Best Value – Corporate Improvement Plan
Renfrewshire Council · 16 September 2026
Back to Leadership Board — 16 September 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: 16 September 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Best Value – Corporate Improvement Plan ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 The duty of Best Value applies to all public bodies in Scotland and requires organisations to ensure that there is good governance and effective management of resources, whilst also ensuring activities focus on improvement and deliver the best possible outcomes for the public. 1.2 This paper provides an update to Elected Members on the ongoing activities within the organisation to support the delivery of Best Value through our continuous improvement focus. 1.3 A range of high-level actions are grouped together in a Corporate Improvement Plan (CIP), which was last reported to the Leadership Board in February 2026. The CIP has been updated to reflect activity and progress in over the six-month period between February 2026 and September 2026. 1.4 Significant Best Value activity has been undertaken by the Council over this period, as detailed in section 3. A report detailing the outcome of auditing by our external auditors, Azets, in relation to the effectiveness of asset management arrangements, will be presented to the Audit Risk and Scrutiny Board and any recommendations will be added as actions to the Corporate Improvement Plan. 1.5 The full Corporate Improvement Plan is attached to this report as Appendix 1 and this updated version will also be published on the Council’s website. The next progress report will be presented to Leadership Board in February 2027.
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 Members are requested to: • note the progress of the Corporate Improvement Plan as outlined in the appendix. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 A core value of Renfrewshire Council is ‘We Value Learning’ and the Council has established an ongoing programme of self-assessment to learn and improve. This helps to ensure that all elements of Best Value are being delivered and to drive forward corporate improvement activities in line with our commitment to continuous improvement as an organisation. 3.2 Within the new Best Value approach, our first phase of self-evaluation focused on a Corporate Self-Assessment which was rolled out in 2022/23 and 2023/24 and resulted in the development of Corporate Improvement Plan (CIP). This CIP has been enhanced with additional areas for improvement identified via the ongoing external audit processes, including our Annual Audit Report, the Best Value thematic reviews and our self-assessment which focused on organisational culture (Renfrewshire’s Cultural Assurance Model). 3.3 The CIP was first reported to Leadership Board in February 2025, noting that the vast majority of existing actions were completed or nearing completion and represented a significant programme of work across the range of Best Value themes. Further updates have been reported to Board every 6 months. 3.4 Since the previous update to Leadership Board, one further Best Value review has been undertaken - on Asset Management - and there has been a particular focus on Fairness and Equalities this year within the ongoing best value audit activity undertaken by the external audit team from Azets. 3.5 Asset Management was selected as the subject of the national thematic review, following previous years’ themes of Leadership, Workforce Innovation and Transformation. This work was completed by officers in February and March this year and aligned to the two Board reports reported to February’s Leadership Board – the Corporate Asset Management Strategy 2026 to 20230 and the Corporate Assets Overview of Progress 2021 to 2026. 3.6 The Council also received a request from our auditors to undertake work on a Fairness and Equalities theme which was completed by officers in April and May this year. This theme is audited by each Council’s external auditing teams once over the 5-year rolling programme of audit and is reported via the Annual Audit Report. The Annual Audit Report and thematic audit report in relation to asset management will be considered by the Audit Risk and Scrutiny Board on 21st September.
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PUBLIC 3.7 More broadly, demonstrating our commitment to Best Value is an ongoing process, particularly through the Annual Audit reporting, the annual Best Value thematic reviews and our own self-evaluation activity. The focus for the organisation remains firmly on continuous improvement – reflected both in the Corporate Improvement Plan approach, but also wider activity, such as the officer Performance Board and the Consultation and Engagement Advisory Group. Any relevant improvement actions flowing from these groups are also captured in the CIP as appropriate. 3.8 The Council also participates in the national work around Best Value and self- assessment, including being part of the new National Self-Evaluation Framework (NSEF) Learning Network which seeks to support Councils to assess their readiness for implementing the new NSEF approach. Officers are also part of the national review group for Public Sector Improvement Framework (PSIF) for the 3rd cycle, streamlining and developing PSIF, particularly to align with the new NSEF model. 3.9 Finally, as previously noted, the CIP is a dynamic document, and completed actions are reported once to Board and then retired and new actions are also added on an ongoing basis. Progress on the recommendations from our external auditors will also continue to be reported to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board as part of the ongoing reporting arrangements in relation to Best Value. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – none 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – our commitment to Best Value and the delivery of many of the activities (including self-assessment) is clearly established within our Council Plan, particularly through the Living Our Values strategic priority. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets – none 6. Information Technology - none 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, as this report is for noting only. There is an action in relation to equalities and our refreshed approach to impact assessments in the appended Corporate Improvement Plan. In addition, reference is made to the Fairness and Equalities audit, although new
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PUBLIC actions have not been developed yet, pending the publication of the auditors’ report and any recommendations. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. COSLA Policy Position – none 13. Climate Risk – none 14. Children’s Rights – none, but there is an action in relation to engagement with children and young people in the appended Corporate Improvement Plan. Author: Pauline Moss, Strategy, Policy and Insight Manager
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PUBLIC Appendix 1 Renfrewshire Council - Corporate Improvement Plan - update September 2026 References: RR prefix – Resident Research, December 2025 BV prefix - Best Value Audit Report, June 2025 IF prefix - Interim Follow Up Report, April 2025 CAM prefix - Cultural Assurance Model, 2024/25 SA prefix - Corporate Self-Assessment, 2023 Ref Action/recommendation Update Timescales Status RR.1 Cascade and share key findings and resources relating to the Resident Research to colleagues across the organisation and community partners. Key findings were published on the council website in December 2025 and reported to Leadership Board (3rd December). This was also supported by communications and marketing activity which included internal communications cascade, press release, poster in libraries, distribution to Council’s e-news, social media and a toolkit to elected members and community groups and partners. The following engagement was carried out • Development and delivery of Ren Talk • Our Leaders Forum – 22 January • Data Advisory Group – 28 January • Consultation and Engagement Advisory Group – 2 February • Renfrewshire Communications and Marketing partnership Group – February A summary document of the Resident Research findings can be found in Appendix 2. The full report and focus group findings are published at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/consultations/resident-research All actions have been completed. 31 March 2026 Complete
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PUBLIC RR.2 Scope and develop ways of further improving transparency and communication around the council’s performance and evidence of listening. Work has been undertaken to improve the visibility of performance reporting through a series of communications and marketing activities in 2026. This will enhance the existing performance reporting including through our Public Performance Report interactive storymap and our wide range of regular performance reporting to Policy Boards, Leadership Board and Audit Risk and Scrutiny Boards. For listening, the Council recently launched Your Voice Matters (YVM), an engagement programme to gather views from people across Renfrewshire on what’s important to them and what they think the priorities should be for the Council, HSCP and community planning partners for the next 5 to 10 years. YVM aims to ensure residents and communities can play an active role in decisions about the future of Renfrewshire and can shape future decisions on services and investment. It also aims to explain how the Council and IJB have to make decisions, the public-service challenges we face and demonstrate that we are committed to listening to the people of Renfrewshire and what matters to them most. 31 March 2026 Complete RR.3 Gather further insight on lesser heard voices including commissioning additional focus groups and linking with established groups such as lived experience, children and young people and people with disabilities. Five additional focus groups were carried out in March 2026. Focus group participants were recruited from resident representative groups in Renfrewshire. These were the Disability Resource Centre (x2 focus groups), the Lived Experience Panel and Renfrewshire Youth Voice (x2 focus groups). Participants were from a range of equalities groups and voices from across Renfrewshire including young people, young carers, minority ethnic groups, those from more deprived communities, LGBTQI and disabled. Results from the focus groups are published online at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/consultations/resident-research. 31 March 2026 Complete RR.4 Scope options for Elected Member engagement to further consider resident Your Voice Matters programme (also outlined in RR.2) includes a Local Partnership Conference, to which all Elected Members have 31 March 2027 In progress
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PUBLIC needs and perceptions, linked to Strategic Needs Assessment for new Council and Community Plans, future resident surveys etc been invited and will also include Members Briefings on findings to date and the development of the programme. Updates on the programme and also key themes from the Strategic Needs Assessment will continue to be reported to Leadership Board, through the Cross-Party Sounding Board and any other Members briefings as required. The due date for this action has been extended to align with the YVM programme. RR.5 Explore options for future engagement opportunities including repeating the resident research, a potential citizen’s panel, linked to being a listening Council and the agreed consultation and engagement policy An opportunity to build on the pilot and ensure listening and improved dialogue with residents and communities is embedded into future strategies and plans. This includes the Resident Research exercise being repeated in 2027 and the learning from the Your Voice Matters programme. As part of YVM officers have been asking participants if they wish to be involved in future conversations and workshops. This action is closely linked to BV4. 31 March 2027 In progress BV.1 Embed Cultural Assurance Model approach into cycle of continuous improvement 5 priority actions identified from the Cultural Assurance Model (CAM) have been included in this Corporate Improvement Plan and where relevant have been included in Service Improvement Plans. Cultural Assurance Model action progress is noted below with the remaining outstanding action prefixed CAM. Further work is being undertaken to reflect further on the CAM, the findings from the Employee Engagement Survey, aligning and building on these insights particularly in relation to cross-cutting programmes, for example Connected Communities. In addition, the approach used for the CAM has now been used to develop a new self-assessment model for trauma-informed practice, we believe this is a first nationally and it is being piloted with the Chief Officer’s Team in the first instance. 31 March 2027 Complete
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PUBLIC A timeline for future phases of the CAM is currently being developed, to best align with the next stage of self-assessment, PSIF and the new National Self-Evaluation Framework. BV.4 Evidence community engagement within decision making, policy development and service planning The Consultation and Engagement policy was approved at Leadership Board in February 2025, setting out standards and guidance for planning, conducting and learning from public engagement. A further update was reported to Leadership Board in December 2025, as part of the Resident Research update, noting the governance arrangements and outlining key activities. A Consultation and Engagement Co-ordination Group has been established to provide strategic oversight and guidance. A Consultation and Engagement Advisory Group (CEAG) has also been established to act as a community of practice, providing training, support, and driving improvements across the organisation. Key activities over the previous months include: • The development of a consultation and engagement toolkit to support officers across the organisation and to ensure consistency of quality. • A rapid review and triage of activities and plans that involve consultation and engagement, to ensure support is offered throughout the process. • Linked to the above, development of a consultation calendar and mapping exercise (working with the CEAG) to help avoid significant overlap of consultation and engagement activities and any duplication. • Developing potential options for a citizen’s panel approach to further explore the issues and suggestions raised in the resident research survey and focus groups. 31 March 2027 Complete
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PUBLIC The findings from the Residents Survey continue to support decision making and service planning, acting as a baseline for engagement and priority setting. This has been significantly enhanced by the launch of Your Voice Matters engagement programme outlined above under actions RR.2 and RR.5, which commenced with a summer of community engagement, with officers attending gala days and other community events to discuss priorities and future aspirations with Renfrewshire citizens. To date more than 160 conversations have taken place. This engagement is a foundational element of the Council and Community Plan development process with local voices directly influencing and shaping these key strategic documents. Updates will continue to be provided to the Leadership Board on a six-monthly basis as part of Council Plan updates. BV.7 Continue to monitor performance and the impact of decisions on service performance and wider community outcomes A programme of work strengthening the Council’s approach to performance scrutiny is now well-established. The officer performance group has been meeting on a four-weekly basis for over a year, to drive improved performance across Council Plan strategic outcomes, explore the LGBF and other benchmarking in more depth and undertake ‘deep dives’ on Council-wide performance, with a particular focus on outcomes and the golden thread between performance and priorities. Deep dives have been undertaken on the following areas – planning and building control, absence, complaints and enquiries, justice social work, waste and recycling, school meals and school meal debt. Deep dives on economy indicators, procurement and school exclusions are planned for the coming months. Reporting on LGBF indicators to the Audit Risk and Scrutiny Board has been increased to six-monthly. 31 December 2026 Complete
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PUBLIC Work is also underway to review the approach to Service Improvement and Council Plan reporting, with a view to strengthening the ‘golden thread’. IF.1 Consider how options are presented to Elected Members to improve decision making effectiveness and openness The Council has further strengthened its approach to the development of business cases and the project management processes associated with these, including reporting arrangements. An officer Transformation Board has been established which regularly reviews the development and progress of a range of significant corporate and service projects across the council, with regular reporting to both the Corporate Management Team and Leadership Board on the issues discussed. The Transformation Board approach is informed by an agreed ‘gateway’ approach which includes clear stages projects must adhere to in terms of identifying requirements, clarifying scope, considering options for how objectives can be met and clearly defining how delivery will be achieved. The regular reporting of business cases to allow elected member decision making can clearly be demonstrated in examples such as the business case framework approach for the learning estate (see report to the Education and Children’s Service Policy Board in May 2025); and the progression of an AI business case which will enable broad AI- enabled transformation across the Council as reported to the Leadership Board in April 2026. 31 March 2026 Complete CAM.5 Develop transformation page on website, with clear definition of what this means for Renfrewshire, links to Reshaping Renfrewshire report and summary comms and introducing the new Transformation Board approach. This action has been extended to cover wider information on the Council website outlining key information about the Council including its decision-making groups, which includes the Transformation Board as well as groups such as CMT. A short-life working group has been established to progress this alongside wider transparency and performance key actions, mostly relating to performance reporting and enhanced content both for the website and intranet. 31 December 2026 Ongoing
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PUBLIC The timescale for this action has been extended to 31 December 2026. SA6.1 Develop an Integrated Impact Assessment process, roll out appropriate training and agree roles and responsibilities at a service level. This should also include climate impact assessment process (linked to climate budget work) The approach has been adjusted to keep Equality Impact Assessments and Climate Impact Assessments separate at this time, particularly given the datasets used to consider impact and the processes are quite different. The Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment form and guidance have been updated to better integrate human rights and care experienced community considerations. Additional resources have also been developed to support colleagues to fill out impact assessments to a good standard including several factsheets on different equality groups and the general Renfrewshire population (for comparison). The Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment iLearn course has also been reviewed and updated to better support colleagues in completing impact assessments. These updated forms and resources were launched at the recent RenTalk on Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments which allowed colleagues to gain a better understanding of what impact assessments are, when they are needed, and what support is available in filling out the impact assessment. This RenTalk was recorded and uploaded onto iLearn to allow anyone unable to attend to catch up at a later date. Further inputs have also been made at team and service meetings such as the Project Management Unit knowledge share and Education Managers meetings to further highlight the importance of completing impact assessments and offering further support. The webpage to publish summaries of completed Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments has also been updated to 31 December 2026 Ongoing
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PUBLIC clarify why these are published and where individuals can find additional information. A standardised format has also been developed to publish summaries of completed Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessment with communication colleagues. Future work includes the embedding of children’s rights within the equality and human rights impact assessment. The due date for this has been extended to allow for the work the include children’s rights. Please note, there were no formal recommendations made as part of Renfrewshire Council’s Controller of Audit Best Value Report or the Accounts Commissions findings. Within the Accounts Commissions findings, a number of areas of ‘watching briefs’ were identified and these are captured in the action plan above, in the section with the prefix BV. Please also note, in order to ensure this is a ‘live’ plan, completed actions which have been reported to Board as complete are thereafter ‘retired’ from the plan and new actions are added.
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Summary of findings Renfrewshire Resident Research 2025–26
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Renfrewshire Resident Research 2025–26 The purpose of the research was to: How they feel about where they live The services the council provides Changes that could be made to services in the future Measure perceptions of and satisfaction with council services Inform planning and decision-making in Council budget decisions Benchmark against the Scottish Household Survey in 2023 Access new information, ideas and suggestions Support the introduction of the new Consultation and Engagement Policy It has helped us identify which services residents want to prioritise—and it will inform future spending decisions. The research findings were reported to Leadership Board in December 2025. The full report and findings are available to read at: www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/consultations/resident-research We carried out research with Renfrewshire residents to find out: This document summarises the Resident Research undertaken during 2025–26. The research undertaken included an interview-led (telephone or face-to-face) survey conducted across all areas of Renfrewshire with a representative sample of the Renfrewshire population. To explore the key themes from the survey in more detail, a small number of Renfrewshire residents were recruited from the larger survey sample and invited to participate in focus groups. In early 2026, further focus groups were conducted with representatives from equalities groups. As part of the Council’s ongoing programme of self-assessment to learn and improve, it was agreed a Resident Research survey should be undertaken to highlight our ongoing commitment to improving our dialogue with residents. 2
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www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/consultations/resident-research Key findings People rate Renfrewshire highly as a place to live and are proud of their own their neighbourhood. More than half (61%) of respondents agree the council provides high-quality services and does the best with the money available. Parks, gardens and open spaces are the most used services each month, followed by household waste recycling centres and sport and leisure facilities. Satisfaction is highest with schools and nurseries, children’s play areas, parks, gardens and open spaces and libraries. To help balance its budget, the council should prioritise making better use of its buildings and target resource to places and people with the greatest need. Supporting older and vulnerable people, children and families and maintaining roads, open and public spaces are among the most essential priorities. 3
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Survey in summer 2025 • 1,016 responses in-person with interviewer (face-to-face or telephone) • 1,029 responses online (local residents completing the survey online) • Face-to-face and telephone sample was representative of the Renfrewshire population What you told us—key findings from face-to-face and telephone interviews Your overall satisfaction with place is very high, but you have mixed views on how the Council is doing. 93% of respondents rate Renfrewshire as a good place to live, with strong positive perceptions of neighbourhood safety, pride and community. Perceptions of Council performance are more moderate (around 53–62%), especially on listening to residents (44%). Your general satisfaction with Council services is strong—although there are areas where you would like to see improvement. High satisfaction with schools, parks, libraries and leisure services (84–94%). Higher rates of dissatisfaction with roads maintenance (39%), street cleaning (64%), and refuse services (73%). You prioritise essential and preventative services. Support for older/vulnerable people, roads and infrastructure, and support for child and family wellbeing (95–97%) are your strongest priorities. Measures to achieve Net Zero are the least important priority (49%). Budget approach: more support for efficiency, less for cuts or charges. You showed strongest backing for better use of buildings and assets (82%) and targeting resources to those most in need (81%). You showed less support for discontinuing some services (46%) or introducing charges (33%). A note on benchmarking Benchmarking is when we measure and evaluate council services in comparison with the other 31 councils in Scotland. The survey used questions based on the national Scottish Household Survey 2023 so that we could benchmark against the national average—but asking a larger and locally more representative group. Overall, the survey showed that Renfrewshire residents feel more positive about their neighbourhoods and Council services than the national average. 4
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What you told us You are broadly positive about Renfrewshire and the quality of your local environment is critical. Residents enjoy living in Renfrewshire due to community, transport links, and local amenities. Quality of life is strongly affected by cleanliness, roads, and neighbourhood appearance. You strongly support prioritising core services and vulnerable groups. Top priorities are roads, pavements, and public spaces; support for vulnerable people and older residents; and support for child and family wellbeing. Residents also emphasised early intervention and joined-up services, especially for supporting mental health and supporting vulnerable households. Targeting resources by need is widely supported— but must be fair and balanced. You strongly support prioritising older people, disabled residents, low-income households, carers, and vulnerable children. But you did stress that need can be hidden in more affluent areas, and targeting should not lead to exclusion of other communities. You are willing to pay for non-essential services— if the charge is fair and local benefit is clear. Residents opposed charges for essential or statutory services (for example, education, care, or general refuse collection) but were in support of some services being means-tested and targeting resources to those in greatest need. Residents want greater clarity on what services are statutory (council is legally obliged to provide) or discretionary (council is not legally obliged to provide). You would like us to improve communication, transparency and listening. Some residents find the Council website difficult to use, think there is too much reliance on automated systems, and feel that there is limited evidence that feedback influences decisions. There is strong demand for multiple communication channels to be used to keep residents informed. You would also like clearer updates on decisions, spending, and outcomes. Focus groups in autumn 2025 To provide a further level of detail, six focus groups were held with a cross-section of Renfrewshire population chosen at random— from survey respondents who expressed an interest in taking part and sharing their views. 5
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Go to www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/consultations/resident-research to read the full Resident Research reports and focus group results. Focus groups in spring 2026 Five focus groups were conducted with representatives from equalities groups— Renfrewshire Youth Voice, service users of the Disability Resource Centre, and the Lived Experience Panel. What you told us You have strong pride in place, but there are significant inequalities in lived experience. Participants across equalities groups feel a strong connection to Renfrewshire, valuing community, culture, and green spaces. However, experiences vary widely, with disabled people, young people and deprived communities facing greater barriers in daily life. Safety is a fundamental need. Feeling unsafe was a consistent issue across all groups, affecting mobility and independence, mental wellbeing, and willingness to leave home. There are some concerns about poor infrastructure in places (lighting or pavements), antisocial behaviour and a lack of safe public and social spaces. The loss of accessible community spaces can drive isolation. People do experience increased isolation, boredom, and mental health challenges. This can be alleviated with free or low-cost, accessible community hubs and spaces, open on evenings and weekends and suitable for all ages and abilities Supporting vulnerable people is the top priority. Vulnerability is seen as widespread and increasing, not limited to a single group. Key issues include long waiting times, complex systems with gaps between services, and rising poverty and mental health needs. There should be a strong emphasis on early intervention and stable, long-term support, especially for children and families. Residents feel unheard and want meaningful involvement. Participants felt consultation often happens too late and feedback does not lead to visible change. There is strong demand for co-design of services and evidence that engagement leads to real outcomes. What’s next? The feedback received from the research will help inform future decisions and planning. We will also show how consultation results influence decisions and provide “you said, we did” updates to residents. 6