an initial term of 3 years with the option to extend for up to 12 months. The proposed Call-Off Start Date is 1 August 2024 however, the actual date will be formally confirmed in the Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud 13 Framework Agreement RM1557.13 Call- Off Contract (Order Form). 2.3 Authorises the maximum approved Call-Off Contract value of up to £260,000 excluding VAT for the full Call-Off Contact period, including any extensions. 2.4 Authorises the following liability caps within the Call-Off Contract: Cap of £5 million in the aggregate per annum on direct loss, destruction, corruption, degradation or damage to any Council Data Cap will not exceed 150% of the annual charges all other Defaults. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire Council facilitates various ways for customers to make payments for Council Tax, Rates, Rents, Overpayments and Sundry Debtor bills. The Council offers PayPoint, Payzone and Post Office, ensuring that customers have a choice of options and accessibility to payment services which meets the Council’s needs, whilst ensuring payment services are accessible within local communities. Once payment by customers of sums due to the Council has been made, the Service Provider will then process the payment transactions into the relevant Council bank account. Page 386 of 396
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3 3.2 The Council identified that the Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud 13 Framework Agreement RM1557.13 (the Framework) was a suitable route to market. The Framework consists of 4 Lots and Lot 2 (Cloud Software) of this Framework offers a suite of cloud provisioned software and associated services. 3.3 Following the Framework Schedule 5: Award Procedure and the Buyer Guide, the Council followed the steps 1-3 using search criteria and filters as detailed below: Search Criteria Search Criteria Details Resultant Suppliers 1 Post office 76 Suppliers 2 PayPoint, Payzone 2 Suppliers 3 PCI DSS (payment card security) 2 Supplier 3.4 After applying all relevant filter and search criteria, four software solutions were identified from two G-Cloud 13 Suppliers (Allpay Limited and Access Paysuite Ltd) and progressed onto stage 4 evaluation and selection. 3.5 In line with the step 4 evaluation and selection process, a desktop analysis of both Suppliers was conducted by Council officers against the Council’s requirements and the individual Supplier Service Offering available on the Contract Award Service (the hosting platform for the Framework). The desktop analysis identified that two software solutions did not comply with the specification. The remaining two software solutions, one from each Supplier, could comply with the specification, therefore the pricing (as per the Supplier Service Offering available on the Contract Award Service) was compared against the volume of transactions. 3.7 It was identified that Access Paysuite Ltd would provide best value to the Council and should progress to stage 5 award. The Contract will be formed using the Framework Award, Call-Off Contract (Order Form) and Call-Off Terms. 3.6 The Council’s current contract for payment processing services is due to expire on the 31 October 2024 and the current contract Service Provider is Allpay Limited. As this award will result in a change of Service Provider, a mobilisation period of approximately 12 weeks is required. Page 387 of 396
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4 The Council will work closely with the new Service Provider, Access Paysuite Ltd, and the incumbent Service Provider, Allpay Limited, to ensure a smooth transition to the new system that will not impact the Council customers when making payments via the Post Office, Payzone and PayPoint. 3.7 Community benefits have been requested as part of the Framework Award Procedure and will be confirmed in the Call-Off Contract Order Form. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The maximum approved Call-Off Contract value of up to £260,000 excluding VAT is for an initial 3-year term with the option to extend for a further 12 months. This figure includes the initial set up costs, and will be funded from the Finance and Resources revenue budget. The anticipated start date is 1 August 2024. 2. HR & Organisational Development – No HR & Organisational development implications have arisen or are anticipated 3. Community/Council Planning – Tackling inequality, ensuring opportunities for all - this contract will allow the residents of Renfrewshire to access a wide range of services to make payments at their convenience. Working together to improve outcomes - this contract will ensure that the residents of Renfrewshire can access different ways to make payments to the Council. 4. Legal – This procurement was carried out in accordance with Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud 13 RM1557.13 Framework Schedule 5: Award Procedure and (lots 1,2 and 3) Buyer Guide and the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts for a service contract above Threshold. 5. Property/Assets – No property/assets implications have arisen or are anticipated. 6. Information Technology – ICT Staff have been involved in this procurement exercise assisting with the desk top analysis and will also assist with the offboarding and onboarding requirements under this Contract. Page 388 of 396
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5 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 – No Health and Safety implications have arisen or are anticipated. 9. Procurement –This procurement exercise was conducted in accordance with Crown Commercial Services G-Cloud 13 RM1557.13 Framework Schedule 5: Award Procedure and the RM1557.13 G-Cloud 13 (lots 1,2 and 3) Buyer Guide and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts 10. Risk – The insurance cover held by Access Paysuite Ltd was assessed as part of their appointment on to the Framework Agreement. The following liability caps apply as part of the Call-Off Contract: Cap of £5 million in the aggregate per annum on direct loss, destruction, corruption, degradation or damage to any Council Data Cap will not exceed 150% of the annual charges all other Defaults. 11. Privacy Impact – As part of the procurement process, a data protection impact assessment was conducted by the Service and the Council’s Information Governance team. Access Paysuite Ltd are required to adhere to the Framework conditions and Call-Off terms which include provision for Data Protection and GDPR. Access Paysuite Ltd must agree to the Data Protection requirements as noted within the Order Form and Call-Off Contract Schedule 7. 12. Cosla Policy Position – No Cosla policy position implications have arisen or are anticipated. 13. Climate Risk - The level of impact associated with provision of this service has been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered to be low risk. Page 389 of 396
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6 _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers - None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Gillian Gordon, Senior Procurement Specialist, Corporate Procurement Unit, gillian.gordon@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 390 of 396
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Service Policy Board On: 13 June 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Contract Authorisation Report for the Provision of Phishing Prevention Software (Reference: RC-CPU-23-313) ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek the approval of the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to award a Contract for the Provision of Phishing Prevention Software to Softcat PLC. 1.2 The procurement exercise was conducted as a further competition in accordance with the Call-Off award procedure under the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework Agreement for Technology Products & Associated Services 2 RM6098 (“Framework”) Lot 3 (Software) (“Lot 3") and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts for an above Threshold Supplies Contract. 1.3 A Contract Strategy was approved by the Head of Digital, Transformation and Customer Services and Corporate Procurement Manager on 30 April 2024. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations It is recommended that the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board: Item 29 Page 391 of 396
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2.1 Authorises the Head of Corporate Governance to award the Contract for the Provision of Phishing Prevention Software to Softcat PLC, being a Call-Off Contract made under Lot 3 of the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework Agreement for Technology Products & Associated Services 2 RM6098, in accordance with the Framework Call-Off Award Procedure 2.2 Authorises the initial Contract Term of three years with the option to extend the Contract for a period of two years on two separate occasions. The proposed Call-Off Start Date is 8 July 2024 however, the actual date will be confirmed in the Order Form in accordance with the Framework Call-Off Award Procedure. 2.3 Authorises the maximum approved contract value of £667,284.43 (excluding VAT) for the full Call-Off Contract period, including any extensions (7 years in total). This includes fixed price of £254,457 (excluding VAT) for the initial 3-year term plus an 8% contingency per annum in each of the extension years (4 to 7). 2.4 Authorises the Core Terms of the Framework Agreement aggregate liability cap for this Contract which will not exceed the greater of £5 million or 150% of the Estimated Yearly Charges. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Whilst Microsoft security technologies filter out the majority of threats, cyber criminals recognise that Microsoft 365 (M365) is the most commonly used email and communications solution for businesses globally and have designed threats and campaigns designed to evade Microsoft’s detection capabilities. The attack formula has also changed. Whilst the volumetric, less sophisticated attacks were once the most common and are still prevalent, now far more concerning are advanced attacks that perimeter defences (by nature of design) are unable to stop e.g., Impersonation, Business Email Compromise, Supply Chain Compromise, Social Engineering or Zero-Day attacks. These attacks increase the threat of a human being unable to recognise a phishing attack and therefore triggering a wider attack such as those mentioned above which can result in further risks like ransomware. Ransomware could have a crippling impact on service delivery through e.g. loss of systems or access to data, data exfiltration, extortion, recovery costs and reputational damage to the Council. Page 392 of 396
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3.2 The Council seeks to award a contract for an Intelligent Email Security solution as a second layer of anti-phishing protection which currently or in future will have capability across the M365 suite to capture phishing attacks that are not trapped by M365 scans and enhance user education and awareness in real time. 3.3 A review of the procurement options identified that the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework Agreement Technology Products & Associated Services 2, RM6098 (“the Framework”) could be utilised. The procurement exercise for this Contract was conducted in accordance with the Call-Off Award Procedure as a further competition under Lot 3 of the Framework and in accordance with the procedures for use of a third-party framework under the Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts. 3.4 The further competition documentation was issued to all 43 Suppliers on Lot 3 of the Framework via the Public Contracts Scotland – Tender portal on 30 April 2024 with the submission deadline of 12 noon on 14 May 2024. One Supplier response was received in response to this further competition. Suppliers who failed to respond were approached for feedback and lack of capacity was the primary reason cited for not bidding. 3.5 The Supplier selection requirements contained in the SPD were already met at the Framework Award stage. 3.6 The Call-Off Tender received was evaluated against the further competition Award Criteria of 80% Quality and 20% Price. The score relative to the Award Criteria for the tender responses are noted below: Tenderers Name Quality Score (80%) Price Score (20%) Total Score (100%) Softcat PLC 62.75% 20% 82.75% 3.7 It is recommended that the Call-Off Contract under Lot 3 of the Framework, is awarded to Softcat PLC, who were the only Supplier to respond to the further competition and are deemed to have met all requirements. The Call-Off Contract will be formed in accordance with the Framework Award Procedure. 3.8 The cost for this Call-Off Contract will be funded by the ICT Revenue Budget. Page 393 of 396
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3.9 Community benefits were requested as part of the Further Competition Procedure and Softcat PLC have committed to deliver the following community benefits as part of this Call-Off Contract: Community Benefit Number of People/Activity Business advice/support to an SME /Social Enterprise/ Voluntary organisation 3 Event to promote supply chain opportunities 3 Non-financial support for a Social Enterprise within Renfrewshire 2 ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The maximum contract value is £667,284.76 for the full Contract duration, including all extension. This includes a fixed price of £84,825 per annum for the first three years (£254,457 in total) and the includes contingency for annual price increases during years 4-7 of up to 8%. The anticipated start date of the Contract is 8 July 2024. 2. HR & Organisational Development - No HR & Organisational development implications have arisen or are anticipated. 3. Community/Council Planning – Working together to improve outcomes – the outcome of this Contract will mitigate against the risk of the Council being unable to deliver services due to staff falling victim to cyber-attacks via spam email. 4. Legal - The procurement for this Contract was carried out in accordance with the further competition requirements under the CCS Framework Agreement for Technology Products & Associated Services 2, RM6098 Lot 3 and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts for a Supplies contract above GPA Threshold. 5. Property/Assets - The outcome of this Contract seeks to protect Council property and assets by mitigating against potential cyber- attacks. Page 394 of 396
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6. Information Technology - ICT Staff have been involved in this procurement exercise as the outcome of this Contract involves the implementation of new software that must be compatible with the Council’s current infrastructure and impacts the Council’s ability to enhance cyber-security. 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 - There are no health and safety implications associated with the award of this Contract. 9. Procurement – The procurement exercise was conducted in accordance with the Call-Off award procedure as a further competition under the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework Agreement for Technology Products and Associated Services 2, RM6098 Lot 3 (Software) and Renfrewshire Council’s Standing Orders Relating to Contracts. 10. Risk - The insurance cover held by Softcat PLC were assessed as part of their appointment on to the Framework. An aggregate liability cap which will not exceed the greater of £5 million or 150% of the Estimated Yearly Charges as per the conditions set out in the Core Terms of the Framework Agreement applicable to both the Framework and any Call-Off Contract made under it. 11. Privacy Impact – Softcat PLC is required to adhere to the Framework conditions and Call-Off terms which include provision for Data Protection which will be contained in Joint Schedule 11 - Processing Data of the Order From agreed between the parties 12. Cosla Policy Position – No Cosla Policy Position implications have arisen or are anticipated. 13. Climate Risk – The level of impact associated with provision of this service has been assessed using the Scottish Government Sustainability Test and is considered to be low risk. _________________________________________________________ Page 395 of 396
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List of Background Papers None ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Rachel Davison, Digital Category Manager, Corporate Procurement Unit, rachel.davison@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 396 of 396