Agenda Document Pack - Leadership Board - 18/06/2025
Renfrewshire Council · 18 June 2025
Back to Leadership Board — 18 June 2025 and its agenda
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Notice of Meeting and Agenda Leadership Board Date Time Venue Wednesday, 18 June 2025 13:00 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN MARK CONAGHAN Head of Corporate Governance Membership Councillor Iain Nicolson (Convener): Councillor Jacqueline Cameron (Depute Convener): Councillor Alison Ann-Dowling: Councillor Michelle Campbell: Councillor Graeme Clark: Councillor Audrey Doig: Councillor Neill Graham: Councillor Anne Hannigan: Councillor David McGonigle: Councillor Marie McGurk: Councillor Iain McMillan: Councillor Kevin Montgomery: Councillor Emma Rodden: Councillor John Shaw: Councillor Andy Steel: Hybrid Meeting Please note that this meeting is scheduled to be held in the Council Chambers. However, it is a hybrid meeting and arrangements have been made for members to join the meeting remotely should they wish. Further Information This is a meeting which is open to members of the public. A copy of the agenda and reports for this meeting will be available for inspection prior to the meeting at the Customer Service Centre, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley and online at http://renfrewshire.cmis.uk.com/renfrewshire/CouncilandBoards.aspx For further information, please email democratic-services@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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Members of the Press and Public Members of the press and public wishing to attend the meeting should report to the customer service centre where they will be met and directed to the meeting. Webcasting of Meeting This meeting will be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site – at the start of the meeting the Convener will confirm if all or part of the meeting is being filmed. To find the webcast please navigate to https://renfrewshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home
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Apologies Apologies from members. Declarations of Interest and Transparency Statements Members are asked to declare an interest or make a transparency statement in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest or the transparency statement. 1 Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee Minute of Meeting of the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee held on 28 May 2025 1 - 2 2 Fairer Renfrewshire Update Report by Chief Executive 3 - 10 3 Local Child Poverty Action Report Report by Chief Executive 11 - 102 4 Reshaping Renfrewshire –Transformation and Change Programme – update Report by Chief Executive 103 - 118 5 Council Plan 2022/27 - Six-monthly Progress Update Report by Chief Executive 119 - 182 Exempt Item Exempt documents are no longer available in print format. You will require to log in to the Leadership Board Exempt Items to access documents. Please note that access to exempt documents is now restricted. 6 Artificial Pitches - £800,000 Budget Allocation Report by Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure
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Minute of Meeting Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee Date Time Venue Wednesday, 28 May 2025 10:00 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN Present: Councillor Jacqueline Cameron, Councillor Graeme Clark, Councillor Neill Graham, Councillor Anne Hannigan, Councillor Marie McGurk, Councillor Iain Nicolson, Councillor Andy Steel Chair Councillor J Cameron, Convener, presided. In Attendance L McIntyre, Head of Policy & Partnerships, A Walter, Connected Communities Manager and D Dunn, Social Renewal Lead Officer (all Chief Executive’s); and C MacDonald, Senior Committee Services Officer and D Cunningham, Committee Services and Licensing Officer (both Finance & Resources). Transparency Statement Councillor Clark declared a connection to items 1(a) – Cost of Living Update and 1(b) - Cost of Living Dashboard by reason that a family member was employed by Active Communities. However, he indicated that he had applied the objective test and did not consider he had an interest to declare and intimated that it was his intention to remain in the meeting and to take part in any discussion or voting thereon. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting. Item 1 Page 1 of 182
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Webcasting of Meeting Prior to the commencement of the meeting the Convener intimated that this meeting of the Sub-committee would be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council's internet site. 1(a) Cost of Living Update There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to an overview of the key context and evidence around current pressures on household finances, both in terms of household income and expenditure. The report highlighted a number of changes in economic factors which included inflation, national living wage and tax credits. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 1(b) Cost of Living Dashboard There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to an overview of key indicators and their movement from the last reporting period, supported by additional statistical information, analysis and graphs which illustrated longer-term trends. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 2 Fairer Renfrewshire programme Update There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to a progress update on the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme. The report detailed developments in respect of various programmes of activity and outlined the next steps in the 2025/26 programme. DECIDED: That the report be noted. 3 Winter Connections Evaluation 2024/25 There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to an evaluation of the Winter Connections Programme for 2024/25. The report outlined the key messages and highlighted that the programme positively contributed to Renfrewshire Council’s continued wider response to the continued high cost-of-living. The evaluation report also provided a series of recommendations to be considered as part of any future programme and a copy of the full evaluation was attached as an appendix to the report. DECIDED: That the report be noted. Page 2 of 182
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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 Item 2 Page 3 of 182
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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 Page 4 of 182
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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. Page 5 of 182
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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. Page 6 of 182
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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. Page 7 of 182
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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 Page 8 of 182
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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 Page 9 of 182
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 18 June 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Local Child Poverty Action Report ___________________________________________________________________ 1 Summary 1.1 The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 requires that each local authority and each relevant Health Board must jointly prepare and publish a Local Child Poverty Action Report after the end of each reporting year. This report must describe measures taken during the reporting year within the local authority area that reduce child poverty or improve outcomes for children living in poverty. It must also describe planned and proposed future actions. 1.2 This report sets out activities undertaken in Renfrewshire to reduce child poverty between April 2024 and March 2025, and also planned and proposed actions for the future. 1.3 The report highlights work being undertaken across Renfrewshire Council and its partners, statutory and third sector, to support families and respond to the ongoing cost of living crisis which has impacted may of our families, with the effects being felt particularly by low income families. 1.4 The report has been jointly developed by Renfrewshire Council, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP). It also includes information about partnership work to tackle child poverty across Renfrewshire’s Community Planning Partnership. Item 3 Page 11 of 182
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2 Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that Elected Members: • Note the content of the draft Child Poverty Local Action Report 2023/24. • Approve the Local Child Poverty Action Report for publication. 3 Background 3.1 The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 sets out targets for the Scottish Government to significantly reduce child poverty in Scotland by 2030. The Act requires that local authorities publish a Local Child Poverty Action Report within three months of the end of each financial year. 3.2 The Report should provide detail of current, planned and proposed activity which is intended to reduce child poverty in the local authority area. It should also provide detail of preventative actions which will help young people avoid becoming parents in poverty by 2030. 3.3 The most recently published figures on child poverty show that in Renfrewshire the rate of child poverty before housing costs is 15.2%, representing 4,613 children - a decrease of 330 children compared to the previous year when the rate was 16.6%. This figure is less than the Scottish average of 16.3%. Not all wards in Renfrewshire saw a reduction in the proportion of children in low-income families, with three of our wards seeing a slight increase in rate. There continues to be particularly high proportions of children in low-income families in both the Paisley North West and Renfrew South and Gallowhill wards. 3.4 Renfrewshire’s Child Poverty Action Report recognises that a significant amount of work has been, and is being done, to reduce child poverty. The Report highlights the many activities carried out by Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and wider partners which are intended to tackle child poverty across Renfrewshire. 4 Overview of Local Child Poverty Action Report 4.1 The Scottish Government has identified the three key drivers of child poverty as: • income from employment; • costs of living; and • income from Social Security and benefits in kind. Page 12 of 182
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4.2 This report focusses on our longer-term response to child poverty as well as shorter term responses to recent increases in the cost of living, highlighting actions and achievements throughout 2024/25. The report is structured to reflect the strategic priorities within the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Delivery Plan, Best Start Bright Futures published in Spring 2022: • Providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to enter, sustain and progress in work; • Maximising the support available for families to lead dignified lives and meet their basic needs; • Supporting the next generation to thrive. 4.3 Providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to enter, sustain and progress in work. • Our employability service, Invest in Renfrewshire offers a wide range of tailored supports to help residents on the journey towards and into employment. In 2024/25 we have continued to see a steady number of parents coming forward to use the services of Invest and the Local Employability Partnership (LEP) funded organisations with over 300 parents accessing the service. • The Renfrewshire LEP has continued to plan and co-commission local employability services to help Renfrewshire residents make a successful transition towards employment and reduce unemployment in the area. Over the last year, the number of residents claiming out of work benefits in Renfrewshire has reduced from 3590 to 3375, equating to 2.9% of the population. There are also 90 Living Wage employers in Renfrewshire. • Our Procurement Team has realised 162 Community Benefits this year. 27 of these were to support communities, 84 of these are skills and training opportunities and 34 recruitment, with the rest being supply chain opportunities. 4.4 Maximising the support available for families to lead dignified lives and meet their basic needs • Our Fairer Renfrewshire programme, continues to have a positive impact on low-income families in Renfrewshire in 23/24. At the Council’s budget setting meeting for 24/25, a further £700,000 was invested in this programme to continue a number of existing supports such as free school breakfasts in schools in areas with high levels of child poverty, and funding for the mobile children’s library, the Skoobmobile. The programme also supports our Fairer Page 13 of 182
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Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel as well as advice across schools. • Advice is a vitally important part of our efforts to tackle child poverty, with the Council supporting the Healthier Wealthier Children and School Support services which provide dedicated advice services to families with children. Apart from our own Advice Works service, which provides advice to families with younger children through their Family Advice Service, the Council also provides funding to Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau (RCAB) to provide both a general advice service and a community legal advice service. This year additional services have been funded: • A Welfare Rights service based at RCAB • A School Support service in every secondary school in Renfrewshire and in our ASN schools These Council funded advice services gained almost £17million for the people of Renfrewshire in 24/25, and helped them manage almost £22 million in debt. • The Stronger Start project based within Maternity at the Royal Alexandra Hospital which provides advice and advocacy for mothers with complex needs received a total of 135 referrals in 24/25. A total of 98 women received both advice and advocacy support with £150k in financial gains. • In November 2024, we paid families an additional £50 per child for children receiving School Clothing Grant to help with winter clothing. Funding has been allocated in the 2025/26 budget to repeat this payment for over 5,000 children. • Our successful Winter Connections Programme saw £75,000 allocated from the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme to fund 42 activities across Renfrewshire, with venues also provided hot drinks, snacks and food. Funding was also allocated across all Renfrewshire’s libraries, including our mobile library to provide hot drinks and cup-a-soup on a universal basis, and snacks for children taking part in activities. • Our Summer of Fun Programme was very well received, with £100,000 of Council funding allocated to provide a comprehensive free programme comprising holiday camps, funded activities in the third sector, activities in libraries and activities for families supported with free food and drinks. Whole Family Wellbeing funded ASN provision was also provided across two sites, combining to a programme of activities for children and families, Page 14 of 182
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which was successful in reaching low income families and children within Child Poverty Priority groups. • Our Energy Advocates have saved clients over £135,000 this year including ongoing savings, write offs and Warm Home Discounts. • We topped up our Cost of the School Day funding by £75,000 through our Fairer Renfrewshire Programme. This funding is allocated to schools to alleviate financial barriers to education. 4.5 Supporting the next generation to thrive • In Renfrewshire, there is a relentless focus on closing the poverty related attainment gap while raising attainment for all. As a result, there has been an increase in attainment across almost all curricular areas and stages. Attainment is now broadly in line with or ahead of pre-pandemic levels. • With the cost of living affecting so many families this year, Youth Services has developed a number of responses informed by and to support young people including Evolve groups for those aged 13- 16 in local communities during school time as well as supporting young people who couldn’t otherwise afford it to access the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. • Work around The Promise has progressed well and there are currently 362 trained Promise Keepers across Renfrewshire, an increase from 259 last year. Promise Keepers are empowered to enact changes within their services, share knowledge, and promote positive, non-stigmatising language as outlined in the Renfrewshire Language Policy. 5 Next steps 5.1 Collaborating across services and with partners is vital to provide the most comprehensive supports for families living with low incomes. In 25/26 we will continue to join up support and bring partners together, to focus collectively on achieving the most for our communities and families. Through the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee, and using our Fairer Renfrewshire Officers Group and wider statutory and 3rd sector links, we will work across services to develop responses to increased costs of living and child poverty and maximise impact of services. 5.2 After a successful year where the Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience panel expanded its reach to support the HSCP and third sector, we will continue to fund and consult with the panel working to embed the voice of lived experience in our policy and practice. We will Page 15 of 182
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bring the Panel together with elected members as well as Council Officers and will support the Panel with its identified priorities. 5.3 Using improved quantitative and qualitative data about our communities, we will better identify required resources and target services where they are needed most, while continuing to respond flexibly to emerging issues affecting families across the whole of Renfrewshire. 5.4 With a focus on services in local areas, we will go into our communities to engage those parents who are not working or who are working in low paid jobs to enhance their skills and career prospects and increase their income. Working with partners, we will raise awareness of the many benefits of employment to families and the support available to parents, especially within the child poverty priority groups, to help them start their own journeys towards work. 5.5 Again, with partnership across services at its core, we will develop a summer programme for children and young people, especially targeting those with low incomes or requiring additional support, and their families across Renfrewshire, allowing children from low income families to have the same experiences and make the same memories as those from families with higher incomes. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – No implications 2. HR & Organisational Development – No implications. 3. Community/Council Planning – The Report highlights the continued activities which support the key priorities set out in the Council and Community Plans to tackle inequality and widen opportunity. 4. Legal – No implications 5. Property/Assets – No implications. 6. Information Technology – No implications. 7. Equality & Human Rights - It is anticipated that activities within the Report will have a positive impact on Equality and Human Rights considering the overrepresentation on equality groups within low- income households. 8. Health & Safety – No implications 9. Procurement – No implications Page 16 of 182
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10. Risk – No implications 11. 12. 13. 14. Privacy Impact – No implications. COSLA Policy position – no implications Climate risk – none 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 _________________________________________________________________ Author: Annabelle Armstrong-Walter, Connected Communities Manager. Page 17 of 182
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1 Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/25 Page 19 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 2 Table of Contents 1. Foreword ................................................................................................. 3 2. Executive Summary ..................................................................................... 3 2.1. Progress during 2022/23 ................................................................................ 4 2.2. Priorities for 2023/24 .................................................................................... 7 3. About Child Poverty ..................................................................................... 9 4. Strategic Context ...................................................................................... 14 5. Theme 1: Providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to enter, sustain and progress in work ......................................................................................... 21 6. Theme 2: Maximising the support available for families to lead dignified lives and meet their basic needs .................................................................................................... 33 7. Theme 3: Supporting the next generation to thrive .................................................. 64 Page 20 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 3 1. Foreword This, our seventh Local Child Poverty Action Report, sets out activities undertaken in Renfrewshire to reduce child poverty and support our children to thrive. It covers what we have done between April 2024 and March 2025, along with future plans to tackle child poverty. We want Renfrewshire to be a fair place, where everyone has the best chance to live happy, healthy and fulfilled lives, where no child lives in poverty, and where children feel valued no matter their background. The last few years have been challenging, especially for families with low incomes. Although, in general inflation has reduced, fluctuations in energy prices, higher costs for food and increases in housing costs mean that the cost of living remains much higher than in recent years. Debt levels have also increased and our data indicates that many families are struggling financially. Renfrewshire Council, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) continue to work with Community Planning partners and the third sector to support our families living with the financial pressures on their households. Our Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel also allows us to gain insight from local families and individuals on how poverty affects their lives, and how we can build better services to support our low income families. People experience poverty for many reasons and we know that it can be harder for single parent families, larger families, young families, families where there is a disability and for some ethnic minority families. We know that by working together, we can positively impact the lives of our families and support them into work and better paid jobs; help them to maximise their income; work with young people so they attain more at school; and support the mental health of families and children. This report shows the ways we do this across services and partners through working collaboratively. We also know that our actions alone cannot solve child poverty, and that collaborative effort is required at both a local and national level. We continue to be ambitious for our families and will continue to work together to find ways of tackling the challenges our low income families are facing. Alan Russell Chief Executive, Renfrewshire Council Chief Executive, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Page 21 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 4 2. Executive Summary This is Renfrewshire’s seventh Local Child Poverty Action Report. The report captures the range of activity that has taken place in Renfrewshire to reduce child poverty in 2024/25 and looks forward to the actions planned for 25/26 and beyond. Although no longer referred to as a crisis, continued Cost of Living pressures have had a significant impact on Renfrewshire’s families over the last year and this report describes the actions we have put into place to help our families deal with the financial challenges facing them. These immediate supports, and short-term actions sit alongside our existing initiatives and longer-term plans. This report is set out in a way that reflects the three themes of the Scottish Government child poverty delivery plan, Best Start, Bright Futures: • Providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to enter, sustain and progress in work • Maximising the support available for families to live dignified lives and meet their basic needs, and • Supporting the next generation to thrive 2.1 Progress during 2024/25 2.1.1. Providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to enter, sustain and progress in work • Our employability service, Invest in Renfrewshire, offers a wide range of opportunities and integrated supports to help residents on their journey towards and into employment. In 2024/25 we have continued to see a steady number of parents coming forward to use the services of Invest in Renfrewshire and the Local Employability Partnership (LEP) funded organisations with over 300 parents accessing the service. • The Renfrewshire Local Employability Partnership have continued to plan and co- commission local employability services to help Renfrewshire residents make a successful transition towards employment and reduce unemployment in the area. Over the last year, the number of residents claiming out of work benefits in Renfrewshire has reduced from 3590 to 3375, equating to 2.9% of the population. This is less than the Scotland rate (3.2%) and lower than that of Great Britain (4.2%).There are now 90 accredited living wage employes in Renfrewshire. Page 22 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 5 • Our Procurement Team has realised 162 Community Benefits this year. 27 of these were to support communities, 84 of these are skills and training opportunities and 34 recruitment, with the rest being supply chain opportunities. 2.1.2. Maximising the support available for families to lead dignified lives and meet their basic needs • Our Fairer Renfrewshire programme, continues to have a positive impact on low-income families in Renfrewshire in 23/24. At the Council’s budget setting meeting for 24/25 , a further £700,000 was invested in this programme to continue a number of existing supports such as free school breakfasts in schools in areas with high levels of child poverty, and funding for our mobile children’s library, the Skoobmobile. The programme also supports our Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel as well as advice across schools. • Advice is a vitally important part of our efforts to tackle child poverty, with the Council supporting the Healthier Wealthier Children and School Support services which provide dedicated advice services to families with children. Apart from our own Advice Works service, which provides advice to families with younger children through their Family Advice Service, the Council also provides funding to Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau (RCAB) to provide both a general advice service and a community legal advice service. This year additional services have been funded: • A Welfare Rights service based at RCAB • A School Support service in every secondary school in Renfrewshire and in our ASN schools These Council funded advice services gained almost £17 million for the people of Renfrewshire in 24/25, and helped them manage almost £22 million in debt. In addition, through a successful bid for Lottery funding, the Stronger Start service set up at the Royal Alexandra Hospital to provide advice and advocacy for mothers with complex needs has been continued for another two years. This project was developed in partnership with HSCP, NHSGGC and RCAB colleagues. • In October 2024, we paid families an additional £50 per child for children receiving School Clothing Grant to help with winter clothing. Funding has been allocated in the 2025/26 budget to repeat this payment for all eligible children. • Our successful Winter Connections Programme saw £75,000 allocated from the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme to fund 42 activities across Renfrewshire with £2,155 allocated across all Page 23 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 6 Renfrewshire’s libraries, including our mobile library. Venues also provided hot drinks, snacks and food. • Our Summer of Fun Programme was very well received, with £100,000 of Council funding allocated to provide a comprehensive free programme comprising holiday camps, funded activities in the third sector, activities in libraries and activities for families supported with free food and drinks. Whole Family Wellbeing funded ASN provision was also provided across two sites, combining to a programme of activities for children and families, which was successful in reaching low income families and children within Child Poverty Priority groups. • Our Street Stuff Programme provides a range of free multi-sport, gaming and educational activities 6 evenings a week, Monday to Saturday, throughout the year. We offer young people aged 8 - 16 across Renfrewshire access to exercise and social activities in a number of areas that they may otherwise not have the chance to take part in. • Our Energy Advocates have saved clients over £135,000 this year including ongoing savings, write offs and Warm Home Discounts. • We topped up our Cost of the School Day funding by £75,000 through our Tackling Poverty Programme. • Approximately 87% of those young people eligible in Renfrewshire have a Junior or a Young Scot National Entitlement card and free bus travel as part of the U22s Free Bus Travel Scheme saving families money on transport costs and supporting schools trips. This is an increase from 86% last year. A Cost of the Nursery Day pilot was delivered by the Renfrewshire HSCP Health Improvement Team. This project supports early-years establishments through upskilling staff to become a ‘Cost of the Nursery Day’ champion and reducing costs for parents. 2.1.3. Supporting the next generation to thrive • There is a relentless focus on closing the poverty related attainment gap while raising attainment for all. As a result, there has been an increase in attainment across almost all curricular areas and stages. Attainment is now in line with or ahead of pre-pandemic levels. Renfrewshire is ahead of national figures across all stages and curricular areas in 2023-24. • Contributing to tackling child and youth poverty, Youth Services has developed a number of targeted and inclusive programmes that reduce costs of participation, increase access to services, travel and digital tools and promote wellbeing, engagement, and attainment for vulnerable and Page 24 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 7 care-experienced young people. Young people engaging in Youth Services activities can access free food, period products and digital devices and connectivity as a matter of course. • Work around The Promise has progressed well and there are currently 362 trained Promise Keepers across Renfrewshire up from 259 at the same time last year. Renfrewshire actively engages with the Care Experienced community to ensure their voices are heard and their needs are met in service design and delivery and they can contribute to the development of policies such as the Renfrewshire Language Policy, which promotes the use of positive, inclusive language when referring to Care Experienced individuals. 2.2 Priority Actions Our priorities in 24/25 have included: Priority Actions for 2024/25 1 Develop Fairer Renfrewshire Programme 2 Better use the voice of our communities in decision making, including development and support for the Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel to deliberate on and guide policy and practice 3 Expand opportunities for parents to enter, sustain and progress at work through the Parental Employability Support Fund 4 Embed models of dedicated advice provision for families with children 5 Monitor the ongoing impacts of the Cost-of-Living Crisis, continuing to flexibly respond to emerging issues 6 Join up support for families within communities and across partners 7 Utilise quantitative and qualitative data to inform work This report provides examples of where these priority actions have been progressed, including development of policy responses to child poverty and the continuing cost of living crisis through the Fairer Renfrewshire programme. We have started using data to inform work specifically in the Gallowhill area of Paisley, which has seen child poverty rates rise sharply in recent years. Using quantitive and qualitative data, we have Page 25 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 8 started to build a picture of this area, and with an HSCP funded Community Needs Assessment concluding in March 25, we will begin to build capacity and work alongside the community to develop actions based on its own needs and wants. Our Fairer Renfrewshire Panel has been running for over a two years, and in that time the Panel has developed and become an invaluable resource for Council services and beyond, feeding into policy and practice in a number of areas including our Local Transport Strategy, summer holiday programme and digital inclusion. The Panel were also commissioned by Renfrewshire HSCP to scrutinise and report on the most recent Health and Wellbeing survey results and report back to our Community Planning Partnership Executive Group. Our advice services for families, which were extended the previous year have now bedded in, and are making significant gains for families. We have advice embedded in all secondary and ASN schools through a pilot with Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau (RCAB), and it was agreed at budget to extend this service for another year, for 2025/26. The Council’s Advice Works service has continued its initiative where all families applying for Free School Meals or Clothing Grants were offered advice and also provide a Family Advice Service for all families with children of primary school age and below. Both Advice Works and RCAB are involved in our school meal debt processes, which is more support focussed, and both will receive referrals from schools for families who may be struggling with money. Looking forward to 25/26 Collaborating across services and with partners is vital to provide the most comprehensive supports for families living with low incomes. In 25/26, we will continue to join up support and bring partners together, to focus collectively on achieving the most for our communities and families. Through our Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee, and using our Fairer Renfrewshire Officers Group and wider statutory and 3rd sector links, we will work across services to develop responses to increased costs of living and child poverty and maximise impact of services. This cross-cutting way of working will help us in our focus on our areas of highest child poverty. In particular we will be exploring and establishing place-based approaches to tackling child poverty in Gallowhill, Paisley, in response to recent sharp rises in rates of child poverty. With a focus on services in local areas, we will go into our communities to engage those parents who are not working or who are working in low paid jobs to enhance their skills and career prospects and increase their income. Working with partners, we will raise awareness of the many benefits of employment to families and the support available to parents, especially within the child poverty priority groups, to help them start their own journeys towards work. Page 26 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 9 Again, with partnership across services at its core, we will develop a summer programme for children and young people, especially targeting those with low incomes or requiring additional support, and their families across Renfrewshire allowing children from low income families to have the same experiences and make the same memories as those from families with higher incomes. After a successful year where the Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel expanded its reach to support the HSCP and third sector, we will continue to fund and consult with the Panel working to embed the voice of lived experience in our policy and practice. We will bring the Panel together with elected members as well as Council Officers and will support the Panel with its identified priorities. Using improved quantitative and qualitative data about our communities, we will better identify required resources and target services where they are needed most, while continuing to respond flexibly to emerging issues affecting families across the whole of Renfrewshire. 2.3 Scottish Government Child Poverty Targets and Drivers Child Poverty Targets were set by the Scottish Parliament in 2017 and are as follows: The statutory income targets are ambitious and relate to the following measures of poverty: Relative poverty: a child is in relative poverty if they live in a household where equivalised income is below 60 per cent of the inflation adjusted UK median income in the same year. This is a measure of whether those in the lowest income households are keeping pace with the growth of incomes in the economy as a whole. Absolute poverty: a child is in absolute poverty if they live in a household with an income below 60 per cent of the median equivalised net income in 2010–11. This is a measure of whether those in the lowest income households are seeing their incomes rise in real terms. By 2030, after housing costs Less than 10% of children live in households that are in relative poverty Less than 5% of children live in households that are in absolute poverty Less than 5% of children live in households that are in combined low income and material deprivation Less than 5% of children live in households that are in persistent poverty Page 27 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 10 Combined low income and material deprivation: a child is in combined low income and material deprivation if they live in a household with an income below 70 per cent of the equivalised median net income for that year and are unable to afford a number of basic goods and services (material deprivation). Persistent poverty: a child is in persistent poverty if they have been living in Scotland and in relative poverty for three of the past four years. In March 2022, the Scottish Government published its second child poverty delivery plan, Best Start Bright Futures under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017. Best Start, Bright Futures sets out a vision for Scotland, the changes that are needed to achieve this, and the actions Scottish Government intend to take with partners to deliver that change for the period 2022 to 2026 and focusses on three themes: • Providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to enter, sustain and progress in work • Maximising the support available for families to live dignified lives and meet their basic needs • Supporting the next generation to thrive These combined with the three drivers of child poverty give a focus to the work taking place in Renfrewshire to poverty within our families. The Scottish Government is due to publish its final child poverty delivery plan prior to 2030 in April 2026 and is consulting on themes in 2025, however, for this report and next, the themes are. In March 2025, the Scottish Government published figures which confirmed that the interim target of 18% of children living in relative poverty was missed with relative child poverty reducing from 26% to 22% in Scotland. The missed target was not unexpected as the interim targets were set when child poverty rates were consistently lower and pre-dated the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. The new delivery plan is expected to recognise the further challenges in reducing child poverty. Income from employment Costs of Living Income from Social Security and benefits in kind Page 28 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 11 2.4 Priority Groups ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’ builds on action delivered through the first Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 'Every Child, Every Chance'. This plan identified six priority family types that face additional barriers to moving out of poverty: • Lone Parents • Families that include a disabled adult or child • Large families with 3 or more children • Minority Ethnic families • Youngest child is under 1 year old • Young Mother aged under 25 years old Focus continues on these priority families as reporting continues to show that almost 90% of all children in poverty in Scotland live within the six priority family types. In March 2025, the Scottish Government published their Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland report for 2021-24. This report presents three-year averaged estimates of the proportion of people in Scotland living in poverty, and other statistics on household income and income inequality. With respect to the priority groups, updated figures were provided for the proportion of children in relative poverty after housing costs, in Scotland 2021-24. Page 29 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 12 Households with mothers aged under 25 are not included in this analysis, because they were too few in the sample this year to provide robust estimates, however the previous figure was 55%. Figures are fairly similar to those provided previously, with the only significant change in the statistics relating to households with 3 or more children, with the proportion increasing from 32% to 41%. 2.5 Child Poverty in Renfrewshire In March 2025, the Department for Work and Pensions released new statistics on children in low- income families. The proportion of children in low-income families in Renfrewshire has been steadily rising since 2014/15 (discounting data for 2020/21 which has significant caveats, due to the coronavirus pandemic). This year’s figures, however, show a slight decrease in rates. The decrease is likely to be at least partially due to Scottish Child Payment income being included for the first time, with 2023/24 being the first full year that Scottish Child Payments were paid to all eligible children under the age of 16. For 23/24, the percentage of children in relative low income, before housing costs in Renfrewshire is 15.2%, representing 4,613 children. This is a decrease of 330 children compared to the previous year, when the rate was 16.6%. The rate for Scotland is 16.3%. Not all wards in Renfrewshire saw a reduction in the proportion of children in low-income families, with three of our wards seeing a slight increase in rate. There continues to be particularly high proportions of children in low- income families in both Paisley North West and Renfrew South and Gallowhill wards, with children living in relative low income rates at 27.5% and 23.9% respectively, although both these wards showed the largest annual decrease in rates compared to last year. Page 30 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 13 Ward 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Change in % compared to previous year Renfrew South and Gallowhill 18.2 21.9 21.7 24.6 22.3 29.2 27.6 28.9 31.9 27.5 -4.4 Paisley Northwest 21.9 23.8 24.8 28.0 26.8 29.8 24.1 24.9 27.5 23.9 -3.6 Paisley Southwest 13.8 15.1 15.5 17.4 18.2 20.1 17.0 18.8 19.4 17.9 -1.5 Johnstone South and Elderslie 14.3 16.0 18.2 20.6 16.6 20.1 15.6 16.2 17.7 17.1 -0.6 Paisley East and Central 15.8 15.1 17.7 19.0 17.4 19.1 16.9 16.8 16.6 16.5 -0.1 Scotland 15.4 16.6 16.4 18.3 16.8 19.5 16.8 16.9 17.8 16.3 -1.5 Renfrew North and Braehead 13.8 15.4 14.1 18.6 17.5 18.4 14.7 16.3 16.8 15.7 -1.1 Paisley Southeast 9.0 10.3 9.9 11.8 11.1 15.7 12.9 13.6 15.0 15.3 0.3 Renfrewshire 13.1 14.4 14.9 17.1 15.6 18.4 15.3 15.9 16.6 15.2 -1.4 Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch 10.8 11.9 12.1 15.0 13.4 16.3 13.7 15.2 17.1 14.9 -2.2 Paisley Northeast and Ralston 11.4 14.2 14.1 16.6 14.4 17.0 13.4 13.1 14.1 12.0 -2.1 Erskine and Inchinnan 8.5 8.7 10.2 10.1 8.8 11.2 10.3 10.9 9.9 11.4 1.5 Houston, Crosslee and Linwood 11.3 12.2 11.4 13.3 12.0 13.5 10.4 10.0 10.1 8.9 -1.2 Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank 7.3 7.3 6.9 8.1 6.8 8.0 6.4 5.1 6.9 7.3 0.4 Page 31 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 14 In 24/25 we have been working to better understand the reasons behind the rises in certain Wards in recent years as part of our ‘Deep Dive’ into data, and ensure we are targeting the right supports in the right areas. 3 Strategic Context 3.1 Fairer Renfrewshire Programme The Fairer Renfrewshire Programme is a large, partnership programme of work across Renfrewshire, seeking to tackle the inequalities that exist across Renfrewshire’s communities. There are four key themes which are shared across all elements of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, and these are: The Council’s Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee has been meeting since August 2022. This Sub- Committee considers matters relating to poverty and financial insecurity, including food and fuel insecurity and the continuing high Costs of Living affecting our families. With oversight of the Council’s response to the Alcohol and Drug Commission report and the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme, it makes recommendations to the Council and the Leadership Board regarding those matters. A Fairer Renfrewshire Officers Group, chaired by the Head of Policy and Partnerships, meets monthly. This Group brings together Officers from across the Council as well as Renfrewshire HSCP and OneRen, Renfrewshire’s charitable trust which provides culture, leisure and sporting opportunities. This allows cross service information sharing and scrutiny on matters related to making Renfrewshire fairer, and promotes a cross cutting approach intended to increase impact on outcomes for our households who are living in poverty. The Council Plan is a key strategic document for Council employees, local people, businesses, partner organisations and voluntary organisations, setting out what the Council is aiming to Page 32 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 15 achieve until 2027, with a refresh carried out in 2024. Alongside Renfrewshire’s Community Plan, the Council Plan provides organisational direction, ensuring that the key strategic priorities of the Council translate into specific actions within service improvement plans. One of the key pillars of the plan is ‘Fair – nurturing bright, happy and healthy futures for all’, which outlines a number of key corporate priorities focussed around addressing child poverty. The Plan also describes a cross- cutting theme – improving outcomes for children and families, which runs across all strategic outcomes in the Plan, and underpins all we do. In tandem with the Council Plan, the vision for our Community Plan is "working together to make Renfrewshire a fairer, more inclusive place where all our people, communities and businesses thrive". There are three ‘Areas of Focus’ within the Community Plan, of which ‘Supporting low- income families’ is one, with 4 action areas dedicated to this areas of focus. With an emphasis on joining up support for families within communities, and taken in tandem with the Council Plan, our Community Plan illustrates our commitment, along with our partners, to reducing child poverty and supporting our children to have the best start in life. 3.2 Renfrewshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership Renfrewshire HSCP IJB Strategic Plan, Shaping Our Future 2022 -2025, focuses on Prevention and Early Intervention under key themes. These include the Healthier Futures theme which highlights commitment to continue to work with partners in Renfrewshire to contribute to reducing child poverty locally by detailing actions we continue to work and report on. This report has a strong input from the HSCP Health Improvement Team who focus on prevention and early intervention and have been working closely with Council Colleagues in a number of areas. This year the Health Improvement Team also commissioned the Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel to carry out work for them. 3.3 Renfrewshire’s Children’s Services Partnership Throughout Scotland, local authorities and health boards work with community planning partners to ensure services delivered to children, young people and their families are the best they can be. In Renfrewshire, we do this by listening to our communities to identify what support people need, why they need it, when they need it and how best it can be provided. This work takes place through Renfrewshire’s Children’s Services Partnership (RCSP) whose members include the Council, other Page 33 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 16 public sector organisations, and the third sector. Together, we identify local priorities and plan how we can join up to add value and deliver services to children, young people and their families that make a real difference to their lives. Our three-year Renfrewshire Children’s Services Partnership Plan has been developed to cover the period 2023 – 2026. It sets out our focus for Renfrewshire’s children, young people and families and identifies the steps we will take to improve their lives. The Partnership examined national and community priorities and how these link in with our vision children’s service planning. This includes work around The Promise, UNCRC, GIRFEC, Whole Family Wellbeing and Poverty. Based on what is known about the needs of children and young people of Renfrewshire, we have identified four outcomes that partners will work together to deliver. 1. We will ensure our children and young people enjoy good physical and mental health 2. We will ensure our children and young people are safe and loved 3. We will ensure our children and young people have their rights protected and their voices heard 4. We will ensure our children and young people achieve and make positive contributions to their community The Children’s Services Partnership Oversight and Monitoring Group continues to meet at least quarterly and provides updates to each meeting of the Partnership Board. 3.4 Children’s Services Improvement Plan Renfrewshire’s Education Improvement Plan (2024/25) has been developed through consultation with a variety of stakeholders. Our Education Improvement Plan sets out where we want to improve and how we want to do that, based on the evidence we have gathered on our current performance. Page 34 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 17 Our Plan focuses on 6 main priority areas: Our improvement priorities align to those outlined in the National Improvement Framework and the Education Improvement Plan supports the delivery of the priorities contained within key plans such as Renfrewshire Council’s Plan, Children’s Services Partnership Plan and Children’s Services Improvement Plan. 3.5 How we work with people As a Council, Renfrewshire is very keen to engage with our residents and use their voice and feedback to support the design of policy and practices across services. Some examples of this engagement are below. Fairer Renfrewshire Panel In 2022/23, we established a Fairer Renfrewshire Panel of people with lived experience of poverty to inform Council policy and practice. Working with Poverty Alliance as an expert national partner, and STAR Project as our expert local partner, we ran a 6 month ‘test of change’ to establish whether a Panel would result in meaningful engagement on the part of both people with lived experience and policy makers. The decision was made to extend the arrangement and the Panel has continued to meet since, now supported solely by STAR Project. The panel is diverse, and experiences include being adults and children in poverty, dependent on benefits and in-work poverty, as well as New Scots and those who have been previously consulted without it making a difference. Over 24/25, the Panel has provided insight in a number of areas. The Local Transport Strategy has been one of these, with the Panel inputing their experiences around transport/getting around in Renfrewshire. A draft Local Strategy has been developed, and the panel will be engaged to feed back on this in 25/26. The Panel have also met with our Events Team and worked as a focus group with the Council’s Commissioning and Creative Events Lead to support the development of their Events strategy to be inclusive of people facing barriers to participation. Page 35 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 18 The Panel has continued to meet with our Employability Service, Invest in Renfrewshire, and have had their feedback actioned in a number of areas, including the development of a new project for those at the beginning of their employment journey. The Panel has also informed the Cost of the Nursey Day pilot delivered by the Renfrewshire HSCP Health Improvement Team during 2024/25 as described at 5.6. This year the Panel received their first piece of commissioned work from Renfrewshire HSCP, to contribute to their analysis of the results from the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde 2022/23 adult health and wellbeing survey: Renfrewshire report. The Panel provided support in determining priorities based on the experience of people at disadvantage and with experience of barriers to services. Their analysis was presented at a special meeting of the Community Planning Partnership Executive group, to which senior Council Officers were also invited. The panel have also offered to be involved in the drafting of the next survey. Also this year, for the first time, the Panel has attended events, both to present and to expand their knowledge. Members attended an Aberlour event on Public Debt and presented at a Child Poverty Leads event about their experience as a lived experience Panel. One of the Panel members is now the Renfrewshire HSCP’s Joint Integration Board Service User Representative, adding links to the Fairer Renfrewshire work as well as the service user perspective the position was designed for. The Panel has continued to meet with the Convenor and Depute of the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub- Committee and this year came together with the full Sub-Committee and Fairer Renfrewshire Officers Group to discuss Panel priorities and their future plans. These conversations and engagements with Council services and beyond will help people on low incomes get their voices heard on the policies and decisions that most impact their lives and help us understand their needs, especially those in the Child Poverty Priority Groups. Youth Services Our Youth Services team have also carried out consultation and outreach in under-represented areas to develop youth voice in the community. Over 24/25, this work has continued in the form of events, residentials and assemblies to support young people to come together and prioritise the issues that matter most to them. This has included: • The West Partnership Alliance. Young people from Renfrewshire worked with peers from other local authorities to explore key issues. One focus in Renfrewshire was the experiences of New Scots, leading to the creation of a practical guide to help improve support, illustrated interactive Page 36 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 19 activity to show barriers and successes of New Scots settling in Renfrewshire and lesson plan to support delivery. • Themed Youth Assemblies. These events bring together young people from schools and partner organisations to revisit priorities, speak with expert panels and make recommendations. In 2024, the Young and Equally Safe Youth Assembly focused on gender-based violence. Two further events are planned for 2025: EcoNet – a climate change and sustainable travel event run in partnership. A dedicated assembly for young people who are care experienced, taking place later in the year. • Local Youth Voice Groups. Groups like Erskine Youth Council, Linwood Youth Voice, and Renfrewshire Youth Voice continue to meet regularly to raise local concerns and influence change. Themed groups including Climate Change Champions, Renfrewshire Promise Champs and Young and Equally Safe also continue • MSYPs. Renfrewshire has 5 representatives in the Scottish Youth Parliament, who work to bridge the gap between local and national issues. Taking forward the views of local young people and building partnerships with communities and decision makers. Employability As described at 4.2, our employability service has commissioned Social Value Lab to carry out consultation with parents in the Renfrewshire area around engagement with employability services. The team at Social Value Lab consulted with 23 parents, conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups and 95 parents completed an online survey. They also engaged with the Parental Advisors and with Key Stakeholders. This research allowed barriers to employment to be identified, and Invest team to start work across Council services and the wider LEP to remove these. Community Needs Assessment, Gallowhill Using funding provided by Public Health NHSGGC, Active Communities were commissioned by Renfrewshire Health and Social Care partnership to facilitate a community needs assessment in the community of Gallowhill from July 2024 – January 2025. This took the form of speaking to the community on the streets, hosting events, having anonymous written paper feedback in various community locations, an online questionnaire, speaking to people attending clubs or groups in the area and speaking to people who work in the area. Using the Place Standards Tool, which provides a framework to structure conversations about the physical and social aspects of a place, 1033 Page 37 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 20 responses have been collected, and will feed into the development of coordinated actions to build capacity and work alongside the community to develop actions based on its own needs and wants. Results are being explored to inform next steps with a partnership session held, bringing together services from across the Council and key partners such as the HSCP, One Ren, and Engage Renfrewshire to discuss issues identified by local people and to start planning a place-based, partnership response to challenges in the Gallowhill area. To support this, Fairer Renfrewshire funding has been provided to 3rd sector organisation, Active Communities to employ a Community Development Officer who will be working in Gallowhill for the next 18 months. It is intended that all partners including Renfrewshire Council, Education, Community Planning Partners, Engage, local current service providers, Community Learning and Development, OneRen, Police, NHSGGC Public Health and Health Improvement as well most importantly, local community members from Gallowhill will be brought together to consider the results of the needs assessment and identify next steps required to create the infrastructure to respond to local needs. This work will be coordinated by the newly formed Connected Communities service. Housing Regeneration – Community Neighbourhood Renewal In our 8 housing regeneration areas, a new approach to Community Neighbourhood Renewal is being established with community representatives, across Council Services and with third party partners to operate in parallel with the physical regeneration plans. The neighbourhood renewal approach will be tailored to the needs and circumstances of each area, going beyond housing and the immediate external environment, and taking account of broader issues such as links to health and wellbeing, access to outdoor space and sustainable travel and employment or training opportunities that maximise the benefits achievable for local residents. Howwood Road area was selected as a pilot for this new approach, with a specific focus on promoting health and wellbeing, employability, and energy advice, along with community capacity building. The first Neighbourhood Renewal meeting for this area took place on 22nd May 2024 and was well attended and received by the local community with over 140 individuals in attendance. Linking in with the newbuild consultation event planned for this date, we were able to work collaboratively across Council services, with third sector partners to use the newbuild consultation event as a platform to launch the Neighbourhood Renewal Group for this area. The event provided tenants and residents with the opportunity to speak to Council Officers and partners about the development plans and receive advice on matters such as employability, health Page 38 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 21 and wellbeing and energy advice and information on how to be involved in the project going forward. .As part of this neighbourhood renewal process for this area, residents were asked for ideas or suggestions for the development of the former St. Davids school site as it is not envisaged that this will be developed for housing due to site constraints previously highlighted to the Board. A number of the ideas were collated for consideration for the vacant site including outdoor learning area that could be utilised by local schools and football park/pitches. Another suggestion that has been considered and developed further since the event in May, is the use of a property for a local drop-in surgery. This is a space where tenants and residents can speak with Officers about the programme of works in the area and we could potentially hold a number of advice or wellbeing surgeries in association with the partners we are working with, across this area. A suitable centrally located property has been identified for this purpose and following completion of the required changes to facilitate the use as a drop in venue, Officers will promote the location and times this service will be available to residents within the Howwood Road regeneration and renewal area.This approach aims to strengthen community voices and improve place-based decision making across and will be taken forward across all regeneration areas in Renfrewshire to enhance and measure the offering and impact of the programme. 4 Theme 1: Providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to enter, sustain and progress in work Income from employment is one of the 3 main drivers of child poverty. As such, increasing income from employment for unemployed and low-income parents is a key objective nationally and in Renfrewshire. 4.1 Local Employability Partnership Renfrewshire Local Employability Partnership (RLEP) is the local strategic employability partnership consisting of partner agencies from the Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership. It is chaired by Renfrewshire Council and its purpose is to support the implementation of local and national employability policy (No One Left Behind) through collective leadership, joint planning and co-commissioning. In doing so, the partnership, working closely with local delivery partners, makes best use of resources available to deliver effective needs-led employability services Page 39 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 22 that help Renfrewshire residents make a successful transition towards employment and reduce unemployment in the area. RLEP is committed to reducing those inequalities that exist in relation to employment between different geographic areas and for different groups who face significant barriers to work. Success as a Partnership goes beyond reducing unemployment at a Renfrewshire level to reducing the gaps that exist for these areas and groups. This includes Care Experienced young people which are prioritised by RLEP in its services and programme delivery as well as those who have arrived in Renfrewshire through Resettlement Schemes. Renfrewshire LEP has established a number of sub-groups focussing on priority groups and all of these will consider employability related actions to tackle child poverty with the Council’s Employability Service ‘Invest’ leading on the LEP’s parental employment support approach. The Health Conditions and Recovery sub-group, chaired by HSCP Health Improvement, works to support people in Renfrewshire with health conditions to improve their employability. This Subgroup has continued to progress their action plan through 2024/25. Key pieces of work have included the promotion and evaluation of mental health support for employability clients and the delivery of mental health training for employability staff, including Scottish Mental Health First Aid, Trauma-Informed Practice workshops and Neurodiversity Awareness sessions. The subgroup has also continued to progress work on an “Asking the Employability Question” toolkit for staff working in health and social care settings. The toolkit purpose is to increase staff confidence discussing employability with the individuals they work with and increase awareness of referral routes to employability services. The subgroup aims to launch this toolkit during 2025/26, with promotion across all LEP subgroups including the Parental Employability Group. Over the last year, the number of residents claiming out of work benefits in Renfrewshire has reduced from 3,590 to 3,375, equating to 2.9% of the population, lower than the Scottish rate of 3.2% and that of Great Britain (4.2%). The proportion of workless households has also dropped by 1.5% to 17.1% - lower than for Scotland as a whole (17.4%) (2023). Economic Inactivity is a key focus at local, National and UK levels, in particular where this is linked to health issues . Our story in Renfrewshire is however very positive as we have seen a significant reduction in the proportion of those inactive (due to health issues) from very high levels during and after COVID of over 43% (compared to 31% at a Scottish level) to 29.8% - now almost 4% lower than Scotland. Gross average weekly earnings for full time workers have increased to £745 from £711, again higher than the Scottish figure of £740. Page 40 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 23 4.2 Parental Employment Support Income from employment is one of the 3 main drivers of child poverty. As such, increasing income from employment for unemployed and low-income parents continues to be a key objective nationally and in Renfrewshire. Renfrewshire’s parents who meet at least one of the priority groups and who are unemployed or low income employed can access practical and financial support including: Support provided to parents is person centred and tailored to meet their individual requirements, aiming to remove the barriers they are facing to progress towards employment or gain improved employment. In addition, the service offers: • Specialist employability support for parents with a disability/long-term condition or who have a child with a disability/long-term condition. • Specialist support for parents with other significant challenges such as having a criminal conviction. • Targeted support to tackle the increased challenge of in-work poverty by helping parents already in work to remain active in the workplace and gain progression through a rewarding career, through the provision of ongoing training and employability support. • Confidential income and money advice which includes: benefit checks and help with any claim processes; better off in work calculations; help with debts; creation of a bespoke budget for the family; and budgeting skills support to ensure long lasting effect. • Client recruitment Incentives aligned to parents, for those with significant barriers including those parents in the 6 Child Poverty Priority groups. Page 41 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 24 • Further work with employers to create family/parent friendly working conditions and working patterns e.g. school hour posts. • A Wellbeing Advisor to support parents who are requiring additional support. • Traineeship opportunities as paid placements within various sections of the Local Authority, where parents can re-enter the job market as a trainee initially to develop their skills and confidence to support them to progress towards gaining employment. • Anxiety Management courses and other support with mental health including peer support. Our employability service, Invest in Renfrewshire, offers a wide range of tailored supports to help residents on their journey towards and into employment. In 2024/25 we have continued to see a steady number of parents coming forward to use the services of Invest in Renfrewshire and the LEP funded organisations and have worked with over 300 parents this year, this includes new parents and parents who were registered in previous years. Of the parents newly registering with the service this year, there were a number who met one or more of the Child Poverty priority groups, the table below shows the priority groups that the parents registered during the period of April 2024 to March 2025 meet. In the financial year 2024/25, Renfrewshire Council were awarded funding to support parents through the Child Poverty Funding stream (formerly known as PESF – Parental Employability Support Fund). This funding enabled new services to be put in place to provide a focused and tailored support for families both employed and unemployed. The Invest in Renfrewshire Parental Employability Support team includes a Child Poverty Co- ordinator who manages the delivery of the Parental Employability Support programme and team members. The team increased to 6.5 FTE Parental Employability Advisors in Quarter 1 of 2024/25 Page 42 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 25 delivery. This recruitment brought the team to full capacity and enabled them to engage with more parents throughout Renfrewshire. The Parental Employability Team have delivered outreach in locations across Renfrewshire, this approach has allowed parents access to support in their local area as well as being able to access support from Invest in Renfrewshire’s main office at The Russell Institute in Paisley town centre. The team have delivered outreach services in various locations on a regular basis including the below: • Station Seven, Johnstone • McMaster’s Centre, Renfrew • Tannahill Centre, Ferguslie • Bargarran Centre, Erskine • Paisley Central Library, Paisley • Glenburn Community Centre, Glenburn • Linwood Library, Linwood • Gallowhill Community Centre, Gallowhill The team are exploring other outreach locations with a view to reaching more parents in 2025/26. They have also participated in outreach activities in schools and early education establishments and will continue to engage with more education establishments in the year ahead. To support the engagement with parents who are unemployed, the Advisors and/or our Client Engagement Officer delivers group information sessions in each of the Jobcentre Plus offices across Renfrewshire. These sessions enable residents to meet with Advisors and learn about the services in the different teams within Invest in an informal setting. Residents also have an opportunity to speak to advisors about their personal support requirements before being referred to the service. Through information gathered at initial assessment and through the ongoing work with people in Renfrewshire, Invest and the LEP subgroups recognised that additional support was required to support people to improve their mental health as part of their journey into employment. The LEP and Invest in Renfrewshire commissioned counselling support from RAMH, Youth Interventions and Time for Talking late in 2023 and this continued to be available in 2024/25, they were offered counselling sessions and where required were referred to specialist support by these providers. In Page 43 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 26 2025/26 LEP have commissioned RAMH to deliver one to one counselling, Coping with Anxiety and Living Life to the Full courses. Time for Talking have also been commissioned to deliver one to one counselling. RAMH provided training for Invest and LEP staff to improve their skills and knowledge in supporting residents with their mental health, this included training in Scottish Mental Health First Aid, Small Change Big Impact – Trauma Informed Practices. They also had the opportunity to attend Understanding Neurodiversity: An Introduction being delivered by Youth Interventions. These courses have been funded for a further year to support more staff to develop their skills. The Invest and LEP funded providers offer a range of barrier removal, prevocational and vocational training opportunities and participants take part in various programmes and activities. There are group activities on offer that cover a wide range of topics including interview skills, team working etc, as well as formal accredited training such as care, first aid, driver training and other sector specific training which enhance and develop the attributes, skills and knowledge required to support progression into sustainable employment. To improve skills and qualifications, parents have access to Digital College courses that they can work through at their own pace and at home or within The Russell Institute, there are over 90 courses that they can select from and their Advisor will assist them to select courses that are relevant to their employment journey. Invest host training sessions for service users at The Russell Institute on a regular basis including employability skills workshops, IT skills and accredited training Steps to Excellence, CSCS, World Host and commission Emergency First Aid at Work and REHIS Food Hygiene. The training team in partnership with the Invest Employer Liaison team deliver Sector Based Work Academies focussing on developing skills to enable people to progress into employment within sectors where employers are recruiting. Parents have participated in these programmes and gained employment Funded Work Placements and Traineeships. The LEP commissioned provision for 2024/25 was delivered by: • West College Scotland ‘YES Programme’ a personalised learning programme to support parents with multiple barriers into employment • BDA Ltd provided support to people interested in progressing into self-employment • ‘I Was Gonnae Charity’ provided a music-based project to support parents through a motivational and creative employability programme. Page 44 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 27 • ‘REEM – Renfrewshire Effort to Empower Minorities’ will engage and support parents to build confidence and assist them to take the first steps to engaging with employability services. During the year it was recognised that additional training opportunities were required and Daring Greatly were commissioned to deliver ‘Parents with a Purpose’, this programme focussed on parents’ personal development and wellbeing activities. There were many challenges and barriers the parents faced when considering returning to work including English as a second language, money and debt issues, health related conditions including mental health, criminal convictions and housing issues etc. Given the barriers parents work through, it can take time to progress through the stages of the employability pipeline to access all the support required. It is important to work at the pace the parents are comfortable with and this is recognised within their agreed personal action plan. In 2024/25 there were 128 parents who progressed into employment and 7 progressed into self- employment. Funded Work Placements were commenced by 10 parents, a Funded Work Placement is a funded role within a third sector organisation where the full salary costs are provided to the organisation for a period of 6 months to support the parent to develop and enhance their skills and gain valuable work experience. Traineeship opportunities were funded for 18 parents within the Local Authority where they were able to gain valuable work experience within various sections of the Local Authority, the roles were created to be family friendly and provide flexible working for parents with a view to them developing skills to progress into other employment within the Local Authority or other organisations. There were 12 parents who entered Further Education and 132 who gained a qualification. During 2024/25 we continued to receive referrals for people who were arriving in Renfrewshire through resettlement schemes. There were 29 parent refugees who registered with our employability services. In addition to the Parental Employability Advisors Ukrainian parents have access to a Ukrainian speaking Advisor who can support them with translation and provide support throughout their journey into employment. The team also have Advisors who can speak Urdu and Arabic. The Employer Liaison team engaged with employers to encourage flexible working options when considering recruiting parents, employers were offered funding through the Parental Employer Recruitment Incentive to create an opportunity for a parent. The Transition to Work welfare fund was accessed by 44 parents in the year to support them financially in making the transition into employment, parents were able to access up to £500 paid Page 45 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 28 over a period of 13 weeks. In addition to this funding they were able to receive financial support with clothing for interviews and for commencing employment and funding towards travel costs for the initial 3 months of employment. Social Value Lab Social Value Lab were commissioned in December 2023 to consult with parents in the Renfrewshire area, this consultation was aimed at engaging with parents who had not previously accessed support or who had registered and didn’t engage. The team at Social Value Lab consulted with 23 parents conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups and 95 parents completed an online survey. They also engaged with the Parental Advisors and with Key Stakeholders. The report was published in October 2024. The team engaged with parents from all Child Poverty Priority Groups and parents from across Renfrewshire, they also engaged with parents who were unemployed, in work, on maternity leave and who were students. The research identified barriers that are being faced by parents around accessing childcare provision, transport to opportunities, financial barriers and the availability of employment opportunities that suit them and their family circumstances. In response, the team are working on raising awareness of the support to remove barriers to employment available through Invest and LEP provision and are working with the team and the LEP Sub Group – Parental Employability Group to identify gaps in current provision and develop other programme to provide additional support. 4.3 Looking forward to 2024/25 Looking to next year, Invest will continue to deliver outreach services and provide services in local areas across Renfrewshire over the period of 2025/26. We aim to continue to engage with third sector groups and organisations and other partners to raise awareness of the many benefits of employment to families and the support available to parents to help them start their own journeys towards work. Employability staff will continue to work closely with organisations that already have good relationships with parents, in particular those working with the child poverty target groups. Parents can access LEP commissioned provision for 2025/26 from organisations which have been awarded LEP Grants to deliver projects and support to unemployed and underemployed parents: • ‘I Was Gonnae Charity’ will provide a music-based project to support parents through a motivational and creative employability programme. Page 46 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 29 • ‘West College Scotland’ will deliver a parental YES (Your Employability Skills) programme, a personalised learning programme to support parents with multiple barriers into employment. • ‘Challenges Group’ will deliver the Making Work Work employability programme for Mums returning to work or looking to progress in employment, this programme provides an opportunity to work towards a Chartered Management Institute qualification. • ‘RAMH’ will deliver the Living Life to The Full wellbeing programme for a group of parents • ‘West College Scotland’ will also deliver ESOL for Employability programmes. • ‘Kairos Language Café’ will provide conversational English sessions to further enhance communication skills. • ‘Community Transport Glasgow’ are delivering a minibus and bus driver programme with an element of practical driving work experience. • ‘West College Scotland’ Care programme will provide training for people looking to progress into employment in care, this programme will also include work experience. • ‘Brick Lane’ will deliver a music based programme including the opportunity to gain an SQA National Progression Award in Music Performing. • ‘Generation X’ are delivering and 8-week programme to support people to develop skills to progress into employment in Technology and Green sectors. • ‘BDA’ will provide self-employment support for parents looking to progress into self- employed opportunities. These commissioned services will work in partnership with Invest in Renfrewshire’s Parental Employability Support team, with Invest providing the wraparound support for parents participating. Invest will work in partnership to recruit parents for each of the programmes and will provide ongoing support during and after the programmes to support with progression to next steps on their employability journey. Invest also plans to continue to expand the outreach services over the period of 2024/25 to offer services from other venues to support more parents in the different locations across Renfrewshire. This includes a further expansion of the outreach at Gallowhill Community Centre, which is being developed with an aim of engaging with parents from this area. This location has been selected due to the recent sharp increase in child poverty rates within the area. The team will work in partnership with other organisations to meet the needs of parents engaging. Page 47 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 30 The team are also working on several programme developments to enhance the services and provide additional support to parents in Renfrewshire. 4.4 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Employment Programmes Throughout 2024/25, NHS GGC has continued to focus on three themes around employability: Apprenticeships, Academy and Career, with work being progressed under those themes including: Apprentice • 42 apprentices graduated this year, with a recognition event taking place in September 24. • An ‘Apprentice Ambassador’ promoted activity through participation at careers events • Two job coaches have provided enhanced support to young people in apprentice roles. • The first NHSGGC apprentice survey took place in Nov 2024 to gather feedback on experience and shape future priorities • An apprentice pathways event took place in February 2025, which was attended by 575 senior phase pupils. In addition, two Academy programmes were completed • An apprentice webinar with DWP during Scottish Apprentice week had over 100 attendees. Academy • Project Search continued with the annual intake of 12 young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, for a programme based at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. • Facilities and Admin service leads prmomoted NHS GGC Entry level roles at DWP job fairs Careers • Careers promotion continues in Get Ready format covering senior pupil access to nursing, podiatry, physiotherapy and medicine. This programme is led by profession educators with aim to give practical insight to career, study and entry routes • NHS GGC clinical and technical services supported STEM events for senior pupils during Scottish Careers week Nov 2024 and March 2025 for the Glasgow and West areas, with 1,100 pupils attending. • Online events were held by NHS GGC to support Scottish Apprenticeship Week • MCR Pathways mentoring continues. Page 48 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 31 Plans for 2025/26 are to continue these three themes directed by workforce priorities in the NHS GGC workforce plan, Anchor Plan and engagement with partners through the LEPs. NHS GGC will also be exploring model of paid placements through LEPs and other partners. 4.5 Procurement In Renfrewshire, we are committed to maximising Community Benefits through Council procurement activities by including specific Community Benefit Clauses and targets within procurement contracts. These cover payment of the Living Wage as well as targeted employment and training opportunities. Fair work practices in areas such as zero hour contracts and worker representation are also scored. The Council’s Procurement Team has realised 162 Community Benefits this year. 27 of these were for communities, 84 of these are skills and training opportunities and 34 recruitment, with the rest being supply chain opportunities. Community Wealth Building (CWB) is a key priority and Community Benefits are evaluated as part of the tendering process and monitored on a quarterly basis. Ongoing and future work to improve processes and outreach: Our CWB Coordinator chairs the Council’s refreshed Community Benefits Forum and along with the Corporate Procurement Manager has put in place key terms of reference, strategic purpose and clear performance measures for the delivery of the council’s community benefits. This has included streamlining the monitoring of community benefits to help support better delivery. To help suppliers deliver benefits to those most in need across Renfrewshire, Community Benefit Forum membership has grown to include representation from a wider range of council services such as HSCP, Housing, ICT and Connected Communities as key partners which in turn widens our outreach in the community. The Community Benefits Forum is a key lever for the delivery of benefits from existing contracts and the group has now taken on a key role in strategic development of the community benefit approach in relevant contract strategies. This has enabled identification of new opportunities for the delivery of community benefits including building a range of social, economic, and/or environmental conditions into the delivery of council contracts from pre-tender stage to address local priorities. The Council now uses Cenefits, a community benefits tracking system which provides real time monitoring, reporting and evaluation of all procurement contracts with community benefit commitments. Cenefits provides the council with accurate reporting data to measure benefits by Page 49 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 32 type, location, impact and level of engagement from contractor, ensuring Renfrewshire Council’s community benefit delivery is now has a centralised evidence base. Ongoing work has also included supplier engagement with focus on Renfrewshire’s local and/or SME suppliers. This includes hosting events to support suppliers to better understand the needs of the Renfrewshire community and promote awareness of opportunities for our local supply base as well as upskilling suppliers to be enabled to access these opportunities. Suppliers are also being supported to better understand and utilise the Cenefits system- leading to better, more efficient delivery and monitoring of community benefit outcomes. NHS GGC is also a procurer and an affiliate member of the the Supplier Development Programme (SDP), which is a partnership of Local Authorities, Scottish Government and other public bodies that work together to bring free support in all aspects of tendering to Scottish-based small and medium enterprises. Membership of SDP is recognised as a community benefit to the public sector in Scotland. NHS GGC has continued to ensure procurement attendance at local and national "Meet the Buyer" events where appropriate. Further highlights from NHS GGC include work to increase partnership working between NHS GGC Procurement, Public Health (Health Improvement), Supplier Development Programme (SDP), Glasgow Council for Voluntary Sector (GCVS), and Third Sector Interface to improve awareness and use of Community Benefits Gateway (CBG). The CBG is a free and easy-to-use online service that connects NHS Scotland suppliers with third-sector community organisations within Scotland who are looking for assistance with community initiatives (needs). In collaboration with Public Health Scotland, the CBG helps improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of local areas and assists in the reduction of health inequalities across Scotland. During 2024/25, two bespoke CBG webinars were delivered by SDP: third sector organisation facing and supplier facing to raise awareness of the CBG, to demonstrate its functionality, and to cover the basis of writing successful community needs applications which meet the criteria. The NHSGGC Public Health (Health Improvement) team worked closely and proactively with all partners to: • Identify and resolve any issues with accessing the CBG portal by TSOs or suppliers. • Support third sector organisations to submit their community need application by offering guidance on criteria as well as practical support. • Supporting suppliers to identify community needs on the portal which they might be able to meet Page 50 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 33 4.6 Childcare Since August 2022, all eligible children receive 1140 hours at nursery, an approved childminder or a combination of both. This includes all children who are 3 and 4 and some 2 year olds. In Renfrewshire there are 38 Council ELC establishments, 36 approved funded provider establishments and 12 childminders delivering the ELC entitlement. Most of our nursery centres are open before and after the school day across the full year to support working parents. We have also been focussing on childcare within our holiday provision, trying to ensure this supports parents who need childcare while they work. The childminding workforce has declined in recent years during the expansion of early learning centres, and shortages of childminders are being reported with a decline of 41% in Renfrewshire since 2016. The Council, through RLEP, has funded a programme by the Scottish Childminding Association to recruit and train childminders in Renfrewshire to help raise the number of approved childminders. This started in 23/24 and will be ongoing in 24/25 with 5 women currently active on the programme, 2 of whom have submitted their applications to the care commission for registration, so hopefully being ‘open for business’ soon. Renfrewshire Council is committed to supporting the independent sector’s contribution to early years provision in Renfrewshire, through the allocation of funding to support a range of private and voluntary sector organisations which deliver services for families with young children. In 24/25 £83,838 was allocated to out of school care groups in the private and voluntary sector and for early years voluntary sector organisations, playgroups and toddler groups. 5 Theme 2: Maximising the support available for families to lead dignified lives and meet their basic needs Although this year some aspects of the cost of living crisis have eased, such as inflation rates, the effects are still being felt by households across Renfrewshire. Continued high costs are eroding living standards, reducing financial resilience and negatively affecting household debt affordability. We know some households have been disproportionately affected by these developments with low income families hit hardest. This year, Renfrewshire Council has targeted resources to support local households, working to ensure their income is maximised and outgoings are minimised. Our ongoing commitment to advice provision is illustrated in the number of services and projects the Council funds. With a General, a Legal and Welfare Rights advice service funded at Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau, Page 51 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 34 as well as an embedded advice service for High and ASN schools, this is an investment of over £465,000 per year. This provision is in addition to our own Advice Works Team which provides general benefit and money advice to thousands of families every year. Advice Works also supports areas like housing, better-off calculations for employability and over the last several years has provided advice in Renfrewshire Foodbank. We have a team of 3 full time energy advocates who provide energy advice to households of all types and an Improving the Cancer Journey and Long Term Conditions Service for those who have received a diagnosis. Overall, Renfrewshire Council’s advice provision is considerable, and when advice funded, for example through Renfrewshire HSCP and external sources is added, this is a significant investment. In our partnerships with Renfrewshire HSCP, NHSGGC, the third sector and more widely, we have worked together to support families through embedding advice where possible and augmenting processes to encourage take up of advice. For the third year, over the winter period, we worked again with partners to deliver the Winter Connections programme - encouraging people to connect and participate in activities in warm and welcoming spaces across communities in Renfrewshire. Our Fairer Renfrewshire work includes projects and activities which help families living in poverty. Our Advice Partnership continues, with advice providers across Council Services, the third sector, HSCP, Social Security Scotland and most recently NHSGGC coming together to share information and work to reduce gaps and coordinate services. Our refreshed School Meal Debt process has support for families at its core and advice is offered to everyone applying for School Clothing Grants and Free School Meals. Our summer programme is not only free to families, but is targeted at those who may need it most. Our innovative affordable credit pilot has continued by attracting external funding; our digital initiatives bring together a range of partners working together to support the digitally excluded, and our housing strategies alongside our work to bolster administered funds and maximise benefits for families help make families’ money go further and help them avoid financial crises. Throughout Renfrewshire, across Council services, and with a variety of partners, our actions help families reduce their cost of living and lead dignified lives. 5.1 Income maximisation through advice Throughout 2024/25, income maximisation through advice has been a focus for the Council and its partners. The continued high costs of living have made it more important than ever that families Page 52 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 35 are supported to claim the benefits, financial support and benefits in kind they are entitled to, as well as manage debt. The Council’s Advice Works service continues to provide advice with regards to money, debt and benefits, as well as providing advice and representation at benefit appeals. Overall, the financial gain for clients this year from new claims to benefit was over £13 million, with an additional £0.56 million in mandatory reconsiderations and appeals. Advice Works have also helped clients manage £12.47 million in debt. The Advice Works service moved to a new computer system which allowed more accurate recording and reporting of figures. The Council-funded Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau’s (RCAB) general service gave over 7,100 appointments and has gained £2.48 million for the people of Renfrewshire this year. This is in addition to the 342 people seen by the Legal Service, who had additional gains of over £3,400. The primary use of the legal service has been to avoid homelessness, liability for debt, and to reduce liability to increased financial expenditure which would not be recorded as client financial gain. The Welfare Rights service had 463 contacts resulting in 249 clients and £383,813 in financial gain for clients. New debt cases this year have led to over £9.36 million worth of debt currently being managed. Overall, between the two services, 6,518 clients fell into Child Poverty Priority families, with the disabled child/adult in a family being the largest category: 2,183 seen by RCAB and 1,120 by Advice Works. This year, Advice Works and RCAB have continued to work closely to ensure people are getting the benefits they are entitled to and the best money advice. They worked together on a benefit take up campaign, developed with partners and successfully launched during September 2024 primarily aimed at increasing Pension Credit take-up, with the broader aim of maximising income for low- income households. Further ‘Talk Money’ events were held during November 2024. We have continued to work closely with Social Security Scotland to ensure that referral between our clients and theirs is as simple as possible to maximise income for parents and parents to be.With both the Local Delivery Lead and Client Support Adviser Team Leader being part of our Advice Partnership, we can ensure relevant information is shared. Our Talk Money week event described at 5.8 was an example of a cross partner activity where Advice Works, RCAB and Scottish Social Security came together with our Energy Advocates and Invest in Renfrewshire to support maximisation of income, supported by third sector partners and our Skoobmobile to attract and entertain families. Page 53 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 36 In our benefits take up work, we continue to cascade specifically designed marketing materials around benefits for parents, including Best Start Grants and Scottish Child Payment to maximise numbers coming forward to claim these benefits. 5.2 Family Advice and School Support Recognising the impact of dedicated income maximisation support for families with children, during 2023/24, work was undertaken to redesign current advice provision for families to increase the capacity and reach of our advice services and two advice pilots started – a family advice service within Advice Works and a school support service provided by RCAB. The Family Advice team works with families to maximise household income through income advice, but also seeks to increase take-up of wider supports provided by the Council for families, for example, free school meals, school clothing grants or employability support for parents. There were 331 referrals received to the Family Advice Service during 2024/25, with 227 clients engaging. This led to client financial gains of £82,417.21. The majority of clients who engaged fell under at least one of the Scottish Government Child Poverty Priority Family Types: 84 lone parents, 51 families with a child under one, 49 families that include a member with a disability, 35 ethnic minority families, 26 mothers under 25 years and 21 families with 3 or more children. The Family Advice Service is provided by the Council’s Advice Works and supports families with children in early years and primary school settings, complementary to the advice service for secondary schools that is provided by RCAB. In particular, Advice Works will collaborate with primary school office staff to address issues such as school meal debt more proactively. The service also supports pregnant women, and receives referrals from a number of sources including Health Visitors and other NHS teams. During 2024/25, the Renfrewshire HSCP Health Improvement Team refreshed their early-years financial inclusion pathway and delivered a briefing session to promote this with Health Visiting staff. The majority of referrals (55%) to the Family Advice Service were from the Health Visiting Team, with a number from Other Healthcare Staff, Social Work, Education, and Self-Referrals. In 2023, £100,000 was allocated to RCAB to support an embedded model of advice in all Renfrewshire secondary and additional support needs schools for a two-year period. The ‘School Support Service’ started in August 2023 and provides advice to: • all secondary and additional support needs school attendees, • their families and carers, Page 54 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 37 • school staff who may approach the service about a pupil/pupil’s family, • school staff who may approach the service about their own concerns. The advice provided by the project covers the following areas which support families to maximise their income: • Welfare Benefits including Social Security Scotland Benefits • Money and debt • Free School Meals, School Clothing Grants, and other benefits in kind, also collaborating with secondary and ASN school office staff to address issues such as school meal debt more proactively • Benefits that come directly to young people, such as free bus travel and Education Maintenance Allowance. RCAB work with school staff, including guidance, pastoral and home link staff to reach families who are struggling with money issues and ensure swift, proactive, and where possible, preventative support is provided. Where appropriate, the support provided is complemented by existing RCAB general and legal advice services. During 2024/25, there have been 263 advice appointments/contacts made and the service has helped 138 families with a client financial gain of £415,884. More than half of the client financial gains related to Universal Credit, although a significant proportion related to disability benefits. The ‘School Support Service’ was initially a 2 year pilot to establish the most effective way to support young people and their families to maximise their income through utilisation of school premises and staff. The decision has been made to extend the service, with £50,000 allocated for 25/26. 5.3 Improving the Cancer Journey Our Improving the Cancer Journey and Long-term Conditions services help people to get the support they need – whether that’s physical, emotional, practical, medical, or financial. The services are a partnership between Macmillan Cancer Support, Renfrewshire Council, and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The Improving the Cancer Journey service has continued to offer holistic advice for those with a cancer diagnosis. With money worries highlighted as the main issue for service users, in the last year, £220,423 has been gained for 483 clients. In addition, a service for those with Long-term Conditions commenced last year, with 215 clients gaining £29,048. Page 55 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 38 Although these services are universal, many parents have gained from them, with the majority of clients living in SIMD 1 and 2 areas. Both services bringing much needed income and other support into households affected by illness. 5.4 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – Advice in Hospitals Although the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) in Paisley is attended by patients from the West of Scotland, it sees most of those in need of hospital care from Renfrewshire. The Support and Information Service aims to be the first port of call for all non-clinical health & social care enquiries. The information Hub in the RAH provides information about money and benefits, income maximisation support and help with energy bills as well as information and support for carers and patients. It also provides a food supply on discharge for those who need it, in partnership with Renfrewshire Foodbank. The Health Improvement Lead with responsibility for the service, is part of Renfrewshire’s Advice Partnership. In the Royal Hospital for Children, the Money & Debt with advocacy service supports any families who have a child as an inpatient or who attend the hospital as an outpatient. This service sees families from all 6 target groups as identified in Best Start, Bright Future Scottish Government Child Poverty Delivery Plan (2022). The service works closely with families who often experience major life changing circumstances due to a child being born with a medical condition, a child suddenly becomes unwell, or they are diagnosed with a lifelong or life limiting illness. These Parents often become Carers, and they are faced with increasing and additional costs of caring for a child with a disability or lifelong or life limiting illness. 14 families from Renfrewshire were supported this year. The Money & Debt with advocacy service was successful in securing funding for the 2025/26 financial year through a competitive application to the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. This funding is a positive step forward and reflects the value and impact the service continues to deliver to children and families. However, despite this success, the current allocation does not fully cover the operational costs required to sustain the service throughout the entire year. As a result, work is actively ongoing to identify and secure additional funding sources to address this financial shortfall and ensure the service can operate at full capacity for the duration of 2025/26. In line with its established approach, the service will continue to engage and collaborate with all key stakeholders through its dedicated multi-disciplinary steering group. This group includes representatives from the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, internal staff across departments, external professionals, and—crucially—the families who access and benefit from the service. This Page 56 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 39 collaborative model ensures that a wide range of expertise and lived experience informs service planning, delivery, and ongoing improvement. Central to the service’s ethos is a commitment to placing the voices and experiences of families at the heart of everything it does. The insights and feedback gathered from the children and families supported by the service will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping priorities, guiding enhancements, and ensuring that the service remains responsive, compassionate, and effective in meeting the needs of its users throughout 2025/26. Stronger Start is an embedded Money Advice and Advocacy Service offered to women who engage with the Blossom Maternity Service across Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire. Stronger Start staff are co-located within the outpatients department at the RAH Maternity Hospital, Paisley, Vale of Leven Community Maternity Unit, Alexandria and Inverclyde Community Maternity Unit, Greenock and offer a person centred wrap-around service involving money advice and advocacy provision which is flexible and tailored to individual need. Stronger Start aims to support at-risk women to maximise their income, increase financial capability, increase resilience for the future and increase health and wellbeing. In turn, this may prevent homelessness, and will tackle debt issues, as well as addressing other health and poverty-related issues. This service was developed through a Stronger Start Steering Group established and chaired by Renfrewshire HSCP Health Improvement team and consisting of key partners, including from Council services across Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire. The Steering Group worked closely with Renfrewshire CAB, to support them in being awarded funding from the Improving Lives National Lottery Fund to run the Stronger Start Pilot for a year and has led on the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Pilot. The pilot was launched on 13th February 2024 and following a successful first year, an additional £190,434 in funding was secured in January 2025, extending the programme through to January 2027. The service received a total of 135 referrals during the first year, with 105 of these referrals coming from the RAH, Paisley. A total of 98 women received both advice and advocacy support during the first year, with 85 of these women being initially referred via the RAH. During the pilot year there was £150k of financial gains, with equates to an average financial gain of £1500 per woman who received support. Stronger Start staff have provided support on a variety of issues including benefits, debt, finance and charitable support, housing, immigration, asylum, and tax as well as food bank and fuel bank referrals. The most sought-after advice topic is benefits. The second most sought after advice is finance & charitable support. Clients are assisted to apply for Best Start Page 57 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 40 grants, crisis grants, council tax reductions, and Universal Credit. Clients are also supported with housing issues such as rent arrears, homelessness and threatened homelessness. All people referred to the service fall within the six child priority family types that face additional barriers to moving out of poverty. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation will be undertaken by the Renfrewshire Health Improvement team and the Steering group partnership with Renfrewshire CAB to assess outcomes, enhance service delivery, and inform long-term sustainability planning. In addition to Stronger Start, NHS GGC also have a Maternity Matters Debt and Advocacy Service for women and, where appropriate, their families who are accessing the Blossom Maternity Service in Glasgow. The service is designed to assist women experiencing multiple vulnerabilities, including those with disabilities, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, single parents, and pregnant women from priority groups identified in Best Start, Bright Futures and the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Delivery Plan. Providing a similar service to Stronger Start, the Glasgow based service does see a small number of women from Renfrewshire who have complex needs. The service has a holistic, person-centred approach, addressing the wide-ranging needs of the women it supports. Every individual accessing the service receives a comprehensive benefits and welfare rights assessment, alongside an income maximisation check. Support is provided for managing debt, accessing energy assistance, and securing direct grants to prevent disconnection from essential utilities such as heating and lighting. In addition, the service offers tailored support for housing challenges, access to emergency food and Foodbanks, and guidance in applying for relevant grants. For women who are ready, the service also provides pathways to education, training, and employment opportunities supporting long-term financial security and independence. Stronger Start Case Study Client C completed a benefits check with the Stronger Start Team which identified that she would be entitled to Universal Credit when she went onto maternity pay. She was awarded £681.87 per month and also applied for Best Start Foods and Best Start Pregnancy and Baby Payment. She said “They helped me understand my rights to support and that they are there to advctae for myself. I feel this is a necessary service for women in the area as often we are too scared to ask for help or don’t know where to start” Page 58 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 41 The service will be fully funded by Public Health for the 2025/26 financial year and will continue to collaborate with partners through the established multi-disciplinary steering group, which includes representation from Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, Money Matters, maternity staff, and critically pregnant women and their families. 5.5 Pregnancy, Maternity and Early Years Staff Resource The Pregnancy, Maternity and Early Years Staff Resource is designed to support staff working with families affected by the cost of living. Developed by the Renfrewshire HSCP Health Improvement Team in partnership with Engage Renfrewshire during 2022/23, the resource provides up-to-date information on a wide range of support services. It includes details on eligibility, what support families can receive, and how to access it through referral or application. Launched in May 2023, the resource is available online, with shortened PDF versions covering five key categories for ease of use. The resource is now included on the newly launched NHSGGC Health Visitor App, Happy Healthy Tots, to further improve staff access to information and contribute to efforts to reduce child poverty. The app, which is free to download, can support parents from pregnancy until their child goes to school. 5.6 Cost of the Nursery Day Cost of the Nursery Day (COND) is a pilot project delivered by the Renfrewshire HSCP Health Improvement Team during 2024/25. This project supports early-years establishments through upskilling staff to become a ‘Cost of the Nursery Day’ champion. These champions: • Attend two one-hour training sessions and share learning with the rest of their team. • Work with their team to develop actions they can implement to support their families with the cost of living and/or reduce financial pressures. • Become part of an email distribution list to allow the Health Improvement Team share key information, events and opportunities relating to the cost of living with their establishment. This training utilised learning and good practice from Glasgow City HSCP Health Improvement Team, who piloted a project of the same name during 2018/19. The project content was revised to localise content to Renfrewshire and account for the post-pandemic landscape/cost of living crisis. Training sessions were shortened due to reduced capacity from staff across early-years Page 59 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 42 establishments. Lived experience input for the training sessions was gained through focus groups with Home-Start Renfrewshire and attending the Fairer Renfrewshire panel. COND aims to help families through action on the three key drivers of poverty outlined in the Scottish Government’s Best Start, Bright Futures: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022 to 2026: • Costs of Living: early-years establishment practices and increased knowledge of money advice service and referral route. • Income from Social Security and Benefits: increased knowledge of money advice service and referral route. • Income from Employment: increased knowledge of employability service and referral route. Training was delivered between February and March 2025. There were 32 sign-ups to the pilot project. 25 staff attended the training, with 18 attending both of the sessions. The majority of attendees (90%) stated they were “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the following: delivery of training; training materials; breakout room discussion’ relevance to role; overall experience. Attendees also reported increased knowledge of the causes and consequences of poverty, increased confidence raising the issue of money worries and increased knowledge of support available in Renfrewshire. 5.7 Tackling food and fuel insecurity Support around food and fuel has had an increased focus since the Cost of Living Crisis. While we recognise that inflation rates and fuel costs have decreased since the height of the crisis, costs are still much higher than they were before the crisis, and work is taking place across the Council Page 60 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 43 NHSGGC Public Health team and partners to support low income families who are struggling with increased food and fuel bills. Fair Food Renfrewshire Renfrewshire’s food partnership, Fair Food Renfrewshire, continues to evolve, with the steering group meeting quarterly, working towards developing a food strategy for Renfrewshire and achieving their four key priorities: • Ending food insecurity and the need for foodbanks. • Increasing access and availability of growing grounds in every town and village within Renfrewshire. • Widening 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. • Encouraging individuals and businesses to buy local food, and also encourage organisations to place more emphasis on the better value of using local food suppliers within a procurement policy context The food partnership brings together key stakeholders from right across the local food system including the local authority, Renfrewshire HSCP, Health Board, third sector and community groups, public sector establishments and food growers to develop a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food system locally. Last year, Fair Food Renfrewshire became a member of Sustainable Food Places, giving the partnership access to additional support and expertise from regional and national partners. Partnership coordinators meet with Nourish Scotland and other local food partnerships on a regular basis to share updates and best practice. This year too the partnership joined forces with the Waste and Resources Action Programme to support Food Waste Action Week 2025, encouraging individuals and families to buy loose fruit and veg to reduce food waste and save money. Fair Food Renfrewshire has established a food support working group made up of representatives from local emergency and community food providers such as Renfrewshire Foodbank and community larders and pantries. The purpose of the forum is to identify and solve issues for those suffering from food insecurity and those providing emergency and community food, exploring opportunities for collaborative working, knowledge sharing and identifying key priorities, including ensuring culturally appropriate food is available and healthy food is promoted. The group is working to develop a new, sustainable model of food provision in Renfrewshire to support those experiencing food insecurity with an improved holistic approach. Page 61 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 44 Community Food Framework The HSCP Health Improvement team secured funding from NHSGGC Public Health team in January 2024 to implement a Community Food Action Plan within Renfrewshire that aligns with Fair Food Renfrewshire principles and Community Wealth Building. The plan aims to support healthy eating through community-based awareness-raising and skills development activities with a view to help improve diet, support a healthier lifestyle and reduce health inequalities. The funding enabled: • Provision of free train the trainer community food training. The training was provided to 11 local community chefs to help develop community food literacy and deliver cookery programmes to local organisations and families.The delivery of free cookery classes which include ingredients for families to take home and cook themselves. • Delivery of 9 free cookery classes which included ingredients for families to take home and cook themselves. The classes were delivered in partnership by Pachedu and Tannahill Centre. • A small grant fund, which supported 10 local organisations to begin, or continue developing, healthy community food provision/growing that promotes dignity and resilience within Renfrewshire. • Helping organisations that support 27 participants from ethnic minority backgrounds to target health and food activity and increase access to healthy foods. • Providing training opportunities to 14 3rd sector organisations to support employability opportunities relating to food. Through the delivery of the Community Food Framework 384 participants had access to additional food sources through community cooking classes and community growing. 249 of the participants were under 18, 83 were at risk of type 2 diabetes, overweight and/or obesity, 20 had additional support needs and 70 reported long term conditions. In collaboration with NHSGGC Public Health team, Health Improvement continue to monitor, report and evaluate on the Community Framework activities. A refreshed framework will be developed following further funding allocation from NHS GCC Public Health team. Nourish Nurseries Renfrewshire HSCP Health Improvement piloted Nourish Nurseries within 4 pre five centres. The Health Improvement team worked closely with Renfrewshire Council Education to scope and agree the appropriate nurseries to take part in the pilot based on the most recent child poverty statistics. Page 62 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 45 The Nourish Nurseries pilot began in March 2024 and ran for six weeks, with each nursery receiving a weekly delivery of fresh vegetables from local provider, Barnhill Farm. This ensured that produce was fresh and ready to use upon arrival. The pilot was designed to be non-prescriptive, allowing nurseries flexibility in how they decide to use the vegetables according to their needs and preferences. This approach encouraged creativity among staff while promoting a positive relationship with vegetables among children. The model aligns with Setting the Table and the Peas Please initiative, both supporting the integration of fresh produce into early years settings and healthier eating habits from a young age. The pilot has been received positively and an evaluation report is being developed to highlight the outcomes and support future funding. Emergency Infant Formula Pathway Directive from NHSGGC Public Health Maternal and Infant Nutrition Group identified the need for all HSCP areas across the Health Board to develop and implement an Emergency Infant Feeding Pathway. This pathway is based on guidance published by UNICEF and the Scottish Government. Pathways from NHS Grampian, Glasgow and Inverclyde were also utilised, further developed and localised to Renfrewshire HSCP. Within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, health practitioners escalated concern that if families were experiencing extreme, sudden financial hardship this resulted, at times, in inappropriate referrals to Social Work for access to short-term financial support (through Section 22 monies) where no other child care need or risk had been identified. Renfrewshire’s Family Wellbeing Service offer support on a wide range of issues that may be affecting family health and wellbeing. To provide a cash-first, stigma-free approach, families are referred to the Family Wellbeing Service, who will process for provision of funds through Section 22 monies and provide ongoing health and wellbeing support. The Renfrewshire HSCP Health Improvement Team, Social Work and Family Wellbeing Service delivered staff briefing sessions ahead of the launch of the pathway in September 2024. The pathway and related documents (referral form and Standard Operating Procedure) can be accessed on the Pregnancy, Maternity and Early-Years Staff Resource webpage. Since the launch in September 2024, six referrals were received (one returning). The majority of referrals (67%) were from the Health Visiting Team, as well as Home-Start and the Family Wellbeing Service. Follow-up phone calls were made to ensure funds were received and if further health and wellbeing support was required. Page 63 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 46 Food for Thought Education Fund This year 3 Early Learning Centres and 2 primary schools received funding from Education Scotland’s Food For Thought Education Fund, with grants going to: • Bridge of Weir Primary School - £2,935 • Moorpark ELCC - £2,941 • St Charles ELCC – £3,000 • St John Ogilivie Primary School - £1,062 • Williamsburgh ELCC - £2,289 The grants were used for a variety of purposes, including weekly family cooking sessions, purchase of child friendly cookery equipment, seeds and a polytunnel and other food growing supplies and developing school allotment spaces. Moorpark ELCC used the grant to purchase all the necessary equipment to implement our ‘Stay and Play’ sessions which focused on families coming into the nursery and engage in cooking sessions with their children. Using a weekly delivery of fresh vegetables from local supplier, Barnhill Farm enabled the ELCC to offer opportunities for families to come in and learn how to make soup with their children and they have reached out to other local shops and business to hope to source other ingredients. Children are now being offered more opportunities within the playroom to cook a range of food and help prepare snack and have been involved in cooking traditional Scottish dishes such as Cranachan and haggis neeps and tatties to celebrate Burns night and a Chinese stir fry to celebrate Chinese New Year. In addition to the ‘Stay and Play’ sessions a group of 10 children and families were identified who have lower incomes, and invited for a 10 week block of cooking. The benefits reported were not just through food provision. Through these targeted weekly sessions with families, the ELCC was able to see progress in parent and carer’s confidence, at the beginning they were very quiet and observed to be nervous and by the end of the block they were all engaging and talking to each other, supporting each other giving advice about sleep and eating problems they are facing. One parent built up friendships with other parents through these sessions and reported that she was supported by another parent in the group at her at an appointment for her son who has additional support needs. The sessions also allowed identification of parents and families who are requiring further support to engage and interact with their children who were then signed up for ‘Incredible Years’ which is a parenting support programme. Page 64 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 47 Energy support Supported in part by Fairer Renfrewshire funding, Renfrewshire Council’s Energy Management Unit comprises a team of three who provide advice to anyone struggling with energy costs and advocate for clients with energy companies. The advisers can also access available funds to support clients reduce bills/access emergency fuel. Overall, client financial gain for this service in 24/25 was £120,442, this included £13,574 of debt written off or works done. There were 617 referrals to the service, with 520 clients actively supported and of those, 66 had children under the age of 16 in the household. In total, 123 children under the age of 16 lived in households that were given support. Energy Advocates have also been out in the community, attending events around costs of living, for example in Community Learning and Development locations. Looking ahead, they are examining working with the Fuel Bank Foundation, which would allow then to provide fuel vouchers to those in emergency situations and have discussed the practicalities of this service with Renfrewshire CAB who are already partners of the Foundation. 5.8 Affordable Credit Engage Renfrewshire, our Third Sector Interface has led an affordable credit initiative under the banner of Renfrewshire Affordable Credit Alliance (RACA –www.RACA.org.uk) for a number of years. Funded by Trading Standards Scotland over the last year, the initiative employs an Affordable Credit Officer (ACO) who is jointly managed by Engage Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Council. The ACO works within Renfrewshire communities covering two priority areas; promotion of affordable credit options in Renfrewshire, and the prevention/reduction of people using illegal money lenders. Over the past year, the ACO has engaged with organisations, including several Renfrewshire Housing Associations and organisations supporting those with mental health issues and caring responsibilities. She has also engaged with groups supporting child poverty priority groups such as lone parents, ethnically diverse families and those with a health condition or disability. Work has also been carried out with young people, speaking about safe borrowing, budgeting and other money concerns. In May 2024, RACA hosted a successful partnership Networking and Information Session, bringing together over 50 delegates to explore ways to strengthen financial resilience across Renfrewshire. The event was attended by credit unions, organisations from across the 3rd sector and RSL Page 65 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 48 representatives. The session fostered strengthened partnerships and reinforced the shared commitment to improving financial wellbeing across Renfrewshire. A highlight of the event was the launch of The Good Guide to Credit. The Good Guide to Credit was developed last year in response to the increase of short-term borrowing, including Buy Now Pay Later and concerns raised by Citizens Advice Scotland that money advisors were at capacity dealing with complex debt issues. The Good Guide to Credit is an educational resource for anyone who has ever borrowed money or is thinking about borrowing money. The booklet introduces the concept of credit and signposts to local credit unions and wider affordable credit provision. The Guide has been distributed around Renfrewshire, including to food pantries, local community groups and to local housing associations. The Guide is also available digitally for organisations to attach to their websites and send to service users, it also appears on the front page of every library digital device. This resource has been well received and has helped to inform families across Renfrewshire to make the right choices regarding credit. As part of Talk Money Week 2024, RACA, in partnership with Active Communities and Invest in Renfrewshire, hosted a breakfast event in Gallowhill. The aim of this event was to promote the uptake of benefits in a community setting. This was a family friendly event for all ages with activities such as smoothie making, bingo and a mindfulness session. Over 20 organisations came together to support financial resilience, including several representatives from Renfrewshire Council, advice services, community learning and the Skoobmobile. The event was a success with over 100 residents attending and it being featured on BBC 1’s ‘Morning Live’ show. RACA recruited and trained 32 Community Champions last year. The role of a community champion is to signpost and inform others about affordable credit, taking a zero-tolerance approach to loan shark use. The Community Champions are embedded within Renfrewshire, working and volunteering in a range of teams across Renfrewshire including Community Learning and Development and Family Wellbeing. 5.9 Digital For specific groups of people there remain real barriers to accessing digital which exacerbate existing inequalities. Digital exclusion can broadly be considered in terms of connectivity, access to a device, skills and positive and accessible online experiences. Renfrewshire has a strong reputation nationally in relation to the partnership approach to tackling digital exclusion and has carried this through 2024/25. Audit Scotland ‘Tackling Digital Exclusion” Report Page 66 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 49 Community empowerment, wealth and wellbeing are reflected in the strategic priorities underpinning the Council Plan and the council has worked collaboratively to deliver a place-based approach to digital exclusion, with work being recognised in the joint Accounts Commission and Auditor General report on digital exclusion in 2024. Digital Strategy Renfrewshire Council's recently approved Digital Strategy, which includes a dedicated strategic theme on Digital Inclusion, represents a significant step towards addressing child poverty in the region. By prioritising digital inclusion, the Council aims to bridge the digital divide that disproportionately affects children from low-income families. This priority aim to ensure that all everyone has access to the necessary digital tools and skills, thereby enhancing their opportunities and future prospects. The strategy includes measures such as promoting affordable internet access, distributing digital devices, and offering digital literacy programs. These efforts are crucial in mitigating the impact of poverty and overall well-being, ensuring that everyone in Renfrewshire can thrive in an increasingly digital world. Strengthening our approach to collaboration Our Citizen Voice and DigiRen Forums continue to promote multi-sector collaboration with Public, Third and Private sector to enable digital equity and minimise the number of people digitally excluded and to maximise the opportunity for everyone, regardless of their background, to have equal access to the benefits and opportunities of digital. DigiKnowVember – Renfrewshire’s Digital Inclusion In November 2024, DigiRen hosted Renfrewshire’s inaugural Digital Inclusion Week, known as DigiKnowVember, aimed at addressing digital exclusion among local families. This initiative, held from the 4th to the 8th, featured a series of free events and workshops designed to enhance digital skills and awareness. The week was a collaborative effort involving various local and national organisations from the DigiRen Network and Citizen’s Voice Forum, offering sessions on topics ranging from basic digital literacy to online safety and employability support. By providing accessible and practical digital education, DigiKnowVember played a crucial role in empowering families, particularly those affected by child poverty, to navigate the digital world more confidently and effectively. This initiative not only highlighted the importance of digital inclusion but also laid the groundwork for future efforts to bridge the digital divide in Renfrewshire. Page 67 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 50 DigiZones A key priority and success during 2024/25 was the creation of DigiZones across 21 venues in Renfrewshire. This project was co-designed with a range of partners and those with lived experience, including the Fairer Renfrewshire Panel, and provides a consistent approach and branding, offering digital support, free access to devices and WiFi or signposting. During National Get Online Week, in October 2024, DigiZones launched across our network of 12 Libraries, 6 CLD Adult Learning Centres, 4 CLD Youth Venues, Station Seven in Johnstone (with 3rd sector partners Active Communities) and a mobile library (The Skoobmobile) was transformed into a mobile DigiZone. An evaluation framework was co-produced and is demonstrating considerable positive impact with the following 1st information based on Q4: • Over 100k visitors; • 236 training sessions delivered; • Over 208 hours of digital champions support delivered; • 14 devices loaned as part of device lending library; • Over 8.7k public devices accessed; and • Over 10.7k public access WI-FI sessions. Wi-Fi Project Renfrewshire is regarded as one of the best connected regions in the UK in terms of its connectivity infrastructure and Renfrewshire Council recognises Connectivity as a critical enabler for effective digital inclusion. The successful full rollout of the WI-FI project in November 2024 has resulted in free public access WI-FI being broadcast from up to 180 Council, Cultural, Leisure and Community venues across Renfrewshire and in 3 town centres. Furthermore, WI-FI is also available ‘to and through’ our Children’s Homes and Care Homes, in communal areas in the Council’s Sheltered Housing complexes and across various social care settings. Significant increased bandwidth across our learning estate allows faster access to learning resources. WI-FI is broadcast both within and in areas outside classrooms, meaning our children and young people are able to continue their learning online in areas within the school grounds. In addition, 29 of our schools received the Digital Schools Award Scotland (DSAS), 6 schools gained the new Digital Wellbeing Award and in May 2024 Rashielea Primary School gained the Digital Page 68 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 51 Endorsement Award, 4 years after gaining the DSAS and 26 schools have internationally certified RenSafe Online Ambassadors. Device Recycling Project With £10,000 budget secured from Fairer Renfrewshire funding, Citizens Voice Forum has also been working with a local third sector organisation with the aim of developing a Community-Led Secure Device Recycling Project. Once operational, devices can be donated via libraries, passed for refurbishment and refurbished devices being targeted to digitally excluded families and individuals including at larger families where children need to share devices. This work is expected to gather pace over the coming 12 months. Digital Champions Project The Council has continued to develop a Digital Champions network in partnership with OneRen and £80,000 has been allocated to this project to employ a Digital Champion Coordinator who has been in place since May 2023. This initiative, in partnership with Mhor Collective has built a network of volunteers and staff, capability and capacity across local third and community organisations, so that more local people can be supported to access and use digital technology. This work builds on Renfrewshire’s established place-based to digital inclusion model by further developing a model of best practice for use across Scotland. In the last year, 16 volunteers have been recruited, 780 people supported with 1,050 hours of volunteer support provided, expanded provision from 2 to 7 libraries and supported over 160 low-income households to access data from their Databank. The Digital Champions Project was externally evaluated by the Mhor Collective and University of the West of Scotland (UWS) during 2024/25 and the Report evidences that Digital Inclusion is much more than getting people online and the project has demonstrated whole-system benefits from tackling loneliness and isolation, supporting mental health and wellbeing and has played a key role in helping at least 4 digital champion volunteers back into employment. Broadband ‘Social Tariffs’ There is recognition that Broadband ‘Social Tariffs’ remains a barrier to helping people and families get online, both in terms of cost and also awareness. These are cheaper broadband and phone packages for people claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and some other benefits. The latest OfCom figures reveal that only 8% of eligible families across the UK actually take up Social Tariffs. The Council’s Digital Participation Officer has been working through DigiRen, Digital Citizens and other fora including the Advice Partnership to increase awareness about these tariffs to those who may be eligible. Furthermore, a dedicated webpage was created on the Council’s website with the aim of further promoting Social Tariffs across our Renfrewshire communities. Page 69 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 52 5.10 Winter Connections The Winter Connections programme has been running during the winter months since November 2022. The programme has been delivered in partnership with local organisations and aims to encourage people to connect and participate in activities in warm and welcoming spaces across communities in Renfrewshire. Local community and voluntary organisations can apply for small grants of up to £2,000 to support with the additional costs of making venues, activities and sessions open as part of the programme. Items eligible for funding include equipment, food, energy costs, and rent. The programme has been evaluated each year and has positively contributed to Renfrewshire Council’s continued wider response to the cost-of-living crisis. As a result, in June 2024, £75,000 of funding was allocated from the Fairer Renfrewshire programme to support the delivery of a third year of Winter Connections for 2024/25. The programme continues to attract new organisations bidding for funding, with this year’s programme being delivered by a mix of organisation that have received funding before, and those new to Winter Connections. Funded activities needed to fit the criteria of Winter Connections and be: • Open, free and easy to access • Inclusive, welcoming, respectful, and safe • Able or willing to provide connections to other services and supports • Able to offer warm drinks/snacks/food along with activities, where possible The assessment panel consisted of Council, HSCP and 3rd sector representatives to ensure a transparent cross sector approach, and 42 projects were funded across Renfrewshire, with funding allocated to One Ren to support the programme by provide hot drinks, soup, and snacks in all Renfrewshire libraries and for families using the SkoobMobile service at their community stops. Winter Connections branded materials, including posters and stickers as well as leaflets with advice on where to find support with financial worries were also distributed to organisations participating in the programme along with free period products. A wide range of activities were provided as part of the programme, some of which were tailored to the age of those attending. Some projects were targeted specifically at older people or younger people, but many aimed to be intergenerational and to attract families. Activities included: • Youth club • Basic cooking class • Retro gaming Page 70 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 53 • Arts & crafts • Homework/after school club • Fun events for Halloween/Christmas Evaluation has shown that over 2,500 people benefitted from the programme which had a number of benefits, including the provision of free food alongside activities ensuring that the programme discretely supported families who are continuing to experience financial hardship. We offered a wide range of activities to bring young people together. These included creative activities such as art and craft, ceramics and jewellery making, creative writing, dance and singing, as well as provided snacks, drinks and a warm, welcoming space where young people can meet friends and get advice from supportive adults. CREATE Paisley It has created a safe and welcoming space for young people and new Scots to interact and socialise, helping to prevent isolation. The provision of warm food and valuable information has been immensely helpful to many of the young people, ensuring they feel supported and connected. Pachedu 5.11 Summer of Fun In May 2024, core funding of £100,000 was allocated through the Fairer Renfrewshire programme to support the development of a summer holiday programme, with a focus on providing support over the holiday period to low-income families. This built on the previous year’s Summer of Fun, where the programme was developed using funding provided by the Scottish Government. The Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel played a key role in directing how funding for summer activities could be used. Initially it was agreed that £50,000 funding would be allocated to support a small grants programme for local community groups and organisations to operate for Summer 2024. This aimed to deliver free activities over the summer holidays which could reach communities that might be underserved by mainstream activities, particularly low-income families. The fund was very quickly oversubscribed and at the start of June 2024, a further £10,000 was allocated to support the programme. Utilising the remaining £50,000, Renfrewshire’s Community Learning and Development team developed a programme of activities for children and young people through a summer camp model in partnership with Street Stuff, and with the provision of a healthy meal. Work was undertaken to Page 71 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 54 prioritise access to camp bookings to families with low incomes, especially in the child poverty priority groups and through referrals from Childrens Services before opening up access more widely. The funding was used to deliver a varied programme of activities for children, families, and young people, along with youth work provision, a youth voice and participation programme, sports activities and an Adult & Family Learning programme. Summer Additional Support Needs (ASN) provision was across two sites, Mary Russell School and Riverbrae School. The provision at Mary Russell, a new Playtime service, was provided through Klas Care, who were funded to provide this programme as part of wider work through the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund. In addition, One Ren delivered a summer programme in the libraries and with the Skoobmobile team. Funding through Fairer Renfrewshire was provided to OneRen to provide activities in libraries in particular areas where there were no other activities and to provide drinks and snacks for young people and families across all Renfrewshire libraries. 21 organisations received funding through the small grants programme. The range of engaging activities on offer was aimed at different ages and often included trips to places of interest, resulting in a successful programme that afforded children and young people the opportunity to try new activities in an inclusive and supportive environment. Children were able to maintain their friendships from school as well as making new friends and memories with their families. The programme ensured that there were no financial barriers to participation. This was important for families who may have been reluctant to sign up for sessions because of concerns around additional costs, for example lunches, snacks and entrance fees to attractions. All projects agreed to the following principles • Activities must be free, with no hidden or additional costs • Healthy snacks should be provided, or lunch if full day activities • Activities should be inclusive, welcoming, respectful and safe • Compliant with requirements around safeguarding, child protection and food hygiene as appropriate • Able or willing to provide connections to other services and supports Following on from last year’s successful programme, Renfrewshire’s Community Learning and Development team decided to continue with a summer camp model offering places to children and young people. The holiday camps were held in 6 venues across Renfrewshire with a focus on reaching families most in need of the free provision. Page 72 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 55 A programme was developed offering several core activities targeted to young people aged 5 to 14 years from low-income families, along with youth work provision, a youth voice and participation programme, sports activities and youth bus delivered by Street Stuff. Care was taken to work closely with services such as Children’s Services, Social Work, Education and other partners to identify families and young people that would particularly benefit from organised summer activities and to signpost them towards and sign them up for universal activities. The aim was to develop a programme of integrated provision to address the barriers and isolation faced by people in the most deprived areas, but at the same time open to families across Renfrewshire, concentrating on the Scottish Government’s child poverty priority groups. Street Stuff continued to deliver their core programme of activities in the evenings from Monday to Saturday for young people aged 8 to 16 throughout the summer holidays which also included the provision of healthy food funded by Fairer Renfrewshire. For children with additional support needs attending activities at the Mary Russell and Riverbrae schools, the aim was to provide activities that focussed on inspiring conversation and understanding others, prompting kindness and friendship. Children were involved in deciding which activities to do. For example, at Mary Russell school children identified that they wanted to go and explore their surroundings in a physically active way and this promoted an increase in positive mental health. Delivering activities in a school for ASN children allowed for a free flow indoor and outdoor space, giving a full and rich environment that was both challenging and safe. Outdoor leaning played a huge part with the children who were encouraged to be creative with their play and were given the tools to achieve this. The Riverbrae camp, which offered provision for for children and young people with complex additional support needs, also offered free transport to and from the venue to maximise opportunities and support for families during the summer holiday period. Places in the Adult and Family Learning Programme were offered to families of learners that face multiple barriers and who are already engaged with the service. Participants commented on the friendliness of the groups, the inclusivity of the programme and the opportunity it provided to get kids out of the house away from computer games. Parents enjoyed seeing their children mixing with other children, enjoying the activities and they also benefitted from meeting other parents. Renfrewshire Libraries ran their own summer programme using some of the equipment and games that had been previously funded by Fairer Renfrewshire as well as their own resources. OneRen was Page 73 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 56 also allocated £1,800 through Fairer Renfrewshire to provide healthy snacks and drinks such as popcorn, cereal bars, juice and hot chocolate in all 12 Renfrewshire libraries, which were really appreciated by families. Over the summer holidays they delivered 249 events for children and families in their libraries. This allowed a coverage of activities in areas where no Summer of Fun activity was proposed. A total of 1,353 adults and 2,948 children attended these events, including 1,535 children taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge. In addition to activities in libraries, the Skoobmobile provided access to library services to families as well as fun activities for all. This was particularly important in areas where there was no other local provision, either through Camps or the grant funded programme. Feedback from the small grants programme suggests that the programme benefited around 577 adults and 1,939 children by providing inclusive, safe environments for children to participate in activities, make friends and create lasting memories with their families. In addition, there were 2,776 attendances at the holiday camps and 2,221 at Street Stuff, while the Adult and Family Learning team supported 54 families in Renfrewshire. ASN provision at Riverbrae supported 193 families and 309 bookings were made for Mary Russell. Evaluation of the programme found that the wide variety of activities were well spread out across Renfrewshire and reached many families who would not normally be able to afford to attend a summer programme. The Summer of Fun programme provided a range of benefits for children and their parents/carers including: • providing free fun activities that low-income families could access • supporting working parents with childcare costs, particularly single parents • providing a safe environment for children to socialise • having a positive impact on parents and children’s mental health • encouraging new people to engage with services • helping to reduce financial costs for families. It also provided access to food, activities, clothing and advice, providing support in a dignified manner which reduced the potential for stigma. I feel the whole project worked well. We had great positive feedback from our young people, their families and the local and wider communities. We help to prevent the young people engaging in anti-social behaviour and youth disorder. We alleviated food poverty due to the cost of living crisis by providing a snack or lunch depending on the length of time the Page 74 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 57 session ran. We also helped to prevent the escalation of mental health within our young people. And we help alleviate financial pressure on low income families. Feedback stated the majority of the families could not have afforded such luxuries if the project had not taken place and our services helped to offer respite to the parents and guardians of the young people who attended. Johnstone Castle Learning Centre Reaching Child Poverty Priority Groups By their nature, the ASN holiday provision was attended only by those families with a disabled child, so all falling within that priority group. For summer camps, families receiving School Clothing Grants were advised of the camps by text message and we able to book places first, before the camps were opened to wider bookings. This ensured they were targeted at low income families. Attendees of the camps were as follows: Category Yes Responses % of Families Lone parent families 374 out of 843 44.4 Families with 3 or more children 316 out of 871 36.3 Families with a disability 187 out of 843 22.2 Black and minority ethnic families 73 out of 874 8.4 Families with a child under 1 55 out of 874 6.3 Families with parents under 25 16 out of 874 1.8 The aim of the small grants programme overall was to provide a range of activities that would be accessible to low-income families across Renfrewshire, in particular supporting families in the six child poverty priority groups, who are at higher risk of living on a low-income as well as Care Experienced young people. All 19 small grants funded projects that provided feedback responded that they had managed to reach these families through their activities. Just over a quarter of projects Page 75 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 58 (26%) were able to reach families in all of the child poverty priority groups and those with care experience, whilst 79% of projects were able to reach families in four or more of the six child poverty priority groups. Almost 37% of projects managed to reach six of the seven priority groups. Projects were most successful at reaching the following families: • families with three or more children (100%) • lone parents (84%) • families where someone in the house has a disability (84%) • families where parents are under the age of 25 (74%) • black and minority ethnic families (74%) Just over two thirds of organisations managed to reach families with a child aged under one year old (68%) and 63% of organisations reached care experienced children and young people. 5.12 Street Stuff Utilising £182,000 of Council funding, St Mirren Football Club delivers our Street Stuff programme, which provides free multi-sport, gaming and Youth Club activities for children aged 8 – 16 across Renfrewshire 6 evenings a week and at weekends throughout the year. Street Stuff buses have free Wi-Fi to ensure young people aren’t digitally excluded and provide PS4 games consoles, iPads and a seating area for young people to sit and chat. This gives young people across Renfrewshire access to exercise and social activities, including football, basketball and dance, that they may otherwise not have the chance to take part in. They also provide/support school holiday programmes for ages 5 – 14 which includes the provision of a healthy meal. Street Stuff services are regularly reviewed to ensure they are provided in the areas most at need and the buses are also used for small group work sessions and informal youth work intervention. The sessions are a great way for young people to get out, take part in sport and meet new friends in a safe and positive environment with the opportunity to access volunteer and employment pathways. Street Stuff supports young people to move from participation to volunteering and into employment. We also work with Invest to support traineeship opportunities for different age groups where possible. Page 76 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 59 5.13 Period Products This year, the service providing period products within communities and the service providing products in schools have come together to coordinate and promote provision across Renfrewshire. Although schools are provided with products, through stigma, there can be a reluctance for young people to use this service. To ensure widest distribution of products to young people, all community groups engaged with young people, including scouts, guides and YMCAs have been sent details of our period product ordering, and invited to bulk order for their service users/members. We have also promoted reusable products such as period pants with these groups, inviting them to bulk pick up at othe offices of our 3rd sector interface, Engage Renfrewshire. As part of a wider promotion of reusable products, we have carried out a number of ‘Reusables Roadshows’ at leisure venues and events across Renfrewshire, including at the Health and Wellbeing network event and the Celebrating Renfrewshire 5 year anniversary celebration. We have also ensured our Youth Services team and Community Learning and development venues have supplies of products. This is in addition to our general provision of sanitary products in libraries, leisure centres and town halls, and our targeted provision in 3rd sector organisations who work with families such as Home- Start. We also continue to provide products to Early Learning Centres in areas of high deprivation, for mothers and other carers and family members to pick up what they need. We have also continued provision of products, single use and reusable, at Renfrewshire’s Foodbank and community pantries. As last year, all of our Winter Connections and Summer of Fun venues were offered free products and many have now signed up to keep a permanent supply for their service users or the wider public. At the end of 24/25, we developed a campaign, including social media and a radio advert, as well as new promotional materials, with early signs showing an increase in uptake of products. We will continue to monitor the impact of this promotion, as well as look for opportunities for extending provision within our communities. 5.14 Cash-first approaches to supporting families Scottish Welfare Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments Page 77 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 60 Locally, we continue to administer both the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP). Families in need of emergency support are encouraged to apply for crisis grants where appropriate, rather than other, non-cash supports. Over 24/25, Advice Works staff were located in Renfrewshire Foodbank to help clients resolve issues which led them to use the Foodbank, and also direct to crisis or other grants where available. Winter Clothing Payment For the fourth year running, funding was allocated to provide a £50 payment per child for winter clothing for children in receipt of School Clothing Grant. At the Council’s 2024 Budget meeting, £300,000 was allocated to these payments and paid in October 2024. This payment has been well received and will be repeated in Winter 2025, with again, £300,000 allocated in the 2025/26 Budget. We have also administered cash payments of £2.35 per day, per child for free school meals for the periods of times children have been on school holidays. The payment is made at a flat rate regardless of age and is paid before the start of the summer holidays. 5.15 National Entitlement Card and Free Bus Travel Approximately 87% of eligible under 22s in Renfrewshire have access to free bus travel via the NEC scheme and 68% of eligible 5–10-year-olds have a Junior NEC with free bus travel, saving families money on transport costs. Barriers to access have been removed for targeted groups of young people by setting up application agreements with partners such as Invest, Blue Triangle, Kibble, Good Shepherd, Social Work, Family and Wellbeing Teams, Resettlement Team, and Housing. This removes the burden from young people and the need for them to collect documentation and pay for a passport photo in order to apply for their card. In general, where possible, we have removed the cost burden of applying for proof for anyone in school. Instead of families having to pay for required proofs to apply, (e.g. full birth certificate extracts), we use their school record to verify their details, simplifying and poverty proofing the process. Extra support has been put in place to help boost uptake of the Junior NEC, offering parents a manual form to complete within primary schools. Youth Services, who support sign up for the NEC and free bus travel have provided direct support to our ASN schools. Both Riverbrae and Mary Russell have received direct support for all pupils to access the Junior or Young Scot card with free bus travel. We have also provided each school with information on applying for a Disabled NEC which can sometimes include a companion. While we Page 78 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 61 can’t provide this type of card locally we have made sure that parents of pupils who need this card type get clear information and instructions from the school. The Young Scot National Entitlement card can be used as part proof for opening a bank account with some banks, is accepted by Renfrewshire Council’s Housing service for tenancy agreement proofs and will be an accepted form of proof for voting under the new legal requirement. It is also used in our local ‘Celebrating Renfrewshire’ participatory budgeting fund where people aged 12 – 25 have a direct say on which projects are funded in their local area. 5.16 Housing Renfrewshire’s Housing Strategy, approved in October 2023, has five strategic priorities. Each priority has a range of actions that will support delivery over the next five years. The five strategic priorities are: 1. The supply and delivery of housing is increased across all tenures to meet the housing needs of different groups and create attractive and sustainable places. 2. People live in high quality, well managed homes in sustainable neighbourhoods. 3. Address the challenges of the climate emergency, delivering homes that are warm, energy efficient and fuel poverty is minimised. 4. Prevention of homelessness and providing support for those in housing need. 5. People can live independently for as long as possible in their own home and the different housing needs of people across Renfrewshire are being met. The actions underpinning the priorities include: • continuing to provide good quality fuel poverty advice, income maximisation and information to Council tenants, owners and private tenants. • continuing to strengthen the approach to prevention and repeat homelessness by providing holistic wraparound support to households in Renfrewshire. • ensuring new build homes are energy efficient, and retrofitting existing social rented homes with measures to improve energy efficiency , which will support reduction in energy bills as well as emissions, and • working towards meeting national fuel poverty targets. In 24/25, the number of service users supported via a Housing First approach has been upscaled to 75 at any one time, from 13 at Year 1 in 2019. In addition, Renfrewshire’s Alcohol & Drug Commission Programme Board have provided funding since 2022 for a My Life Ahead (MyLA) project which provides holistic support for families/ individuals affected by alcohol and drugs and who may be in danger of losing their home. Page 79 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 62 Building on the concept that in order to have good health, you need a good home, MyLA now supports 25 – 30 service users at any one time and is delivering exceptional outcomes in terms of sustaining settled housing, and supporting service users to access the help they need. Over 500 Ukrainian Displaced Persons now resettled in Renfrewshire since 2022 and a further 18 families from the Afghan / Syrian / Somalian programme. A programme of community integration events and activities has been established and new specialist posts created to support greater participation and integration opportunities. Housing Services have been instrumental in providing settled accommodation to over 200 UDP households and, as of March 2025, our Refugee Resettlement Team are currently supporting 233 households across Renfrewshire, with a small increase in Afghan national arrivals as well as people from Syria and Somalia. There is now a strong focus on health and wellbeing initiatives and events by the team, as well as a continuing programme of integration-based projects. Many of the Ukrainians who resettled in Renfrewshire will be eligible to apply for an 18-month visa extension over the coming months. Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal Programme Through Renfrewshire Council’s Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal Programme, we are taking forward a £100m investment programme to help improve council housing within Renfrewshire by creating modern, affordable, high-quality, energy-efficient council homes with eight regeneration areas identified. This programme is being taken forward as a key Council priority, designed to deliver maximum benefits for residents and with the active involvement of services across the Council and Community Planning partners, to deliver modern, high quality, energy efficient, affordable Council housing that will not only significantly enhance the Council’s housing stock but will also contribute to the wider transformation of communities across Renfrewshire. The programme will make major improvements to existing buildings, but it is about much more than that - we will also consider how to improve the wider environment, including outside and communal areas, and how to keep fuel bills down by making homes more energy-efficient. As well as improvements to existing homes, we are building around 350 new council homes across four areas. Each regeneration area has a dedicated Housing Regeneration Officer and Development Officer with responsibility for the delivery of key actions, including the effective communication with tenants, residents, and private owners. The Council’s website has a dedicated Housing Page 80 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 63 Regeneration and Renewal section, and this is updated regularly to ensure that residents can access current and up to date information as and when they require it. A new approach to Community Neighbourhood Renewal is being established with community representatives, across Council Services and with third party partners to operate in parallel with the physical regeneration plans. The neighbourhood renewal approach will be tailored to the needs and circumstances of each area, going beyond housing and the immediate external environment, and taking account of broader issues such as links to health and wellbeing, access to outdoor space and sustainable travel and employment or training opportunities that maximise the benefits achievable for local residents. This approach aims to strengthen community voices and improve place-based decision making across all regeneration areas in Renfrewshire to enhance and measure the offering and impact of the programme. Council Officers have carried out extensive consultation with tenants, owners and local groups which included public engagement events, local drop-in surgeries, newsletters and frequent text and calls, giving them opportunities to comment and feedback on the regeneration of their area and address any concerns they had. This pro-active approach was recognised at the Scottish Homes Awards on 13 June 2024, at which – unusually – the project won first place in two separate categories: Housing Regeneration Project of the Year; and Large Affordable Housing Development of the Year. These awards celebrate the best in Scotland's new residential projects in the private, voluntary, and public sectors Rent Collection Our approach to rent collection ensures that Officers have continued to proactively contact tenants where there has been missed rent payments or changes to rent payment patterns to offer advice on accessing benefits and other support services as appropriate. In 23/24, support was increased, including more advice provision and in addition a Tenant Support Fund was launched in October 2023, which has continued into 24/25. The Tenant Support Fund, is intended to supplement the current rent collection process to alleviate existing and emerging financial stress, prevent and reduce escalating rent arrears and contribute to sustaining Council tenancies in Renfrewshire. The Fund is intended to support tenants experiencing financial difficulty, through no fault of their own, where it has been identified that financial challenges exist due to a change of circumstances including, but not limited to: • Increase in household costs / cost of Living (eg. energy, food, fuel, rent). • Reduction in income (eg. loss of employment, reduced hours, loss of a household member). • Changes to Welfare benefit, Housing Benefit and/or Universal Credit. Page 81 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 64 As part of our existing rent collection process, tenants are encouraged to engage with the housing team at the earliest opportunity if they are experiencing difficulties in paying rent. A wide range of advice and support is available to help tenants to meet their rent payment responsibilities and to manage household budgets that will be under increased pressure at this time. In recognition of these continuing pressures, in addition to the introduction of the Tenant Support Fund, as part of the budgetary process on 2 March 2023, Council agreed to fund additional service provision in the form of Specialist Income Advice to allow for exclusive support to tenants in hardship. Apart from benefits checks and support when an application to the Scottish Welfare Fund or for a Discretionary Housing Payment should be made, the specialist Income Advisors and Housing Staff are able to make a referral to the local Housing Team to consider the appropriateness of making a payment to a tenant’s rent account from the Tenant’s Support Fund. A decision on the award of Tenant’s Support Fund is made as soon as possible following engagement with the tenant and payment is made directly into the tenant’s rent account. Income maximisation assessments are carried out to support tenants to meet their long-term rent payment responsibilities. In 2024/25, 294 Tenants have been referred for Tenant Support Fund assessments, which have the added value of full income assessment and advice provision and 201 qualified for assistance from the fund to a value of approximately £41,287. Through the additional advice, several sources of additional assistance have been accessed which include Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Disability Benefits, as well as food vouchers for those in a crisis situation. In monetary terms this equates to £8,579,000 between April 2024 and 31 March this year. 5.17 Family Friendly Working To support employees with families at risk of child poverty both Renfrewshire Council and NHS GGC have a range of family-friendly working policies and supports. Council staff have access to support around wellbeing and financial wellbeing, with a dedicated online employee wellbeing hub, regular newsletters and a series of webinars covering varied topics, including advice and affordable credit. Flexible working and work-patterns across the Council support those with childcare responsibilities, and there is also support for those with caring responsibilities as well as a Carers Connected Forum. Throughout 2024/25 NHS GGC Staff have had access to the following: Page 82 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 65 • Staff Hardship Fund • Delivery of 10 Home Energy Scotland (HES) sessions, which were attended by 73 staff members, and covered different topics around managing energy costs • Delivery of 12 Credit Union sessions, which were attended by 66 staff members • Access to the All About Money webpage which provides a wealth of information and resources around money management, addressing money worries, and financial inclusion support available for both staff and patients. • Development of Money and Advice app for staff, in partnership with the Right Decisions Development service. Link for app has been added to the ‘All About Money’ webpage. • Promotion of activities and resources via core brief, Staff Hub, staff events, leaflets, posters. This took place throughout 2024/25, however more intensely during Staff Money Worries Campaign in Oct 2024. • Training in ‘Supporting Staff Financial Wellbeing- What you can do to help’ delivered to NHS GGC HR staff in November 2024. • Quarterly Payslip messaging about money advice support During 2025/26, NHS GGC plan to continue delivering the above as well as looking to deliver Managing Your Money Better & Financial Resilience sessions for staff and ‘Supporting Staff Financial Wellbeing- What you can do to help’ sessions to NHSGGC Payroll managers. 6 Theme 3: Supporting the next generation to thrive 6.1 Fairer Renfrewshire Programme Renfrewshire’s Fairer Renfrewshire programme now also includes what was previously our Tackling Poverty programme, supporting a number of projects which help our young people thrive and help break down some of the barriers to attainment. The programme: • Provides £75,000 Cost of the School Day funding which is used by head teachers as discretionary spend to meet the needs of their pupils Page 83 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 66 • Provides funding for Breakfast Clubs in schools in some of our most deprived areas, relieving financial pressure on low-income families, but most importantly, making sure that children start the school day ready to learn. • Funds the Peer Health project in partnership with Active Communities, working with young people in secondary schools across Renfrewshire to identify key health priorities in their school and developing young people to lead their own activities to improve health and wellbeing, with a focus on mental health. • Supports Summer of Fun holiday activities via Community Learning and Development summer camps and a small grants programme, along with the provision of free healthy meals. • Ensures the Skoobmobile continues to provide a children’s mobile public library service, including play sessions directly to children and families in communities • Supports dedicated income maximisation and welfare rights advice for families with children of all ages as well as pregnant women. Breakfast Clubs are part of a number of schools, some of which are funded through the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme and others through other means or organised by individual schools. In 24/25, 68,754 free breakfasts were provided to children. Breakfast Clubs support parents with their working schedules and with the family budget. Breakfast Clubs have also been found to have an impact on children’s learning, with teaching practitioners recognising impacts, such as children being ready to learn and improved concentration and focus in those attending breakfast clubs. Skoobmobile The Skoobmobile provides a children’s mobile public library service directly to children and families in communities. This service aims to help improve children’s life chances by encouraging a lasting interest in reading, literacy, physical activity and learning. This year, Skoobmobile has provided a full programme of library access, book based activities, and play sessions for schools and communities that promote reading and playing together, with more intensive engagement taking place within areas of deprivation. The service has been involved in bringing play sessions to communities as part of our Winter Connections and Summer of Fun programmes as well as supporting primary schools storytimes and access to library digital resources and learning activities. The service also supports areas with no library during the school holidays. Page 84 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 67 Public Wi-Fi has been installed onboard, and the Skoobmobile is now part of the DigiZone offering in Renfrewshire. In addition the Skoobmoble took part in the Whole Family Wellbeing Service launch and has made useful links with third sector organisations, which will lead to increased community outreach in the year ahead. Skoobmobile also reached 5706 primary school pupils in 185 sessions, 1550 pre-5 children and 337 adults were reached in 129 sessions. 2,591 books were borrowed and 91 children became members of Renfrewshire libraries. A further 2758 children and 1,553 adults attended 162 outreach sessions. Great fun wee session. My fussy son tried haggis – total achievement. Looking forward to more like this. Parent at Burns themed play session The Skoob bus is my favourite place and I love to read books Summer visitor to the Skoobmobile Peer Health Hearty Lives is our ambitious and innovative partnership project which delivers a peer-led approach to promoting mental health and wellbeing across all Renfrewshire High Schools. The project is managed on the ground by third sector organisation, Active Communities, delivered by teachers and pupils across our high schools and in the community by youth workers. It is a unique partnership which promotes mental health and wellbeing for young people in Renfrewshire and aims to tackle poverty through a peer education approach, focused on tackling inequalities and improving health. In 2024, 252 Peer Educators were recruited and trained, an increase of 29% from the 196 last year. The Peer Educators, engaged with 3969 peers, an increase of 15% from last year. Hearty Lives is driven by the core values of Active Communities whose mission is to empower local people by inspiring, supporting and enabling them to improve their health and wellbeing. Hearty Lives teachers are following this same mission for the pupils in their school. Key issues being addressed by the project included bullying, exam stress, worry, anxiety, self-care, resilience and promoting positive mental health and schools train their peer educators, with examples being: • Basic Mental Mealth Awareness (Trinity High) • Mindfulness (Paisley Grammar) Page 85 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 68 • Antibullying (Gryffe) • Communication and leadership Development (Mary Russell) Schools are linking their Hearty Lives projects to: Saltire Awards, SCQF Mental Health and Wellbeing, PDA Level 6, and Duke of Edinburgh Awards. The Peer educators develop their own initiatives, which are very varied, and respond to pupil needs, for example visiting linked primary schools to provide dance classes and presentations around worries for P7s transitioning to high school; running drop ins to support positive mental health and making a film about the impact of discrimination on others within the school community and beyond. The project has a community arm which is an extension of the schools work and is delivered by Active Communities at a lunchtime youth drop in in Linwood High and at Station Seven in Johnstone after school on Wednesdays. Haerty Lives also supports the Create Club in Station Seven on a Tuesday, and Games and Gub for P5 – P7 of St Margaret’s Primary, where pupils come along straight after school to play games, do arts and crafts and have a warm 2 course meal. The community project also tackles wider social issues and is increasingly addressing basic needs of young people such as providing healthy food, toiletries, period products, access to free condoms and clothing. Having Hearty Lives funding in Johnstone High School allows pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds to gain opportunities that they don't get at home or outwith school. An example of this is my 'Mindfulness Club.' JHS mental health mentors run this club every week and deliver various activities such as ceramic painting, making slime, biscuit decorating, bracelet making, diamond art and pickleball sessions. A high number of pupils that attend come from a low SIMD area and their involvement in the club allows them to experience fun activities like other peers their age, allowing them to feel included in the school and community." Johnstone High Project Leader Being Part of Hearty Lives has helped me develop as a person, especially my confidence and self-belief – I Never thought I’d be able to deliver at an assembly! I loved being a mentor at school and hopefully I can continue to help others next year. Peer Educator Page 86 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 69 6.2 Attainment In Renfrewshire, there is a relentless focus on closing the poverty related attainment gap while raising attainment for all. As a result, there has been an increase in attainment across almost all curricular areas and stages. Attainment is now in line with or ahead of pre-pandemic levels. Renfrewshire is ahead of national figures across all stages and curricular areas in 2023-24. This has been a consistent trend in almost all stages and curricular areas, however the decreases in Renfrewshire’s data post pandemic were greater than national, resulting in very close alignment with national figures in 2021-22. The 2023-24 data illustrates that Renfrewshire has made greater progress over the previous 3 years and is now comfortably ahead of national figures. Attainment gaps remain larger than pre-pandemic levels and there are still improvements to be made. Pupils living in SIMD 20% most deprived areas were most significantly impacted by the pandemic and the 2020-21 figures demonstrated decreases in attainment. Attainment has improved across both groups and gaps are reduced since 2020-21. However, attainment of pupils living in 20% most deprived areas remains below pre-pandemic levels and as a result attainment gaps are wider than in 2018-19. Schools continue to utilise Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) to support the needs of children and young people and reduce the impact of poverty on learning. Through our PEF impact visits, there is evidence of effective planning and practice which is having a positive impact on attendance, health and wellbeing and literacy and numeracy. A few schools have designed an equity strategy which will be implemented this academic session. The aim of the strategy is to establish approaches to equity and closing the poverty related attainment gap as part of the schools’ core business. The impact of this work will be evaluated over the course of the session. The Scottish Government has committed to this funding until 2025/26, ensuring ongoing support for disadvantaged students. A “No Poverty of Aspiration” conference was hosted in April with over 100 delegates attending. The conference was focused on keeping equity of the agenda supporting schools and early years establishments to consider ways to embed equity in their improvement planning. Dr. Neil Spiers from Edinburgh University delivered a keynote on “The inequalities our pupils experience inside and outside of the classroom” which challenged Heads to refresh their approaches to equity in the classroom. A film was launched which has reflections of our staff, children and young people on the progress made on achieving equity in Renfrewshire. The film can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/II86la9QBSg There has been a focus on delivering the target schools programme which aims to close the poverty related attainment through bespoke literacy and numeracy approaches in 10 priority Page 87 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 70 schools. Feedback from schools has been positive and children are engaging with different interventions to support literacy and numeracy. The "Grow Your Own" Modelling and Coaching (MCO) programme is progressing well. The aim is to develop teachers knowledge, confidence and leadership skills in numeracy with the aim of improving attainment in their own establishment. Headteacher observations and teacher feedback also demonstrate the impact in terms of more consistent approaches to planning and numeracy pedagogy. Our early years programme of Talk for Writing has grown in session 24/25 to include almost all early years classes, all early years centres and a significant number of early years partner establishments. Data shows consistent improvements in writing attainment again in session 23/24 at all primary stages. There continues to be a focus on the development of our digital strategy and the reach of the digital work in schools is significant with over 1000 unique visitors to the DigiLearnRen blog. 4 schools have been supported with planning your school’s digital strategy this session and 100% either agreed or strongly agreed that their confidence, knowledge and skills had increased and 100% were planning to implement what they had learned and share with colleagues. Online Safety Ambassadors have been trained this session, bringing the total to 26 schools. The first Renfrewshire Employability Week was held delivering over 200 engagements for young people across Renfrewshire with support from the Local Employability Partnership. The Career Ready coaching programme has now been upscaled to include 25 young people from across 4 secondary schools for session 2024/25. 22% of the cohort are care experienced young people. 50% of the mentees will be paired with a Career Ready coach from Renfrewshire Council supporting workforce planning across the local authority. Very good progress is being made towards the target to achieve 100% positive post school destinations by 2028. The Pathfinders employability programme was established in August 2024 to meet the needs of school leavers who had not yet managed to sustain a positive destination. 18 young people joined the programme, to date 16 are positively engaged with employment, training or further education. 6 school leavers were successfully recruited into SoftFM positions within the authority, and the programme's success is expected to lead to its continuation in the future. 42 young people have benefitted from enhanced support between school and college with feedback from young people, schools and carers being unanimously positive. This session, health and wellbeing continues to improve in our children and young people. This has been achieved through our sector leading training and curricular development. Page 88 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 71 Our CEOP (Child Exploitation Online Prevention) Ambassador Training team now delivers a half day training each term. This is in response to continuing concerns around the safety of our children and young people and what we know in relation concerns from our partners in Police Scotland. MVP (Mentors in Violence Prevention) has been expanded and is now being delivered across all Renfrewshire secondary schools. In September, we worked with Education Scotland to deliver MVP pilot training for Early Years and Primary staff which will support the developing work around gender-based violence within the authority. To support staff and parents/carers around internet safety, self-harm, suicide prevention, anxiety and using CBT approaches, a suite of “How to Have a Conversation About…” digital resources has been developed. These are available to staff post-training or via the termly newsletters and Glow Blog. Following research conducted by the Child Poverty Action Group, we know that food poverty has an impact on wellbeing and learning. Cost of the School Day (COSD) funding has been allocated to ensure meals are provided to fuel for children’s learning but also reduce stigma in the lunch hall, improve home-school relations (because worries about dinner money debt evaporate) and encourage good eating habits among children. The Fairer Renfrewshire COSD funding is directly allocated to schools to alleviate financial barriers to education. The recent Children at Risk of Harm Inspection identified major strengths in Renfrewshire with the overall grade of “very good”. Three areas of good practice were also highlighted in the National Thematic Inspection conducted by Education Scotland. In Renfrewshire, we continue to work together to get it right for children, families and communities – protecting, learning, achieving and nurturing. Renfrewshire is still the first and only local authority in Scotland to provide a universal programme of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, with £100,000 of recurring annual funding agreed at the Council Budget meeting in 2025. We are the largest programme in Scotland and one of the largest in the UK. To date more than 162,000 Imagination Library books have been gifted to children in Renfrewshire aged 2-5. Our approach ensures the programme is inclusive and meets the needs of all learners as children can receive books that are age appropriate and/or suitable to their individual stage of development. Parents/carers are supported to register children in a number of ways including online, via paper registration forms, with support from their child’s nursery, via local libraries or with support from Health Visitors. We are proud to offer the Imagination Library to refugees and to families via the Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Team to support early English and literacy development. Page 89 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 72 We have formed a range of partnerships to support the wider implementationand development of the Imagination Library, including with nurseries, third sector organisations, council services and health visitors as well os One-Ren Libraries. In addition, each year, S5 and S6 pupils from high schools across Renfrewshire are given the opportunity to gain work and volunteering experience by becoming ‘senior readers’. Visiting early years settings on a weekly basis, they read Imagination Library books with children ensuring each child hears the book they receive at least once, and support play-based learning activities linked to these. Over the past 3 years, more than 100 young people from 9 secondary schools have volunteered as positive reading role models for their younger peers. We have established a network of over 100 Imagination Library programme Ambassadors from early years settings and partner agencies across Renfrewshire. Recent evaluation undertaken with them showed: - 91% of Ambassadors indicated that Imagination Library books are used as a vehicle to support wider learning, where appropriate; - 100% of establishments who responded ensure that Imagination Library books are read to the children each month; - 100% of Ambassadors find Imagination Library a useful tool to support family learning and engagement; ‘This is a fabulous initiative and we are very grateful to be part of it. It provides all children with a level playing field regardless of their circumstances in life. Thank you for making this possible.’ Parent/carer feedback A number of initiatives take place across Renfrewshire schools to support pupils into positive post- school destinations. The first Renfrewshire Employability Week was held in September, delivering over 200 engagements for young people across Renfrewshire with support from the Local Employability Partnership. The ‘Get Started’ event, hosted in partnership with SDS and Invest in Renfrewshire, provided targeted support for school leavers. The Local Employability Partnership’s School Transition Group has been re-established to promote effective cross-sector collaboration and ensure seamless transitions for young people. The DXC Digital Futures programme engaged 14 participants from Castlehead High School and Renfrew High School, offering valuable digital skills training. Page 90 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 73 The Career Ready coaching and mentoring programme was upscaled to include 25 young people from across 4 secondary schools for session 2024/25. 22% of the cohort are care experienced young people. 50% of the mentees were paired with a Career Ready coach from Renfrewshire Council, supporting workforce planning across the local authority. This programme aims to work with employers and education to help young people get a kickstart towards their career ambitions. The two-year programme includes a series of skill masterclasses and meeting mentors who share their skills and knowledge to support young people towards their career future. Pupils have been overwhelmingly positive about the experience. One pupil said, "My favourite part was meeting with employers and seeing just how many opportunities are out there for young people. I learned about different career paths that are now available to me.” Very good progress is being made towards the target to achieve 100% positive post school destinations by 2028. The Renfrewshire Pathfinders employability programme was established in August 2024 to meet the needs of school leavers who had not yet managed to sustain a positive destination. 18 young people joined the programme, to date 16 are positively engaged with employment, training or further education. There is scope to increase numbers and frequency of the programme. All schools now have regular future pathways meetings, PT Pathways is invited to participate in these and feedback from schools is positive. 6 school leavers were successfully recruited into SoftFM positions within the authority, and the programme's success is expected to lead to its continuation in the future. 42 young people have benefitted from enhanced support between school and college with feedback from young people, schools and carers being unanimously positive. Good progress is also being made towards widening access and participation to further and higher education. Since the PT Pathways post was established, drop out rates of the school’s vocational programme has decreased by 40%. By Christmas 2023, 70 students had dropped out, compared to 42 by the same time in 2024. 9 out of 11 Renfrewshire secondaries are now confirmed as participating the in Top Up programme in association with Glasgow University. This is a preparation course for higher education for pupils who are currently applying for, or are considering applying for, Higher Education courses in university or college and are from backgrounds of socioeconomic disadvantage and underrepresented groups. Page 91 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 74 17 primary schools have actively participated in the WCS school science programme. Collaborative working with WCS has successfully resulted in the first International Business Event being held for 110 S3 pupils from 11 secondary schools. The Developing the Young Workforce Engagement Officer is working with 30 young people on My Future Pathways curriculum offer. This includes pupils from senior phase Flexible Learning Resource. The Engagement Officer is also collaborating with primary schools to engage vulnerable learners as part of an early intervention programme. Community Benefits programmes have provided senior-phase pupils from all 13 secondary schools with valuable industry exposure, including site visits, work placements, and industry awareness activities. On average, 12 opportunities are offered to each school monthly. The work placement model is currently being refreshed to ensure all learners, particularly the most vulnerable, have access to relevant work- based learning opportunities. Between August and December 2024, 324 work placements were completed by young people across Renfrewshire schools. Currently 8 secondary schools are actively participating in Young Enterprise Scotland with the support of the DYW Engagement Officer. 6.3 Whole Family Wellbeing Nationally, the Whole Family Wellbeing approach is an important element in relation to Children’s Services Planning which is Scotland’s legislative approach to collaborative local strategic planning and delivery of services and support to improve outcomes for children, young people and families living in each area. The aim is to ensure a whole systems approach is in place across public and third sector partners to: promote wellbeing; shift resources to early intervention and, where possible, prevention; and to make best use of local assets, workforce and budgets across partners, with support to families at the core of this. The Scottish Government have recently published their year 2 report of the impact of Whole Family Wellbeing nationally, and Renfrewshire’s use of the FORT system as a platform to support improved data sharing and case management was referred to in this report and subsequent briefings as an example of good practice. The recommendations for Children’s Services Partnerships included the alignment of case management systems as well as increasing visibility and promotion of available supports for parents; and developing a collaborative culture for the provision of holistic family support. Although the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund was initially for a 4 year period, the Scottish Government have recently announced a further year’s funding until 31/03/2027 to allow Children’s Page 92 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 75 Services Partnerships the opportunity to plan for sustainability and further embed the work of transformed children’s services. Progress in 2024 - 25 Since the Family Wellbeing Service began in January 2024 there have been a range of notable developments which has put the service at the forefront of early intervention and partnership working to support families and communities in Renfrewshire. These developments have included: • Family wellbeing service development day in January • Family wellbeing multi-agency launch event in May • Families with ASN multi-agency partnership group • Family wellbeing space developed in St David’s primary and Castlehead secondary • Joint community and schools team P7 summer transition programme • Family support framework linked to stage intervention process • Continued development of Sleep work and increased number of Sleep Counsellors • Increased number of Non Violent Resistance (NVR) parents groups and first NVR dads group • Successful system proof of concept ( FORT) • Additional ASN summer playscheme in Mary Russell school • Third sector support network meetings • Emotionally Based School Avoidance focus and training • 4 locality family launch events in November 2024 Development of partnership with third sector organisations The Renfrewshire Whole Family Wellbeing Service has funded through a grants process 15 third sector organisations who have worked across Renfrewshire to provide a range of additional supports and added value to our work with families. This partnership has built valuable capacity and added diversity to our work. The organisations we funded between 2023 and 2025, detailed below, have had their projects evaluated and we are about to move into a new phase of funding for the third sector during 2025-26.below. Page 93 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 76 Planning for the future Whole Family Wellbeing sits across two of our Children’s Services portfolio planning groups. As we move forward we aim to look at ways that we can link and integrate the work going on within the Family Wellbeing Service within key related workstreams to avoid duplication. We will do this at departmental level by linking in with the key portfolio areas of development within Children’s Services where at a strategic level we set out our priorities for how to improve outcomes for children young people and families. When we look wider at the community planning level it will be important for the Family Wellbeing Service to articulate with developments going on under the Connected Communities banner. Our colleagues in Community Learning and Development and tackling poverty are working to similar agendas to us so it is crucial that we have that wider context where everything fits together, to avoid duplication and maximise impact. Following on from our 4 successful family launch events last year that the Family Wellbeing Service continues to listen to and respond to the voices of children, young people and families as we plan Page 94 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 77 for the future. The work of the ASN Family Wellbeing Partnership group is a good example of how we are working with parents with lived experience of additional support needs within their families. As key members of this group, these parents are working in partnership with a wide range of agencies including Education, Social Work, Health, CAMHS, OneRen and the third sector to raise awareness of opportunities for families with children with additional support needs, and to build further capacity and create new opportunities where there are gaps in provision. We have created a new post of ASN Family Wellbeing Co-ordinator to support the work of this group and to manage our much valued and expanding holiday ASN playscheme. 6.4 NHS GGC Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Maternity Support In the NHS, interpreting, continuity of carer, birth planning, stillbirths, alongside maternity unit use trends are now regularly analysed by ethnicity and SIMD. This analysis is demonstrating that further concerted efforts are required to meet the needs of pregnant BME women and BME women living in poverty. Where negative trends are found, improvement plans are put in place. For example, NHS GGC has found a relationship between a number of factors, including lack of interpreting and stillbirths. There are a wide range of actions in place to improve maternity services approach to interpreting. A new maternity communications group has been set up, which reviews how accessible information is in NHS GGC and addresses accessibility of innovations. Leadership training on anti-racism has covered poverty issues and frontline staff training is planned. NHS GGC aims to deliver the following actions to address structural barriers in the maternity pathway for the BAME community and those living in poverty, during 2025/26: • issuing and marketing a patient interpreting code to ensure access to the telephone triage system • development of a simple step by step guide to NHSGGC maternity services • review of patient facing materials, including the maternity app, in community languages • improvement plan for areas of care not meeting the needs of BAME women (e.g. birth plans) • improvement plan for patient engagement • developing a staff training plan Page 95 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 78 The review of NHSGGC’s Maternity Strategy offered an opportunity to review the maternity pathway for BME women and planning is underway to carry out a suite of Equality Impact Assessments to ensure the pathway is accessible to all. 6.5 The Promise Renfrewshire’s Community Planning Partners have demonstrated a strong commitment to The Promise and the Renfrewshire Promise Strategic Oversight Group oversees the implementation of The Promise, ensuring alignment with key strategic drivers such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC), and the National Trauma Transformation Programme. Activities related to The Promise are coordinated across Children’s and other Council services and with various partners such as the Renfrewshire HSCP, the Police and the third sector. A Promise Mapping Tool is used to track progress and inform decision-making. The Promise Manager and Ambassador in Renfrewshire provide support to teams and services within the council to raise awareness about The Promise and assess how they can best support Care Experienced individuals and implement The Promise effectively. The Promise team also engage with the Care Experienced community to ensure their voices are heard and their needs are met in service design and delivery and they can contribute to the development of policies such as the Renfrewshire Language Policy, which promotes the use of positive, inclusive language when referring to Care Experienced individuals. The Promise Champs programme, led by Youth Services, empowers Care Experienced young people to voice their needs and drive change. Activities such as leadership training, summer clubs, and festive events foster a sense of belonging and community among participants. Additionally, the Promise Arts and Culture Programme provides creative opportunities for Care Experienced young people, helping them build social and cultural capital. A cornerstone of Renfrewshire's approach is the Promise Keeper Network, comprising, by end March 2025, over 362 local champions from various services, including social work, education, and the third sector. These Promise Keepers are empowered to enact changes within their services, share knowledge, and promote positive, non-stigmatising language as outlined in the Renfrewshire Language Policy. Several initiatives support the workforce in delivering The Promise, including the Promise Human Library, which matches Care Experienced young people with professionals in their field of interest, and the development of a Care Experienced Staff Network. This network provides a safe space for Page 96 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 79 staff with Care Experience to share their views, seek peer support, and access learning and development opportunities. A Care Experienced Data Dashboard has been developed to track and monitor progress in relation to The Promise. This dashboard consolidates data on attendance, exclusions, attainment, and wellbeing, providing valuable insights for decision-making. The Promise Progress Framework, adopted in 2025, will further enhance the understanding of progress and the impact of initiatives aimed at Keeping The Promise. Our achievements in 24/25 are illustrated below In 2025/26, we aim to expand the Promise Keeper Network by recruiting more local champions and increasing visibility and awareness of The Promise across various services. We will also further enhance workforce support by expanding initiatives such as the Promise Human Library and the Care Experienced Staff Network. These initiatives will provide more opportunities for Care Experienced individuals to connect with professionals and access learning and development opportunities. The introduction of guaranteed interviews for Care Experienced individuals will be fully implemented, aiming to address barriers to employment and promote equality. Community engagement will continue through the Promise Champs programme and the Promise Arts and Culture Programme. We will continue to empower Care Experienced young people to voice their needs and drive change, fostering a sense of belonging and community. Additional activities and events will be introduced to provide more opportunities for creative expression and social interaction. The Care Experienced Data Dashboard and the Promise Progress Framework will be enhanced to provide more comprehensive insights into progress and impact. We will continue to track and Page 97 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 80 monitor key indicators such as attendance, exclusions, attainment, and wellbeing, using data to inform decision-making and drive improvements. Renfrewshire’s Promise Team will drive an ambitious programme of change across Renfrewshire, ensuring that the needs of Care Experienced individuals are at the heart of all services and that The Promise is effectively implemented and sustained. 6.6 Community Learning and Development Community Learning and Development reaches out to children, young people, adults and families, including those who face barriers and experience disadvantage, and takes a preventative and asset-building approach to working with people, families and communities. The Renfrewshire Community Learning and Development Partnership Plan for 2024 - 27 was published last year and sets out our priorities. Community learning and development work in Renfrewshire has many strands and reaches many people. We recognise that our learners and our communities are at the heart of what we do, and as an initial priority of the new Partnership Plan, we will be looking at how we further strengthen local voice and lived experience in developing and shaping future activities and programmes of work. Priority 1 - Provide a programme of high-quality lifelong learning, accessible to all. Priority 2 - Build strong, connected communities where people can participate and influence in their local area. Priority 3 - Deliver targeted opportunities to reduce barriers and tackle inequalities. Priority 4 - Strengthening our CLD Partnership and developing our local workforce. These four priorities are aligned to our existing Community Planning Themes and the Plan also includes a specific action to Provide support that allows families to live dignified lives and respond to the cost of living crisis. Over 24/25, the CLD Adult and Family Learning team continued to work actively in partnership with a nember of organisations and services. They offer courses for adults including literacy, English language, crafting and mending, equalities, money management, parenting, personal development, life skills, wellbeing, women's history and work clubs which include digital skills. Over the last year they also supported the Multiply programme which aims to help transform the lives of adults aged 19yrs + across the UK, by improving their functional numeracy skills. Page 98 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 81 CLD work with young people includes universal and targeted actions such as community-based youth work to build strength and capacity amongst young people. Contributing to tackling child and youth poverty, Youth Services has developed a number of targeted and inclusive programmes that reduce costs of participation, increase access to services travel and digital tools and promote wellbeing, engagement, and attainment for vulnerable and care-experienced young people. Young people engaging in Youth Services activities can access free food, period products and digital devices and connectivity as a matter of course. Working with young people gives the service insight into their issues and priorities and ensures the responses are appropriate. This year the activities included: • A Love 2 Care event co-designed with young people who are care experienced. A pop-up shop allowed attendees to choose wellbeing items (tote bags, toiletries, self-care goods and one4all experience, fashion or restaurant vouchers). 44 young people attended the event and an addtitonal 22 received vouchers and goods after the event. • Free Duke of Edinburgh Award places to targeted groups, including young carers, New Scots and pupils attending ASN schools and well as childrens houses and LGBT SafeSpace. Appropriate kit is also supplied free for schools and groups to help ensure pupils who would not normally be able to afford to participate and purchase kit can complete the award programme with their peers. • Evolve groups for those aged 13-16 in local communities during school time with transport provided where needed. Young people who are likely to benefit from a social personal development programme are referred by schools or social work. In many cases they fall within the attainment criteria and are more likely to be experiencing poverty. Participants learn key skills such as shopping on a budget and creative cooking on a budget and food is provided at all sessions. Many participants also receive a free 3 month One Ren gym pass and kit to help them access leisure facilities when the cost would be prohibitive. Personal hygiene items are also provided. This year there were further Evolve activities aimed specifically at young Ukrainian refugees, who also each received a reconditioned bike and training in bike maintenance. • Supporting care experienced young people to take part in a range of arts based activities, with all materials, transport and refreshments provided free. This included for 3 care experienced young people who were invited to join the Jupiter+Orbit collective sessions and London trip supported by Youth services staff. • Supporting the Promise Champion Present Drive, which provided Christmas gifts to 304 care experienced young people organised by the Promise Champions youth group who are care experienced young people who meet weekly to discuss issues that affect care-experienced young people and their views on support and care they have received. Page 99 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 82 • Fund Your Fun in partnership with Children’s services, supporting young people who are Looked After At Home, and enables them to access experiences and goods to improve their wellbeing. Looking forward, the service will again deliver Easter and summer camps targeted to low income families via messaging to those in receipt of School Clothing Grants. They will also continue Youth Voice Development for Care Experienced young people through the Promise Champions. 6.7 Thrive Under 5 Renfrewshire HSCP’s Health Improvement team secured funding to pilot Thrive under 5 in Johnstone. The programme aims to reduce child poverty, increase healthy eating, physical activity, and reduce likelihood of diabetes in the under 5s working with partners Active Communities and Renfrewshire Citizens’ Advice Bureau. To meet the referral criteria families must have at least one child under the age of 5, live in Johnstone and meet one of the risk factors for poverty. The pilot ran from May 2024 to March 2025 providing the following support for families: • Support to apply for Best Start Grant and Best Start Food, Grants and Scottish Child Payment • Applications to wider grants and benefit entitlements to maximise income including fuel support • Meal packs for every family twice a week for 8 weeks • Access to local food pantry with free membership and 12 free shops for families • Free Cooking classes and provision of cooking equipment as required for every family • Physical Activity Opportunities for whole family • Onward referral to partner organisations such as Invest or any others based on family’s needs. • Additional food shops for families during school holidays and following the end of programme A total of 42 families including 75 children took part in the programme. Page 100 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 83 241 meals packs and 516 pantry vouchers were provided during duration of the pilot. All families were provided with cooking equipment and were provided with weekly fruit and vegetables worth £11.74. 9 families were supported by Renfrewshire CAB resulting in over £1,700 in financial gains. The pilot is currently being evaluated by the Health Improvement team. A funding bid has been submitted and has the potential to ensure sustainability for the next 5 years in Johnstone and another neighbourhood in Renfrewshire if awarded. 6.8 Celebrating Renfrewshire In 24/25, the Celebrating Renfrewshire Fund celebrated five years of supporting youth projects across Renfrewshire. Launched in 2019, Celebrating Renfrewshire is a fund designed by and for young people, where those aged 12-25 will have a direct say on which projects are funded in their local area. The fund process empowers young people to make decisions that will benefit and enhance their local communities. Over the last five years, Celebrating Renfrewshire has supported 417 projects from 133 groups, totalling over £890,000 spent on projects for young people across Renfrewshire. Projects include access to industry standard music or filming equipment, training kits and team clothes, alcohol and drugs awareness training and free sports and day trips. One example of a funded project is Glenvale AFC, which received funding from Celebrating Renfrewshire in 2024 to run accredited awareness training in the dangers of drugs, alcohol and gambling for their senior members. Over 50 young people benefited directly, with more throughout the club benefiting from the training and knowledge being passed down from player to player. Renfrewshire Effort to Empower Minorities also received funding to help the group establish a youth club for young people in the diverse minority ethnic community. The fund is facilitated by Renfrewshire Council’s Community Planning and Community Learning and Development teams who support a steering group of young people. The group represent the voices of young people across Renfrewshire and provide an essential role in shaping the guidance for the fund each year. Organisations bid for funding in each Local Partnership area and young people then use their Young Scot card to vote for what they think is most needed and to make a positive difference to their own, and their friends, lives. Page 101 of 182
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Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2024/2025 84 Page 102 of 182
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 18 June 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Reshaping Renfrewshire –Transformation and Change Programme – Update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 In February 2025, a comprehensive report was presented to Leadership Board giving an overview of transformation activity to date, setting the context, and detailing the fifth phase of Renfrewshire Council’s transformation programme, named Reshaping Renfrewshire. 1.2 The report noted that while Reshaping Renfrewshire would continue to have a focus on the development of the organisation, similar to previous phases, it would also be coupled with a strategically wider, outward-focused perspective to consider Renfrewshire’s geography and communities. 1.3 Key areas of emphasis for Reshaping Renfrewshire include continuing to deliver significant recurring financial savings and or generation of additional income to secure longer-term financial sustainability; harnessing the rapidly changing advancements in digital technology to transform how we deliver services in the future; building upon key strategic partnerships and relationships, collaborating to deliver better outcomes for communities; and continuing to shift the focus of our service provision to prevention to help reduce future need and cost. 1.4 This report represents the first of the regular updates on the progress of the programme. Given the scale of the programme, updates will focus on areas with relevant and substantive progress, where options are being explored and to highlight milestones being reached. Moving beyond the summer period there will be a requirement for greater definition of target savings against key transformation programmes to support the Council’s medium term financial strategy and it is anticipated that this will be incorporated into the updated medium term financial strategy due to be brought to full Council in September 2025. Item 4 Page 103 of 182
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________________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board: • Note the update provided in the report on the progress of key areas within Reshaping Renfrewshire; • Note the officer governance arrangements detailed at section 3.2 • Agree the temporary arrangements proposed for Erskine Library, as detailed in Section 12.5 • Note the work undertaken as part of the Best Value thematic review on transformation; and • Note that regular reports will continue to be brought to the Board at appropriate key junctures as the overall programme is progressed and that there is an expectation to establish greater definition of target saving levels across the transformation programme to support the Council’s medium term financial strategy that is expected to be updated at the September full Council meeting. _________________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Reshaping Renfrewshire is the fifth phase of the organisation’s ongoing transformation, to ensure a financially sustainable long-term future, while improving outcomes for our communities. As noted above, this phase will also include a strengthened outward focus which will support the development and delivery of strategies that will reshape how we use our council assets, redesigning the role they serve within our communities; drive long term economic growth and develop our strategic partnerships to support our shared goals; and secure a digital agenda that drives the delivery of large scale savings and also transforms how we work, how we use data to inform our decisions, and improve our service delivery and choice for communities. 3.2 In addition to providing regular updates to Leadership Board, and alongside existing governance supports across strategic programmes, a Transformation Board (officer group) has been established to provide strategic oversight of the next phase of the programme. Chaired by the Director of Finance and Resources, this group has a membership of senior officers across the Council and will review the progress of all projects and programmes across the organisation, explore and manage interdependencies, share learning and support resourcing challenges. 3.3 As previously reported to Leadership Board in February, as part of the new Best Value methodology, Audit Scotland have introduced an annual ‘thematic review’ which applies to all Councils, aligned to the annual audit reporting process and carried out in addition to the rolling programme of ‘full’ Best Value audits. Page 104 of 182
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3.4 For 2024/25, the theme is ‘Transformation’ and this thematic review is currently being finalised. The Council engaged extensively with our external auditors, Azets, over recent months to provide a wide range of evidence of the Council’s long term approach to transformation, our successful and sustained track record of delivery and our future plans. It is anticipated that the thematic report prepared by Azets will be shared with the Council after the summer and a report will be presented to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board highlighting the key findings and any recommendations. 3.5 As part of the Best Value Audit of Renfrewshire Council which was published earlier this month and will be considered by Council on 25 June, the Accounts Commission recognised Reshaping Renfrewshire as ‘central’ to addressing the Council’s budget challenge. 4. Progress updates – Digital Digital Strategy 4.1 The organisation has made significant progress in recent years to invest in digital technology and services, changing how we work and how our customers interact with us. The new Digital Strategy, which was developed using customer insights and in consultation with senior managers from across the Council, builds on the success and learnings from our previous strategy, and recognises the need for bolder, Council-wide digital transformation. It was approved by Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board in April 2025. 4.2 To ensure the successful delivery of this ambitious next phase, the need for a strengthened corporate approach has been identified. Delivering the desired change will impact all areas of the Council and will drive a coordinated programme of work over the next five years, built around six strategic themes in support of four strategic objectives. It is recognised that five years is a long time, particularly in the digital world, so a review of the strategy will be conducted after year two, to ensure our objectives remain relevant and aligned. 4.3 The four strategic objectives are: • Our employees and residents will be digitally capable and supported in the use of digital solutions • We will achieve corporate transformation with a single coordinated approach that breaks down operational silo • Data will become a critical asset to us and the backbone to our transformation and future decision making • We will be a modern organisation, where our services, people and culture are ready to deliver for the future Page 105 of 182
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4.4 Achievement of these objectives will be managed through a programme of work built around the following six strategic themes, which have been developed in consultation with senior managers: • Digital Inclusion • Data • Our Technology and Infrastructure • Digitally Enabled Workforce • Leadership and Culture • Digital Public Services 4.5 Following approval of the strategy, in the coming months a prioritised programme of work will be created under each of the six themes. This programme of work will report regularly to the Digital Board, where issues and risks will be surfaced and managed, and any barriers to delivery will be resolved. The Digital Board will continue to report to the Corporate Management Team with regular progress updates to Finance, Resources and Customer Service Policy Board. Data Strategy 4.6 Renfrewshire Council’s Data Strategy Framework, approved in 2023, is a hub/spoke model for data management, recognising the importance of central and consistent governance of data practices, usage and security. It provides the flexibility required for each Council service to develop their own data strategy based on ambitions/requirements, but ensuring these service level plans are aligned with central governance controls. 4.7 The Data Advisory Group (DAG), an officer group, was created to support the adoption of the Data Strategy Framework. It meets quarterly and provides a central governance forum with subject matter experts and individual service representation to collectively support the improvement of data management and exploitation across all services. 4.8 With DAG support, each service has now developed a service strategy and action plan relevant to operational and strategic outcomes, and high-level activities are now embedded into Service Improvement Plans, giving visibility and accountability at Council board level of ongoing data improvement work across all services. 4.9 The DAG also continues to develop central resources to improve data management and sharing opportunities, such as an online data training module, Data Catalogue, Data Principles, Customer Engagement Tracker, central Power BI Governance model, and is a centre of excellence for corporate data requirements and challenges. It has provided clear responsibility for data ownership across the Council and a collective approach to better understand the Council’s data assets and opportunities to share for wider strategic benefit. Page 106 of 182
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4.10 The DAG will continue to: • Ensure strategic alignment of data activities with the Council’s Digital Strategy. • Identify and improve data skills gaps across services in alignment with the Council’s People Strategy. • Improve data quality in key line of business systems. • Identify data analysis requirements to improve decision making and build capabilities within services. • Push the adoption of data driven dashboards from corporate tools such as the Council’s ERP • Identify cross-service data sharing opportunities and appropriate technology solutions Artificial Intelligence (AI) Overview 4.11 In November 2024 the Council launched ‘Millie’, our AI driven Digital Advisor in customer contact centres. Millie is available 24/7 to answer routine enquiries from customers calling the main contact centre number, providing 24/7 access to customer support and freeing up our Customer Service Advisors during existing operational hours to focus on more complex tasks and provide customers with the personalised support they need. All other service call handling arrangements are unaffected by this change. 4.12 The Millie capability provides each caller with a personal assistant who can provide customer support and assistance in real time, handling frequent questions and routine tasks. It means that for a high volume of calls, customers can get instant answers and access information at any time. Where Millie cannot answer a question, or assesses the customer requires immediate or enhanced support, she will transfer their call to the right service, and a Customer Service Advisor will speak with them as soon as possible. 4.13 Millie is an additional service enhancement that complements the other existing ways residents can contact us, including MyAccount and face-to-face appointments. By the end of the March 2025, Millie had answered 106,576 calls, 34% (36,468) of these calls were successfully handled by Millie and 66% (70,108) were transferred to a CSU adviser. This level of successful handling exceeds initial plans and is expected to continue to improve moving forward as Milli’s capability continues to develop. The team continue to monitor the performance of the digital advisor and make regular changes to improve the overall effectiveness of the service. 4.14 During the implementation of Millie it was recognised that the Council was at the forefront of AI development in Scotland and as part of sourcing suitable partner councils to work with, opportunities have been explored on a wider basis across the UK. In this context, the Council officers have established productive relationships and Page 107 of 182
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regularly engaged with Derby City Council who have also launched an AI driven Digital Advisor called ‘Darcie’ as part of a wider corporate transformation programme underpinned by AI innovation. In December 2024, Derby City Council announced a corporate wide AI innovation programme as a key part of their overall transformation and financial saving programme. This programme has been underpinned by an AI Transformation Assessment which was undertaken by the council with the help of an external AI partner. An AI Transformation Assessment is designed to support a council to evaluate current AI readiness, identifying opportunities for AI-driven improvements, and developing a structured roadmap for AI adoption. Derby City Council have welcomed establishing a working relationship with the Renfrewshire Council and have been open and highly collaborative in sharing their journey thus far to develop their AI capability. It is envisaged that the working partnership will provide future opportunities to jointly share best practice as well as development capacity to support accelerated adoption by both organisations. 4.15 Based on the success of Millie so far, and learning established from the AI innovation being progressed by Derby City Council (and other authorities across the UK), it is planned to progress an AI Transformation Assessment across the Council over the coming months, and which will involve as a first step commissioning an AI partner via an appropriate procurement route. Through a series of stakeholder engagement, workshops, data analysis, financial validation solution demonstrations and trials, this AI Transformation Assessment will provide the Council with a clearer understanding of how AI solutions can enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve service delivery. 4.16 This critical initial assessment stage will support the development of a full business case that is intended to be brought back to a future Board for detailed consideration later in the year. The business case will provide a clear understanding of the scale of opportunity and the key priorities for building on the success of Millie and progressing the Council’s sector leading development of AI capability. It is envisaged that this business case is likely to set out the most significant digital transformation opportunity for the Council over the medium term to support the delivery of both financial savings but critically delivery of better services and outcomes but also improved ways of working as an organisation and better supporting our workforce. Digital Experience 4.16 The Digital Experience (DXP) programme is transforming how Renfrewshire Council delivers services and information online. By focusing on user needs, accessibility and modern technology, it’s making it easier for residents to access services such as council tax, benefits and waste collection. This work is helping to reduce avoidable contact, improve satisfaction, and create a more inclusive and efficient experience for both residents and staff. 4.17 The programme centres on three main developments: a new Renfrewshire.gov.uk website, a modernised staff intranet, and better communication through email, text and WhatsApp. The first phase of the new website is expected to launch in June 2025 and will cover the most high-demand sections. Designed with mobile device users in mind, the site will be easy to use, accessible to all, and written in plain language. As the main source of information, it will support better service delivery across all channels, Page 108 of 182
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including letters, calls and AI-powered systems that are increasingly being used in everyday life by citizens. 4.18 In addition, a new communications platform has recently been introduced, integrating fully with the new website to improve functionality and reduce costs. Planning for a new intranet is also underway and which is set to launch in 2026. It will use the same design and technology as the public website to ensure consistency, accessibility and value for money across the council’s digital information and services. Delivery of the new intranet will be a critical enabler to support a range of anticipated opportunities for improved internal working across the Council that are expected to be identified through the AI assessment process, which again highlights the critical inter-dependency between a high-quality internet and intranet sites which will enable some of the potential benefits offered by developing AI capability. Green Print 4.19 The Green Print project has made significant progress over the last 2 years, completing a comprehensive case for change and business case. The business case informed the Invitation to Tender for a new Managed Print Service which secured Canon as the Council’s new supplier with a 35% reduction in printer fleet rolled out in 2024. This drop in the number of printers being leased over a 4-to-6-year period will as a result support significant savings over the lifetime of the contract. 4.20 Since January 2024, the Council has been working with Canon to plan the roll out of the new printer estate, aligning with the replacement of the old Xerox printers. This required extensive planning and testing of kit prior to deployment. The project team successfully removed 950 old printers and deployed 555 new printers over 100 corporate sites, including the school estate and public buildings such as libraries. 4.21 The project has been extremely successful due to the project approach taken, effective involvement of key stakeholders from the outset and excellent partnership working with our suppliers – Canon and Xerox. The team are continuing to closely monitor the current print volumes for each location/department for both the Canon devices as well as the current print jobs that are being sent to our in-house print service (Document Solution Centre). 4.22 Other notable work includes: • a move to recycled paper, which will reduce paper costs and impact on the environment • working with colleagues in Member Services and with our Elected Members to review the process for the printing and delivery of Council board papers. Meetings have been taking place to understand each Member’s requirement and to agree how we can help reduce costs and contribute to Net Zero. Purchase to Pay and Scotland Excel Project 4.23 Purchase to Pay (P2P) is the set of processes that covers the activities of requesting, purchasing, receiving, paying and accounting for goods, services and works. The P2P programme is designing and implementing a new P2P model through the Council’s existing Business World ERP platform, coupled with enhancements in technology, Page 109 of 182
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analytics and workflow which will deliver improved processes, controls, and compliance within all areas of the P2P cycle. As part of the first phase of the programme the Council will decommission its use of PECOS and launch a new Business World Procurement Module at the end of September. 4.24 At the same time, the Council has engaged Scotland Excel to undertake a programme of spending reviews service with a view to driving out new procurement savings. These could arise from a change to, or rationalisation of, products or suppliers, or in some cases a fundamental reconsideration of need. As reflected in the last transformation report, Renfrewshire Council is recognised through the independent local authority procurement assessment process undertaken by Scotland Excel across all councils, to be a sector leading advanced authority across all assessment criteria. In this context, opportunities to secure further savings from procurement activities will be more limited than that achieved in the past. Nevertheless, the programme being progressed in partnership with Scotland Excel is expected to identify potentially a wide range of smaller opportunities which cumulatively will support a material contribution to the Council’s wider savings programme. Housing Innovations Project 4.25 The Housing Innovations Project (HIP) is replacing the current housing management system OHMS with the new system NEC Housing. This will provide a new streamlined system and integrate several separate existing systems into one. 4.26 Phase 1 is planned to go live by May 2026 with Phase 2 planned to go live in July 2027. Phase 2 of the project will focus on bringing the assets and repairs services, and homelessness into the new system and allow for greater use of customer online services, the Internet of Things (sensor technology) and better use of data analytics, all of which will in particular provide opportunity for significant transformation. Smart Social Housing 4.27 Separately but linked, is the Smart Social Housing (SSH) project which sets out an ambition to develop a business case opportunity that would support the deployment of free market leading fibre broadband connectivity and smart sensor assets into the Council’s social housing units. As well as delivering a digital benefit to all tenants and helping to significantly address inequality in access to digital and on-line services, the project would provide the foundation to support the accelerated delivery of strategic priorities and outcomes for the Council, the Health and Social Care Partnership, and potentially wider partners including the NHS who are seeking to progress major service redesigns such as Hospital at Home which is highly reliant on high quality connectivity. This would be a first-of-type project in the UK, highly innovative that seeks to build on and leverage the benefits of the existing digital infrastructure investments delivered by the Council across Renfrewshire, achieved primarily through the private investment in connectivity infrastructure attracted by the Council’s innovative Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) framework. 4.28 In developing the project, the Council has established a strategic partnership with Commsworld through their CaaS framework. The premise on which the business case for the project is being developed, is investment in the connectivity and environment sensors at-scale into 10,000 social homes would be self-financed through enabling Page 110 of 182
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significant improvements that would support the pro-active management and maintenance of the housing stock, as well as support the HSCP and wider NHS partners to deliver digital led redesign of services which are critical to unlock financial savings. As well as providing high quality digital connectivity at no cost to tenants, the investment would fundamentally deliver the foundation for deploying needs-led digital solutions into social homes to keep people safe, well, and socially connected. 4.29 The SSH solution is intentionally focused on targeting addressing poverty and inequalities: “Digital exclusion can have a severe impact on people’s lives. For public service reform to be effective it needs to make sure that digitalisation leaves no one behind.” (Audit Scotland, ‘Tackling Digital Exclusion’, August 2024). The SSH model is underpinned with a foundational investment in at-scale connectivity, with follow-on invest to save cases (e.g. Housing, HSCP, NHS etc.) developed around a portfolio of in-the-home digital solutions that can be deployed as part of an initial level of services with future phases / services gradually added to grow the scale of benefits, and grow the scale of improvements in services and associated financial savings. 4.30 The current focus is on testing the feasibility of an invest to save case (V2) based on a go live bundle of super-fast broadband connectivity and Internet of Things environment sensors, to allow the Council to consider an associated business case on options to progress and invest or not at this stage. The development of the invest to save case (V1) was originally funded by Glasgow City Region who had secured investment from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to develop a range of business cases including Smart Social Housing and Net Zero. Since the development of the original invest to save case (V1), Renfrewshire Council has broadened the engagement with wider stakeholders (e.g. HSCP) to identify wider benefits (V2) from the proposed SSH investment. It is envisaged that a full business case will be brought back to the Board in the second half of this year, which will set out the opportunity, options and potential case to progress. Digital Inclusion 4.31 A critical consideration when progressing the digital transformation workstream is to ensure progress doesn’t exclude our communities and all citizens can benefit from the options available and opportunities emerging. Renfrewshire Council has a strong track record of advancing digital inclusion, with work highlighted as national best practice. As outlined below, significant progress has been made in advancing digital inclusion across Renfrewshire, with key activities, partnerships, and outcomes helping to ensure all residents have the skills, access, and support needed to participate fully in a digital society. 4.32 The Citizens Voice Forum continues to collaborate with Core Group and sub-group members to progress key digital inclusion priorities: DigiZones (Q4 2024/25) • 100,056 visits recorded • 236 training sessions delivered • 208.5 hours of Digital Champion support provided • 14 devices loaned via the Device Lending Library Page 111 of 182
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• 8,732 public devices accessed onsite • 10,748 public Wi-Fi sessions logged Digital Champions Programme (Q4 2024/25) • 196 learners supported • 120 Digital Champion sessions delivered • New sessions launched at Bishopton Library, supported by a new volunteer • 29 SIM cards issued at drop-ins to support connectivity • 5 new volunteers recruited (total now 19) • 245.5 hours of support delivered year-to-date • Two new drop-ins launching soon in Ferguslie and Renfrew Library, led by trained library supervisors Device Recycling • Pachedu has nominated two team members to lead development of a community- led device recycling project, supported by Council officers. • Site visits to Scottish device recycling organisations underway to explore: o Recycling processes and procedures o Space and resource requirements o Suitable device types DigiRen • Ongoing cross-sector collaboration through regular meetings • DigiRen Directory launched to showcase local and national digital inclusion resources • Partnering with SCVO to baseline digital skills across DigiRen members via the Essential Digital Skills Survey • Planning underway for DigiKnowVember – a month-long programme of digital inclusion events in November, led by a newly formed steering group 5. Progress update - Connected Communities 5.1 Connected Communities is a transformative programme of work, fundamentally shifting how the organisation works with our communities, strengthening relationships, and making it easier for local people to access the support they need from different services, significantly aligned with the principles of early intervention and prevention. The workstream has been split into two phases. 5.2 Phase 1 has involved the development of a new Connected Communities function within the Policy and Partnerships service. This brings together the corporate focus on community capacity, local partnerships, voice and influence and community investment. This is progressing well, with the new service structure agreed and communicated. The Connected Communities Management Team have been recruited and in place and recruitment processes are being progressed for the rest of the new service are due to be completed over the course of the summer, completing the Phase 1 stage. 5.3 Phase 2 is a Council wide change programme to explore the opportunities for strengthening relationships between the Council and communities. Alongside financial savings, the programme will deliver change in the Council’s relationship with Page 112 of 182
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communities and partners and between staff; promote community empowerment, participation and capacity; improve connections; make better use of all resources; make every contact count; and identify opportunities to support early intervention and prevention through integrated advice and support. 5.4 Phase 2 has now commenced with project governance established and 3 key priority workstreams have been identified: • Developing early help models of advice and support • Developing placed based approaches in terms of service delivery and development • Progressing our making every contact count programme, and strengthening the way in which the Council engages with local people and communities Updates on the progress made through the Phase 2 work programme will be provided to future board cycles. 6. Progress update - Consultation and Engagement 6.1 A new Consultation and Engagement Strategy was approved by Leadership Board 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. 6.2 An officer group is being established which will provide strategic oversight, advice and guidance, and review new Council consultation and engagement activity. Work is also underway to develop a framework to monitor the effectiveness of community engagement and an action has been added to the Council Plan Performance Framework to reflect this. Updates will be provided to the Leadership Board on a six- monthly basis. 6.3 The introduction of a Resident Survey in 2025 supports a pilot approach as part of the Council’s commitment to improving our dialogue with our residents and communities. The results of the survey will be used to help inform council budget setting and decisions for 2026/27 and provide a greater understanding of our residents’ needs and priorities. It will also establish a baseline of current perceptions. A technical partner has been commissioned to undertake the research on behalf of Council. 6.4 A comprehensive, robust survey has been carried out by telephone with a representative sample of Renfrewshire residents. A supplementary online version of the survey was also made available. Paper copies were available to complete in libraries. Translations and other accessible formats were also provided on request. 6.5 Follow-up focus groups will be organised to explore any significant quantitative findings. Members of the public will be recruited from the telephone or online survey to participate in each group, and experienced moderators will facilitate each group. 6.6 Following data analysis, the survey findings will be reported to the Leadership Board later this year. Summary findings will also be published on the Council website and promoted via Council owned channels (newsletters and social media). Page 113 of 182
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7. Progress update - Learning Estate Strategy 7.1 The Learning Estate Strategy report, presented at the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board last month, introduced a Business Case development framework. This framework aligns with industry best practices outlined in the HM Treasury Green Book and is designed to assess viable options for the 13 priority education establishments in Renfrewshire, along with their associated timescales. To support this, in February 2025, the Council approved a recurring budget of £2.5 million as an initial contribution to unlock up to £170million over future years for this major investment programme. 7.2 Work continues on site to deliver the new Paisley Grammar School Community Campus, with completion remaining on track for the summer of 2026. A contractor is now in place and working in partnership with the Council and a wider design team to progress the detailed design of the extended Park Mains High School. The new primary school in Dargavel has been officially designated Thistle Primary School, following a vote conducted among pupils. Civil engineering works have been progressing on site for several weeks, initiating the foundational preparations required to support the structural load of the future building. These works are scheduled to continue throughout the summer, concurrent with the completion of the final detailed design phase. 8. Progress update - Strategic Property Review 8.1 This workstream is ongoing and is interlinked to the work of the Learning Estate Strategy, the HSCP Sustainable Futures Programme and to the OneRen review reported in more detail to Leadership Board through a separate report on the agenda. 8.2 In May 2025, the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board agreed the sale of Montrose Care home to a care home provider, to continue its use as a care home. The Community Asset Transfer (CAT) Sub-Committee have continued to make determinations on Council property and land with a CAT application being approved by Board for the Beechwood Community Centre to continue its use as a community facility. 8.3 The Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board and OneRen Museum team have relocated into Renfrewshire House following the sale of the Robertson Centre being concluded, with an engineering company relocating to use as their new headquarters in Paisley. 8.4 As part of the Strategic Property Review workstream, work continues on collecting appropriate data and looking at suitable themes to allow strategic decisions to be made, where possible, in relation to the wider Council portfolio of buildings. 9. Progress update - Roads 9.1 The roads programme consists of 53 carriageway resurfacing schemes and 31 footway resurfacing schemes, with a number of strategic schemes which will be undertaken in this programme. 9.2 As part of this year’s programme there will be delivery of the first phase of the roundabout programme, with the aim of enhancing the infrastructure and visual appeal of roundabout infrastructure across Renfrewshire, with an initial 21 roundabouts Page 114 of 182
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programmed for works over this financial year, as detailed in the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board papers in May. 9.3 Total roads investment this year is £8.5million, with almost £400,000 planned investments associated with the roundabout infrastructure. 10. Progress update - Net Zero 10.1 The previous transformation update report of February 2025 set out the Council’s short to medium term position in Renfrewshire will focus on ‘Heat and Fleet’ to transform the approach to the provision of clean energy and sustainable travel in Renfrewshire. 10.2 This approach was confirmed at the May 2025 Planning and Climate Change Policy Board where a 3-year programme of activity was highlighted with planned investment in year 1 of upwards of £1million in the areas below: • Investment in Building Management Systems (BMS) Installation and upgrade of BMS across the estate to maximise energy efficiency to drive efficiencies within utility usage and have a positive impact on the Council’s emissions. • Solar PV (Photovoltaic) Expansion Extension of Solar PV Array across 15 existing public buildings and installing a new system at St Fillan's Primary School to deliver a reduction in the Council’s emissions. • Implementation of air reduction technology across 68 properties to reduce maintenance of heating systems and increase energy efficiency across public buildings. • Progressing a feasibility study to identify opportunities and benefits of a potential largescale windfarm in Renfrewshire to bring benefits including renewable and clean energy, cost-effectiveness and land use. • Progressing a feasibility study into an Investment Grade Business Case to deliver a large-scale solar farm on Linwood Moss former landfill site. • Electric Vehicle (EV) Fleet Expansion through purchase of additional EVs to expand the Council’s existing EV fleet and associated investment in fleet charging infrastructure as well as continuing the support the City Region approach to public charging infrastructure to ensure our fleet and travel behaviours are as sustainable as they can be. 11. Progress update - Workforce 11.1 Significant foundation work over the past two years has been undertaken to develop a suite of proposals to modernise workforce terms and conditions, including ongoing engagement with trade unions and services, data and cost analysis and benchmarking exercises with other local authorities and public bodies where appropriate. 11.2 Earlier this month a detailed interim update paper was reported to Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board to provide a progress update and outline the next steps. Work on an equalities impact assessment continues and engagement is also ongoing with trade unions to allow them to ballot their members at the appropriate point Page 115 of 182
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in the process. It is anticipated a report will be taken to the September meeting of the Policy Board to outline recommendations for agreement on public holidays. 12. Progress update – Review of Cultural & Leisure Services Commissioned through OneRen 12.1 As previously reported to the Board, officers are currently working with OneRen to undertake a strategic review of current commissioning arrangements for cultural and leisure services. Three key workstreams have been identified: • Workstream 1 - Community and Leisure • Workstream 2 - Culture and Libraries • Workstream 3 - Finance and Governance 12.2 As specified in the February report, the review is being informed and guided by the following principles: • Services should be specified in a way that supports the Council’s agreed priorities, along with a new suite of performance measures. • Services should be sustainable and affordable. • The Council and OneRen will work with communities to ensure that leisure and culture services are planned and delivered in a fair and consistent way. In line with the principles of the Council’s Strategic Property Review, there is a presumption for the co-location of services wherever possible, and services will be delivered from flexible, sustainable, well-designed, and high-quality spaces. 12.3 Much of the initial focus of each workstream has been on establishing key information relating to the activities of OneRen and associated Council services, to establish an agreed baseline position for all OneRen services and facilities, including the financial performance of OneRen, and business plan delivery assessments for OneRen cultural and commercial services. In addition, work is also progressing to detail utilisation and demand for services and the consequential impact on property/facility occupancy and condition. 12.4 Consideration of this data will inform the development of options for future service provision across services commissioned from OneRen which will be presented to a future Board meeting. 12.5 While this work is progressing, a pressing decision that has emerged in relation to library provision within Erskine. The lease for Erskine Library expires in May 2026 and the landlord has indicated that they would not be willing to extend the current lease beyond that date. There is therefore a requirement to consider options to reprovision the service beyond this date and this will be considered as part of this wider commissioning exercise and underpinned by the principle of seeking to co-locate services where possible. It is however acknowledged that given the timescale involved in terms of the lease ending there is a requirement to put on place short term reprovision arrangements whilst the wider commissioning exercise and options appraisal progresses. In this context, a suitable temporary building, currently located Page 116 of 182
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at Renfrew Sports Centre is available and can be relocated to space available at Erskine Sports Centre. The relocation to this site can be easily accommodated due to all necessary utility connections being available from previous temporary buildings at the location. Ongoing costs can be accommodated from the savings in lease payments, and the floor space available is similar to that utilised in the current premises which will ensure that current service arrangements can be maintained. 12.6 The move to a temporary building at the sports centre will ensure there is no loss of provision in Erskine when the current lease expires, and it enables the Council to consider a longer term options and solution within the context of the outcomes of the wider service and property reviews currently underway. Elected members will be aware that a similar modular building was sited at the Lagoon Centre, prior to the opening of the new Paisley Central Library, and operated very successfully and the learning and operational experience from that arrangement would be applied in this instance. 12.7 The temporary relocation of current provision from Erskine Library will also provide a valuable opportunity for OneRen and the Council to work together with the community to identify opportunities to strengthen the links between library provision and wider Council and partner services, including in relation to adult and family learning, youth work and activities which support wider community health and wellbeing. An equality impact assessment will be developed in relation to this proposal. 13. National developments 13.1 The Council continues to engage with the national transformation programme being progressed by SOLACE and the Improvement Service. In addition to the various workstreams being progressed, officers will also engage with specific projects including in relation to collaborative procurement opportunities relating to fleet, waste and digital. This work is currently at a relatively early stage of development and more significant updates will be expected to be provided at future board cycles. 14. Next steps 14.1 Alongside the regular updates for each individual workstream to the relevant Policy Boards, overview progress updates on the Reshaping Renfrewshire programme will continue to be reported to Leadership Board alongside the financial reporting to Council and Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board. 14.2 Following the Best Value thematic review on transformation, any relevant actions will be added to the Corporate Improvement Plan, with progress also reported regularly to Leadership Board. _________________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – the transformation programme will continue to play a key role in supporting the Council’s financial sustainability. The one-off costs associated with the temporary library installation at Erskine will be met from the Service Modernisation and Reform Fund. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none. Page 117 of 182
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3. Community/Council Planning – the transformation programme focuses resources on the delivery of priority outcomes as outlined in the Council Plan. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets – section 8 of the report provides an update on the Strategic Property Review which supports the effective us of Council properties. Section 12 of the report outlines a proposal in relation to a temporary solution for provision of library services in Erskine. 6. Information Technology – section 4 notes a number of progress updates related to the Digital and ICT agenda. 7. Equality and Human Rights – there are no negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights arising from the recommendations contained in the report. The report notes an EQIA is being undertaken on the terms and conditions workstream and will be progressed in relation to the proposed temporary library provision options being recommended in relation to Erskine Library as set out in 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – section 4 includes an update on the P2P and Scotland Excel projects as part of the overall transformation programme. 10. Risk – the transformation programme is a key element of mitigating the medium-term financial challenge for the Council. 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. COSLA Policy Position – none 13. Climate Risk – section 10 of the report provides an update in relation to Net Zero. 14. Children’s Rights – section 7 provides an update on the Learning Estate Strategy which will directly impact children and young people. When considering any future school provision, the impact this will have on children is a key consideration, and any work will be based around the direct needs of children to allow their education experience to thrive. Author: Pauline Moss, Strategy, Policy and Insight Manager Page 118 of 182
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 18 June 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Council Plan 2022/27 – six monthly progress update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 In September 2022, the Council approved a new Council Plan for Renfrewshire, which set the strategic direction and vision for Renfrewshire, covering the period 2022 to 2027. In order to best reflect the current context, a refreshed plan was approved by Leadership Board in June 2024, alongside an updated performance framework. 1.2 The Council Plan sits alongside Renfrewshire’s Community Plan. This covers the longer period of 2017 to 2027, but was revised in 2022 to consider how to respond to and recover from the unique challenges over the last few years. The Community and Council Plans are closely aligned, ensuring that the Council’s role in delivering a wide range of community outcomes is clearly understood. 1.3 The Council Plan sets out five strategic outcomes which the Council will work towards, grouped as Place, Economy, Fair, Green, and Living Our Values. Additionally, the Plan outlines a cross-cutting theme of improving outcomes for children and families, which underpins the delivery of the five strategic outcomes. 1.4 Alongside this, each Council service prepares a Service Improvement Plan, themed around the Council Plan’s strategic outcomes, demonstrating how each service will contribute to the delivery of the Council Plan. Progress is regularly scrutinised by the relevant Policy Boards. Item 5 Page 119 of 182
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1.5 The reporting framework for the Council Plan includes an action plan and performance scorecard, and is reported to Leadership Board biannually, which ensures actions are adaptable to any emerging national or local changes in circumstance while delivering agreed outcomes. This update report covers the 37 high level actions and 34 performance and data indicators in the Council Plan. 1.6 This report provides an update on progress made in the six months since the last update to Leadership Board in December 2024. Council services have continued to make good progress in terms of delivering against the five strategic outcomes and cross-cutting theme, as outlined in section 4 of this report. A detailed summary of progress against the action plan and key performance indicators is provided in Appendix 1. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members of the Leadership Board: • note the progress achieved since December 2024 in terms of Council Plan delivery; and • note that progress reports will continue to be presented to the Leadership Board every 6 months with the next update scheduled in December 2025. 3. Background 3.1 Our Council Plan 2022-2027 was refreshed in mid 2024, in order to ensure that this was reflective of the current context in which the organisation is operating. Priority actions and indicators were also reviewed and refined at that time to ensure a stronger focus on key areas of delivery. 3.2 The Council’s vision to 2027, as described in the Council Plan is ‘Creating a fairer Renfrewshire built on innovation, wellbeing, and opportunity’. The five strategic outcomes which the council is working with partners, communities, and businesses to deliver are: • Place: working together to enhance wellbeing across communities; • Economy: building an inclusive, green, and resilient economy; • Fair: nurturing bright, happy, and healthy futures for all; • Green: leading Renfrewshire to Net Zero; and • Living Our Values: making a difference together. 3.3 Each of these outcomes is being delivered in a way that directly contribute to the cross-cutting theme - Improving outcomes for children and families. Within the appendix, actions which significantly contribute to this cross-cutting theme Page 120 of 182
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are highlighted with a ‘CF’ and there is a section in the performance scorecard with indicators relating to this theme. 3.4 Council Plan activity also sits alongside the Council’s arrangements in relation to progressing and achieving Best Value. Updates on our Best Value arrangements are regularly reported to Board and there is also a dedicated page on the Council’s website with copies of relevant reports, such as the annual thematic audits of Leadership in 2022/23 and Workforce Innovation in 2023/24. The thematic review area for 2024/25 was Transformation – the report by the Council’s external auditors, Azets, will be published later in the year. 3.5 Best Value activity since the previous update to Leadership Board has included the publication of Azets’ interim follow up audit report on the Council’s approach to community engagement and culture change. This was reported to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board in April 2025, noting that the report was positive, with the auditors finding the Council has made good progress, building on a range of existing good practice alongside refreshed approaches. 3.6 The Controller of Audit Best Value Audit report for Renfrewshire Council was considered by the Accounts Commission on 15 May 2025, with the final report, including the Commission’s findings, published on 5 June 2025. This report, alongside the Council’s response, will be considered by Council on 26 June 2025. Any agreed actions will be incorporated into the Corporate Improvement Plan with progress reported to Leadership Board as part of the regular ongoing updates. 3.7 The delivery of the Council Plan is also closely aligned with the Council’s budget setting process, with the Council Plan setting the strategic direction and framework, the budget clearly setting out the focus of the Council’s financial spend, and the progress monitoring of the Council Plan, through regular reporting to Leadership Board, demonstrating progress and impact. This golden thread flows through to the Service Improvement Plan process, where services report delivery of Council Plan strategic outcomes at a service-level, again with a range of actions and performance indicators designed to demonstrate impact. 3.8 Linked closely to this is the new phase of the Council’s transformation programme, Reshaping Renfrewshire. This programme links the Council’s financial challenge, and the vision for our place as described through the Council Plan, and explores how we can continue to develop how we work and operate and ensure a financially sustainable long-term future, while transforming our impact across Renfrewshire and improving outcomes for our Page 121 of 182
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communities. This phase of our transformation programme also has a sharp external focus on the needs of our communities and to ensure our vital services are financially sustainable for the longer term – again this is closely aligned to the Council Plan. 3.9 The refreshed Council Plan has been translated into Gaelic and is available on the Council’s website – this was an action noted in the Gaelic Language Plan 2024 to 2029 which was approved at Leadership Board in February 2024. Other key strategic documents will now be translated into Gaelic too, in line with the approach outlined in the Gaelic Language Plan. The Council has been invited by Bòrd na Gàidhlig to submit the Council’s Gaelic Language Plan Monitoring Report – Annual Return 2024-2025. This will report on the progress that Renfrewshire Council has made with the delivery on the commitments contained in our Gaelic Language Plan 2024-2029. 3.10 Sixteen actions from the Council Plan have been completed and three new actions have been added to the Plan, relating to our Learning Estate programme, our new Digital Strategy and consultation and engagement programme. The previous action in relation to consultation and engagement has been completed following approval of the new policy at the Leadership Board in February 2025. The new action reflects the implementation and monitoring of this workstream. The Learning Estate work is under the Place and the Digital and consultation work are under Living Our Values themes. 3.11 Two existing actions have been augmented following recent activity, both under living our values. Previous action Updated action Comment Implement the next phase of transformation through the actions arising from the Council’s financial sustainability and improvement workstreams Implement the next phase of transformation through the actions arising from the Council’s financial sustainability and improvement workstreams and the new Reshaping Renfrewshire programme This reflects the Council’s new phase of transformation through Reshaping Renfrewshire, as agreed by Leadership Board in February 2025 and reflects the alignment of the transformation programme with the Council Plan. Deliver self-assessment activity across the organisation in line with Deliver improvement activity across the organisation in This reflects that whilst the initial stages of this work Page 122 of 182
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revised best value audit methodology line with revised best value audit methodology from 2022/23 to 2024/25 had a focus on self-assessment through the Corporate Self- Assessment and the Cultural Assurance Model, following these exercises and the range of audit activity, the focus now shifts to delivering the improvements identified during these processes. 3.12 Work has been undertaken to establish new performance indicators in relation to People and OD activities, particularly to baseline completion of mandatory training and personal development plans and new indicators have been included in Service Improvement Plans for 2025/26. Once these baselines have been established and targets agreed for corporate indicators, these will also be included in the Council Plan performance framework. 4. Progress of delivery of the Council Plan during 2024 4.1 This section provides an overview of recent achievements, progress with actions, and gives information on any areas of action where progress has been delayed. Strategic Outcome 1: Place 4.2 The Council’s 10-year Housing-Led Regeneration and Renewal programme is continues to make good progress against key milestones. The acquisition and rehousing element is performing as planned and various phases of demolition work are taking place as blocks become fully council-owned and vacant. 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 continues to Page 123 of 182
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operate, giving business owners across Renfrewshire the opportunity to access funding to upgrade their shopfronts. 4.4 A draft of our proposed new Transport Strategy – Travel Renfrewshire 2035 – was issued for public consultation in November 2024. The strategy has been informed by considerable stakeholder engagement including online surveys, workshops with community organisations and pop-up engagement sessions in supermarkets. It is anticipated that the finalised strategy will be ready for approval in summer 2025. 4.5 The Business Case for Smart Social Assets is now complete with the organisation continuing to investigate potential national funding opportunities via strategic partners such as Commsworld, CityFibre etc. In addition to this, work is now underway to develop other business cases that would further supplement Smart Social Assets ensuring citizens have access to affordable cross-tenure homes that are digitally enabled and meet community needs. 4.6 All of our Local Partnerships have now finalised their local priorities following a review in autumn/winter of 2024/25. As well as receiving presentations on matters relevant to their community, the Partnerships have recently allocated their grant funds for 2025/26 to support groups and communities in work that benefits the local area and its people. Strategic Outcome 2: Economy 4.7 The AMIDS joint venture is progressing well and in December 2024, another major occupier was announced. Ground has been broken for CPI’s 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. 4.8 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. 4.9 Our employability programmes support around 1,800 people each year to access skills development and progress towards qualifications and/or Page 124 of 182
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employment. For 2024/25, around 400 people were being supported with another 491 having secured employment and over 600 gaining new qualifications through the service Strategic Outcome 3: Fair 4.10 During 2024/25, 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. 4.11 The Alcohol and Drug Change Programme will draw to a close by summer 2025. The Change Programme benefitted from £2m of Council funding to deliver on recommendations arising from the Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drug Commission. That funding has supported tests of change across a range of services, some of which have now been mainstreamed. A full final report will be presented to Leadership Board after the summer recess. 4.12 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. 4.13 Successful programmes for both Summer of Fun and Winter Connections ran in 2024/25. Funding was allocated 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 of funding agreed by Council in its budget, to 42 different organisations and groups to run activities and, where possible, provide hot drinks and snacks. Strategic Outcome 4: Green 4.14 Priority projects to support our journey to net zero continue to be identified and current work includes sustainable travel, the Local Heating and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) and the development of a new Carbon Management Plan. The Council has already developed an initial carbon budget with interim organisations targets covering the period until 2030/31. Page 125 of 182
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Identifying emissions by service area will be key to understanding how our emissions relate to service delivery and help us to develop initiatives to reduce these. 4.15 An update on the Council’s Strategic Property Review was considered by the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board in January 2025. A number of buildings have already been released in order to rationalise the estate and optimise use of our built assets. 4.16 The action to review opportunities within pipeline projects to align with a transition towards green skills has been extended for one year, to allow for work on phase 2 of the Plan for Net Zero and the identification of where the skills gaps exist. 4.17 Informing, educating and upskilling our communities to support them to contribute to climate action remains a key priority. A Ren Zero community engagement programme will be developed, led by the Sustainability Lead (Stakeholder Engagement) which is currently being recruited. Strategic Outcome 5: Living Our Values 4.18 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. 4.19 In late 2024, the Council undertook an Employee Survey covering issues including how people felt about the Council, their job and management, wellbeing and key HR policies. The survey was issued to all staff and 1956 responses were received. There were many positive results, including in relation to line management and job satisfaction. Areas for improvement have been identified and were reported to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board in February 2025. The findings from both the CAM and the Employee Survey will be further considered and reflected on, as the organisation continues to develop employee engagement, training Page 126 of 182
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opportunities etc – this links closely with the Workforce Planning Group, as outlined in 4.21 below. 4.20 A new Consultation and Engagement Strategy was 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. Updates will be provided to the Leadership Board on a six-monthly basis. 4.21 The People and OD team continue to lead on workforce planning and innovation, supported by the Workforce Planning Group. This includes progressing key priorities of the People Strategy, taking forward the recommendations from the Best Value thematic audit. The Workforce Planning Group is working collaboratively with the Head of People and OD to develop and implement a strategic approach to workforce planning and OD to establish new key priority areas over the next 5 years. A bi-annual report on our People Metrics was presented to FARS Board on 13 February 2025 for noting and monitoring. 4.22 A report was submitted 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 submitted to Leadership Board in the autumn to update on progress. 4.23 How we meet the health and wellbeing needs of our employees is set out in our Wellbeing Strategy. Recent work has included additional and specialised training for our Mental Health First Aiders, achieving our accreditation as a Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland employer, creating a new staff network for those affected by menopause, and continuing our collaboration with RCA Trust to provide support, advice and training on gambling addiction. Cross-cutting theme: Improving outcomes for children and families 4.24 Our partnership Whole Family Wellbeing service has supported over 1000 families so far. We have trialled an ICT system which allows are third sector partners to make referrals and record wellbeing information, which is facilitating better data-sharing. To date, the service is able to demonstrate positive outcomes against a range of measures, including improved parental understanding of the needs of the child, improved participation in/engagement Page 127 of 182
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with universal services, and improvements in family functioning and relationships. 4.25 A comprehensive report outlining the first five years of Renfrewshire’s work to Keep the Promise was presented to the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board in March 2025. Renfrewshire Council’s Promise Keeper Network has 362 Promise Keepers and work continues to support further growth. This approach has attracted national interest. Three of Renfrewshire’s Promise-funded projects were featured in March at a Promise Partnership Event organised by CORRA. The projects, the Youth Services Led Grant Programme and the two Keep The Promise Funded Education Projects, were showcased and shared learning with partners across Scotland. 4.26 Priority projects within the Learning Estate Strategy are being progressed. The new Paisley Grammar Community Campus is beginning to transition to the fit-out stage, and remains on target for delivery in 2026. In March 2025, the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board approved the commencement of options appraisal for a replacement for Thorn Primary School. 5. Performance Indicators 5.1 The Council Plan performance framework has 34 indicators, of which 21 have targets; the remainder are data only. Of the 21 indicators with targets, 5 are meeting or exceeding the target, 4 are narrowly missing the target, 6 are behind target and 6 do not yet have 2024/25 data available. Within the attached appendix, there is a graphic which shows at-a-glance the overview of performance by Council Plan strategic outcome. 5.2 Areas of strong performance include: • Promoting Renfrewshire as a great place to live, work and visit with extensive media reach for Council activity and local events. • Helping our citizens back into work, with 288 people supported by our employability service sustained in paid employment for at least six months; • The percentage of primary school children taking up their free school meal, which is now at over 60% following menu changes and taster session to encourage pupils to try the meals; • Keeping our looked after children in family settings wherever possible, with 91.6% looked after in the community; • The percentage of FOI requests responded to within 20 working days met our target of 90%, despite increasing volumes and complexity of requests in recent years. Page 128 of 182
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5.3 We are narrowly missing our annual targets in relation to tariff scores for school leavers, both for the cohort as a whole and for those living in areas in the 30% most deprived as measured by SIMD. We have also narrowly missed our target for CO2 emissions from the public fleet. 5.4 Areas for further improvement and development in 2025/26 include: • The poverty-related attainment gap for both literacy and numeracy, which have both narrowed since the pandemic but remain above our target; • The percentage of Council housing meeting Scottish Housing Quality Standards, which is on an improving trajectory and increased from 68.5% to 79.9% this year; • The number of business start-ups supported by Business Gateway, which measures business launch rather than the range of support offered and is therefore impacted the decision of local businesses as to when to launch; • The percentage of Council procurement spend which is with businesses headquartered in Renfrewshire, which is around 20% though the amount spent with bordering authorities amounts to almost another 60% reflecting the interconnectedness of the Glasgow City Region • The amount of CO2 emitted by public lighting, which has levelled out as the LED programme is largely complete; • The percentage of household waste which is recycled, which is due in part to changes in the types of disposal which can be classed as recycling; • The percentage of frontline complaints dealt with within five days, with 63.5% closed within five working days against our target of 85%. 5.5 Alongside Council Plan and Service Improvement Plan performance scrutiny, we are also undertaking work to focus on strengthening our understanding across the Local Government Benchmarking Framework, to align with the new Statutory Performance Indicator Direction as set out by Audit Scotland (and previously highlighted to Leadership Board in February 2025). A range of LGBF indicators are included in the Council Plan performance framework and are clearly identified in the attached appendix. Detailed reporting on the LGBF is presented to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board alongside our public performance reporting interactive storymap which is published on the Council’s website. 6. Focus for the next 6 months 6.1 As noted above, the Council Plan was refreshed in summer 2024 in order to hone our priorities further— recognising the challenges that our communities continue to face and identifying the areas where we as a Council can help to Page 129 of 182
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make the biggest difference. We continue to consider the operating context, the core areas of focus and the latest performance information and data, when looking ahead to the next 6 months. 6.2 Our areas of specific corporate focus for the next 6 months include: • Delivering the Reshaping Renfrewshire programme to support the financial sustainability of the organisation; • Progressing delivery of the Corporate Improvement Plan, continuing the Council’s commitment to Best Value; • Delivering the next phase of the Connected Communities model, strengthening how we work alongside our communities; • Implementing the Council’s new Consultation and Engagement Strategy and reflecting on the findings that emerge from the residents’ survey; • Progressing our work on equalities, including on our equality impact assessment processes; • Establishing our new Performance Group, with a core focus on strengthening our use of LGBF indicators and deep dives into areas identified for improvement; • Continuing to deliver our workforce actions, including improvement actions arising from our employee survey and our Cultural Assurance Model. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – updates in the appended report relate to areas that fall under the remit of Finance, particularly relating to supporting the Council’s financial sustainability workstreams 2. HR & Organisational Development – updates in the appended report relate to areas that fall under the remit of HR and Organisational Development, particularly under strategic outcome 5, Living our Values 3. Community/Council Planning – the content of the report relates specifically to the delivery of the Council Plan and the appendix shows the associated progress for the latter half of 2024/25. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets – the report provides an update on actions relating to property owned by the Council. 6. Information Technology – the report provides update on actions relating to IT provision. Page 130 of 182
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7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have not been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights because the report provides an update on progress with current actions and is for noting only. Impact assessments will be carried out by relevant services in relation to actions which require them. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – updates in the appended report relate to areas that fall under the remit of the procurement team, under both the strategic outcomes relating to ‘economy’ and ‘green’. 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. COSLA Policy Position – none 13. Climate Risk – the Council Plan priorities are underpinned by actions which will directly support the Council’s response to the climate emergency – ‘green’ has a particular focus on activities supporting this priority area. 14. Children’s Rights – the Council Plan includes a number of actions targeted at improving outcomes for children and young people. The Council is committed to complying with UNCRC and this will be reflected in our activity. Appendices: Six-month update report June 2025 Author: Lisa Fingland, Policy Manager Lisa.fingland@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 131 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Council Plan Six monthly progress update June 2025 Page 133 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level How we report progress • This update reflects on the past six months of delivering our Council Plan, highlighting areas where we’re already making progress and some areas we’d like 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. We previously reported on our progress in December 2024, and you can read that here. • The following pages shine a spotlight on some great projects or practice but for balance also highlight those areas where we’d like to improve or develop further. Towards the end of this document, you’ll find a full update against all the actions and performance indicators we use to measure progress. • Many of our performance indicators are high-level, annual indicators –our Council Plan spans a 5- year time period so it might take some time to show some trends and patterns. The Council also reports a wide range of performance indicators to our Council Boards through our Service Improvement Plans and also through regular operational performance updates –you can access these reports here. Page 134 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Council Plan Context • As the overarching strategic plan for the organisation, the Council Plan sets the direction and vision that the Council is working towards and can measure itself against delivery. • This aligns closely with the Council’s approved budget –resources are targeted at the priorities for the organisation, as outlined in the Council Plan. • Some key workstreams feed into the Council Plan, which have been further developed over the past 6 months: • Reshaping Renfrewshire –the Council’s fifth phase of transformation, with a focus on how we work together with our communities to improve outcomes • Digital –a new digital strategy was approved in April, aligned to the Council Plan, delivering across four strategic objectives –enabled people; corporate approach to transformation; data driven Council; and modern organisation. • Workforce–reflecting on and taking action to address the feedback from both the Cultural Assurance Model and the Council’s Employee Engagement Survey • The Corporate Improvement Plan continues to progress improvement actions to support our ongoing commitment to Best Value • To reflect the context additional actions have been included and some existing actions have been refocused –this is clearly shown in the action plan. Page 135 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Council Plan: Progress at a glance Page 136 of 182
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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 The Housing Regeneration and Renewal programme is making positive progress across all areas. As well as our regular Tenant Scrutiny meetings, all residents were invited to take part in our rent consultation survey and more than 1000 responded. The survey was also used to give tenants information about the participatory budgeting initiative, which will give them a say in how some of our housing funding is spent. Over the next 3 years, £600,000 of funding will be allocated through this approach. In 2024/25, works were completed on the new Renfrew-Yoker bridge and extensive testing carried out. The state-of-the art bridge, the first opening road bridge over the River Clyde, 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. The Council’s 2025/26 budget includes £500,000 for further regeneration in town centres, with a particular focus on significant buildings and sites where redevelopment has stalled, perhaps because of conservation concerns or rising construction costs. Officers will work with local property owners to identify projects which could be eligible for funding. Page 137 of 182
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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 Employability work is a key element of our work to grow and sustain Renfrewshire’s economy, with hundreds of local residents supported to access training and paid employment every year. The Council is also committed to providing opportunities directly each year, whether this is through the creation of trainee-type posts, modern apprenticeships, our new traineeship programme aimed at winter school leavers or our ‘Career Ready’ coaching programme for care experienced school leavers. 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. 1420 new people supported by employability team in 2024/25 491 people supported into paid work in 2024/25 Page 138 of 182
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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 Whole Family Wellbeing service formally launched in November 2024. This brings together Council and third-sector support, and between them our own team and our third sector partners have worked with almost 1100 families so far. The evaluation data we have already collected is demonstrating improved family relationships, improved parental understanding of the needs of the child, improved participation in community facilities and universal services, improved sleep routine, and a reduction in distressed behaviours. The service has piloted a shared information system for referrals and for capturing wellbeing information. This has shown real benefits and a procurement exercise is underway to secure a permanent solution. Funding for 2025/26 has already been awarded to third sector partners, and the team is also exploring opportunities with our Connected Communities team for more joint working. 2533 people attended a Winter Connections session 368 children attended at least one of our Easter Camp sessions During our Pension Credit take-up campaign with partners, 613 older adult households were supported with benefit claims, income maximisation and advice Page 139 of 182
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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 Following the successful delivery of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) district heating network, feasibility studies have been completed to expand the current network as well as exploring additional district heating networks in Paisley. Renfrewshire Council has been successful in securing Scottish Government grant funding to take these feasibility studies to develop Outline business Cases for potential heat networks in Paisley Central and an extension of AMIDS, with partnership working to optimise the opportunities including UWS, OneRen, NHS, Scottish Water and Glasgow Airport The Council is developing an initial carbon budget, with interim organisational targets to 2030-31. Identifying emissions by service area will be key in improving our understanding of how our emissions relate to the services we provide and the reductions we need to aim for in order to adapt to delivering the same high quality local services in a way that is fit for a resilient, net zero future. Setting an annual carbon budget will help us meet our climate targets as an organisation – showing in an easy-to-understand way where we ‘spend’ most of our emissions and progress to net zero. Page 140 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Living our Values: making a difference together As part of the Council’s commitment to continuous improvement and reflecting that ‘We Value Learning’, an innovative new approach to self- assessment focused on organisational culture, known as Renfrewshire’s Cultural Assurance Model (CAM) was developed in 2024/25. The CAM has been recognised as first of its kind within the Scottish public sector and was developed in partnership with the Improvement Service, 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 priority actions were identified from this process and have been added to the Council’s overall Corporate Improvement Plan. Our Employee Survey 71% recommend the Council as a great place to work 87% think their line manager is supportive 21% had experienced violence or aggression at work in the last year Page 141 of 182
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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 Construction is progressing well on the Paisley Grammar School Community Campus and remains on track to welcome pupils in 2026. This is a flagship project for the Council, with the school being built to Passivhaus standards. Planning has commenced on the other major projects to enhance and expand the current learning estate. This will be the most ambitious strategic programme of investment planning in our learning estate, underpinning an ambition to provide the very best environments and facilities for our young people and communities, with every single establishment being considered as part of what is envisaged will be a programme which will span over 20 years. An action to reflect this has been added to the action plan. Our local Promise Keepers Network has grown to 362 Promise Keepers, and our approach is attracting local and national interest as an example of best practice. Other initiatives include our Promise Champs group, supported by Youth Services; our Language policy; exploring options to support colleagues in our workforce who are care experienced; and funded projects in two secondary schools. Page 142 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Actions and indicators Full list June 2025 Page 143 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Place What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Progress Renfrewshire’s Housing- led Regeneration and Renewal programme 31 Mar 2027 Positive progress is being made across all areas where the agreed timeline shows, works scheduled in year 4 of this 10-year programme. As reported to the Communities and Housing Board in August 2024, the acquisition and rehousing strategy is performing as planned and various phases of demolition are being taken forward as blocks become fully council owned and vacant. Support our citizens to access affordable cross-tenure homes that are digitally enabled and meet community needs 31 Mar 2025 The Business Case for Smart Social Assets is now complete and has been shared internally within Renfrewshire Council and also with Glasgow City Region (GCR). The Council continues to investigate potential national funding opportunities via strategic partners such as Commsworld, CityFibre, etc. In addition, work is now underway with regards to the development of other stackable business cases that would supplement Smart Social Assets. Design a new Connected Communities service model for the Council, transforming how we support, collaborate and engage with our communities 31 Dec 2025 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. Page 144 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Place What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Deliver the ambitions in our long-term place visions for our key settlements and town centres 31 Mar 2027 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. Page 145 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Place What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Deliver Renfrewshire’s strategic capital investment programmes, including cultural, infrastructure, housing and school estate, and maximise the long- term benefits for our communities 31 Mar 29 The General Services capital budget was approved on 29th February 2024, including £147.8m for delivery in 2024/25. Since then, projects have been reprofiled to other financial years and the revised budget is currently £97.4m (Period 10). To date, £63.8m has been spent, representing 66% of the revised budget. Develop Travel Renfrewshire 2035, our Transport Strategy, supported by revised Active Travel and Public Transport Strategies and aligned to the regional and national travel strategies 31 Mar 2027 Our draft Local Transport Strategy, called “Travel Renfrewshire 2035” is nearing completion, informed by far-reaching data gathering engagement exercises. This included online surveys, stakeholder workshops and pop-up engagement sessions at supermarkets and direct in person workshops with community organisations. We specifically engaged with group representing people with disabilities and those who are particularly affected by the cost of living crisis. The draft strategy was issued for further consultation in November 2025 Subject to the feedback for the consultation it is expected that the final strategy will be ready by summer 2025. Deliver the next phase of Local Partnerships development, through our new Local Plans, Local Priorities and Local Voices programme 31 Mar 2025 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. Page 146 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Place What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Progress development work in relation to the priority schools identified in the Learning Estate Management Plan. 31 August 2027 This is a new action, which is reflected in the Children’s Services SIP. Paisley Grammar School continues to progress in construction and remains on track for 2026 delivery. Focus of project is beginning to shift towards fit out, transition planning, and digital. Workstreams are underway. Decision made at March 2025 Policy Board to pause the delivery of a like-for-like Thorn Primary School and undertake an options appraisal to widen the scope of this project. Page 147 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Place Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Opportunities to see or hear something positive about Paisley and Renfrewshire 204,63 8,668 240,000, 000 268,082 ,849 240,000, 000 216,953 ,038 150,000 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. Amount of vacant and derelict land (hectares) 248 Data only 220.39 Data only * Data only *The next vacant and derelict land audit will be undertaken over quarters 1 and 2 of 2025/26. Percentage of Council housing stock which meets the Scottish Housing Quality Standard (LGBF) 68.31 % 100% 68.55% 100% 79.9% 100% The percentage of stock meeting SHQS has increased significantly to 79.9% from 68.6%, performance for this indicator changed to include compliance with the 5-yearly Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), as well as the new smoke and heat detector standard. Excluding EICR and smoke detector failures we would be 87% compliant with SHQS. Page 148 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Place Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Affordable housing completions 369 200 196 159 * 159 *The 2024/25 affordable housing completion figure will be available in Q1 2025/26. Percentage pothole repairs completed within timescales 95% 80% 94% 95% * 95% *Data for 2024/25 is not yet available. Quarterly data shows that performance was ahead of target in Q1 and behind target in Q2. Page 149 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Economy What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Develop an Investment Proposition for Renfrewshire that is clear on our economic ambitions for our place 31 Mar 2026 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/ Monitor the benefits of City Deal Projects, including Glasgow Airport Investment Area, Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside and City Region wide employment programmes 31 Mar 2025 Monitoring of benefits reported through the City Region PMO is ongoing. This is currently being transitioned to Regeneration Team as CWRR project now complete. Page 150 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Economy What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Fully participate in the AMIDS joint venture 31 Jul 2024 AMIDS joint venture fully established and operational, Council is fully participating. Complete the Tech Terrace development and attract the first large occupier 31 Mar 2026 This is an AMIDS JV obligation and Council is fully participating. Develop a Community Wealth Building Plan for Renfrewshire 31 Mar 2025 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 Page 151 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Economy What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Continue to support local employment through the delivery of targeted support through the Council’s employability programme 31 Mar 2027 Our employability programmes support around 1,800 people each year to access skills development and progress towards qualifications and/or employment. For the 24-25 year around 400 people were still active on our caseloads with another 491 having secured employment and over 600 gaining new qualifications through the service Continue to progress core actions to support local and regional economic growth. 31 Mar 2027 A range of actions undertaken by the Council are supporting economic growth. The AMIDS Joint Venture is expanding with the breaking of ground on the new OMICE site and ongoing work on Tech Terrace, which is expected to be completed by 2026. Procurement and Economic Development work joint to support local suppliers through initiatives such as our Meet the Buyer events, and our second Renfrewshire Economy Conference will take place in June 2025. Our employability work helps hundreds of people each year with skills development that supports them into work. As a Council, we are also committed to this and set ourselves a target in relation to traineeships. Page 152 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level 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 Percentage of council procurement spend spent on local enterprises (LGBF) 19.3% 23% 20.15% 23% * 21% In the period 2023-2024 Renfrewshire Council recorded direct spend of £56.4 million with businesses based Locally. In addition to local spend, a further 59.38% of our spend was with businesses located in bordering local authorities (Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire). The update to our Standing Orders Relating to Contracts in June 2023 included increasing the threshold for the use of Quick Quote for Works contracts up to £500,000 with a requirement that where possible, a minimum of 75% local businesses should be invited to quote. In 2024, a Quick Quote was issued inviting 100% local Renfrewshire suppliers to bid, this procurement targeted the local market and invited 10 local Renfrewshire suppliers to bid. In addition, to increase engagement with local suppliers for below £25k procurements and also the Quick Quote process the Interim Corporate Procurement Manager and Purchase to Pay – Programme Operational Lead delivered a RenTalk on Understanding Procurement. The event was a success with 266 Council staff in attendance. Guidance for Purchased Under £25,000 was launched recently, this guidance also recommends at least 75% local, Renfrewshire based suppliers are invited to the three quote process. *This is an LGBF indicator and 2024/25 data is not yet available. Page 153 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level 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 Gross Value Added (GVA) per capita (LGBF) £23,757. 92 Data only * Data only * Data only Renfrewshire had lower percentage GVA growth than the Regional average but performed well in labour market indicators with employment increasing while unemployment and inactivity decreased - including a significant decrease in the number of people inactive due to long term sickness. There was a large decrease in the volume of residents with no qualifications but there was also a reduction in the volume of residents with degree level qualifications. According to ONS figures, overall GVA in Renfrewshire grew by £365 million between 2019 and 2022. Considering this period included the Covid pandemic, the growth is a positive sign. Renfrewshire also contributes the fourth highest level of GVA in the City Region (2022). *This is an LGBF indicator and the latest data is for 2022/23. Number of people supported, sustained in work at 6 Months through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme (INVEST) 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. 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. Performance can be impacted by decision of local businesses as to when to launch. Page 154 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level 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 Renfrewshire Claimant Count 3,755 Data only 3,590 Data only 3,315 Data only This measure is a snapshot figure from April 2025 and is the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits. The figure has reduced again this year. The Council continues to provide employability support to hundreds of people each year. Percentage of Renfrewshire population working age (16-64) 64.3% Data only 63.9% Data only 64.3% Data only Work to explore Renfrewshire’s demographics was undertaken by officers following the census release and this also looked at the regular data updates from the National Records of Statistics, this showed that while Renfrewshire has an overall ageing population (in line with the national trends), our proportion of the population of working age is above average and puts us in the higher end, just behind the city authorities. Percentage of Renfrewshire population working age (16–64) who are economically inactive 25.9% Data only 22.4% Data only 21.4% Data only This figure is for the calendar year 2024. The percentage has been falling in recent years and is lower than the figure for Scotland (which is a positive). This measure includes those who are students and those who are retired. Analysis on census data also showed Renfrewshire have a higher percentage of our economically inactive population who are long term sick or disabled. Page 155 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Fair What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Deliver the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, working with partners to support Renfrewshire residents through the cost-of- living crisis 31 Mar 2027 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. Page 156 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Fair What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Develop mechanisms for supporting individuals with lived experience of poverty to influence policy in this area 31 Mar 2024 The Fairer Renfrewshire panel, facilitated by STAR Project, continues to meet with officers across Council services to ensure the voice of those with lived experience of poverty informs Council’s policy and practice. The Panel has provided insight in a number of areas. The initial discussion was around holiday provision in Renfrewshire, with the Panel contributing to the plans for our ‘Summer of Fun’, providing feedback on what is useful for low-income families, eg, provision of food in all settings, provision for siblings, local provision so there are no transport costs and provision for older teenagers. The Panel has also fed into the Council’s new School Meal Debt processes, which now include earlier referral to available supports. They have met the Digital Strategy Delivery Manager to discuss digital exclusion and have provided feedback and ideas to our Climate Emergency Lead Officer around Renfrewshire’s Net Zero Delivery Plan. Discussions with the panel around employability, especially parental employability have been used to inform events, and target work. As part of the Council Tax Debt Pilot, the panel were consulted with, to help those engaged in the Pilot to understand barriers to accessing support, such as advice, and to review correspondence associated with collection of Council Tax as well as potential for enhancing collection processes in general. The Panel has met with the Convenor and Depute of the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee and we also intend to bring the Panel together with the full Sub-Committee and Fairer Renfrewshire Officers Group to discuss Panel priorities and their future plans Developing new and radical approaches to tackling child poverty in Renfrewshire (CF) 31 Mar 2027 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. Page 157 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Fair What we will do Due Date Status Progress update The Promise Strategic Oversight Board and workstreams will progress and ensure Renfrewshire ‘Keeps the Promise’ and delivers improved outcomes for individuals who are care experienced, wherever possible keeping children within their families (CF) 31 Mar 2025 A comprehensive report outlining the first 5 years of Renfrewshire’s work to Keep The Promise was presented and discussed at the Education and Children’s Services Policy Board on the 13th March 2025. The publication of this report coincided with the 5-year midpoint of the 10-year programme to Keep The Promise by 2030. Going forward this report will be updated on an annual basis and presented to the Board for consideration by elected members. The report has been well received and shared across our local and national networks. The Promise Keeper Network sits at 362 Promise Keepers with efforts taking place to grow the network. The network is receiving both local and national interest. There has been engagement with Scottish Government’s Promise Team (Care Experience, Children’s Services Reform & The Promise Division) around the merits and best practice nature of this initiative. On the 26th March three Renfrewshire Promise Funded projects were showcased at the Promise Partnership Showcase Event in Stirling organised by CORRA. The projects, the Youth Services Led Grant Programme and the two Keep The Promise Funded Education Projects, were showcased and shared learning with partners across Scotland. The Promise Manager has been working with colleagues in Environment, Housing and Infrastructure (E,H&I) around how that service will work towards Keeping The Promise and support our Care Experienced Community, and a number of actions have been incorporated into EH&I’s 2025/26 Service Improvement Plan. At February’s Promise Strategic Oversight Group, it was agreed that a review of membership take place and a proposed refreshed membership proposal be made. A suggested proposal has been produced and submitted to the Chair, for approval. The Supporting the Workforce workstream is actively progressing on a number of projects of note: “Promise Human Library,” “Care Experienced network for staff and “Guaranteed Interviews” activity. A full update was provided at recent The Promise Strategic Oversight Group. Page 158 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Fair What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Build local capacity for transformational whole systems change and to scale up and drive the delivery of holistic whole family support services (CF) 31 Mar 2025 FORT data shows that 636 families have been supported through the community family wellbeing service since recording on this system began. Funded third sector organisations now using FORT to make referrals and record wellbeing information. Three successful family wellbeing launch events in November 2024 reached 559 children and families. Third sector evaluations now underway and outcomes will inform funding for 2025/26. 1086 families to date have been supported by the community family wellbeing team and funded third sector partner organisations. 62% of families supported are from SIMD 1-5 Outcomes recorded include: • Improved parental understanding of the need of child, including healthy attachment • Improved sleep routine • Improved parental understanding of the needs of unborn child • Improved participation in community facilities and universal services • Improvement in parenting, family functioning, relationships and reduction in child’s distressed behaviour Following a successful system proof of concept, a procurement exercise is currently underway to secure a client record system for Whole Family Wellbeing ( including partner third sector organisations) ; community learning and development and educational psychology service Following evaluation of partner third sector organisations, year 4 funding will be awarded to allow continuation and development of family support work already underway, with a key focus on partnership working for added impact. Currently exploring more joined up working with Connected Communities. Page 159 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Fair What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Develop the Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire Programme 31 Mar 2025 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. Progress the design and delivery of the Curriculum, Learning, Teaching and Assessment; the Families and Communities; and the Inclusion Portfolios within Children’s Services (CF) 31 Mar 2025 All portfolios continue to focus on the actions plans which they have developed through self-evaluation activity. Portfolio planning teams meet regularly with heads of service to discuss progress and there is now a standing agenda item on challenges, so discussions are solution focused. Data continues to be shared across portfolios to ensure continuous improvement. Portfolio action plans are being developed to align with Service Improvement Priorities. Deliver mental health and wellbeing support, including Ren10 mental health and wellbeing network to support children, young people and their families (CF) 31 Mar 2025 A plan is in place for the next session (2025/26) and there will be a continuation of the support and resources which are demonstrating the biggest impact on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Work is still ongoing to merge the referral process with FORT. Page 160 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Fair What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Deliver strategic and operational responses to migration and asylum, supporting individuals and families into settled accommodation (CF) 31 Mar 2026 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. A detailed update for Members was reported to the Leadership Board in February 2025, including specific updates in relation to support for Ukrainian Displaced Persons and the introduction of the Afghan Resettlement Programme from March 2025. Page 161 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level 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 Percentage of children living in poverty (after housing costs) (LGBF) 24% Data only * Data only * Data only The figure for this indicator is derived from the Local Government Benchmarking Framework indicator CHN24 '% of children living in poverty (after housing costs)'. The percentage in Renfrewshire in 2022/23 was 24%, compared to 23.3% in 2021/22. Renfrewshire had the second-lowest rate amongst its family group for this indicator, while the Scottish average was 21.8%. *This is and LGBF indicator and the 20223/23 data is the latest available. Proportion of people earning less than the real living wage (LGBF) 12.5% Data only 16% Data only 19.3% Data only Proportion of people (18+) earning less than the Real Living Wage as of 2024 was 19.3% which is an increase of 3.3% from the previous year. This equates to approximately 14,000 employees. The proportion in Scotland rose from 10.2% to 11.4% (288,000 employees). It should be noted that local authority estimates are ‘workplace’ based and include all those working in each local authority area, regardless of where they reside. Due to a methodical change, data for 2023 and 2024 are not directly comparable with data for 2022 and earlier years. Page 162 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level 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 Percentage uptake of free school meals in primary schools 53.4% 52% 52.5% 60% 60.2% 60% The uptake for 24/25 is 60.2% which is an improvement on the 23/24 uptake of 52.5%. The school meal survey is issued every February and shared with parents, pupils and school staff. This provides detailed feedback which is measured against school meal reporting data to compare suggestions with current preference at each site. This is the foundation used to create the annual menu changes in June for Primary andSeptember for Secondary schools. Prior to implementation, the menu is shared with the Senior Facilities Operative- Production Cooks. They are provided with the autonomy of trialling new recipes with the pupils to encourage recognition of unfamiliar menu items before implementation. The Menu & Nutrition officer engages with Pupil Councils and Pupil Parliaments, along with the Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel, to discuss issues encountered in dining halls and access direct stakeholder feedback.Pupils starting P1 & S1 are provided access to the school meals on induction days, with parents provided with information regarding ParentPay and available meal choice. All menus are available via PDF on the website which aligns to the pictorial menu boards displayed in each dining hall. The introduction of a pre-order app has been piloted in Park Mains HighSchool with the purpose of reducing queuing times and ensuring pupils access their preferred choices at lunchtime. Minor issues due to digital restrictions have caused delays, full implementation of the pre order app to be available in all secondaries is August 2025. Page 163 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level 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 children in receipt of school clothing grants 6104 Data only 5860 Data only 5,316 Data only The number of FSM/CG applications in 2024/25 during the period June to March fell by approximately 7% compared to the same period in in 2023/24, with the number of children being awarded a Clothing Grant in 2024/25 (June to March) falling by 9% compared to the same period during 2023/24. Whilst it cannot be definitively determined why there has been a reduction in the number of children being awarded a Clothing Grant, it appears that the primary reason for declinature is due to parental income exceeding the Clothing Grant eligibility thresholds for earned income within tax credits or Universal Credit. We would suggest that the reduced amount in applications and awards could be a combination of four reasons: natural and managed migration from tax credits/legacy benefits to Universal Credit where earned income thresholds are less generous, 40% of tax credits only recipients in Renfrewshire choosing not to move initially onto Universal Credit as part of managed migration between July 2023 and December 2024 and therefore potentially losing eligibility to FSM/CGs, higher pay settlements as a consequence of inflationary pressures increasing wages, and/or parents taking on additional working hours to help alleviate cost of living pressures. There is a communications campaign currently being planned to launch in conjunction with the 2025/26 FSM/CG applications opening early June 2025, highlighting the amount of money that could be saved and encouraging an increase in take-up. Page 164 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level 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 Average time from household presenting themselves as homeless to completion of duty (number of weeks) 21.74 24 21.23 26 * 26 Whilst the 2023/24 figure is better than target, this indicator relates to ‘closed’ cases only. Given the record high number of homeless applications during 2023/24and the number of homeless applicants still staying in temporary accommodation(‘live’ cases), it is anticipated that this figure is likely to increase in the long run. A strong focus will continue to be required on social housing lets to those who are homeless. *The 2024/25 figure is still to be verified by the Scottish Government. Page 165 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Green What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Develop costed, targeted interventions and actions to support our net zero journey within the Council and working in partnership with key stakeholders (CF) 31 Mar 2026 Priority projects continue to be identified, costed and progressed in partnership with key service areas including Waste, Transport and OneRen. Projects include Sustainable Travel, and Local Heating and Energy Efficiency (LHEES). A project register will be finalised within the new Carbon Management Plan, outlining our approach to reducing carbon emissions over a 3-year period. Once agreed the Carbon Management Plan will go to the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board for approval in August 2025. Development of Low Emissions / Electrification Strategy 31 Mar 2026 The eight councils across Glasgow City Region have secured funding of up to £3.5 million from Transport Scotland to support the acceleration of new electric vehicle chargepoints. These new chargepoints will be delivered by a private sector operator, appointed by the councils, and include a mixture of charging speeds, installed across the City Region. Over the coming months the eight councils will be working intensively to scope the shape of the proposal that will go to the market, with the goal of enabling a comprehensive network of EV charging across the region. This includes widening access to chargepoints for the thousands of people who live in flats and can’t charge at home, as well as providing chargepoints in areas that typically may not be attractive to the private sector, enabling a more just transition to zero emission forms of transport. The eight local councils are East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire Council. The consultant Jacobs have now collated data from all the local authorities involved. Representatives from Glasgow City Region including Renfrewshire Council attended workshop on 30th January 2025 to review next steps and are currently carrying out a site feasibility and grid capacity exercise with Scottish Power Energy Networks. An exercise is now underway to identify potential, suitable chargepoint locations in Renfrewshire. Page 166 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Green What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Develop a Strategic Property Review of Council operational, non- operational and surplus assets 31 Mar 2026 An updated report was taken to the Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board in January 2025. A new Asset Management Oversight Group has also been established to provide oversight and Governance for all reviews and projects involving assets. A lot of data gathering now complete and building categories established to allow engagement with building users, communities and Elected Members. The plan is to rationalise the estate to make efficiencies. Several buildings have been released including Old Farmhouse, additional lease for Corporate Records and securing of Montrose Care Home, Falcon Day Centre and sale/removal of staff from Robertson Centre. Develop a funding strategy to support the resourcing of actions to deliver net zero 31 Mar 2026 Priority projects have been identified to support our net zero journey within the Council and working in partnership with key stakeholders , with a focus on reducing emissions from “heat and fleet”. These projects will form part of our costed delivery plans. Opportunities for additional investment, including external funding continue to be explored, as do ways in which to bring cost savings and generate revenue to reinvest in sustainable practices. Page 167 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Green What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Establish a carbon budget for Renfrewshire Council 31 Dec 2025 The Council is developing an initial carbon budget, with interim organisational targets to 2030-31. Identifying emissions by service area will be key in improving our understanding of how our emissions relate to the services we provide and the reductions we need to aim for in order to adapt to delivering the same high quality local services in a way that is fit for a resilient, net zero future Setting an annual carbon budget will help us meet our climate targets as an organisation – showing in an easy-to- understand way where we ‘spend’ most of our emissions and progress to net zero. Identifying emissions (and emissions reduction opportunities) by service area will be key in improving our understanding of how our emissions relate to the services we provide and the reductions to aim for in order to adapt to delivering the same high quality local services in a way that is fit for a resilient, net zero future. Review opportunities within the Council’s infrastructure pipeline projects to align with the skills transition and green skills development for local people 31 Dec 2026 This action was new in 23-24 and will be developed following phase 2 of the Plan for Net Zero which sets out the phased road map and costed, area-based delivery plans. Phase 2 is currently underway and the infrastructure pipeline of projects and the identification of skills gaps will follow on once the outcomes and the phasing are known. As this work is ongoing, the due date has been extended by one year, to 31 December 2026. Informing, educating and upskilling our communities to support them to contribute to climate action is a key priority. A Ren Zero community engagement programme will be developed, led by the Sustainability Lead (Stakeholder Engagement) which is currently being recruited. West College Scotland was recently awarded up to £100k from the Business Challenge Fund to allow local businesses to train staff in net zero / sustainability for free to contribute to this agenda. The programme will run financial year 24-25. Page 168 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level 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 CO2 Emissions area wide per capita (LGBF) 4.4 Data only 4.9 Data only * Data only Renfrewshire Council is below both the Scottish national average and the Family Group average for emissions area-wide per capita. Renfrewshire Council area saw a decrease of 3.7% compared with previous year *This is an LGBF indicator and 2024/25 data is not yet available. CO2 Emissions area wide: emissions within scope of LA per capita (LGBF) 3.8 Data only * Data only * Data only Renfrewshire Council is below both the Scottish national average and the Family Group average for emissions area-wide within scope of the LA per capita. Renfrewshire Council area saw a decrease of 4.6% compared with previous year. *This is an LGBF indicator and 2024/25 data is not yet available. Amount of CO2 emitted by the public vehicle fleet 3267 3000 3118 3000 3180 3000 Increases in transport emissions were expected coming out of the pandemic and decreased travel during these times. Although 2022- 23 emissions show an increase from the previous year emissions from transport are still lower in 2022-23 than pre-pandemic levels, and Renfrewshire is below both the national average and family group average per capita for transport emissions. Amount of CO2 emitted from public space lighting 1138 1500 1,216 1,100 1217 1100 This performance indicator is an annual indicator and not measured for quarters. Although not measured in quarters, the emissions levels are anticipated to level out year on year as the LED programme is substantially complete. Page 169 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level 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 Amount of CO2 emitted from Council buildings New Indicator for 2023/24 12,121 .2 Data only * Data only Targets are being set as part of the refreshed Carbon Management Plan. The Council’s natural gas consumption and electricity consumption both decreased in 2023-24. *Figures for 2024/25 are not yet available. Percentage of household waste Recycled (Calendar year data) (LGBF) 53.7% 50% 44% 50% * n/a *Figures for 2024 are not yet available and are expected in June 2025. Page 170 of 182
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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 What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Implement the next phase of transformation through the actions arising from the Council’s financial sustainability and improvement workstreams and the new Reshaping Renfrewshire programme 31 Mar 2027 The aim of this action is that the Council is able to maintain a balanced budget by 31 March 2027 within the context of a challenging financial environment. This has so far been achieved for the first of the three financial years in scope. Of the savings targets set in 24/25, including residual balances from 23/24, 92%has been achieved so far. This action has been updated to reflected the new phase of transformation, Reshaping Renfrewshire. Deliver improvement activity across the organisation in line with revised best value audit methodology 31 Mar 2026 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 Controller of Audit Best Value Audit report for Renfrewshire Council was considered by the Accounts Commission on 15 May 2025, with the final report, including the Commission’s findings, published on 5 June 2025. This report, alongside the Council’s response, will be considered by Council on 26 June 2025. Any agreed actions will be incorporated into the Corporate Improvement Plan with progress reported to Leadership Board as part of the regular ongoing updates. This action has been updated to reflect the phase of delivering Best Value we are moving into and the focus on our Corporate Improvement Plan actions. Page 171 of 182
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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 What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Continue to develop our approaches and activities in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, responding to the needs and views of our workforce 31 Mar 2027 Key areas of progress include new and revised HR&OD Policies written using friendly, inclusive language and tone. The Council is embedding our economic development employability programmes throughout our recruitment processes ensuring barriers faced by employees and interns are removed. Recruitment, onboarding and pastoral support processes for overseas workers have been established, through participation in a Scottish Government pilot programme. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Awareness is now one of the Council’s mandatory training modules and all employees are being supported and encouraged to complete the training, whether that be online or via face to face/toolbox talks. Our workforce received communications throughout November to encourage them to update their personal equality monitoring information currently held by the Council. This will enable the Council under its statutory duty to ensure the most up to date information is held and policies/strategies, etc are meeting the needs of our people. The Council is currently revising its Equality & Diversity and Respect at Work Policies and associated training, with a view to implementing later in 2025. The 3 year Plan will continue to be implemented throughout 2025 and beyond Develop new approaches to consultation and engagement with our communities, underpinned by our values. 31 Mar 2025 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. There is a new action focusing on monitoring the effectiveness of our engagement with communities. Page 172 of 182
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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 What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Develop a framework to monitor the effectiveness of community engagement 31 Mar 2027 NEW This is a new action added following the completion of the previous action and the approval of the new Consultation and Engagement Policy by the Leadership Board in February 2025. Lead implementation of the council brand, ensuring council communications are responsive, informed, inclusive and accessible (CF) 31 Mar 2025 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 refreshed approach to workforce planning and workforce innovation, with a focus on recruitment and retention; learning and development; and career pathways. 31 Mar 2027 The Workforce Planning Group are progressing the key priorities of the People Strategy, taking forward the recommendations from the Best Value audit and will work collaboratively with the Head of People and OD on strategic approaches to workforce planning and OD to establish new key priority areas over the next 5 years. A bi- annual report on our People Metrics was presented to FARS Board on 13 February 2025 for noting and monitoring. Drive improved attendance and reduced absence across the organisation 31 Mar 2025 The Workforce Planning Group are progressing the key priorities of the People Strategy, taking forward the recommendations from the Best Value audit and will work collaboratively with the Head of People and OD on strategic approaches to workforce planning and OD to establish new key priority areas over the next 5 years. A bi- annual report on our People Metrics was presented to FARS Board on 13 February 2025 for noting and monitoring. Page 173 of 182
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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 What we will do Due Date Status Progress update Embed our Wellbeing Strategy, meeting the current and future needs of our workforce 31 Mar 2025 Training for colleagues who are already mental health first aiders on how to support colleagues with specific types of mental health conditions was rolled out on 5th December – A conversation on Anxiety. Further sessions planned during 2025 will be delivered on Suicide, Depression, Self-Harm and Psychosis. We continue to raise awareness of menopause. An action plan of support based on findings from the Menopause Survey conducted in November 2024 will include further RenTalks on Supporting Menopause during February, toolbox talks on support for employees and managers and ‘Let’s Pause’ sessions, our virtual get-together. Council officers continue to work in collaboration with RCA Trust to provide colleagues with specialist support, training and advice on gambling addiction. ‘Bet you can help now’ training is being rolled out during January and February, with focus groups consisting of line managers, People & OD and Trade Unions. We have recently been recognised as a Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland employer. Training will be rolled out to the Customer Contact Centre employees initially, to provide advice and signposting people to available facilities and Council locations outwith Renfrewshire House. This training will be recorded and developed as a module on iLearn for all employees. A Council website page is being created in the staff information section that will include guidance around reasonable adjustments etc. Wellbeing Support toolbox talks are being rolled out to line managers within HSCP and EH&I. This will also be delivered during the Head Teachers meeting in February. Implement the new Digital Strategy 31 Mar 2030 NEW This is a new action which has been added following the approval of the Council’s new Digital Strategy in April 2025. This action links closely to the delivery of the transformation programme, Reshaping Renfrewshire. Page 174 of 182
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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 Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Average number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee 13.57 9.9 13.01 9.9 * 9.9 * Figure for 2024/25 is not yet available. Page 175 of 182
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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 Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Percentage of posts of the highest 5% of earners among employees (excl. Teachers) who are women (LGBF) 58.15% Data only 56.84% Data only 57.59% Data only Total number of employees = 6,406 Total number of employees in top 5% = 323 (per guidance value 320 has been increased to 323 due to numbers on the salary point) Total number of women in top 5% = 186 (57.59%) This indicator is helping to measure and monitor the percentage of women in senior posts in the Council. The increase in this indicator from 56.84% in 2022/23 to 57.59% in 2023/24 has arisen due to turnover activity within the Council. We will continue to monitor this indicator as part of our equality monitoring processes to ensure that our recruitment, training, development, and retention processes treat everyone in an equal and consistent basis. We also now provide senior officers with frequent statistics inclusive of attrition & retention to help create awareness of where potential challenges may exist whilst offering a range of interventions. Due to a number of external factors out with the council’s control it is difficult to predict future impact, however, based on the council’s trends and interventions over recent years it is anticipated that we will continue to make improvements via recruitment and retention training and provision of statistical information. Page 176 of 182
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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 Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Percentage gender pay gap between average hourly rate of pay for male and female employees (LGBF) 0.48 Data only 0.44 Data only * Data only The pay gaps were calculated using the difference between male and female’s average hourly rate which excludes overtime. Average hourly rate of pay (Male) = £20.33 Average hourly rate of pay (Female) = £20.24 Gender Pay Gap % = 0.44% The Council’s pay gap of 0.44% was calculated as at 31st March 2024 and highlights the pay gaps between male and female employees. The pay gaps were calculated using the difference between male and female’s average hourly rate which excludes overtime. Whilst recruitment and turnover will have a continuous impact on the gender pay gap due to external factors out with the council’s control, the revised pay & grading model and service reviews together have reduced the gap. We are embedding the final year of the pay & grading model, and we continue to support ongoing service redesigns. Due to a number of external factors out with the council’s control it is difficult to predict future impact, however, based on the council’s trends and interventions over recent years it is anticipated that we will continue to make improvements. *This figure is provided by the Improvement Service and the latest available data is for 2023/24. Page 177 of 182
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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 Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Complaints closed at Frontline Resolution as a percentage of all complaints 89.2% 85% 82.8% 85% 63.5% 85% For 2024/25, across the Council 11,980 complaints, comments and compliments were recorded on the complaint system. Of this 11,179 were closed as a frontline response complaint and 7,100 (63.5%) were closed within 5 working days. Target has not been achieved for the 2024/25 reporting period. A refreshed approach to auditing of complaints practice has been introduced to monitor the quality and timeliness of responses and drive improvements. Some changes have been made to internal processes to ensure enquiries which are not complaints are diverted from the complaints process. Percentage of FOI requests completed within timescale 93.6% 90% 89.9% 90% 90% 90% 90% FOI requests due in 2024/25 were completed on time. 1528 requests were received with 1378 completed within timescale. Target has been achieved for this reporting period Percentage of LGBF indicators performing in the top 2 quartiles 56% n/a 50% 56% 50% 56% This data is provided by the Improvement Service and is a snapshot in time. At present, half of our indicators are in the top two quartiles. This reflects our relative performance. Consideration of our actual performance shows that 74% of indicators have Improved since the base year. Page 178 of 182
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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 Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Percentage Point Gap in % Pupils Achieving Expected Level for their stage in Literacy between pupils living in 30% Most Deprived areas and those living in 70% Least Deprived Areas (SIMD) 15.4 7 16 10 14 10 The size of the attainment gap has decreased since 2022/23 and is within 0.4 percentage points of the 2021/22 figures. Attainment has improved consistently over the previous 3 years with a 5 percentage point increase in attainment in both groups. Pupils living in most deprived areas were more significantly impacted by the pandemic which caused these gaps to widen. The data indicates that some progress is being made to decrease gaps however a significant challenge remains. Percentage Point Gap in % Pupils Achieving Expected Level for their stage in Numeracy between pupils living in 30% Most Deprived areas and those living in 70% Least Deprived Areas (SIMD) 13.4 6 11 9 11 9 The size of the attainment gap is in line with 2022/23 and lower than in 2021/22. Attainment has increased for both groups over this period, with a 3 percentage point increase for pupils living in 30% most deprived areas and a 2 percentage point increase for those living in 70% least deprived areas. Pupils living in most deprived areas were more significantly impacted by the pandemic which caused these gaps to widen. The data indicates that some progress is being made to decrease gaps however a significant challenge remains. Page 179 of 182
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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 Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Average total tariff score of leavers living in SIMD 30% most deprived areas 745 770 681 700 681 700 It is not possible to make a like for like comparison to previous years within this measure due to the cancellation of exam diets in 2020 and 2021. Renfrewshire’s data follows national trends with an increase during this period which is now returning to post-pandemic levels. Renfrewshire is consistently ahead of the national figure in this measure but remains marginally below the virtual comparator. The latest data is ahead of the 2018/19 leavers cohort, which was 674. Targets for this measure were set before the pandemic. Average total tariff score of all school leavers in Renfrewshire 984 959 933 960 941 960 As above, it is not possible to make a like for like comparison to previous years within this measure due to the cancellation of exam diets in 2020 and 2021. Renfrewshire’s data follows national trends with an increase during this period which is now returning to post-pandemic levels. Renfrewshire is consistently ahead of the national figure in this measure but remains marginally below the virtual comparator. The latest data is ahead of 2018/19 leavers cohort, which was 923. Targets for this measure were set before the pandemic. Page 180 of 182
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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 Indicator Current Status Short term trend Long term trend 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 Explanation of performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Proportion of children being looked after in the community (LGBF) 91.7% 89.9% 90.9% 89.9% 91.6% 83% The percentage of looked after children in the community has increased by 0.7 percentage points (pp) compared with the year end position the previous year. The majority of all looked after children continue to live in a community setting either with their own family or with an alternative family. A residential house or school can be more suitable for a small number of children and young people based on their needs, but the service will always seek to have a child live in a family setting where appropriate. Please note, this indicator is also reported annually, and the figure is derived from the Local Government Benchmarking Framework indicator CHN9 'Balance of care for 'looked after children': % of children being looked after in the community'. The last data published for this indicator is for 2022/23; the percentage of looked after children living with families in the community in Renfrewshire was 91.7%, greater than the Scotland average of 89.2%. Page 181 of 182
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Title can go here • Click to edit Master text styles • Second level • Third level • Fourth level • Fifth level Council Plan Six monthly progress update June 2025 For more information, please contact: policycefar@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 182 of 182