Fairer Renfrewshire Update
Renfrewshire Council · 18 June 2025
Back to Leadership Board — 18 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: Leadership Board On: 18 June 2025 _____________________________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive _____________________________________________________________________________________ Heading: Fairer Renfrewshire Update _____________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The Council and its partners continue to work together to progress the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme, with a strong shared focus on the local response to the cost-of-living crisis and on tackling poverty and inequality across local communities. 1.2 This paper provides a summary of the key issues reported to the Fairer Renfrewshire sub- committee on 28 May 2025 including the cost of living update and general programme updates. 1.3 The programme will continue to progressed flexibly in order to be able to respond to emerging needs and opportunities as these arise. Priorities for delivery over the next quarter are set out in Section 6 of this report. _______________________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that elected members: • Note the content of the report • Approve the implementation arrangements for the Winter Connections 2025/26 programme as detailed in section 5. • Agree that authority is provided to the Head of Policy and Partnerships to award Winter Connections grants in consultation with the Council Leader as also set out in Section 5. _____________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Fairer Renfrewshire Programme was developed in order to bring together targeted programmes of work being progressed by the Council and its partners to tackle poverty and inequality in Renfrewshire. As the cost of living crisis has developed, the programme has continued to evolve in response, with activities being progressed across the 4 core themes: • Improving financial security • Advancing equality of opportunity
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• Building community capacity and resilience • Listening to lived experience 3.2 Regular updates on the programme are provided to the Fairer Renfrewshire sub-committee and subsequently to the Leadership Board. 4 Update from the Fairer Renfrewshire sub-committee 4.1 At its meeting on 28 May 2025, the sub-committee considered: • The most recent programme update including information on recent statistics and research in relation to the cost-of-living crisis, including the dashboard developed locally. • Progress updates in relation to family advice provision, Winter Connections, Benefit Take Up campaigns, and the recent work around the provision of Period Products. • A paper detailing the evaluation of the 2024/25 Winter Connections programme. 4.2 Officers gather information from a variety of sources at both a local and national level to inform discussion at the sub-committee. Key statistics and information discussed at its most recent meeting are provided in table 1 below. Table 1 Key national statistics • The rate of inflation is standing at 2.6% in March and has been above the target rate of 2% set by the UK Government for the Bank of England since October 24, when it reached 2.3%. • The inflation rate for food has decreased slightly to 3% from 3.3% in February, although still higher than overall inflation. • The Bank of England interest rate was reduced in May to 4.25% from 4.5% in February. • The Energy Price Cap, originally introduced by Ofgem in January 2019 to set limits on the underlying rates energy suppliers, is currently at £1,849 from 1 April, up from £1,738 for the previous quarter. Cost of living research (national) The latest insights into the cost of living from the Office of National Statistics for the period 5 to 30 March found: • 87% of those surveyed reported the cost of living as the most important issue facing the UK today and 66% reported that their cost of living had increased compared with a month ago. • For those who reported an increase, costs of food shopping at 91%, energy bills at 78% and fuel at 49% were the most commonly reported reasons. 33% also reported an increase in rent or mortgage costs and 35% a public transport cost increase. • Around 1 in 33 (3%) adults reported that they had run out of food and were unable to buy more in the past two weeks; increasing to 20% for households with a single adult and at least one dependent child. • Disabled adults were more likely than non-disabled adults to carry out a range of actions ONS asked about because of their increased cost of living; this included using less fuel in their home (49% compared with 37%) and spending less on food shopping and essentials (48% compared with 36%). • 20% of adults said they had had to borrow more money or use more credit in the last month compared to a year ago. Employment and income • According to the ONS, the Claimant Count in January 2025, which is taken from JobcentrePlus administration systems, for those claiming unemployment-related benefits in Renfrewshire is
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3375 people – 2035 men and 1340 women aged between 16 and 64. This is a reduction from 3,395 last reported. The Renfrewshire unemployment rate of 2.9 % is less than the Scotland rate (3.2%). Food costs / insecurity • The inflation rate for food has decreased slightly from 3.3% in January and is now standing at 3%. • In Renfrewshire, the Renfrewshire Foodbank issued 5,411 vouchers in total in 2024/25, in comparison with 5,267 the previous year, an increase of 2.7%. The vouchers covered 7,075 adults and 3,409 children this year, which was an increase in the total number receiving assistance with 10,484 compared to 9,615 last year (6,724 adults and 2,891 children). Housing • According to the ONS, private rental prices in Renfrewshire have continued to rise to an average of £802 in March 2025, an increase of £9 per month on the last reported figure of £793 in January 2025 and an annual increase of 8.2% from £741 in March 2024. 5. Fairer Renfrewshire Programme Update 5.1 Since the last update to Leadership Board in February 2025, a range of activities have continued to be progressed by officers and partners. A summary is provided in the sections below. Winter Connections Programme 2024/25 5.2 The Winter Connections programme has now completed its third year, having been running during the winter months since November 2022, and continues to be delivered in partnership with local organisations and aiming to encourage people to connect and participate in activities in warm and welcoming spaces across communities in Renfrewshire. 5.3 An evaluation for the 24/25 Programme has now been carried out, and the key messages of the evaluation include: • Over 2,500 people benefited from the programme, demonstrating a continued need for social connection throughout the winter months. • The social aspect of bringing people together created a sense of belonging and provided a supportive environment and peer support, which was especially important for people who were feeling isolated. • Activities provided opportunities to improve physical and mental health and wellbeing, learn new skills, increase confidence and be creative. • The programme enabled organisations to engage with new people, raising awareness of their venues and services and signposting to other services across Renfrewshire. • Providing hot drinks in libraries encouraged visitors to stay for longer, creating connections with others and with library staff. • Providing free food alongside activities ensured that the programme discretely supported families who are continuing to experience financial hardship. • The programme continues to be an important element of the Council’s approach to tackling the cost-of-living crisis. 5.4 The programme has been evaluated each of the previous years and has been found to positively contribute to Renfrewshire Council’s continued wider response to the continued high cost-of-living. The full evaluation report was presented to the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee on 28 May 2025.
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5.5 At the Council’s budget meeting in February 2025, £75,000 of funding was allocated to support the delivery of a fourth year of Winter Connections for 2025/26. 5.6 In response to feedback received from organisations hosting Winter Connections activities, this report seeks the relevant approvals and delegations to enable officers to launch the Winter Connections funding earlier in the year. It is considered that launching the applications for the programme earlier in September gives organisations more time to plan activities and will give funded groups and officers more time to prepare and promote the programme across Renfrewshire’s communities. 5.7 As with previous years, it is recommended that authority is delegated to the Head of Policy and Partnerships to award funding in consultation with the Council Leader, in line with the guidance, to enable timely awards. All funding recommendations will be reported back to Leadership Board. 5.8 There are no recommended changes to the existing Winter Connections guidance, and if approved by Leadership Board, it is intended that the funding will go live for applications in September 2025. A panel consisting of officers from Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire HSCP and Engage Renfrewshire will scrutinise applications and make recommendations to the Head of Policy and Partnerships on funding awards. Holiday provision 5.9 A focussed programme of holiday activities for children and young people took place throughout the Easter break. Camps were provided across six locations by Community Learning and Development staff and Street Stuff for children and young people aged 5-14. The camps were free and with a healthy lunch provided at lunch time. Information and booking for the camps was shared with families in receipt of School Clothing Grants, and also on a referral basis from Social Work to ensure effective targeting of places to children that need it most. Over the period, 368 children and young people attended with a total of 534 attendances. Information gathered at booking has shown that the camps did reach child poverty priority groups, especially lone parent families and families with 3 or more children. 5.10 At Leadership Board on 23 April 25, it was agreed that the £100,000 allocated to Summer of Fun in March’s budget be split, with 50% of the funding to be directed to deliver holiday camp provision, and the remaining 50% being allocated to support the establishment of a small grants programme which would allow third and community sector partners to deliver local, targeted provision to low- income families across Renfrewshire. This is the same approach as the 2024 Summer of Fun programme. 5.11 The grants funding programme opened in early May, with funding applications being reviewed by a partnership panel. Delegated authority has been provided to the Head of Policy and Partnerships to consider and award grant funding of up to £3,000 per application, in consultation with the Council Leader. Community Needs Assessment in Gallowhill 5.12 As previously reported, late in 2023, Renfrewshire HSCP was successful in a funding bid to NHSGGC Public Health to carry out a Community Needs Assessment (CNA) in Gallowhill, recognising the concerning increase in Child Poverty rates in the Gallowhill and Renfrew South Ward. The CNA, being carried out by Active Communities, commenced at the start of July 2024 using the Place Standard Tool and 1,033 responses were submitted as part of this consultation. 124 of these were gathered through 1:1 interview in the community, with 262 full responses to all 14 questions and a further 771 partial submissions.
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5.13 At Leadership Board on 4 December, £50,000 of Fairer Renfrewshire funding was allocated in grant funding to Active Communities 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. 5.14 Active Communities carried out a recruitment exercise in March, and a new Community Development Officer for Gallowhill started in post on 22 April. They will work between Gallowhill and Active Communities office in Johnstone, and have 3 priorities: • Join up services and support available locally, informed by the community needs assessment • Increase uptake of services and support for low-income families, focussed on targeting priority families • Providing dedicated community development support to improve and expand community led activity and infrastructure in the area. 5.15 Wider work will also be undertaken to develop a place-based approach based on the learning from the CNA, with a group comprising Council and HSCP officers and Active Communities steering this work. School and Family Advice Provision 5.16 Between the 1st of April 2024 and the 31st of March 2025, the School Support Service assisted 138 clients. These clients made a combined 263 individual contacts. The most popular advice areas were benefits and housing. The clients included 42 who were lone parents and 36 who had children with disabilities. 5.17 The School Support Service, during this period, recorded financial gains for 103 clients totalling £415, 884. Most financial gains were achieved from benefit entitlements including Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment, and Universal Credit, with gains also from Carers Allowance, Educational Maintenance Allowance and Scottish Child Payment. 5.18 Many of the clients using the service are coming forward with issues that involve multiple Council and other services, and clients recently received support around opening bank accounts and advice for families with No Recourse to Public Funds. 5.19 For quarter 4 of 24/25, Advice Works received 80 referrals for their Family Advice Service and completed 113 cases. For the year, this are a total of 331 referrals and 405 cases closed. The majority of these clients have received a benefit check, with some adult disability payments applications, Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Food applications. The majority of these referrals came from Health Visitor teams, with a number too from Social Work, Education and through self-referral. 5.20 Client Financial Gain for the year to date for Family Advice is £82,471, however even in cases where a client speaks to an adviser and there is no financial gain made, the client benefits from the reassurance of a benefit check and meeting with Advice Works opens discussion on all financial matters that may be worrying the client, such as debts and budgeting. Benefit Take Up Campaign 5.21 As previously reported, over the winter period officers have undertaken a programme of work alongside partners to increase uptake of Pension Credit, alongside any other eligible benefits specifically for older people.
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5.22 This campaign has been extended, with pop up events being held across Renfrewshire throughout May and June. At these events, Advice Works have been available to provide advice to anyone with money, debt or benefit (including Pension Credit, Universal Credit or disability benefits) issues or questions. These will also cover Free School Meals and School Clothing Grants. 5.23 As reported to the Sub-Committee, it is considered that a recent drop in the applications and awards for Free School Meals and School Clothing Grants may be attributable to the migration of households onto Universal Credit, and in particular claimants of Child Tax Credit not moving over to Universal Credit. In response to this, a campaign is being planned around encouraging parents and carers to apply for benefits which may entitle them to FSM/SCG and well as for the meals and grants themselves. This campaign will focus on the money potentially lost by not making a claim and it is hoped this reminder will encourage parents and carers to come forward for a benefit check to establish whether they are missing out. Lived Experience Panel 5.24 Elected Members have been given a number of updates relating to the work of the Fairer Renfrewshire Panel. From the end of October, for 5 weeks, the Fairer Renfrewshire Panel worked on a piece of commissioned work for Renfrewshire HSCP, where they considered the outcomes of the NHSGGC Public Health and Wellbeing Survey. The Panel presented their findings to a special meeting of Renfrewshire’s Community Planning Partnership Executive Group on 28th April 2025. 5.25 The Panel also have meetings planned with Transport to input to the draft Local Transport Strategy and the Digital Strategy Delivery manager to feed into digital exclusion work. Additionally, Officers from the Communications and Marketing teams have recently met the Panel, as well as their input being sought for the Community Learning and Development Summer Camps, around better targeting and increasing uptake. 6. Fairer Renfrewshire Programme 25/26 and next steps 6.1 In addition to the Summer of Fun programme, officers will also be working with partners over the next quarter to: • Develop and finalised Renfrewshire’s Local Child Poverty Action report • Work with the Lived Experience Panel to review their feedback on the work that is being undertaken with the Council and • Progress the next phase of the Community Needs Assessment process with the community and partners in Gallowhill. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – none 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – This report provides a summary of current partnership activities being progressed through the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, with a key focus on tackling the inequalities that exist in Renfrewshire. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets - none 6. Information Technology - none
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7. Equality and Human Rights – The report provides an overview of key activities undertaken as part of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, and as such there continues to be a high level of equalities and human rights consideration across this programme – the activities detailed in this report are targeted specifically at advancing equality of opportunity for a number of groups across the Renfrewshire area. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. Climate risk – none 13. Children’s rights - the articles within UNCRC underpin the work that is being progressed in Renfrewshire through the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, particularly in relation to rights in relation to aspects such as life, survival and development, food, clothing and a safe home and supporting the best interests of the child and their families. Child poverty and family wellbeing are key local partnership priorities. 14. COSLA Policy Position – none Author: Annabelle Walter, Connected Communities Manager