Finance and Resources Service Improvement Plan Outturn Report 2024-25
Renfrewshire Council · 12 June 2025
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 12 June 2025 and its agenda
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 12 June 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Finance and Resources Service Improvement Plan Outturn Report 2024/25 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan 2024-27 was approved by the Finance, Resources & Customer Services Policy Board in June 2024. 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. 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 2024-27. An outturn report is included as an appendix to this report. 1.3 An updated Service Improvement Plan for 2025-28 is being presented to this Board for approval, aligned to the priorities of the 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 context that remains complex and fast-moving.
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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 and supporting the work of external audit; Implementing a leadership development programme for senior management; Continuing the revising of HR policies using friendly, inclusive language and tone; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Awareness is now one of the Council’s mandatory training modules and all employees are being supported and encouraged to complete the training, whether that be online or via face to face/toolbox talks; 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; Continuing the work with Council colleagues and partners the procurement service delivered a Meet the Buyers Renfrewshire event, supporting local businesses to bid for public sector contracts; The Business Case for Smart Social Assets has been completed with additional work now underway to develop complementary business cases that could further enhance the benefits of this approach; The Council’s new Digital Assistant “Millie” is answering 34% of all incoming calls and continually updated to improve the effectiveness of the service offered to customers; 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) Note the contents of this report;
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b) Note the progress to date on delivering the actions contained within the Finance & Resources Service Improvement Plan; c) Note 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 2024/25. 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 2025 to 2028 is also being presented to this Policy Board. 4. Key achievements in 2024/25 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, committee and elected member support; Project and programme management; Health and Safety advice and support; Legal and Information Governance advice;
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Accountancy and financial services; Internal audit Risk management. 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 with progress of Paisley Museum to move from Practical Completion of the building to an intense exhibition fit out and operational readiness process. 4.4 In 2024/25 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 will be developed to bring forward proposals to elected members. 4.5 Legal and Democratic Services successfully implemented the first phase of the Scottish Government’s new licensing regime for short-term lets. 4.6 The Business Case for Smart Social Assets is now complete with the service continuing to investigate potential national funding opportunities via strategic partners such as Commsworld, CityFibre etc. In addition to this, work is now underway to develop other business cases that would further supplement Smart Social Assets. Economy 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 in October 2024 for local construction companies, focusing on sub-contractor opportunities for two large Council building projects. Guidance for Purchases Under £25,000 was launched recommending at least 75% local Renfrewshire based suppliers are invited to the three quote process (where possible). A RenTalk on Understanding Procurement took place in January 2025 with over 250 Council staff in attendance.
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Fair 4.8 Finance and Resources have supported thousands of Renfrewshire families with the cost of living in 2024/25 through: Providing Discretionary Housing Payments to eligible residents who may be struggling with rent payments dealing with financial hardship and those who are affected by the benefit cap; Distributing the Scottish Welfare Fund, including an additional £617,000 of funding directly provided by the Scottish Government; Administering the application process for free school meals and school clothing grants for almost 7,000 children; Advice Works contacting 1,195 families enabling them to self-serve making a claim with 56 families responding and claims made on their behalf. 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. Two additional training courses are currently in development and it is anticipated these courses will be rolled out in 2025. Green 4.10 Work on the Green Print Strategy has progressed with the roll out of the new Canon devices now complete. The ‘Think Digital First’ approach will not only reduce print costs substantially but will contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions. The implementation project is now complete with benefits realisation work underway to monitor usage and reduce costs. Living our Values 4.11 The Purchase to Pay (P2P) programme is making good progress and should deliver efficiencies for making payments by the end of next year. Key work completed so far include the approval of the No Purchase Order, No Pay P2P Policy by the Finance, Resources, and Customer Services Policy Board in November 2024. 4.12 Implementation of the new Customer Strategy has included the development of a range of new neighbourhood services on the MyAccount platform with work now completed for Housing Benefit and Non Domestic Rates.
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The Council’s new Digital Assistant “Millie” answering 35% of all incoming calls and is continually updated to improve the effectiveness of the service offered to customers with future opportunities to expand the use of AI across the council being investigated. 4.13 A number of new or refreshed HR policies were approved this year written using friendly, inclusive language and tone. These include a new Administration of Medication and Medical Treatments Policy (April 2024), People, Performance and Wellbeing Policy (formerly People, Performance & Talent Policy) as well as the Revised Disciplinary Policy and Review of Records Management Policy (June 2024). Further policies brought to board for approval during 2024/25 included Data Protection Policy (September 2024), Counter Fraud & Corruption Policy and Renfrewshire Council No Purchase Order No Pay Policy (November 2024), Anti-Money Laundering Policy and Revised Parenting Leave and Pay Policy (February 2025). 4.15 The People and OD team continue to lead on workforce planning and innovation, supported by the Workforce Planning Group. This includes progressing key priorities of the People Strategy, taking forward the recommendations from the Best Value audit. The Workforce Planning Group is working collaboratively with the Head of People and OD to develop and implement a strategic approach to workforce planning and OD to establish new key priority areas over the next 5 years. A bi-annual report on our People Metrics was presented to FARS Board on 13 February 2025 for noting and monitoring. Improving Outcomes for Children and Young People 4.16 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. Promise Keepers training was delivered to officers within People and OD in February 2025 with three officers now trained. 5. Actions which have been delayed or cancelled 5.1 The action under Council Plan theme Place “Support our citizens to access affordable cross-tenure homes that are digitally enabled and meet community needs” wording has been changed to “Develop a business case for Smart Social Assets across Renfrewshire Council”, which better aligns with the funding to support the development of the Business Case.
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5.2 The procurement and introduction of “Millie”, an automated assistant has been completed meeting the requirements of our customers and providing a greater choice in how they interact with us for routine and transactional services. This new digital approach to incoming calls where all calls will be answered has led to the performance indicator “Customer Service Unit - % of calls answered” to be removed from the performance scorecard. Increasing use of AI, including Digital Assistants, have altered these processes such that this is no longer a useful measure. 5.3 The action “Develop a Community Wealth Building Plan for Renfrewshire” was previously a joint action shared with the Chief Executive’s service. From 2024/25, it has been led by the Chief Executive’s Service and features in their Service Improvement Plan only. 6. Progress against performance measures 6.1 Finance and Resources measured 23 performance indicators as part of the 2024/27 Service Improvement Plan. Of these, 14 are collected quarterly and 9 are annual. 6.2 In 2024/25, 10 indicators met or exceeded the target set, three narrowly missed the target set, one missed the target, one has been paused and eight are still to be updated. 6.3 Three 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 94.49% 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 97.22% collected in 2024/25. 6.4 The percentage of procurement spend with local suppliers has improved, but has not met the target. A programme of work to support local suppliers has been in place in recent years, and continues, but external factors and our duty to achieve best value for the Council impact this measure. 6.5 During 2024/25 93.6% of the audit plan was completed, exceeding 90% target. 6.6 The processing of housing benefits applications is once again exceeding target with the current average reported as 17.93, well within the target time of 24 days. Change of circumstances applications is also performing well with an average of 4.3 days against a target time of 10 days.
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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. 6.8 Complaints response times exceed targets – 91.9% of frontline complaints were dealt with within 5 days and 97.2% 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 5.3 days, on average; this is against a target of 28 days and is a further improvement over the same period for 2023/24. Invoice processing indicator has exceeded its target of 96% of all invoices to be processed with 30 days. Performance for 2024/25 was 97.83% this is also a further improvement from 2023/24 which was reported as 96.82%; the service received almost 275,000 invoices during 2024/25. 6.10 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 2024/25 will not be available until December 2025. In the period 2023-2024 Renfrewshire Council recorded direct spend of £56.4 million with businesses based Locally. This accounted for 19.58% of the Council’s total spend. A further 59.38% of our spend was with businesses located in bordering local authorities (Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire). 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.
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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. 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. Children’s Rights – this report is for noting and has no direct implications on children’s rights. 14. 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: Pamela McDonald, Policy Officer, pamela.mcdonald@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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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 2024 –27 Outturn Report 2024/25
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Outturn Report 2024/25 • 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 23 performance indicators, 9 which are reported annually and 14 reported quarterly. In this report, annual data is provided for 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 to show recent trends.
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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 Our procurement team continue to work with colleagues in Economic Development and with partner organisations to host ‘Meet the Buyer’ events, making local businesses aware of how to find out about, and bid for, public sector contracts. Council teams are also hosting supplier development events to support them in the tendering process. Our guidance on Contract Standing Orders now states that 75% of companies invited to Quick Quote should be Renfrewshire-based wherever possible. Just over 20% of Council procurement spend is with businesses registered in Renfrewshire, and we are seeking to increase this. A further 60% of our spend is with businesses registered in the bordering local authorities.
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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 An important element of our Green Print strategy is now in place, with the roll- out of new devices across the corporate and learning estate. The next phase will be about driving culture changes to minimise usage, carbon footprint and costs. Average time to process a Crisis Grant application is 2 days Average time to process a new housing benefit application is 17.93 days
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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 • Work to support employee wellbeing in 2024/25 has included the provision of specialist support, training and advice on gambling addiction, topic-specific training for our Mental Health First Aiders, the creation of new Menopause Forum for staff, and our recent accreditation as a Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Employer. 94.49% of Council Tax due in 2024/25 has been collected 91.9% of frontline complaints were responded to within five days The average time to pay invoices to small and medium sized businesses was 5.27 days
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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 November 2024
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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 Paisley Town Hall is now complete, the building has opened to the public and has hosted numerous successful events, includingthe Mod 2023. Paisley Learning & Cultural Hub is also complete and has been open to the public since 30 November 2023. Paisley Arts Centre is now complete with the first event held on 31 May 2024. Paisley Museum is expected to move from Practical Completion of the building during 2025 to an intense exhibition fit out andoperational readiness process. 31 March 2026 Support delivery of the Council’s infrastructure investment programme The aim of this target is that the Council is able to maintain a balanced budget by 31 March 2027 within the context of a challenging financial environment. This has so far been achieved for the first of the three financial years in scope. 31 March 2027Support delivery of the Council’s financial sustainability work The Service is successfully delivered services in relation to the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) , processing within target. The Service successfully supported the processing of Discretionary Housing Payments for Financial Hardship and customers affected by the Benefit Cap. 31 March 2027Delivering strong universal services to all Renfrewshire citizens As previously advised, the Council’s policy on Short Term Lets was agreed, the process for dealing with the applications established and the date for completion of the first phase of applications extended to 30 September 2024. 128 applications were received, thevast majority of which were received at or around the deadline. All application have now been considered and decided by officers or, where appropriate, by Elected Members on the Regulatory Functions Board. The introduction of the licensing scheme and the initial applications stage have now therefore been completed. Applications subsequently received for short-term let licences will be dealt with as business as usual. 30 September 2024 Implement the first phase of the Scottish Government’s new licensing regime for short-term lets
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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 Business Case for Smart Social Assets is now complete and has been shared internally within Renfrewshire Council and also with Glasgow City Region (GCR). The Council continues to investigate potential national funding opportunities via strategic partners such as Commsworld, CityFibre, etc. In addition, work is now underway with regards to the development of other stackable business cases that would supplement Smart Social Assets. 31 March 2025 Develop a business case for Smart Social Assets across Renfrewshire The General Services capital budget was approved on 29th February 2024, including £147.8m for delivery in 2024/25. Since then, projects have been reprofiled to other financial years and the revised budget is currently £97.4m (Period 10). To date, £63.8m has been spent, representing 66% of the revised budget. 31 March 2025 Deliver Renfrewshire’s strategic capital investment programmes, including cultural, infrastructure, housing and school estate, and maximise the long- term benefits for our communities.
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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 updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do Procurement and Economic Development delivered a Renfrewshire Anchor Meet the Buyer Event in October 2024 which was delivered in partnership with NHS greater Glasgow and Clyde, University of the West of Scotland, Scotland Excel, Scottish Enterprise and Business Gateway. This event focused on supporting local businesses to procure for public sector contracts, strengtheningthe local supply chain. In order to encourage potential Renfrewshire suppliers to access opportunities of all levels of spend, the event provided a 2 year look ahead on planned spend including the council’s quick quote opportunities. A PIN was published on Public Contracts Scotland to raise awareness of the event and to encourage more local businesses to register on PCS to enable them to search for opportunities to supply goods, works and services to the public sector. The event was a success with 114 businesses registered to attend. A survey was issued to all attendees at the end of the event and most participants said they hoped to bid for a contract in the future. The procurement team will exhibit at the Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce annual networking event “Renfrewshire connect”. The event will take place on 15 May 2025 and it is expected that 300/400 delegates will attend. In addition to this event, the procurement team will also exhibit at the National Meet the Buyer event on 4 June 2025. With support from Economic development and Supplier Development Programme, work continues to engage with local suppliers at market engagement stage of new Framework and Contract developments. A Supplier Development Programme event was delivered to provide tender training for Care at Home suppliers, Renfrewshire based organisations were in attendance. The aimof this action was to increase the number of local suppliers bidding for Council Framework opportunities. CSOs require a minimum of 75% local suppliers from the Renfrewshire area to be invited to Quick Quotes (where possible). We are aiming to invite Renfrewshire suppliers, where possible. A Quick Quote was issued inviting 100% local Renfrewshire suppliers to bid, this procurement targeted the local market and invited 10 local Renfrewshire suppliers to bid. The Interim Corporate Procurement Manager and Purchase to Pay –Programme Operational Lead delivered a RenTalkon Understanding Procurement. The event was a success with 266 Council staff in attendance. This event covered engaging local suppliers for below £25k procurements and also the Quick Quote process. Guidance for Purchased Under £25,000 was launched recently, this guidance recommends at least 75% local, Renfrewshire based suppliers are invited to the three quote process. 31 March 2025 Actively engage with Renfrewshire suppliers to increase the percentage of procurement spend This action was assigned to both Finance & Resources and Chief Executives service, from mid year this action will be moved toChief Executives SIP.31 March 2025 Develop a Community Wealth Building Plan for Renfrewshire
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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 The Council has developed and is about to launch new Trauma Informed training across the workforce. The training is aligned to the Scottish Government’s ‘Roadmap for creating trauma-informed and responsive change: Guidance for organisations, systems and workforces in Scotland’. 2 additional training courses are currently in development. One aimed at employees who are likely to be coming into contact with people who may have been affected by trauma, and the other is to support their managers. It is anticipated these training courses will be rolled out in 2025. We continue to embed trauma informed through our People & OD Policies, supporting guidance and processes. 31 March 2025 Engage and participate in trauma informed and responsive Renfrewshire programme Our teams successfully delivered services in relation to the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) , processing within target. We successfully supported the processing of Discretionary Housing Payments for Financial Hardship and customers affected by the Benefit Cap. Advice Works have completed all follow up requests from this year’s free school meals and clothing grant applications, and are currently working on an updated process to support the next round of applications which will launch in June of this year. 31 March 2025 Continue to support residents with the cost-of-living crisis through the provision of advice services, grants and other funding
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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 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 2025 Ensure that climate considerations are taken into account in our procurement strategies and tenders with a focus on reducing emissions The roll out of the new Canon devices across both the corporate and education estates is now complete. Work is underway to investigate options to address culture change e.g. banning the printing of emails. The Council is also investigating the use of different types of paper to reduce costs. 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
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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 Date The provisions of the new policy have been implemented. Managing Absence guidance has been updated to support the Policy. Revised training will be available to staff and managers in the coming months. 31 March 2025Embed the new Managing Absence Policy across the Council. Training for colleagues who are already mental health first aiders on how to support colleagues with specific types of mental health conditions was rolled out on 5th December –A conversation on Anxiety. Further sessions planned during 2025 will be delivered on Suicide, Depression, Self-Harm and Psychosis. We continue to raise awareness of menopause. An action plan of support based on findings from the Menopause Survey conducted in November 2024 will include further RenTalkson Supporting Menopause during February, toolbox talks on support for employees and managers and ‘Let’s Pause’ sessions, our virtual get-together. Council officers continue to work in collaboration with RCA Trust to provide colleagues with specialist support, training and advice on gambling addiction. ‘Bet you can help now’ training was rolled out during January and February, with focus groups consisting of line managers, People & OD and Trade Unions. We have recently been recognised as a Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland employer. Training will be rolled out to the Customer Contact Centre employees initially, to provide advice and signposting people to available facilities and Council locations outwithRenfrewshire House. This training will be recorded and developed as a module on iLearn for all employees. A Council website page is being created in the staff information section that will include guidance around reasonable adjustments etc. Wellbeing Support toolbox talks are being rolled out to line managers within HSCP and EH&I. This was also delivered during the Head Teachers meeting in February. 31 March 2025Embed the Wellbeing Strategy and support services to implement it. The Workforce Planning Group are progressing the key priorities of the People Strategy, taking forward the recommendations from the Best Value audit and will work collaboratively with the Head of People and OD on strategic approaches to workforce planning and OD to establish new key priority areas over the next 5 years. A bi- annual report on our People Metrics was presented to FARS Board on 13 February 2025 for noting and monitoring. 31 March 2027 Deliver a refreshed approach to workforce planning and workforce innovation.
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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 Date Launch of P2P Phase 1 and the Business World ERP. The go-live of P2P Phase 1 has been confirmed as end of September 2025. Mostof the work on requirements gathering has been completed. Data cleansing is taken place and the summer testing and training programme has been confirmed. Regular communications are being provided to CMT, requisitioners, suppliers and the wider staff group. 31 December 2025 Deliver the Purchase to Pay programme which will streamline payments and deliver a more efficient process We have exceeded our completion of the audit plan target by 3.6%. In order to achieve this we have concentrated as much as possible on operational work during the year as we have carried a vacancy for part of the year and had some unplanned leave during the year. This has resulted in us having to delay planned developmental work and some staff training until 2025/26. 31 March 2025Deliver the Internal Audit Plan for 2024/25.
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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 Housing Benefit and NDR changes have been completed on MyAccount, the team are now working on waste collection in conjunction with the new route optimisation system. Millie has settled well, and is answering 34% of all incoming calls and being continually updated to improve the effectiveness of the service offered to customers. We are now looking at future opportunities to expand the use of AI across the Council. 31 March 2026Implement the new Customer Strategy. The Council continues to invest in both technical and non-technical solutions to bolster cyber resilience. This includes a new phishing protection solution and mandatory cyber training course. This action is complete, however, there will always be a requirement to continually review this situation, as part of business as usual. 31 March 2025 Continue to implement a range of technical and non-technical measures to bolster our cyber resilience, protecting our digital assets The aim of this action is that the Council is able to maintain a balanced budget by 31 March 2027 within the context of a challenging financial environment. This has so far been achieved for the first of the three financial years in scope. 31 March 2027 Implement the next phase of transformation through the actions arising from the Council’s financial sustainability and improvement workstreams
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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 This update included key areas of progress including new and revised HR&OD Policies written using friendly, inclusive language and tone. The Council is embedding our economic development employability programmes throughout our recruitment processes ensuring barriers faced by employees and interns are removed. Recruitment, onboarding and pastoral support processes for overseas workers have been established, through participation in a Scottish Government pilot programme. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Awareness is now one of the Council’s mandatory training modules and all employees are being supported and encouraged to complete the training, whether that be online or via face to face/toolbox talks. Our workforce received communications throughout November to encourage them to update their personal equality monitoring information currently held by the Council. This will enable the Council under its statutory duty to ensure the most up to date information is held and policies/strategies, etc are meeting the needs of our people. The Council is currently revising its Equality & Diversity and Respect at Work Policies and associated training, with a view to implementing later in 2025. The 3 year Plan will continue to be implemented throughout 2025 and beyond. 31 March 2025 Continue to develop our approaches and activity in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, responding to the needs and views of our workforce
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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 –Children and Young People Progress updateStatusDue DateWhat we will do The Council will be creating a Care Experienced Staff Network similar to our established Carers Connected Forum, a network where others can input and share learned experiences and advice. We are currently considering a proposal to guarantee interviews for applicants identifying as care-experienced and meet essential criteria for roles. Evidence from other local authorities’ approaches has now been obtained, including assurances of risk mitigation. • Work placement and shadowing opportunities for care experienced young people across services. 31 March 2026 Contribute to the Council’s commitment to The Promise for all care experienced people
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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 Explanation of performance 2024/252023/242022/23Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue The Council planned the use of earmarked reserves to fund the budgeted deficit in 2023/24. Not applicabl e Not availablen/a43.2%n/a49.2% FINSUS1 Total useable reserves as a % of council annual budgeted revenue Minor reduction due to use of the Uncommitted Balance to fund emergency charity donations. Not applicabl e Not availablen/a2.2%n/a2.4% FINSUS2 Uncommitted General Fund Balance as a % of council annual budgeted net revenue Marginal increase due to the impact of interest rates over the year; expected to continue over the next 12 months. 3.47%Not available3.47%3.13%3.47%3% FINSUS3 Ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream -General Fund Principal loan repayments from the HRA loans fund was also lower in 2023-24 due to older debt being fully paid off in 2022-23. 28.59%Not available28.59%27.7%28.59%32.5% FINSUS4 Ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream -Housing Revenue Account Indicator over 100 here shows an overspend against budget. In 23/24 this was due to a number of inflationary factors, including pay and fuel, and increased cost of children’s residential care. The council is expected to overspend in 24/25 owing to HSCP pressures. 100%Not available100%100.59%100%101.7% FINSUS5 Actual outturn as a percentage of budgeted expenditure
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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 2024/252023/242022/23Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue In the period 2023-2024 Renfrewshire Council recorded direct spend of £56.4 million with businesses based Locally. A further 59.38% of our spend was with businesses located in bordering local authorities (Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire). The update to our Standing Orders Relating to Contracts in June 2023 included increasing the threshold for the use of Quick Quote for Works contracts up to £500,000 with a requirement that where possible, a minimum of 75% local businesses should be invited to quote. In 2024, a Quick Quote was issued inviting 100% local Renfrewshire suppliers to bid, this procurement targeted the local market and invited 10 local Renfrewshire suppliers to bid. In addition, to increase engagement with local suppliers for below £25k procurements and also the Quick Quote process the Interim Corporate Procurement Manager and Purchase to Pay –Programme Operational Lead delivered a RenTalkon Understanding Procurement. The event was a success with 266 Council staff in attendance. Guidance for Purchased Under £25,000 was launched recently, this guidance also recommends at least 75% local, Renfrewshire based suppliers are invited to the three quote process. 23%n/a23%20.15 %23%19.3% % of procurement spend spent on local enterprises
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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 2024/252023/242022/23Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue Processing speed for New Claims was well within target for 2024/25.2417.932418.992438.51 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 2024/25.104.3108.081014.35 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 2024/25 was within the 2 day target. 222222 Average speed of processing a Crisis Grant (Scottish Welfare Fund) in days
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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 2024/252023/242022/23Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue Processing speed for Community Care Grants was well within target for 2024/25.151015101513 Average speed of processing a Community Care Grant (Scottish Welfare Fund) in days Training has not yet been rolled out to all staff and this indicator is cancelled for 2024/25.NEW Percentage of Finance and Resources staff completing Level 1 Trauma Informed training
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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 Explanation of performance Q2 2024/252024/252023/242022/23Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValueTargetValue This is a new indicator. Baseline data will be collected in the second half of 2024/25 once the roll-out of equipment is complete. NEW Print volume –number of pages printed by council services
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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 2024/252023/242022/23Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue 2024/25 Data not currently available 11.5Not available11.5811.57.97 Cost of collecting council tax per chargeable dwelling Council Tax collection for 2024/25 was up by 0.21% on the 2023/24 position. 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%94.49%96%94.28%96%95.31% Percentage of Council Tax due in the year, collected by the end of the year (cumulative position to date) Follow up continues to be run each month. Both the current year and previous years' collection is monitored. 97.27%97.12%97.27%97.19%97.27%97.21% Percentage of income due from Council Tax for prior years (cumulative position to date) Business rates collection levels for 2024/25 are up by 0.27% from the 2023/24 position. 98%97.22%98%96.95%98%95.67% Percentage of Non Domestic Rates due in the year, collected by the end of the year (cumulative to date)
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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 2024/252023/242022/23Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue 493 Complaints were received in total during 2024/25. 453 have been completed within timescale, 33 completed outwithtimescale and a further 7 are still being followed up outwith timescale. Target has been achieved for this annual reporting period. 85%91.9%85%86.6%85%86.6%F&R Front Line complaints (Cumulative) During 2024/25, Finance & Resources received 141 Investigation complaints of which 137 were been completed within the required timescale (20 days) and 3 cases completed outwith timescale, while one case is still being completed. Target has been achieved for the reporting period. 85%97.16%85%94%85%84.9% Total % of investigation (Stage 2) complaints responded to within targets by Finance & Resources (cumulative to date) During 2024/25 a total of 274,106 invoices were received of which 268,165 were processed within 30 days. Performance has met target for the reporting year. 96%97.83%96%96.82%96%90.21% Number of invoices paid within 30 days of receipt, as a percentage of all invoices paid council wide (cumulative) At the end of 2024/25 (01/04/24 –15/04/25) 118,672 SME invoices were received of which 115,018 were processed within 28 days with the average days to process an invoice reported at 5.27 days -an improvement of 2.23 days over the reporting period for 2023/24. Target has been achieved for this reporting period. 285.27287.52813.06 Average days Small and Medium sized businesses invoices paid
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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 2024/252023/242022/23Long term trend Short term trend Current StatusIndicator TargetValueTargetValueTargetValue There were 402 single service FOIs dealt with by FAR in 2024/25 of which 375 were completed within timescale. 90%93%100%89.6%100%97.2% % of Finance and Resources FOI requests completed within timescale We have exceeded our completion of the audit plan target by 3.6%. In order to achieve this we have concentrated as much as possible on operational work during the year as we have carried a vacancy for part of the year and had some unplanned leave during the year. This has resulted in having to delay planned developmental work and some staff training until 2025/26. 90%93.6%95%92%95%93.2%Percentage of Audit Plan completed (cumulative) Annual figure not yet available.8.5Not available8.58.98.58.95 Average number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee (F&R) (FTE)
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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 2024 –27 Outturn Report June 2025 For more information, please contact: policycefar@renfrewshire.gov.uk