Community Planning Six Monthly Update
Renfrewshire Council · 17 June 2026
Back to Leadership Board — 17 June 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 17 June 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Community Planning Six-Monthly Update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report is the six-monthly update of recent activity of Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership, covering the period from December 2025 to May 2026. It was agreed at Leadership Board in September 2022 that update reports would be provided every six months and would also include an update on progress being made in developing the seven Local Partnerships. The previous update report was provided in December 2025. 1.2 This report provides an overview of: • The key priorities identified by community planning partners for 2026/27. • Local Partnership priority setting activities. • The national launch of a Place Director / Community Planning Partnership Charter. • The development of a new Community Plan by 2027. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that Elected Members note the content of the report. 3. Background 3.1 This paper represents the regular 6 monthly update submitted to the Leadership Board for consideration on wider community partnership developments.
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PUBLIC This includes both the work of Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Executive Group and the development of the Local Partnerships, which is part of the community planning structure. 3.2 Community planning is a statutory duty placed on councils in Scotland and defined community planning partners under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. These public, private and third sector bodies are required to collaborate in Community Planning Partnerships. There are 32 Community Planning Partnerships in Scotland, one for each Council area. The broad aims of community planning activity are to improve outcomes for people and communities and to reduce inequalities in those outcomes. 3.3 Partners are also required to develop and jointly progress a Local Outcomes Improvement Plan. In Renfrewshire this is referred to as our local Community Plan, a ten year plan spanning 2017-2027. At the mid term point of the plan in 2022, partners agreed that a refresh exercise should be undertaken, resulting in a 2022-27 update. 3.4 The vision set out within the Community Plan is currently: Working together to make Renfrewshire a fairer, more inclusive place where all our people, communities and businesses thrive. The four priorities of the Community Plan are that Renfrewshire is Thriving, Well, Safe and Fair. The refresh carried out in 2022 identified three main areas of focus for collaborative working through the Community Planning Partnership. These are: • Supporting low income families • Tackling health inequalities • Addressing the climate emergency 3.5 An annual report outlining the key achievements of the Community Planning Partnership during 2024/25 against community planning priorities, was presented to the Leadership Board in December 2025, 4. Update on activities over the last 6 months 4.1 Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Executive Group has met twice since the last update provided to the Leadership Board, with meetings held in December 2025 and March 2026. 4.2 An important juncture in the Executive Group’s annual calendar is the forward look / horizon scanning session each December, where partners come together to consider emerging issues and data in Renfrewshire and agree any changes to the priorities which partners are progressing together. In December 2025, partners identified the following priorities for further exploration during 2026: • The local approach to progressing the nationally agreed Population Health Framework, with an initial focus on health weight and early years outcomes. • Community cohesion, with consideration of the changing nature of Renfrewshire’s population. • Child poverty – recognising the importance of supporting the local programme of work in Gallowhill, and the new Child Poverty Data Insight Partnership.
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PUBLIC 4.3 Officers from the Council were asked to consider whether specific sub-groups or working groups would be required to progress these priorities during 2026 and into 2027, either on a short life or ongoing basis as appropriate. The Executive Group also specifically requested that a proposal be developed in relation to an Economy sub-group being established, as a local vehicle for strategic partnership discussions on economic issues, skills etc. 4.4 Over the last 6 months the Executive Group has also considered updates and presentations in relation to the following items: • Response To Guidance To Fair Funding Of The Voluntary Sector – the national Community Planning Improvement Board developed in 2025 guidance for Community Planning Partnerships regarding funding arrangements for the voluntary sector. The CPP Executive considered a paper about this guidance from the Chief Executive of Engage Renfrewshire, on behalf of Renfrewshire Forum For Empowering Communities. • Ask and Act Statutory Duty- The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 aims to prevent homelessness in Scotland. As part of this Act, there is an emerging duty on Councils and other public bodies to ask about a person’s housing situation in their dealings with people and act to prevent homelessness where a risk is identified. Prior to the duty taking effect from 2028, the Scottish Government has designated a number of pilot areas to test this approach, with Renfrewshire one of the selected areas. A presentation on Ask and Act by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde was presented top Renfrewshire CPP Executive Group in December 2025. The CPP Executive Group agreed to provide oversight to the Renfrewshire Ask and Act pilot and received a Quarter 1 progress report from Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership at the March 2026 meeting. • Discussion of Community Planning Partnership Arrangements and Community Plan 2027- discussion took place at the March 2026 meeting regarding how the development of the 2027 Community Plan and Renfrewshire’s arrangements regarding community planning will be delivered. • Renfrewshire Health and Wellbeing Survey Community Response Action Plan – following previous reports on the Renfrewshire Health and Wellbeing Survey during 2025, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership reported to the March 2026 meeting of the CPP Executive on a Community Response Action Plan in partnership with the Fairer Renfrewshire Lived Experience Panel. The priority areas that the action plan addresses are: Vaping Employability Volunteering Health Behaviours Language/Terminology Early intervention on food insecurity including transition between youth/adult services
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PUBLIC Men’s Mental Health (including social support) Opportunities to socialise without alcohol and destigmatise substance use Transport Community consultation and local action Housing Place Director/Community Planning Partnership Charter 4.5 The Scottish Government allocates a lead officer to each local authority area to act as a conduit for two way discussion between different spheres of government. This arrangement has operated for a number of years, but has now been formalised at a national level through the establishment of a Place Director / Community Planning Partnership Charter. The Charter will be formally launched in June 2026. Renfrewshire’s allocated Place Director is Lewis Hedge, Deputy Director Curriculum and Qualifications. Lewis meets on a quarterly basis with the Chief Executive and attends all meetings of Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Executive Group. 5. Developing a new Community Plan 5.1 As highlighted in Section 3, the Council with its partners, has a statutory duty to produce a local outcomes improvement plan which sets out how partners will work together to improve outcomes and reduce inequality. In Renfrewshire, the local outcomes improvement plan is referred to as our Community Plan. We are now in the last 12-18 months of the lifespan of the current Community Plan, which was agreed in 2017 and refreshed in 2022. 5.2 A paper was considered by the Leadership Board in April 2026, which set out the approach that would be taken to developing a new Community Plan, in tandem with the Council Plan through a two stage process: Phase 1 – What matters in Renfrewshire (Strategic Needs Assessment Process) 5.3 This stage of the process will involve the gathering of local and national data which will support an initial assessment of the key issues which are relevant to Renfrewshire and its communities. Local data will be gathered from Council services and wider partner organisations through a collaborative process (where this is not already held) and key findings analysed and shared. It is anticipated that this mostly desk-based stage of the process will be undertaken during the first half of 2026. Phase 2 – Your Voice Matters 5.4 Every conversation with local citizens, communities and businesses matters. This type of approach will be the cornerstone of the Council’s new Connected Communities model.
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PUBLIC Building on the extensive findings of the recent resident research exercise, employee survey and ongoing engagement across service areas on issues such as the learning estate and the Local Development Plan, we will launch the next phase of our planned engagement campaign which will support the development and finalisation of both Plans. 5.5 The engagement programme will involve a blend of broad engagement, more targeted engagement, and deeper listening – providing opportunities for people to get involved and tell us what matters to them and their communities, and also for the Council and partners to engage on some of the challenges and opportunities that we face locally. 5.6 Elected Members are asked to note that work is also ongoing to align the development of the Council and Community Plans, and the overall engagement process itself, with the refresh of specific partnership plans. Close partnership working will be progressed in order to align the development of both Plans with the Renfrewshire IJB’s Strategic Plan, which is also due to be refreshed next year. Aligning the plans within the same timeframe, provides a very unique opportunity to ensure that a shared understanding of local priorities and actions can be developed in partnership. This also links to the wider national context including the Population Health Framework which specifically notes the role of Community Planning Partnerships. Colleagues in the HSCP are key partners in the local co-ordination group that has been established to progress the strategic needs assessment and the engagement programme. 5.7 Discussions are also underway with wider services to align the development of Renfrewshire Children’s Services Partnership Plan in 2027 to the work planned in relation to the Community Plan and Council Plan. 6. Wider partnership developments 6.1 Through engagement with specific partners, an action was identified to develop specific strategic partnership agreements to articulate a shared commitment to specific priorities and projects that are or will be progressed in the future. Officers are currently exploring the development of a Strategic Partnership Agreement with St Mirren FC, ahead of its 150 year anniversary celebrations. 6.2 A tripartite strategic partnership agreement is also being developed in conjunction with West College Scotland and the University of the West of Scotland. The first of its kind in Renfrewshire, the agreement sets out how all 3 organisations will work more closely together to improve outcomes for local people and communities. The agreement is not intended to be legally binding, but will evidence the commitment and intent of all 3 partners to strengthening its operational and strategic ties. The Chief Executive will work to finalise this arrangement over the summer period. Any activities requiring board or Council approval, will be presented for consideration as required in line with current governance arrangements. 6.3 At the meeting of Leadership Board on 29 April 2026, the allocation of annual funding for 2026/27 to Engage Renfrewshire was approved.
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PUBLIC It was agreed that the six monthly community planning update reports which are presented to Board, would also include information relating to the activities progressed by Engage Renfrewshire over the period. This was requested in order to provide Elected Members with greater information on the role that Engage Renfrewshire plays as a community planning partner and third sector interface organisation. 6.4 Since the last update provided to Board in April 2026: • The CE of Engage Renfrewshire and Council’s Community Partnerships Manager attended the official launch of the Place Director Charter, as representatives of Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Executive Group • The CE of Engage Renfrewshire supported recent meetings with representatives of HMI Education who were conducting follow up meetings with the local Community Learning and Development Partnership, one year after the related partnership inspection. • Engage supported Renfrewshire Integration Network (In-Ren) to successfully deliver Renfrewshire’s first Community Knowledge festival on 30th May. • Successful delivery of the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing funding in Renfrewshire, evidenced through a national report presented to the Community Planning Partnership Executive Group in June 2026. 6.5 A more detailed overview will be provided as part of the next 6 monthly update provided to board in November 2026. 7 Local Partnerships Development Programme 7.1 Since the last six-monthly report on development of the Local Partnerships to the Leadership Board in December 2025, there have been two rounds of meetings of the seven Local Partnerships. These took place in February 2026 and May 2026. As well as localised agenda items at the February 2026 meetings, each of the seven Local Partnerships refined their existing local priorities. The May 2026 round of Local Partnership meetings focused on consideration of funding applications for 2026/27. 7.2 As part of the Local Partnerships Development Programme, in early 2026 the Local Partnership members participated in an exercise to expand the local priorities into achievable objectives and action plans are currently being developed for each Local Partnership to deliver during 2026/27. It is recognised that each Local Partnership works differently in response to different community requirements – some cover one distinct community whereas others may include a number of different communities. 7.3 For example, Renfrew Local Partnership want to encourage local groups and projects to connect and work together to deliver activities. This will strengthen the connections between organisations/groups and develop those relationships to nurture future collaborations and reciprocal support. The Local Partnership Development Officer has made introductions between several community groups to enable collaboration.
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PUBLIC This has included connecting a scout group to a local heritage group and connecting an older persons’ group to a group offering indoor activities. 7.4 Within the Gleniffer Local Partnership area, Local Partnership members identified a need to reach out to young people to strengthen their influence on the activities of Gleniffer Local Partnership. As part of this, Gleniffer Local Partnership received a dedicated presentation from the youth team about local provision in the Gleniffer area. This generated discussion about supporting existing and new activity in the area. Moving forward, this will include connecting with schools, Pupil Councils, community groups and other youth services. 7.5 The Local Partnership Development Officer has created a Local Partnership newsletter, shared with all elected members, Local Partnership membership and community groups highlighting funding awards, feedback and key dates. The next issue will be produced after the May 2026 meetings. 7.6 Going forward, we will continue to progress the development of the Local Partnerships, with proposals being developed as part of the wider Connected Communities programme to strengthen and develop the partnerships further over the course of the next 12-18 months. 8. Next steps 8.1 The next meeting of Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Executive Group will focus on the Local Child Poverty Action Report for Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire Children’s Services Partnership Plan. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – There are no direct financial implications from this report. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none. 3. Community/Council Planning – The report sets out how partners are working together to achieve agreed outcomes defined in the Community Plan. 4. Legal - none. 5. Property/Assets – none. 6. Information Technology – none. 7. Equality and Human Rights – Community planning and Local Partnership work contributes towards the community planning outcomes for people and reducing inequalities 8. Health and Safety – none. 9. Procurement – none.
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PUBLIC 10. Risk – Progressing community planning working contributes to mitigating against the risk of poorer outcomes and increasing inequalities for people within Renfrewshire. 11. Privacy Impact – none. 12. COSLA Policy Position – COSLA is supportive of community planning as an approach to delivering outcome improvement and narrowing of inequalities in Scotland . 13. Children’s Rights – The three areas of focus identified in the refreshed community plan – Supporting Low Income Families; Tackling Health Inequalities; and Addressing The Climate Emergency – contribute to setting policy direction that supports progress in delivering Children’s Rights. 14. Climate Risk – The Renfrewshire Community Plan was refreshed in 2022 and one of its three areas of focus is Addressing The Climate Emergency. The Annual Report sets out actions being taken and tracks performance against outcomes. Author: Stuart Graham, Community Partnerships Manager, Chief Executive’s Service, 0141 487 1509