CE SIP Outturn
Renfrewshire Council · 12 June 2025
Back to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board — 12 June 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board On: 12 June 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Chief Executive’s Service - Service Improvement Plan Outturn Report 2024-2027 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Chief Executive’s Service Improvement Plan 2024-27 was approved by the Finance, Resources & Customer Services Policy Board in September 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. 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 2024/25. 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. 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 continue to be subject to risk and uncertainty and both households and organisations
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continue to experience cost pressures and supply issues, and this is likely to remain case for some time to come. The Council has also been subject to considerable external scrutiny in the last 12 months including: a joint inspection of services for children and young people at risk of harm in Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership; a joint inspection of adult support and protection; a full Best Value audit. These require considerable resource from across Council services to support. 1.5 More detail of achievements is given in Section 4 but the list below notes some key highlights: • Completion of new Renfrew-Yoker bridge; • Launch of phase 2 of our Local Partnerships work – Local Plans, Local Priorities and Local Voices; • Progress with the regeneration of our town centres, including the commissioning of new designs for civic space in Johnstone and Erskine; • Announcement of another new occupier – OMICE – at the AMIDS site; • Delivery of another successful events programme which attracted over 108,000 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; • Support for local businesses to reduce carbon emissions and work towards Net Zero; • Delivery of an innovative new Cultural Assurance Model to support the organisation in continuous improvement; • Delivery of a new Consultation and Engagement Strategy; • 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 note: a) the contents of this report; b) the progress to date on delivering the actions contained within the Chief Executive’s Service Improvement Plan; c) the current performance of the service as measured by the scorecard indicators. 3. Background
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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. 3.5 As part of our approach this year, we carried out direct employment engagement on the development of the SIP, as well as using findings from the employee wellbeing survey and Cultural Assurance Model and the discussions from our Staff Forum to inform new actions. This will be part of our approach in the future, as part of our commitment to living the Council’s Values. 4. Key achievements in 2024/25 4.1 Specific achievements in relation to the Service Improvement Plan are highlighted below. Place 4.2 A further milestone in the Cultural Infrastructure programme was reached in the summer of 2024 with the reopening of Paisley Arts Centre after a major refurbishment. Work on Paisley Museum is ongoing with the building due to be handed over for fit-out work later this year.
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4.3 The Council continues to work with owners of prominent buildings in our town centres to identify opportunities for regeneration. Recent investments have included the Liberal Club, St Matthew’s Church and County Place in Paisley. Other town centre work includes current work on designs for civic squares in Erskine and Johnstone. The Retail Improvement Scheme has run again, giving business owners across Renfrewshire the opportunity to access funding to upgrade their shopfronts. An additional £500,000 has been allocated from the Council budget to support town centre regeneration with a focus on significant buildings where redevelopment has stalled for investment or viability reasons. 4.4 The Historic Buildings in Villages grant scheme has been opened, and owners of buildings built before 1945 can apply to the Regeneration team for funding to plan and carry out repairs. The scheme has proved very popular and is already over-subscribed in its first year and officers will continue to look for funding streams which can fund further grants. 4.5 An extensive programme of refurbishment and upgrading of sports facilities was completed in 2024. The work included refurbishing of changing facilities at Ferguslie Sports Centre and at St James’ Playing Fields, bringing four more pitches into use and St James’, and opening a new running track at On-X in Linwood. The new track is a partnership with Kilbarchan Amateur Athletic Club and meets World Athletics accreditation standard. 4.6 Work is currently underway on a new Local Development Plan; this must follow a statutory process and the current focus is on preparing the Evidence Report, which went out for consultation in March and April 2025. 4.7 A new Events Strategy covering 2025-2028 was approved in February 2025, and was developed following considerable stakeholder engagement through an online survey, focus groups and consultation with the Lived Experience Panel. Businesses, residents, and cultural and community groups all had opportunities to contribute. The strategy sets out a clear focus on events that are unique to our place, events that are good for business, and events that are considered and open to all. The 2025 events programme launched on 25 April with the Paisley Food and Drink Festival. 4.8 To align with the conclusion of Future Paisley, an independent review of the Paisley Is brand was carried out during 2024. The evaluation found that the brand had contributed to improved perceptions of Paisley and Renfrewshire but had not resonated as much with those who did not live or work in Paisley. There is now an opportunity to widen reach by moving to a Visit Renfrewshire brand, which can align with work on inward investment and on tourism. This work will be undertaken by the Marketing and Communications Service before
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it is developed by the Economy and Development service as part of the Tourism Action Plan 4.9 The Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) recently opened its latest round of applications, and in 2025/26, local organisations will also be able to bid for multi-year funding through the new Cultural Organisations Fund. This has been developed following a detailed review of funding arrangements in 2024/25 which included stakeholder consultation and engagement with the cultural sector. 4.10 Our new Local Plans, Local Priorities and Local Voices programme has resulted in a refresh of our Local Parnterships, who have reviewed local priorities and have now awarded grants for 2025/26 to community groups and organisations to support delivery of these priorities. 4.11 Work has continued on the development of the Connected Communities. Phase 1 has brought together the Community Learning and Development team with the Partnerships and Inequalities team; a new service structure has been agreed and the management team has been recruited. The management team are now progressing the remainder of the internal restructure. 4.12 New guidance for the Sustainable Communities Fund and the Villages Investment Fund was agreed by the Leadership Board in February 2025, following a review of the guidance for both funds over the winter of 2024/25. As well as some process changes, the guidance for Sustainable Communities has clarified the assessment criteria and put a clearer emphasis on the role of the fund in supporting the development of physical local assets and infrastructure. There has been similar clarification in the guidance for the Villages Investment Fund. Economy 4.13 The new road bridge between Renfrew and Yoker opened to the public on 9 May 2025, and improvements to the surrounding roads have created a new active travel route which links to Yoker train station and the national cycling network. Part of the Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside Project, the Renfrew Bridge is the first opening road bridge across the River Clyde and connects Renfrew with Clydebank and Yoker. It opens to allow river traffic to travel along the Clyde, which provides economic and river access opportunities to the Glasgow City Region, Scotland, and beyond. 4.14 The AMIDS joint venture is progressing well and in December 2024, another major occupier was announced. Ground has been broken for CPI’s
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Oligonucleotide Manufacturing Innovation Centre (OMICE); CPI already operate the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre on the AMIDS site. Work is also continuing on the Tech Terrace development. 4.15 A “Community Wealth Building in Renfrewshire” report was approved by the Economy and Regeneration Policy Board in March 2025. The report set out the aims and principles of a community wealth building approach and how this will be progressed in Renfrewshire across the five pillars of inclusive ownership, finance, workforce, spending and land and property. The local approach is already reflected in the Council Plan, the Procurement Strategy, and the Community Learning and Development Plan, as well as in ongoing activity through support for local business and the Renfrewshire Community Benefits Forum. A Renfrewshire Community Wealth Building Conference is being planned for Autumn 2025. 4.16 Employability services remain a key focus of the Economy and Development Team. At the end of 2024/25, the service was supporting over 1900 people, including over 1400 registered during that year. There were 662 people supported to gain qualifications in the year, and almost 500 moved into paid employment. The Council has also created trainee-type posts and this year recruited 45 people into these. Fair 4.17 During 24/25, officers continued to work with partners to progress the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme, ensuring that residents and communities are able to benefit from targeted advice and support, particularly in relation to the ongoing cost of living crisis. This has included the establishment of new schools and family advice provision, pension credit take up campaigns, and support for the ongoing work programme of the Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel, which continues to go from strength to strength. 4.18 Additional funding has been awarded by the Leadership Board to support community development activity in Gallowhill, as part of our place-based approach to tackling child poverty. This will support the delivery of actions identified through the community needs assessment and help the continued expansion of community-led activity in the area. 4.19 Successful programmes for both Summer of Fun and Winter Connections ran in 2024/25. Summer of Fun allocated £60,000 of funding to 21 organisations to deliver free activities over the school summer holidays including toddler play sessions, sports, arts and crafts and day trips to visitor attractions. This was in addition to a full programme delivered by Community Learning and Development which included the provision of a healthy meal alongside a
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‘summer camp’. Our Winter Connections programme this year allocated £75,000 to 42 different organisations and groups to run activities and, where possible, provide hot drinks and snacks. 4.20 The Fair Food Renfrewshire (FFR) Steering Group has established a Food Support Forum as an opportunity to collaborate on identifying and solving issues relating to food insecurity, and identify key priorities for the group to tackle. The national Good Food Plan is currently being updated and thereafter the Council will develop its own Food Strategy to reflect new statutory duties. 4.21 In June 2024, Leadership Board allocated up to £300,000 over three years for the provision of support to people in Renfrewshire affected by a head injury. To assist with the development of a service specification, engagement sessions with people affected and with practiioners working in that area were held. This informed the service specification and following a tendering process, Quarriers were awarded the contract. Green 4.22 Engagement continues with businesses who are interested in progressing towards Net Zero. In 2024/25, the Council has worked with Paisley First to bid for the Ditching Disposables project, which will roll-out a reusable cup scheme in the coming months, supporting the reduction of single-use cups and reducing area-wide carbon emissions. The Council also held a Green Business Network event to provide local businesses with information on available net zero support. In 2024/25, more than 200 businesses engaged with us on Net Zero, and several have taken up our offer of a carbon baseline assessment to find opportunities to reduce their business emissions. 4.23 Team Up to Clean Up remains successful, and the popularity of the work is demonstrated through its increased reach on social media. Our Winter Warriors sub-campaign saw winter maintenance kits distributed to groups, and our annual Big Spring Clean took place in April and May. The Environmental Taskforce is also supporting communities, working with them to identify those responsible for flytipping, as well as acting to remove flytipped items and regularly patrol known hotspots. Living our Values 4.24 Support for the Council’s Best Value Audit has been a priority for the service in 2024/25. This has entailed considerable engagement with auditors and the collation of an evidence bank to support the audit team with the work. This ran alongside work on the annual thematic review which Audit Scotland
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undertake (on the theme of transformation in 2024/25) and follow-up work on the Section 102 reports from January and August 2024. As noted above, staff across the service and wider council also supported external scrutiny in other areas of business. 4.25 In December 2024, Renfrewshire Council launched an innovative new approach to self-assessment focused on organisational culture, known as Renfrewshire’s Cultural Assurance Model (CAM). The CAM was first of its kind within the Scottish public sector and was developed in partnership with the Improvement Service and based on the Public Service Improvement Framework. The first phase of the assessment involved a survey element for participants which was completed in early 2025, the results were analysed by Council and Improvement Service officers in advance of a series of workshops which took place in late February and early March. The findings were very encouraging, with respondents reflecting on a very positive organisational culture alongside some constructive areas for improvement to explore further. Five key actions were developed by CMT and have been added to the Council’s overall Corporate Improvement Plan. 4.26 A new Consultation and Engagement Strategy was also approved in February 2025 and sets out standards and guidance for planning, conducting and learning from public engagement. It is intended to support greater consistency in the approach to public engagement, to promote data-sharing across the Council, and to help build trust with communities and other stakeholders. A newly-established Consultation and Engagement Co-ordination Group will provide strategic oversight and guidance, and approve all Council consultation and engagement activity. Updates will be provided to the Leadership Board on a six-monthly basis. 4.27 The Digital Experience Programme is progressing well, and new content for our highest-demand areas of the Council website has been completed. The team have undertaken user testing with local residents through our Lived Experience Panel and with service users of the STAR project, and feedback has been positive on the ease of use and clarity of information. The project remains on track to deliver the first phase of the new website by the end of June. 4.28 Work continues on the review of data analytics, aligned to the Data Strategy and the work of the Data Advisory Group. The Council’s contract with our Geographical Information System (GIS) supplier was due to be renewed by 1 April 2025 so the focus of this workstream in 2024/25 was on reviewing our organisational requirements and understanding the potential to align this with
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our future delivery model. A new contract has been in place since 1 April 2025. 4.29 Following the Employee Survey carried out in late 2024, the Service has been considering the findings. Our 2025-2028 Service Improvement Plan includes actions on addressing these through further engagement with our people working across the service . Improving Outcomes for Children and Young People 4.30 The final year of Future Paisley provided more opportunities for children and young people to participate in cultural activities. The Creative Learning Studio which accompanied the Jupiter + Paisley installation engaged 650 secondary school learners through 39 workshops as well as providing continuous professional development sessions for nursery and primary teachers. The Jupiter + project also offered employment opportunities for 15 young people through its mentoring programme. The partnership between Castlehead High School and Glasgow School of Art, funded by Future Paisley, continues to deliver benefits across the school. In 2024, the school was confirmed as one of four UK schools to take part in a pilot project ‘Giving Hope: Education, Art and Human Virtues’ which provided each school with €3,000 to work with 8-10 pupils on an artistic response to the word ‘hope’. 4.31 The Connected Communities team continue to provide considerable support to the Promise work programme in Renfrewshire. This includes supporting the Promise Champs group, delivering a range of events and projects which support care experienced young people and co-ordinating the very successful Promise Present Drive at Christmas . Staff from across the Chief Executive’s service have completed the training to become Promise Keepers, showing their commitment to support this agenda through their role. 5 Actions which have been delayed or cancelled 5.1 The due date for the completion of the data review, which had an end date of March 2025, has been moved to December 2025. This is to reflect the additional work required (and noted in 4.24 above) to put in place the new contract for the Council-wide GIS system. 6 Progress against performance measures
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6.1 The Chief Executive’s Service measured 36 performance indicators as part of the 2024/27 Service Improvement Plan, of which 33 have a target. 6.2 In 2024/25, for those with targets, 22 indicators met or exceeded the target set, 3 narrowly missed the target set, 7 missed their target by 10% or more and 1 indicator is still to be updated. 6.3 Fundraising for the Paisley Museum Capital Appeal has slowed in line with projections established during the programme, with a small number of donations scheduled. In all, the fundraising work raised £1.57m against a target of £1.5m. This indicator will not be collected in future years. 6.4 Although still behind target, there has been further improvement in the time taken to issue building warrants, due to a process change to avoid outstanding warrants remaining in the system for long periods. Performance has improved from an average of 104 days in 2023/24 to an average of 78.2 days in 2024/25; the target is 60 days. There has also been an improvement in the percentage of building warrants and amendments issued within 10 days, which is 84.5% against a target of 90%. 6.5 The average time to complete planning applications was 11 weeks in 2024/25, against a target of 8 weeks. This indicator continues to be impacted by a number of legacy applications which the team are working through. 6.6 Indicators relating to our events programme continue to perform well. Over 108,000 people attended our events and over 3.500 local people had an opportunity to participate in our events programme, and 88.8% of those surveyed said that these events made them feel proud of their hometown. The number of volunteering hours which supported the events programme was 327 in 2024/25, almost double the target of 180 hours. 6.7 Employability support is another area where performance is exceeding our targets. In 2024/25, the employability programme supported 1,420 people overall, against a target of 1,100. This included 622 people who were supported to gain a qualification, and 491 who were supported into paid employment. The service regularly surveys those who have moved into paid work and of those who responded, 288 were still in paid work after six months. The Council also created 45 trainee posts for unemployed people. 6.8 Our adult and family learning programme offers 48 different sessions each week, and in 2024/25 reached over 1500 learners, against our target of 880. Sessions offered include English for Speakers of Other Languages, digital beginner classes, and classes on confidence-building and wellbeing. Our Youth Services work reaches over 6,000 young people through weekly
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sessions, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, residential and community based events. 6.9 Performance in relation to frontline complaints has improved, with 66.3% responded to within five working days compared with 35.7% the previous year. However, this is still behind our target of 85%. Following an audit of complaints handling in October 2024, recommendations have been made to each service area and this has resulted in considerable improvements in the final quarter of the year, though due to very low volumes the percentage does not reflect this (2 late from 9 received). For investigation complaints, which should be completed within 20 working days, performance is 100%. 6.10 Performance for responding to Freedom of Information requests narrowly missed the target. The service received 106 single-service enquiries in 2024/25 and responded to 101 within 20 days, resulting in performance of 95% against a target of 100% compliance. There is a trend towards more and increasingly complex enquiries being received. 6.11 Engagement with the Council’s digital channels increased from 72,847 people in 2023/24 to 76, 107 people in 2024/25 and work continues to grow engagement with communities online. The council also moved to Bluesky in January 2025. 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 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.
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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. Children’s Rights – none, but the plan notes actions relating to improving outcomes for children and young people. 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: Lisa Fingland, Policy Manager, lisa.fingland@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 Chief Executive’s Service Service Improvement Plan 2024 -25 Outturn Report June 2025
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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 2024/25 • 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 35 performance indicators of which 8 which are reported annually, and the remainder reported quarterly. This report provides annual data for the last three years to give an indication of trends.
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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 Following an extensive research and engagement, including a survey and follow up workshops, our new Events Strategy for 2025- 2028 has been published and the programme for 2025 started with the Paisley Food and Drink Festival and will conclude in November and December with Christmas lights switch-ons and Paisley’s Christmas. In 2024/25, works were completed on the new Renfrew-Yoker bridge and extensive testing carried out. The bridge provides a new connection to the AMIDS site as well as offering new active travel routes across the Clyde. It opened to the public in May 2025. An extensive programme of refurbishment and upgrading of sports facilities was completed in 2024. The work included refurbishing of changing facilities at Ferguslie Sports Centre and at St James’ Playing Fields, bringing four more pitches into use and St James’, and opening a new running track at On-X in Linwood. The new track is a partnership with Kilbarchan Amateur Athletic Club and meets World Athletics accreditation standard.
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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 Another state-of-the-art facility at the AMIDS site has been announced, with ground-breaking taking place in December 2024. CPI, who already operate the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, are establishing the Oligonucleotides Manufacturing Innovation Centre of Excellence to develop potentially life- saving new therapies for otherwise untreatable diseases. 382 local businesses securing growth support, training or grants from the Renfrewshire Council Business Team 45 new participants have started in trainee type posts with Renfrewshire Council this year. 265 new business start-ups in Renfrewshire with Business Gateway support
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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 Our Schools Advice Service continues to operate in all of our secondary schools, including our ASN provision. Advice staff are embedded within schools, and families can self-refer and book appointments online. In this school year so far, the service has helped 92 people; benefits queries and housing concerns have been the main issues dealt with. Supporting people to access all the benefits they are entitled to has generated over £195,000 in additional income for 54 families in the year to date. Successful programmes for both Summer of Fun and Winter Connections ran in 2024/25. Summer of Fun allocated £60,000 of funding to 21 organisations to deliver free activities over the school summer holidays including toddler play sessions, sports, arts and crafts and day trips to visitor attractions. This was in addition to a full programme delivered by Community Learning and Development which included the provision of a healthy meal alongside a ‘summer camp’. Our Winter Connections programme this year allocated £75,000 to 42 different organisations and groups to run activities and, where possible, provide hot drinks and snacks.
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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 . More than 200 local businesses have now engaged with us on Net Zero initiatives, with several taking up the offer of a carbon baseline assessment to help them identify opportunities to reduce emissions. We have also worked with Paisley First BID and will be rolling out a reusable cup scheme in the coming months. 233 local businesses working with the Council to progress the Net Zero agenda 7,500 members of the Team Up to Clean Up Facebook Community 1,483 visits by Environmental Taskforce to flytipping hotspots
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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 Our Digital Experience Programme is progressing well, with new content for the highest-demand areas of the Council website now completed. The team have undertaken user testing with local residents and the feedback on ease of use and clarity of information has been positive. The programme remains on track to deliver the first phase of renfrewshire.gov.uk this summer. We launched an innovative new approach to corporate self-assessment in 2024/25, focused on organisational culture. Our Cultural Assurance Model is the first of its kind in Scotland and was developed in partnership with the Improvement Service. It has already identified very positive aspects of our culture as well as some areas for improvement that will now be progressed. The Council recently participated in a Best Value Audit - the findings of this will be considered and will influence future phases of self-assessment and also any additional actions for the Corporate Improvement Plan. Over 451 million opportunities to see or hear something positive about Renfrewshire Council activity 76,107 people engaging with the Council’s digital channels (not including website).
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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 The Promise Champs group has been active in planning and designing community-based activities and events for other care-experienced young people. They delivered the Promise Present Drive in Christmas 2024, and through the generosity of community members, workers, and local organisations 211 parcels were received and benefited 304 young people. The final year of Future Paisley provided more opportunities for children and young people to participate in cultural activities. The Creative Learning Studio which accompanied the Jupiter + Paisley installation engaged 650 secondary school learners through 39 workshops as well as providing continuous professional development sessions for nursery and primary teachers. The Jupiter + project also offered employment opportunities for 15 young people through its mentoring programme. The partnership between Castlehead High School and Glasgow School of Art, funded by Future Paisley, continues to deliver benefits across the school. In 2024, the school was confirmed as one of four UK schools to take part in a pilot project ‘Giving Hope: Education, Art and Human Virtues’ which provided each school with €3,000 to work with 8-10 pupils on an artistic response to the word ‘hope’.
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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 CE SIP 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 Plan – Place Action Due Status Progress update Deliver Renfrewshire’s Cultural Infrastructure Investment Programme 31 Jul 25 Museum ongoing (Council managing construction phase and operational readiness and fitout being delivered by OneRen). Other CI projects now all complete Launch of second phase of the Local Partnerships through our new Local Plans, Local Priorities and Local Voices programme 31 Mar 25 The final round of Local Partnership meetings for 2024/25 took place in February 2025. All Local Partnerships have now finalised their local priorities following the review of the previously agreed local priorities in autumn/winter 2024/25. Local Partnerships continued to receive presentations on subjects relevant to each area, specifically Civil Contingencies (Gleniffer and Johnstone & Linwood), the refresh of the Villages Investment Fund (The Villages) and Winter Connections (Paisley North West and Central). Erskine, Inchinnan, Bishopton and Langbank Local Partnership also received an update on the development of Renfrewshire Community Transport. Young people’s representatives have now been nominated for Paisley North West and Central Local Partnership and an induction programme has been agreed. New arrangements were agreed for community members of Local Partnerships to claim expenses, which will simplify this process. Applications for Local Partnership funding for 2025/26 were invited from 10 February to 16 March 2025. Over 130 applications for funding were received, to be presented to the April/May 2025 round of Local Partnership meetings. Preparation for the 2025/26 Celebrating Renfrewshire Priority Budgeting exercise to take place during spring/early summer 2025 has also been undertaken.
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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 Proactively work with property owners to bring some of the area’s most valued assets back into use 31 Mar 27 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 in 2024. Its aim is to reduce the number of commercial vacancies within Renfrewshire’s town centres. Recently grant funding has been approved to help move a greengrocer to a new unit in Paisley town centre. The Regeneration Team is currently managing another tranche of the successful Retail Improvement Scheme, which allows shop owners to upgrade their shopfronts. The scheme has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds into commercial properties across Renfrewshire. It is hoped that in some cases the scheme will act as a catalyst for some prospective businesses to invest in the area. The Regeneration Team 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, thereby enhancing the look and vibrancy of Renfrewshire’s villages. The scheme has proved to be extremely popular with it being oversubscribed in its first run. Officers have received funding to have another run of the scheme in 25/26. The service has also received council motion funding for £0.5m which aims to address a key barrier to progress: market conditions that prevent the redevelopment of significant town centre buildings or sites. Officers will work with owners in getting vacant buildings back into use.
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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 27 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 developing a new Vision for Johnstone which looks to improve the town centre, enhance public spaces, and support local businesses to create a more vibrant and sustainable community. Another commission for Erskine has been completed to develop potential proposals to make public spaces and greenspaces more appealing as part of a review of the Centre Strategy for Erskine and short, medium and long-term actions have been identified. Consultants have been commissioned to develop more detailed designs for a new civic square in the town centre. Going forward, the team have commissioned further feasibility work in Johnstone, focusing specifically on the two civic squares, the re-imagining of the Town Hall, and the development of a heritage trail. Consultants have been appointed to prepare a landscape framework for enhancements in the Linwood Lade area, immediately south of the town centre. In Renfrew, a consultant has been commissioned to produce detailed designs for the re-use of the former BI site as a new community space. 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 Arts Centre and the creation of a new Culture and Learning Hub on the High Street. The other major project is the restoration of the Paisley Museum which is due to be completed next year. A new wayfinding strategy for Paisley has also been developed. The publication of the Paisley Vision document acts 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, has recently been renovated, securing its long-term status. Discussions are still ongoing with the owner of the Paisley Centre and its potential mixed-use regeneration. Overall, the team will continue to bring forward regeneration proposals across our town centres. Develop and consult on a new Renfrewshire events strategy and implement a revised event delivery model. 31 Mar 25 An engagement programme was delivered through September and October 2024 via an online survey to assess current strategic priorities, support for the programme and the appetite for cultural and community involvement. The survey was shared widely with key stakeholder groups including the cultural sector and local audiences, it generated 778 responses and was followed by four focus groups to enable in-depth conversations with residents, cultural and community groups, businesses and the Lived Experience panel. The new council events strategy has been produced for 2025-28 informed by the finding of this research, evaluation of Future Paisley, five-years of event programme evaluations and assessment of EventScotland’s new National Events Strategy. The strategy was agreed in February 2025 and this action is complete.
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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 Local Housing Strategy 2022- 27 31 Mar 28 The 2023-2028 Local Housing Strategy was approved in October 2023. The first annual review and progress update was reported to the Communities and Housing Policy Board on 29th October 2024, advising on progress across the 5 strategic priorities and 42 actions. Deliver the Local Development Plan, the 10 year spatial strategy for Renfrewshire 31 Mar 27 Work has commenced on the preparation of a new Local Development Plan for Renfrewshire (LDP3). Preparation of the plan follows a statutory process. Current work is focused on gathering evidence for inclusion in the Evidence Report and early engagement. The 2024 Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement was approved at Planning and Climate Change Policy Board on 5 November 2024 indicating the new Local Development Plan will be adopted in December 2027. A consultation on the draft Evidence Report was launched on 20 March 2025 and ran until 30 April 2025. Design a new Connected Communities service model for the Council – implementing a new service structure and developing the corporate approach for the whole organisation 31 Dec 26 Work has been progressed to develop a new Connected Communities function within the Chief Executive’s Service which will bring together staff from the existing Community Learning and Development and Partnership and Inequalities teams. Phase one of this work which focuses on the enabling internal restructure is progressing, with the new service structure agreed and communicated. The Connected Communities Management Team now recruited and in place, and progressing recruitment processes for the rest of the new service. Deliver Renfrewshire’s Strategic Housing Investment Programme in partnership with other housing providers in Renfrewshire 31 Mar 29 196 social rented homes were delivered on Strategic Housing Investment Plan sites in 2023/24. 2024/25 completions will be available in Q1 2025/26. 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. Following a period of consultation, the Renfrewshire Strategic Housing Investment Plan 2025-2030 was approved by the Communities and Housing Policy Board on 29th October 2024 and was thereafter submitted to the Scottish Government. The 2026-2031 SHIP will be submitted as a draft to the August Communities and Housing Policy Board seeking approval to publish for consultation purposes.
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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 and implement a new Engagement Policy to support council services deliver a consistent, authentic approach to engagement and consultation and to encourage residents to shape decision-making 31 Mar 25 This action is complete. A new policy (with additional checklist and toolkit) and Terms of Reference for an officer-led engagement oversight group has been produced, responding to service engagement and feedback and national best practice guidance. The Policy was agreed in February 2025 and work is now underway on an implementation plan. Deliver a new annual resident survey to strengthen our performance data and to generate regular feedback on perceptions and local priorities. 31 Mar 27 Following a revised one-year tender being issued in February, a supplier was appointed in March 2025. The survey went live at the end of April and will complete in the summer with final results expected to be reported to Leadership Board after the summer.
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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 Curren t Status Short term trend Long term trend 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Fundraising income target £969,00 0 £500,000 £560,000 £500,000 £46,668 £500,000 The last meeting of the Appeal Trustees was held on 19 September 2024. Having reviewed the list of prospective donors, with the capacity and propensity for major gift, and assessed connections to Paisley, we do not anticipate further significant Capital pledges. This target was based on an application to the UK Community Ownership Fund which was closed after the last UK election. Other donations continue to be received. Opportunities to see or hear something positive about Paisley and Renfrewshire as part of Paisley.is destination brand 204,638 ,668 240,000 268,082,849 240,000 216,953,03 8 150,000 Q4 marketing activity focused on promoting the 2025 events programme, the Paisley Book Festival line up announcement, cultural funding grants and the launch of Paisley Food and Drink Festival with coverage appearing in the following titles: The National (online), The Herald, The Herald (online) The Scotsman (online), Glasgow Times online, List.co.uk, Glasgow Live. The Paisley Daily Express, The Gazette, What’s on network and Foodie Explorers. Marketing paid-for opportunities to see and hear will be available in Q2. Number of properties on the Buildings at Risk Register 27 27 27 27 27 27 The Buildings at Risk Register, prepared and managed by Historic Environment Scotland, includes 27 Renfrewshire properties, with 5 in progress of restoration. Properties are located across the council area including Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch, Paisley and Renfrew. HES paused the BARR in September 2024, stating that it would no longer be updated and that no further nominations for additions would be accepted until possible alternatives or adjustments to the Register have been assessed and decided upon. We await the decision from HES on the future of the BARR. Amount of Vacant and Derelict Land (hectares) 248 Data only 220.39 Data only * Data only * Figure not yet available The next vacant and derelict land audit will be undertaken over quarters 1 and 2 of 2025/26.
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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 Curren t Status Shor t term tren d Lon g term tren d 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Targe t 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) 7.5 20 41.24 20 Not available Not available The amount of land removed from the vacant and derelict land register during 2024/25 will be available over quarters 1 and 2 of 2025/26. Affordable housing completions 369 200 196 159 Not available Not available The 2024/25 affordable housing completion figure will be available in Q1 2025/26 Private housing completions 422 500 504 357 Not available Not available The 2024/25 private housing completion figure will be available in Q1 2025/26 Time to issue a building warrant or amendment to warrant from receipt of application (days) 96.5 60 104 60 108 60 Average approval times have increased significantly. The underlying reason for this increase is that we have conducted a purge on warrants that are passed the 9 month deemed refusal date, resulting in an increase in refused warrants and an increase in warrants that have been in the system for sometime, being approved.
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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 Curre nt Status Short term trend Long term trend 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Percentage of building warrants or amendments issued within 10 days of receipt of all satisfactory information 80.5 90 80.8 90 87.4 90 Performance has increased from 80.8% to 87.4% of approvals being issued within 10 days of receiving all outstanding information. We have conducted a purge on warrants that are passed the 9 month deemed refusal date, and clearing these older ones has increased the volume of those closed. Percentage of first reports (Building Standards) issued within 20 days 66.1 95 69.6 95 78.15 95 Although behind target, performance has improved consistently over each of the last five years. Additional staffing resource now in place which should lead to further improvement. Average Time for processing Planning Applications (Householder) (weeks) 12.4 8 10.2 8 11 8 The team are continuing to work on resolving legacy applications and the performance statistics reflect that, pushing up the average time. It is likely that performance will continue to be impacted by work on these older applications for some time.
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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 Fully participate in the AMIDS joint venture. 25 July 2024 AMIDS joint venture fully established and operational, Council is fully participating. Develop a Community Wealth Building Plan for Renfrewshire 31 June 2026 A “Community Wealth Building in Renfrewshire” paper has been produced and approved at board to set out the way forward. Additionally, the CWB(Scotland) Bill was published in March 2025 which sets out the way ahead for the public sector. Plans are moving forward with speed now, local events have been organised and board is being kept up 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 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 Monitoring of benefits reported through the City Region PMO is ongoing. This is currently being transitioned to Regeneration Team as CWRR project now complete. Develop an Investment Proposition for Renfrewshire that is clear on our economic ambitions for place 31 Mar 26 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 page on the Invest Renfrewshire webpage. Moreover, a dedicated website to drive investment at AMIDS has been launched https://amids.co.uk/ Complete the Tech Terrace development and attract the first large occupier. 31 Mar 2026 This is a AMIDS JV obligation and again Council is fully participating.
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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 £2.9m from the Place Based Investment Fund for capital regeneration projects. Between 22/23 and 23/24 we have received £1.5m in funding for capital and revenue regeneration spend from the Shared Prosperity fund. It is expected that the Council will receive a further PBIP and SPF allocation for 25/26. Funding amounts to be confirmed. The Council has consistently been successful in RCGF funding applications, most recently securing £800k for the PACE Theatre project. Four applications were submitted for the 2024/25 allocation. Of these, two were invited to Stage 2 and were duly submitted in November 2024. Additionally, an application was submitted to the Scottish Government’s Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme (VDLIP). However, these applications were subsequently put on hold indefinitely while the Scottish Government reviewed regeneration grant funding as a whole. The Government is now revisiting the VDLIP scheme, and further information has been submitted to support our bid. A funding decision is expected in May 2025. Funding of £297k from NatureScot has been secured to deliver a peatland restoration project in Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. Works began in Jan 25 and was completed by the end of March 25. Funding worth £100k has been secured from SEPA to investigate RIBA 2 concept design for the restoration of the Candren Burn in Ferguslie. The Council has also applied for funding from Visit Scotland’s Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund to help with regeneration projects at Castle Semple. A decision on these applications are due early summer 2025. The Regeneration team will continue to explore external funding opportunities to help deliver our place shaping agenda.
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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 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 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) 84 85 91 85 88.8 85 Across the events delivered in 2024 88.8% of Renfrewshire residents agreed that the events programme made them feel proud of their hometown, the highest response was 97% and this came from attendees at Sma’ Shot Day. Number of people participating in the events programme 3,140 300 2,904 1,750 3,549 1,314 The events programme was concluded in Q3 with the annual target of 1750 exceeded, the actual number of participants reaching 3,549. This was in part due to the redesign of Paisley Halloween Festival which introduced a parade on both nights of the festival, and this alone achieved 1,279 individual participants. The summer programme also saw the reintroduction of the Renfrew Gala Day parade which increased overall numbers too. Number of people performing in the event programme 568 150 509 400 819 300 The events programme concluded in Q3, the annual target for performance opportunities was exceeded with 819 local people having an opportunity to perform. This again was in part due to the design of the Halloween Festival which provided live opportunities across two nights, the increased number of bands participating in the Renfrew Pipe Band Competition and the overall provision of live stages across the summer programme. Number of volunteering hours supporting the development and delivery of the events programme (new) NEW FOR 2023/24 2,020 180 327 180 The programme concluded in Q3 with 327 volunteering hours supporting the delivery of the programme. Volunteers supported throughout the year in various roles including accessibility assistants, welcome hosts, workshop buddies, behind the scenes tech roles, make-up support and way finding roles. The reduction since last year is due to the large number of volunteer hours associated with the Paisley Mod.
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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 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of people attending the events programme 151,500 65,000 137,927 95,000 108,665 71,250 The programme concluded in Q3 with 108,665 attendees against an annual target of 95,000. The target was in part exceeded due to good weather throughout the spring programme increasing the numbers of attendees at each of the Gala Days and Food and Drink Festival, Halloween continues to be the key driver for attendees and visitors with 37% of the 40,000 attendees identifying as visitors to the area. Number of trainee type posts created for unemployed people at Renfrewshire Council 68 40 65 40 45 40 45 new participants have started in posts with Renfrewshire Council this year. Number of unemployed/ low waged people being supported through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme 1,370 1,100 1,521 1,100 1,420 1,100 In quarter four, 357 new and additional people have been registered with the employability service. Total number of people registered this year is 1420 . In addition to the people carried over (continuing to receive support) from 24/25 this brings the overall total number of people supported to over 1900. Number of unemployed / low waged people securing qualifications through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme 507 n/a 618 n/a 662 400 178 people have gained qualifications whilst on employability provision this quarter. (662 Total since April 24)
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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 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of unemployed people moving into paid employment through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme 538 350 528 350 491 350 105 unemployed/low waged people secured new paid employment in quarter 4. (491 Total since April 24) Number of people supported, sustained in work at 6 Months through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme 340 180 268 180 288 180 The number of people who were still in employment 6 months after moving into work and that we have been able to collect data on is 288 people. All those who have successfully moved into work are sent a survey after six months but completing it is optional, so the true number may be higher. Number of new business start ups in Renfrewshire with Business Gateway support 206 320 305 320 265 320 We are continuing to support individuals to launch their own businesses. Reduced figures this year (from last year) reflect staff absence at 50% over the year (back to 100% from 1st April 25). Number of Social Enterprises supported to grow / develop / income generate with Council support 89 n/a 62 n/a 58 80 An additional 10 new enterprises have been supported and 14 have continued to receive help to grow, develop or income generate this quarter. Number of local businesses securing growth support, training or grants from Renfrewshire Council Business Team 350 n/a 366 n/a 382 300 Applications continue to come in and be supported from existing and established businesses looking for growth support.
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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 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Economic impact and local spend of attendees to the visitor events programme n/a n/a 5,473,640 n/a 3,978,746 n/a This was a new KPI and produced a total £3.978m across the programme with the Food and Drink Festival £1.4m and Paisley Halloween Festival £1.56m producing the highest outturn. Average spend per head of attendees to the events programme n/a n/a 45.34 n/a 50.22 n/a This was a new KPI for 2045/25 and produced an average spend per head across the programme of £50.22 - the highest spend being £65.23 at the Food and Drink Festival followed by £58.84 at Paisley’s Christmas and £58.66 at Renfrew Pipe Band Competition.
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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 Mar 24 The Fair Food Renfrewshire (FFR) Steering Group, which met initially in September 2023, has continued to meet on a quarterly basis and is now a member of the Sustainable Food Places network. A six-month plan was agreed by the Steering Group in August, and a Food Support Forum was held in October 2024, with a further meeting arranged for February 2025. The purpose of the Form is identifying and solving issues both for those suffering from food insecurity and those providing emergency and community food, exploring opportunities for collaborative working, knowledge sharing and identifying key priorities. This feeds into the first key priority of FFR, which are: · Working to reduce, then eradicate food poverty, by promoting a collaborative approach across all communities, ensuring a dignified and fair access to health 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 Scottish Government’s update to the National Good Food Plan is due shortly following the analysis of consultation responses being published on 27 September 2024. It is likely that that the Bill will go before Parliament in June 2025, with formal commencement in March 2026. Once the National Good Food Nation legislation has been finalised, a Council food strategy can be drafted to reflect the new statutory duties, and the needs of communities in Renfrewshire and initial contact has taken place with the Living Good Food nation Lab, who have been funded to support Local Authorities develop their plans as well as NHSGGC, who will develop their own local plan, however wish to explore opportunities for joint working with linked Local Authorities. Deliver external sports infrastructure improvements. 31 Mar 26 All four projects are now complete – Ferguslie Sports Centre, On-X athletics track, On-X hockey pitches and St James’ Playing Fields.
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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 Progressing a new workstream that will focus on advancing equality of opportunity and ensuring we have a robust and authentic organisational approach to implementing our duties (including UNCRC). 31 March 26 A review was undertaken over the summer period focussed on developing the Council’s approach to equality impact assessment has continued throughout the period, alongside the development of Draft Equality Outcomes for 2025-2029. The recruitment process for an Equalities Development Officer is now concluded, with the postholder starting in post in late April 2025. Following the recruitment, the approach will be developed further over the coming months to reflect wider duties including UNCRC. Developing new and potentially radical approaches to tackling child poverty in Renfrewshire 31 Mar 27 Work continues to develop place-based models to tackle child poverty. A Community Needs Assessment is currently being carried out and will inform the next phase. Funding has been allocated by Leadership Board in November 2024 to support the continuation of community development activity in Gallowhill following the publication of the Community Needs Assessment. This will provide capacity to support the development and implementation of actions emerging from the community needs assessment and continue to improve and expand community led activity and infrastructure in the area. Wider work will also be undertaken to develop a place-based approach based on the learning from the CNA. Leading on the Council’s migration and population change response developing detailed understanding of the diversity of Renfrewshire’s communities in 2024 31 Mar 26 The census releases over the latter half of 2024 have provided a significantly updated picture of Renfrewshire’s communities – work was undertaken to analyse this data, with a detailed presentation shared with the full Chief Officers Team at the away day in September and a workshop with the wider Our Leaders Forum group in December 2024. A detailed report was presented to the Leadership Board in December 2024 and further work has been undertaken to develop ward level profiles which will be shared with Elected Members shortly. A new Senior Policy Officer post with a focus on Migration and Population has recently successfully recruited and a core task for initial focus will be to develop a strategic needs assessment in partnership with the Strategic Migration Group.
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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 pilot of the Level 1 training will take place in the first quarter of 2025/26. The TIRR Steering Group has a refreshed membership and terms of reference and is meeting on a quarterly basis. A new officer is in post to help further roll-out the programme of work. Deliver the Fairer Renfrewshire programme supporting residents through the cost-of- living crisis and advancing equality of opportunity across Renfrewshire. 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. A further allocation of £450k to Fairer Renfrewshire was made as part of the Council budget in March 2025, including funding for a further Winter School Clothing Payment and Summer of Fun and Winter Connections programmes for the coming year. The Winter Connections programme ran again in Winter 24/25, providing opportunities for communities to come together and take part in free activities and including food. This has contributed to wellbeing over the winter. Summer of Fun funding has been allocated for the programme for summer 25. 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 and employability, especially parental employability. Digital inclusion is also being supported through the introduction of DigiZones and through the Digital Champions programme, both developed through the Citizens Voice forum. Legacy Tackling Poverty projects continue to be funded, including School Breakfasts, Skoobmobile and the Peer Health project, Hearty Lives which is run in schools by Active Communities. The 2025/26 programme has been developed, and 25/26 priorities agreed with the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee. This will be presented to Leadership Board for approval in April 2025.
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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 Curren t Status Short term trend Long term tren d 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Community Asset Transfer - number of months from receipt of an application to a determination being issued from the Council 4 6 2 6 3 6 The number of asset transfer requests determined in the period 24/25 was 5 of which 4 were approved and 1 refused. The assets concerned: • Calderglen Playing Fields, Lochwinnoch – approved; sale of land to Calderglen Community SCIO • Public Realm, Kilpatrick Drive, Erskine – approved; lease of land to Erskine Arts • Site, 49 Beardmore Cottages, Inchinnan - approved; sale of land to Inchinnan Development Trust • Renfrew Cricket Field, KGV Renfrew; - refused on the basis that that that there are obligations imposed on the authority, that prevent, restrict or otherwise affect its ability to agree to the request • Falcon Day Centre, Paisley – approved; sale of asset to Pachedu Multi- cultural Hub Number of people engaged with Adult and Family learning team (snapshot) n/a n/a 424 880 1564 880 48 weekly learning sessions offered across Renfrewshire including Adult Literacies; ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages); confidence, wellbeing and positive choices; learning for sustainability, and digital beginners groups. Number of people engaged with Youth Services (snapshot) NEW FOR 2023/24 6,259 Data only 6,054 n/a There were 6.054 people engaged with Youth Services in 2024/25. This figure is made up of those attending weekly programmes, the Youth Voice Residential, community based events, and the Duke of Edinburgh programme.
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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 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of school visits undertaken to raise awareness of environmental action and the impact of anti-social behaviours. n/a n/a 44 25 40 25 A programme of presentations will be delivered across secondary schools to raise awareness. A bonus prize of £100 for pupils from schools who have made a notable reduction in lunchtime litter will be offered at the end of the school term.
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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 Review opportunities within the Council’s infrastructure pipeline projects to align with the skills transition and green skills development for local people 31 March 26 Renfrewshire LEP have approved funding for a net zero “retrofit” programme to support unemployed people being trained in this area for future job roles. The Economic Development Team work with local contractors to maximise community benefit opportunities in all contracts and are able to identify where local people can benefit. Deliver a feasibility study on the expansion of the District Heating Network. 31 Mar 25 AMIDS DHN expansion to Glasgow Airport study complete. No resource or plans for further feasibility work at this stage. Deliver the AMIDS South Active Travel Links plan. 31 Mar 27 Stage 2 construction tenders are due to be returned, and site start is anticipated for Summer 2025.
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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 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of local businesses working with the Council to progress the Net Zero agenda 50 Previously data only 50 Previously data only 233 40 We have actively engaged with 20 businesses this quarter who have expressed an interest in progressing net zero agendas. We have also worked with Paisley First BID representing more than 600 businesses within Paisley Town Centre to successfully bid for the Ditching Disposables project. This will roll-out a reusable cup scheme within the area in the coming months, contributing to the reduction of single-use cups and carbon emissions for numerous SMEs.Our January Green Business Network event hosted 8 local businesses to provide information on net zero business support available and create connections. Our regular Sustainability Newsletter was also circulated within the community of SMEs who have expressed an interest in becoming more sustainable. This provides updates on training, events and funding available. Number of local businesses securing Net Zero growth grants from Renfrewshire Council Business Grants 2 n/a 0 n/a 3 8 This quarter 15 businesses have taken up our offer of a carbon baseline assessment which identifies opportunities to reduce the emissions produced by their operation. This programme has now closed. We are now focussed on exploring opportunities to support SMEs on their net zero journey and to assist in accessing the net zero fund via training and learning opportunities. We have two applications to the Net Zero Grant pending and a further two being supported to submission
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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 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of visits by Environmental Taskforce to flytipping hotspots 559 260 506 375 1,483 1,500 The Environmental Task Force is pro-active in its aim to reduce flytipping across Renfrewshire. Patrols of hotspot sites work to quickly remove flytipping from the area, therefore reducing appeal for further potential opportunities. The Taskforce further pro- actively collaborate with local communities and businesses to identify those responsible. Number of members of the Team Up to Clean Up Facebook Community n/a n/a 5,400 5,000 7,500 5,000 The number of members joining the TU2CU Facebook family continues to grow due to the popularity and impact the programme is having in our communities. More and more individuals and groups are genuinely interested in taking pride in the areas in which they live.
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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 Undertake and independent assessment of the Paisley brand to identify recommendations for Renfrewshire’s future place marketing strategy 31 Mar 25 This action is complete. A report was taken to Leadership Board in 2024 to update members on the outcome of the evaluation of place brand activity over the past five years and the findings of an independent review, and to recommend next steps for place promotion. Officers from marketing and communications will work with regeneration and economic development colleagues and wider place partners to explore the six recommended areas of activity to help drive the marketing of Renfrewshire in future. A further report will be taken to Leadership Board in the autumn to update on progress. Deliver a new, long term support model for Renfrewshire’s cultural sector. 31 Mar 25 An analysis of both the CHEF and CODF cultural funding grant programmes was undertaken in 2024 with recommendations presented for how to improve future programmes of cultural funding support to support cultural activity, engagement and participation across Renfrewshire. This analysis was shared with previous recipients of CHEF and CODF cultural funding grants as part of a wider consultation and engagement session, which took place with the cultural sector in December 2024, and was followed up with an online survey laying out the recommendations to take forward in respect of the £1m cultural funding for 2025/26 - 2027/28. This engagement, supported by the analysis of previous cultural funding grants, shaped the design of the new multi-year Cultural Organisations Fund (COF) and the continuation of the Culture, Heritage and Events fund (CHEF). COF launched on Tuesday 8th April and CHEF Round 14 is programmed to launch on Monday 19th May 2025. 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 The DXP team and delivery partner Manifesto are progressing well with the development and implementation of the new Renfrewshire.gov.uk website. A 12-sprint plan is underway, with four sprints completed and go-live scheduled for 30 June 2025. All work is being tracked through the DXP project plan and financial tracker to ensure delivery remains on time and within budget. The content re-write timeline has been reviewed and aligned with development milestones. Priority content areas, based on high user demand or contact centre queries, have been completed. Content migration will take place both pre- and post-go-live, with all content due to be moved before the end of the current GOSS contract. Progress on content reviews by subject matter experts (SMEs) has been slower than anticipated, and the DXP team is working to improve this through increased engagement with services and stakeholders. User testing with residents, including the Lived Experience Panel and STAR project participants, highlighted positive feedback on the new website’s clarity and ease of use. Additional testing with other groups is planned for 2025/26. Procurement discussions have also begun for a support and maintenance contract for the new website.
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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 Deliver self-assessment activity across the organisation in line with revised best value audit methodology 31 Mar 26 Following the successful delivery of the Corporate Self-Assessment programme, a corporate improvement plan has been developed by CMT to support the Council’s approach to best value and continuous improvement. In December 2024, Renfrewshire Council launched an innovative new approach to self-assessment focused on organisational culture, known as Renfrewshire’s Cultural Assurance Model (CAM). The CAM was first of its kind within the Scottish public sector and was developed in partnership with the Improvement Service and based on the Public Service Improvement Framework. The first phase of the assessment involved a survey element for participants which was completed in early 2025, the results were analysed by Council and Improvement Service officers in advance of a series of workshops which took place in late February and early March. The findings were very encouraging, with respondents reflecting on a very positive organisational culture alongside some constructive areas for improvement to explore further. 5 key actions were developed by CMT and have been added to the Council’s overall Corporate Improvement Plan. The Council recently participated in a Best Value Audit - the findings of this will be considered and will influence future phases of self- assessment and also any additional actions for the Corporate Improvement Plan. Regular updates on Best Value are reported to the relevant Boards. Developing a corporate data and analytics team model which supports the aspirations of the Council to be a data driven organisation 31 Dec 25 Work continues on the review of data analytics, aligned to the Data Strategy and the work of the Data Advisory Group. The Council’s contract with our GIS supplier was due to be renewed by 1 April 2025 so the focus of this workstream has been on reviewing our organisational requirements and understanding the potential to align this with our future delivery model. Discussions took place with our supplier, with ICT, procurement and legal and a recommendation on a new three-year contract at a significantly lower cost to the organisation was approved by the FRCS Board in February and with a further report on the liability cap approved in April. The contract included consultancy days in year one to support migration of data from on premises servers to a cloud-based model – this approach aligns with principles within the data review. The due date of this action has been extended to December 2025 in recognition that more time is required due to the initial focus on the contract negotiations. Delivering savings required to support the financial sustainability of the organisation 31 Mar 25 Service-based savings have been delivered as set out in the financial report provided to Council in February 2025.
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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 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target % of investigation complaints responded to within timescales agreed with customer (Chief Executive’s) 71% 85% 76.9% 85% 100% 85% The Chief Executive's Service received 12 investigation complaints during 2024/25. All were completed within timescale. Target (85%) has been met for this indicator. % of frontline resolution complaints responded to within timescales agreed with customer (Chief Executive’s) 54% 85% 35.7% 85% 66.3% 85% The Chief Executive's service received 86 Frontline complaints during 2024/25, 57 of which were responded to within timescales. Targeted work has taken place within the service to improve performance in this area, alongside some process changes to ensure standard enquiries are not being routed through the complaints system. There has been a noticeable upturn in performance in the second half of the year and we would expect to be back on track in 2025/26. Average number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee (Chief Executive's) (FTE) 4.55 6.5 6.5 6.5 * 6.5 * Figure not yet available for 2024/25 and expected end June 2025. Performance was on target for 2023/24. % of FOI requests in a quarter completed within timescale in the Chief Executive's Department 97% 100% 91.5% 100% 95% 100% During 2024/25, CEx received 106 single service FOIs. 101 were completed within timescale. Target has not been met for this reporting period.
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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 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Number of people engaging with the Council’s digital channels (not including website). 69,287 54,000 72,847 72,000 76,107 65,000 Our figures across all channels, except X, are continuing to increase. We archived our X account in January 2025 and launched Bluesky. This channel now has over 700 followers and is responsible for the big follower increase between Q3 and Q4. Other channels which have seen a big increase between Q3 and Q4 include Facebook, which added 482 followers, and LinkedIn and Instagram, which added more than 100 followers each. Opportunities to see or hear something (OTSH) positive about Renfrewshire Council activity 316,560,9 58 200,000,0 00 290,935,192 250,000, 000 451,531,361 250,000,000 Highlights in Q4 included positive coverage of the events strategy and 2024 events programme announcement, inspection results at primary schools, progress at housing regeneration projects in Paisley, and the launch of the Artificial Pitches Fund. % of staff who feel that the information they receive from internal communications is helpful n/a n/a 88% 85% 72% 85% An employee Pulse survey was conducted in March – April 2025 with 800 responses (around 9.4% of workforce). This year, the Likert scale was introduced which includes a neutral rating. 73% of respondents found the information they received from internal communications was very helpful or helpful, 21% were neutral. Highest response rate from EHI at 32% reflects additional engagement with frontline workforce. The most preferred topics of interest were departmental news and decisions, training and development, employee benefits, health and wellbeing and information/guides on how to do their job. 66% of respondents found the latest staff news articles, Chief Executive blogs, posters and Take 5 e-news roundup very helpful or helpful in keeping them informed about the council and our work, 27% were neutral.
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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 Connected Communities team provide significant support to The Promise work programme in Renfrewshire. This includes supporting the Promise Champs, co-ordinating and working with care-experienced young people on specific initiatives such as the Christmas Present Drive and Love2Care as two recent examples. A number of employees within the CE service are Promise Keepers and are committed to supporting this agenda through their roles and beyond.
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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 Through Future Paisley, facilitate improved access to cultural activity for children and families. 31 Mar 25 Jupiter + Paisley opened on 7 September and closed on 15 December 2024 attracting 4,560 visitors to the Anya Gallaccio installation at 18 High Street and delivered national media coverage. The accompanying Creative Learning Studio engaged 650 learners through a programme of 39 scheduled workshops targeted at secondary school pupils from across Renfrewshire. The Creative Learning Studio provided CPD sessions for Nursery and Primary School teachers, activated through the Future Paisley Cultural Champions network in schools. A mentoring programme, with employment opportunities for 15 young people, with 3 places supporting care experienced young people, is ongoing. The Building the Future pilot was undertaken by colleagues in Economic Development which focused on innovation and creativity in manufacturing and business and promoting that as a potential progression pathway for young people. The programme focused on Renfrewshire’s Employability Week including a primary school competition ‘when I grow up, I want to be …’ which took place in 2024 and plans for 2025 include both an Apprenticeship and Entrepreneurship Week, which are still to be developed and shared with the cultural regeneration lead. The Future Paisley funded partnership with The Glasgow School of Art and Castlehead High School - Castlehead School of Creativity, continues to champion art and design courses and participation in the Daydream Believers course. The school was confirmed as one of four in the UK to participate in a pilot project Giving Hope: Education, Art and Human Virtues, facilitated by Professor Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies at the University of Edinburgh. The pilot offered each participating school a stipend of 3,000 euros to work with between 8 -10 pupils over the course of the academic year to create an artistic response to the word HOPE. The project has concluded and the learnings from this pilot will inform a wider cohort of educators and artists about whether this is a programme that could be rolled out nationally and internationally in the future. Funding has been agreed to create an opportunity for other Renfrewshire Secondary Schools to develop a Creativity Week or Day/s within 2025/26. After the success of the Progression Pathways pilot in early 2024 a new programme was delivered in 2024/25. This was based on a one- day educational trip for each of Renfrewshire Secondary Schools which took place over a three-week period in late February / early March 2025. There were 190 S3 pupils who participated in the day’s event which included a morning workshop programme at the University of West of Scotland, lunch, a tour of the UWS Campus and then an afternoon at the Paisley Arts Centre experiencing live performance. A full evaluation of the 2025 programme has been done which highlights the success of this programme and the benefits it brings to Renfrewshire’s young people as well as the partners involved in delivering the event i.e., UWS and WCS.
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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 2024 - 25 Outturn Report June 2025 For more information, please contact: policycefar@renfrewshire.gov.uk