Agenda Document Pack - Leadership Board - 22/06/2022
Renfrewshire Council · 22 June 2022
Back to Leadership Board — 22 June 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Some pages contain no extractable text. They may be blank, graphics or scanned pages. OCR has not been applied.
Page 1
16/06/2022 Notice of Meeting and Agenda Leadership Board Date Time Venue Wednesday, 22 June 2022 13:00 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN Membership Councillor Alison Ann-Dowling: Councillor Michelle Campbell: Councillor Graeme Clark: Councillor Gillian Graham: Councillor Neill Graham: Councillor Anne Hannigan: Councillor Alec Leishman: Councillor Marie McGurk: Councillor Iain McMillan: Councillor Jim Paterson: Councillor Emma Rodden: Councillor John Shaw: Councillor Andy Steel: Councillor Iain Nicolson (Convener): Councillor Jacqueline Cameron (Depute Convener): 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. 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 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. MARK CONAGHAN Head of Corporate Governance
Page 2
16/06/2022 Apologies Apologies from members. Declarations of Interest Members are asked to declare an interest in any item(s) on the agenda and to provide a brief explanation of the nature of the interest.
Page 3
16/06/2022 Items of business Strategic Leadership and Oversight, Tackling Poverty and Welfare Reform 1 Council Plan Six-month Update Report by Chief Executive 1 - 64 2 Social Renewal Update Report by Chief Executive 65 - 86 3 Local Child Poverty Action Report 2022 Report by Chief Executive 87 - 128 Adult Social Care 4 Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme Update Report by Chief Executive 129 - 140 Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis 5 Update on Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine Report by Chief Executive 141 - 146 Tourism, Leisure and Culture 6 Future Paisley 6-monthly Update Report by Chief Executive 147 - 176 7 OneRen Director Nominations Report by Chief Executive, OneRen 177 - 180
Page 4
No embedded text on this page.
Page 5
_______________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 22 June 2022 _______________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive _______________________________________________________________________ Heading: Council Plan – six months progress update _______________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 In September 2017, the Council approved the Council and Community Plans, which outlined an ambitious vision for Renfrewshire. The Council Plan covers the period 2017 to 2022 and sets the direction of the organisation, through five strategic outcomes. Service Plans for each Council service sit under this framework and describe in more detail how these priorities will be achieved, supplemented by a detailed action plan and performance scorecard. 1.2 Alongside Service Plan updates to policy boards, progress against the Council Plan objectives is regularly reported to the Leadership Board to enable scrutiny of the Council’s performance and priorities - ensuring the plans are agile enough to respond to local and national emerging themes whilst still delivering on the agreed strategic outcomes. 1.3 The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on Renfrewshire’s communities, residents and businesses and all Council services were impacted by restrictions. The Council worked with partners to continue to deliver vital services throughout the period, with many of our employees continuing to work in critical front-line services alongside significant numbers of employees who also continued to deliver services whilst working from home. New services and responsibilities were taken on by services in line with health restrictions and legislative requirements. 1.4 At the appropriate points during the pandemic, services worked to restart impacted services in line with Scottish Government guidance. In parallel to this work, the Council worked with partners to develop local recovery plans for Renfrewshire, which set out the key actions to be progressed to support communities and businesses to recover from the impact of the pandemic and have continued to progress during 2022. As restrictions have eased and we move into the next phase of the pandemic, the delivery of services is also being impacted by supply chain and cost inflation issues linked to the war in Ukraine and the wider cost of living crisis in relation to food and fuel costs in particular. The impact on services and across local communities is a key focus for the organisation. Item 1 Page 1 of 180
Page 6
1.5 Despite all the challenges our services and communities have faced, good progress has been made against the five Council Plan priorities. This report provides a Council wide progress update, in relation to existing Council Plan priorities and performance for 2021/22. Appendix 1 provides a detailed summary of progress against key actions and indicators. 1.6 Work is currently underway to develop a refreshed Council Plan and Community Plan, which will reflect the priorities of the organisation and of partners as we move forward from the pandemic. It is anticipated that both plans will be brought forward in Autumn 2022 for board approval. _______________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members of the Leadership Board note: • the progress achieved against the strategic outcomes since the last update to Leadership Board in December 2021, as outlined in appendix 1; • that this is the final report in relation to the implementation of the current Council Plan, which covered the period 2017-2022; and • that a new Council Plan is currently being developed and will be brought forward for approval in Autumn 2022. _______________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire’s Council Plan 2017 – 2022 describes how the organisation will achieve the vision of “working together for a thriving and connected Renfrewshire, creating opportunities for all” through five strategic priority areas: • Reshaping our place, our economy and our future • Building strong, safe and resilient communities • Tackling inequality, ensuring opportunities for all • Creating a sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy • Working together to improve outcomes 3.2 While the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how we work, deliver services and engage with communities, the organisation’s ambition for Renfrewshire remains and our five strategic priority areas also remain relevant and underpin our approach to recovery. 3.3 As agreed by Council, three core recovery plans were developed which have shaped the immediate activity of the Council – the Economic Recovery Plan, Financial Recovery Plan and the Social Renewal Plan. Taken together, these describe how Renfrewshire can learn, recover and build from the experiences of the pandemic - they are cross-cutting and drive the efforts of officers across the Council. 3.4 A new Council Plan for 2022-2027 is currently being developed, which will align to these recovery plans. They outline an approach to work together across services and sectors with a focus on the economy, our resilience, supporting our most vulnerable and those most impacted by the pandemic and to deliver a green recovery. 3.5 Council Plan activity also sits alongside the Council’s arrangements in terms of progressing and achieving best value which are considered within the Annual Audit Report published each year by Audit Scotland. Page 2 of 180
Page 7
A small number of recommendations have been made through the Annual Audit Reports, and progress against those pertaining to best value are tracked and reported within each update report to the Leadership Board and are mainstreamed within the Service Development Planning process which flows into the Council Plan monitoring and reporting process. 3.6 Within the Annual Audit Report for 2020/21, Audit Scotland confirm that: ‘The Council has an appropriate and effective Best Value framework in place. The Council continues to make positive progress addressing the recommendations contained in our 2016/17 Best Value Assurance Report. The Council’s performance management arrangements remained effective during the pandemic.’ 3.7 This assessment is very positive given the significant challenges experienced by the Council during 2020/21 in relation to COVID-19. _______________________________________________________________________ 4. Progress of the Council Plan during 2021/22 4.1 As outlined in Section 1, there are numerous concurrent challenges affecting our communities over the five-year Council Plan programme. Despite work priorities shifting as we supported our communities through these challenges over the last few years, strong progress has been made over the plan period. 4.2 Of the 55 actions within the current Council Plan, 48 actions have been completed to 100%. Some actions were delayed due to the unforeseen current events, and the remaining 7 actions will be carried into the new Council Plan, currently in development. 4.3 Key achievements since the previous update in December 2021 are grouped under each of the Council Plan strategic outcomes below. 4.4 RESHAPING OUR PLACE, OUR ECONOMY AND OUR FUTURE • Good progress continues to be made on the development of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) in Inchinnan. The two anchor facilities, the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and the UK’s Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) are scheduled to open in 2022. Success in attracting £38.7m of Levelling Up funding from the UK Government (the highest amount awarded to any Scottish bidder) will support the AMIDS South project which in turn will support AMIDS generating benefits for more of Renfrewshire, including employment, skills and economic growth. The need for delivery of investment at AMIDS is recognised within the Renfrewshire Economic Strategy 2020-2030 where it is noted as a key component. • The Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside project, part of the City Deal, is underway. The project, which will deliver a new swing bridge for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians, and will open for passing ships, is being delivered by GRAHAM and is due for completion in 2025. GRAHAM is currently subcontracting for initial piling works to begin in Autumn 2022. • The Council’s Employability Service continues to offer support on jobs and skills development. Youth employment is a key priority within the Economic Recovery Plan and figures have been improving monthly. A recent report from ONS and Scottish Government showed that Renfrewshire had the second highest youth employment rate in Scotland in 2021 at 67.4% (54.9% is Scotland average) and (by a considerable margin) the highest youth employment growth over the last 10 years across Scotland at 21.1% (against a Scotland increase of -0.3%). Page 3 of 180
Page 8
This shows the level of commitment and work on the youth employment agenda over the years, but particularly the last year. This is also evidenced in data about positive destinations from school which shows Renfrewshire as being the 4th top performing Council area in Scotland, with Council services and partners working effectively in partnership together to achieve this positive outcome for our young people. • The Council and its partners set out ambitious targets to create 700 new and additional jobs for unemployed young people in Renfrewshire by end December 2021 through the resources provided by the UK Government Kickstart Scheme and Scottish Government Young Persons Guarantee. The Kickstart scheme has now concluded and was very successful across Renfrewshire. The Council Kickstart Gateway placed young people into 408 roles across Renfrewshire, including 71 at Renfrewshire Council. The Renfrewshire Gateway was one of the largest in Scotland, again showing the commitment locally to support young people into work. The Young Persons Guarantee programme continues to perform well, and the Local Employability Partnership continue to be held up as best practice across Scotland for partnership working and commitment to improving the opportunities of local unemployed people. • The Council also coordinated, administered and delivered business grants and support to business impacted by the pandemic restrictions. The key Scottish Government grant programmes for businesses are now complete and it is estimated to be in the region of £169m distributed through awards to local businesses and self-employed people. The Council will continue to deliver a new £2.654m Covid programme to support business and employment this year. • In terms of wider regeneration, the Cultural Infrastructure programme continues to progress. The Paisley Museum Reimagined project appointed a main works contractor in May 2021, with a site start in July. The Paisley Town Hall Refurbishment main works contract was awarded in March 2021 and works have commenced on site, with Practical Completion anticipated in March 2023. The Paisley Learning & Cultural Hub main works contract is now underway with a site start during August 2021 and completion anticipated in early 2023. The Paisley Arts Centre refurbishment project now has advance works contract complete with main works commencing and due for completion in March 2023. The Public Realm & Junction improvements project has restarted which has been re-programmed to allow effective consultation. The Public Realm works in County Square and Abbey Quarter are being re-programmed to align with interdependencies in these projects. • Following approval from the Communities, Planning and Housing Policy Board in May 2021 of the £100million Housing Led Regeneration Programme for Renfrewshire, consultation took place with all residents impacted and other stakeholders. The programme will 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 Renfrewshire as a place and will be central to the economic and social recovery of Renfrewshire. • A new build housing programme for 2021/22 is being delivered with revised targets due to COVID- 19 restrictions. 95 newbuild homes in Johnstone Castle were completed in April 2021 and the Bishopton newbuild project delivered a range of house types, sizes and locations, with 80 spacious family and amenity homes which are energy efficient and affordable. Work commenced on site in Spring 2021 on 39 new homes at Auchengreoch Road in Johnstone and on 101 new homes in Ferguslie Park. • The Johnstone Castle project recently won the Scottish Home Awards Affordable Housing Development of the Year (Social Rent) and The Herald Property Awards Best Regeneration Project of the Year (Residential). Page 4 of 180
Page 9
• The Council has continued to modernise the school estate and the extensive £51.85m investment programme is supplemented by a School Improvement Fund (SIF) which has amounted to £4.35m. This fund supports smaller scale projects and a further allocation of £0.65m has been agreed from 2022 / 23 capital resources providing a total additional investment of £5m on school buildings. Council funding of £10m towards the construction of a new build Thorn Primary School was agreed in February 2022. A formal process of application is required in relation to securing LEIP phase 3 match funding and a project status evaluation document will be developed in due course. Bids are expected to be submitted for phase 3 funding in September / October 2022. • Plans to relocate Paisley Grammar School to a new build community campus have progressed. Space planning consultants have engaged in extensive consultation with stakeholders to develop a strategic brief which has been approved by the PGSCC Governance Board and site visits to benchmark with other projects across the country are being planned and undertaken. The multi- disciplinary design team has been appointed and the project team commenced engagement with Ryder Architects week beginning 30 May 2022. The Council’s vision for the new Campus is ambitious and forward thinking. It is expected that our designers will deliver an innovative and creative learning environment which is welcoming to all; learner focused; supportive and inclusive; sustainable; and agile enough to support the needs and aspirations of all users. • Renfrewshire’s major events programme was significantly impacted by the pandemic. A digital programme was designed to celebrate live events whilst restrictions around gatherings was still in place. A hybrid programme was designed and delivered for events in the latter half of 2021 with a combination of in-person and online events. A new interim events strategy was developed and approved at Leadership Board in February 2022. To date in 2022, we have already hosted Future Paisley Exhibition, Unboxed – About Us, and the successful Paisley Food Festival in April, and look forward to the beacon service for the Platinum Jubilee. 4.5 BUILDING STRONG, SAFE AND RESILIENT COMMUNITIES • The Council’s Communities and Public Protection services have supported services and communities in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on services and communities. During 2021/22 this has included: o recruiting additional Environmental Health Compliance Officers o assisting Public Health with contact tracing in educational establishments o delivery of Community Testing sites to assist with asymptomatic testing o supporting businesses to understand and remain compliant with all relevant Scottish Government COVID-19 legislation and guidance o supporting delivery of safe elections for the Scottish Parliament and Council by providing guidance and staff acting as COVID-19 Marshalls and COVID-19 Supervisors • During 2021/22 the Council continued to manage the Local Assistance Team for calls in relation to self-isolation/vaccinations. Following revised Scottish Government guidance, the Local Assistance Team have been stood down and completed their last calls on Saturday 30th April 2022. From 12/10/2020 until the service ended in April, a total of 26,587 calls were received made. The work undertaken by the team, often alongside their normal workload, has been outstanding and recognised by Scottish Government. • In terms of community resilience, the Neighbourhood Hub model which was put into place as part of the initial pandemic response continues to develop, with colleagues across the Council and our partners. Page 5 of 180
Page 10
The hubs operate on a partnership basis with Renfrewshire Leisure, the HSCP, Engage Renfrewshire, local groups and organisations across communities, and are supported by local volunteers. Support provided has included signposting to food services, delivering prescriptions, befriending calls to people who feel isolated or vulnerable, and delivery of books and toys through the Libraries Direct Service. • Local Partnerships have continued to operate through the pandemic. Awards were made to groups for activities for 12–25-year-olds through the “Celebrating Renfrewshire” participatory budgeting process in autumn 2021. Applications for wider local partnership funding are due to be considered in June 2022. • A framework for mainstreaming participatory budgeting has been drafted subject to further engagement with internal stakeholders. Alongside this, work has continued to develop our local approach to participatory budgeting, and work with Environment & Infrastructure continues to be delivered; phase 1 saw just under 3000 ideas from residents. The next stage of the #youdecide programme is being launched early autumn, whereby residents will be given the opportunity to vote on the projects they want to see delivered in their communities. The pilot schools participatory budgeting scheme, using cost of the school day monies has been a success, with 9 schools participating in the programme. • A new multi-agency service called Ren10 has been launched to improve families’ access to health and wellbeing support. Ren10 provides appropriate and proportionate help at the right time and focuses on bridging the gap between universal services that deal broadly with wellbeing and the highly special support for more severe mental health conditions. Key activity has included the development of Non-violence Resistance Approaches, Child Psychology Parent Drop Ins, inter- agency training and extensive digital supports have also been established. Interventions are framed within a context of open access to ensure families who believe they will benefit can seek support timeously. Over 1000 children and young people have been directly supported by a Ren10 resource, 125 of whom were care experienced. • Good progress has been made in delivering health improvement activity across Renfrewshire’s school establishments. A substantial programme of early intervention and prevention work has complemented support provision around key areas such as emotional literacy, substance misuse, relationships consent and coercive control. Significant work has been progressed through the Mentors in Violence Prevention Programme (MVP) to help young people understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy in their personal relationships. In secondary schools, peer mentoring programmes have supported younger learners to consider and discuss different scenarios such as behaviour online, the use of harmful language, coercive control, gender labelling, alcohol, and consent. In the last year, the MVP programme has been expanded with the development of a whole school approach (including teaching staff and support staff, business support and Active Schools) to maximise impact. Work is underway to offer training to Third sector partners involved in the Early Actions work, community sports clubs and other voluntary organisations such as Renfrewshire Scouts. This is multi-agency approach enables the coordination and targeted deployment of skills and resources across various settings, resulting in consistency of language and message across all stakeholders. • Pressures remain across the whole health and social care system and continue to severely impact acute hospitals. It is important that people who are no longer in need of medical care are supported to move on to a more appropriate setting, therefore, preventing unnecessary delays in discharge from hospital remains a priority. Extensive steps have been taken to ensure discharges are timely and safe, as a result, we are performing exceptionally well and ranked second lowest rate in Scotland and the lowest across Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Page 6 of 180
Page 11
Our response has included addressing care at home capacity and includes short-term placements in care homes whilst patients are waiting for home care services to become available. Early discussions are undertaken with patients and families, and all decisions are made on solid clinical grounds in order to ensure the most appropriate care for people. 4.6 TACKLING INEQUALITY, ENSURING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL • Throughout the pandemic, the needs of those who were homeless or in housing need have continued to be met. Staff from Homeless Services and the Housing Support team have used a Housing First approach in partnership with Turning Point Scotland and Blue Triangle Housing Association which has now been further upscaled from 18 service users at the beginning of the Renfrewshire’s Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP), to 57 individuals now being in receipt of this wraparound support at any one time, using both RRTP and Council funding. The Council has also launched a ‘shared living’ initiative with the Simon Community Scotland to support homeless applicants who want to share accommodation and deployed an officer from ‘Say Women’ to support young women (16- 25 years old) who have experiences sexual violence and are at risk of homelessness. • In line with the recommendations to the Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Board in October 2021, the Council is on track to have distributed the full Tenants Grant Fund allocation of £214,000 across the private and social rented sectors, to address rent arrears accrued by around 172 tenants, who met the applicable guidance and criteria. • Work is ongoing to assess the impact of the pandemic and cost of living crisis on low-income households. To inform the Social Renewal Plan, a Community Impact Assessment was undertaken in 2020 and is currently being updated, including a survey to the Public Service Panel to understand the changes people have experienced since the previous survey in 2020. • Through the Social Renewal Plan, which was agreed by Council in early 2021, work has been undertaken in terms of developing further supports around food and fuel insecurity, and the provision of advice and support for people in need of employment and money advice. A Social Renewal Lead Officer came into post in December 2021 and officers have continued to work with partners to progress actions in the Social Renewal Plan. The Social Renewal lead officer also supported coordination of Scottish Government Winter Support Fund to support low-income families and individuals, in line with the Social Renewal Plan priorities. Work to engage low-income households will be a priority in 2022. Actions achieved include: o An initial allocation of Community Food Funding approved in December 2021 o Funding for fuel supports, including financial supports provided o Establishment of a Fair Work advice service to provide employment advice o A money advice week took place after the success of benefit take up week o Affordable credit sessions provided to a number of diverse groups o Funding agreed for a ‘Digital Champions’ programme. • Alongside this targeted work, throughout the pandemic and recovery, the Council has administered a range of critical support payments for our citizens to help to prevent financial hardship, including self-isolation support grants, low-income pandemic payments and school meal payments. Page 7 of 180
Page 12
• Year 4 of the Tackling Poverty programme has continued, with services adapted as appropriate due to Covid. Street Stuff has taken more activities into the community to reach more young people. Cost of the school day funding has been used to directly support families, with the full allocation spent. • Renfrewshire Council has continued to support the delivery of the Connecting Scotland Programme which was established by Scottish Government and Scottish Council for Voluntary Services to provide digital connectivity to people in priority categories who did not have a device. Successful applications were submitted across all phases by Renfrewshire Council COVID-19 neighbourhood hubs, Children’s Services and Communities and Housing Services, with 999 devices secured for service users. A further 1602 devices were awarded to a wide range of Renfrewshire public sector and community-based organisations across all phases giving a total of 2601 for the Renfrewshire area. The Connecting Scotland Programme is now evaluating and redesigning, and a new programme is still to be announced. • Curriculum for Excellence attainment data shows that the pandemic had a negative impact on attainment, not only in Renfrewshire but across Scotland. Many of Renfrewshire’s most vulnerable families were disproportionately impacted by academic disruption, reduced opportunities for socialising and economic stress. Renfrewshire Council worked collaboratively with its partners to identify the children and young people in most need, with staff adapting their approaches to ensure families had the means and support to access learning opportunities. Good progress is being made with targeted and evidence-based interventions to support schools in literacy and numeracy as part of wider educational recovery. • Renfrewshire Council continues to evidence effective partner collaboration and the added value in terms of children and young people’s outcomes. Work is underway through the Renfrewshire Children’s Services Partnership to enhance the opportunities for data coordination. This strategic approach will ensure outputs from engagement activity are multi-purpose and are facilitated by the organisations/partners with the most appropriate relationship to the target group(s). Early work has also been progressed to develop a consistent approach to evaluation for those working with children and young people, ensuring evidence of impact is appropriately captured, particularly among third sector and community organisations. • A mid-year report was submitted to the Scottish Government providing an evaluation of the Scottish Attainment Challenge and progress made towards closing the poverty related attainment gap. We continue to deliver successful outcomes in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing resulting in attainment patterns which continue to sit above national average and compare very favourably with comparator data. In senior phase, patterns of attainment between Renfrewshire and its comparators are in line with previous years across all attainment cohorts • The Council is revisiting Renfrewshire Nurturing Relationships Approach to ensure that it is refreshed and embedded in the practice of all education staff within Renfrewshire Council and a new Principal Educational Psychologist has been appointed. This has been coupled with a renewed focus on GIRFEC and a continued drive towards meeting the aims of The Promise. The Promise Ambassador has been progressing supporting the implementation of The Promise. A large component of this role has been to raise the profile of the Promise through engaging with a wide range of staff teams and partners. Awareness raising sessions have been held to ensure all partners understand what role they play in ensuring that care experienced children and young people are appropriately supported. To support this work further, a set of values have been developed for professionals to #KeepthePromise. Page 8 of 180
Page 13
Promise Keepers are formally recruited and are responsible for acting as a champion for The Promise, ensuring that the recommendations and priorities remain at the forefront of discussions around service delivery and design. Good progress has been made to establish The Promise Self- Evaluation tool, which will be used to identify areas of best practice that can be shared to encourage partnership learning between staff teams and identify where services require further support to fully implement The Promise. The Council is currently recruiting a Promise Manager, a senior manager to take responsibility for leading, coordinating and driving the council’s delivery of the Promise in Renfrewshire. This post, which is jointly funded by all council services and Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership will be based in Children’s Services but operate across the wider partnership to ensure we #KeepthePromise’ • The projects within the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme are continuing to progress, including the Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire Programme, a partnership programme of work to ensure that recognising and responding to trauma is part of every service we deliver. A coordinator post has been created to lead this programme of work going forward, with recruitment currently underway. A steering group has been established, and engagement with the Improvement Service and other local authorities has taken place. An initial high-level action plan is currently being developed. Work has also progressed on the Stigma/Language Matters project with a marketing and communications activity plan being developed. 4.7 CREATING A SUSTAINABLE RENFREWSHIRE FOR ALL TO ENJOY • Climate change remains a key priority area for the Council and work is currently being progressed to develop a plan for Renfrewshire, which will set out the actions required to achieve the net zero by 2030 target set by Council in 2019. Phase 1 of the Plan for Net Zero is on schedule for completion by Summer 2022. Particular areas of progress include o The Climate Change Action Fund has been progressing at pace. To date, £978,000 has been allocated to support 14 projects including expanding the Council’s electric fleet; exploring the feasibility of a large-scale solar farm on the former landfill site in Linwood; developing a local response to ensure resilient town centres; net zero business support; community food growing; and a Community Climate Fund to provide awards to community organisations to develop localised green community projects and initiatives. o Following our residents Climate Survey, a representative sample of respondents formed Renfrewshire’s Climate Panel, which is part of the evidence base for the Plan for Net Zero, with 4 sessions to date (paused for the pre-election period). Engagement has also been undertaken across stakeholders, including traditionally under-represented groups, local organisations, public, private and third sector and community planning partners. o A baseline emissions inventory and trajectory to 2030 has been initially developed for Renfrewshire Council as an organisation as well as Renfrewshire area as a whole. This will help to develop focus areas and prioritise actions in order to reach net zero. o Further stakeholder, business and partner engagement is programmed throughout the remainder of the financial year to support the development of Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero. Officers have met with Engage Renfrewshire and Council colleagues leading on Renfrewshire’s Social Renewal Plan to discuss further engagement with particular groups on areas of overlap such as climate justice, food and fuel insecurity; and have established Renfrewshire’s Net Zero Network – an informal group of community planning partners and representatives from the business community to offer peer support around climate issues and identify shared areas of focus and potential opportunities for partnership working. Page 9 of 180
Page 14
• While carrying out the engagement and emissions baselining building blocks to give us a solid evidence base to design and deliver the Plan for Net Zero, services across the Council have continued to progress broader projects and approaches to reduce emissions and increase efficiencies across a wide range of critical areas in order to progress towards the 2030 target. This includes the construction of a low carbon district heating network at the AMIDS site, due for completion in summer 2022; linking with regional and national initiatives such as Climate Ready Clyde to progress the Adaptation Strategy for Glasgow City Region; a pilot Charity Shop Gift Card initiative in Renfrewshire which would promote local efforts in terms of the circular economy, whilst also offering a potential source of additional support for low-income households; and embedding sustainable procurement in our contracts to improve the social, environmental and economic wellbeing of our own area with a particular focus on reducing inequality whilst actively contributing to the Council’s net zero goal. • The Council’s Housing team have developed a collaborative and an innovative partnership with a research organisation to design and deliver a social housing new build development within the context of the Council-approved Regeneration and Renewal Programme on zero energy buildings, with follow on works concentrating on minimising the embedded and operational carbon in new building stock. It has also agreed a capital programme which will deliver more than £250m in capital investment in housing over the next 5 years with significant ramping up in years 2 and 3 for investment in homes to meet EESSH2032, SHQS and all other compliance requirements and to maintain these standards in the coming years. • Renfrewshire Council has switched 131 fleet vehicles from pollution emitting diesels to low emission electric vehicles. This is around 30% of our Council stock of vehicles. Increased publicly available EV chargers is being rolled out across Renfrewshire with 72 public charging bays currently in Renfrewshire and a further 54 charging bays planned in 2022. Charging points have been added at Castle Semple Visitor Centre Lochwinnoch, Johnstone Town Hall, Montrose Care Home in Foxbar and various Council owned car parks across Renfrewshire and additional charging infrastructure has been installed at the Underwood Road and Robertson Park depots. • Team Up to Clean Up activity considerably grew during the pandemic with almost 1,000 individual kits gifted to volunteers. The Campaign now has 3.8k active group members, who deliver between 10 and 40 litter picks each day and more than half of the 74 Green Spaces applications were submitted by volunteer groups in the campaign. Over the course of 2021, 4,696 community events took place, with 8965 volunteers collecting 18,056 bags of litter from Renfrewshire neighbourhoods and open spaces. This year, thousands of volunteers have carried out litter picks throughout April for Renfrewshire's Big Spring Clean. Throughout the month, more than 1,500 people took part in 544 litter picks, which is more than 18 per day. Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, Renfrewshire has climbed from 31st to 12th place in Scotland’s benchmarking table, the Local Environmental Auditing and Management System (LEAMS), for Street Cleanliness. 4.8 WORKING TOGETHER TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES • Protecting mental health and wellbeing of staff continues to be a priority and access to a wide range of mental health and wellbeing support and services has been provided. In 2021 there were many enhancements made to this support, such as the wellbeing hub, and enhancements to the staff counselling service. In May 2022 for Mental Health Awareness Week, communications were sent out to staff to remind them of the support available and sharing the stories of some members of staff willing to share their own stories with their experiences. The suite of staff mental health resources and training continues to be reviewed to expand this and offer additional supports. Work on this programme will continue throughout 2022. Page 10 of 180
Page 15
• The financial consequences of the pandemic have been substantial for the Council and the communities we serve; with both immediate and longer-term financial issues arising. The Scottish Government has confirmed its intention to publish a resource spending review in May 2022 which should provide additional context for the council’s financial plans; however the financial outlook is expected to remain challenging and service transformation along with other financial sustainability workstreams will be required to underpin the council’s medium term financial outlook. • The Council has worked hard to enhance staff engagement, effectively supporting Council staff as they transition from home working to hybrid working, communicating changes to COVID protocols in Council buildings. In January 2022, the Chief Executive invited staff to ask him anything and four short films related to health and wellbeing, transforming ways of working, future ambition, and getting to know him, were released responding to questions. This gave colleagues the opportunity to engage with the new Chief Executive, and get answers to anything concerning them. • People Strategy: ‘Our People Our Future 2021-2026’, was launched in Spring 2021, integrating the Council’s approach to organisational development and workforce planning into one strategy. Progress has been made across the 3 strategic priorities: o Health & wellbeing: The wellbeing strategy is being reviewed, which includes an annual action plan that incorporates a full calendar of health promotion activities. A number of events have taken place over the course of the year, resources and guidance was promoted and provided for staff on various topics, with a strong focus on mental health awareness. The results of the Smarter Working Staff Survey carried out in June 2021 was shared with our Trade Unions and are informing an action plan of wellbeing supports for staff and our approach to interim ways of working throughout 2021/22. o New ways of working – post pandemic: The Smarter Ways of Working Survey results were used to inform the council's approach to organisational restart. o Staff communication and engagement: We are building on positively received staff communications throughout COVID, by continuing to work closely with internal communications to deliver clear information to staff during recovery with regular updates provided via COSLA and the Scottish Government while interim working arrangements are in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of staff. To support and engage staff, a new employee benefits portal was launched in September 2021. • Training for ‘Leading our Values’ and ‘Living Our Values’ was provided for managers and staff during 2021, and a review of the impact of the training is scheduled to be carried out later in 2022. The process of embedding our values throughout our HR policies and corporate training has begun, which has commenced the cultural change journey of staff experiencing and demonstrating our values in their day-to-day interactions and behaviours. Work will continue embedding the Values throughout 2022. • Progress continues to be made on Right for Renfrewshire activities but at a slower pace than planned due to the impact of the pandemic on capacity. The programme is currently being reassessed to ensure it remains appropriate and continues to underpin the Council’s financial sustainability. Service redesigns within Finance and ICT are ongoing and will be fully implemented in 22/23. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – none 2. HR & Organisational Development – none Page 11 of 180
Page 16
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 2021/22. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets - none 6. Information Technology - none 7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 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 – section 4.7 has a particular focus on activities supporting this priority area. _______________________________________________________________________ Author: Seony Ross, Senior Planning and Policy Development Officer, Seony.Ross@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 12 of 180
Page 17
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 13 Council Plan Action Plan Generated on: 18 May 2022 Action Status Cancelled Overdue Unassigned; Check Progress Not Started; In Progress; Assigned Completed Local Outcome 01: Reshaping our place, our economy and our future Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CP17.D HS.08 Deliver our City Deal Projects - the Glasgow Airport Investment Area, the Airport Access Project, Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside and City Region wide employment programmes 31-Mar-2022 The monitoring of benefits associated with the City Deal Projects is ongoing and includes new residential and commercial developments, in the vicinity of both the GAIA and CWRR projects which has been accelerated as a result of the significant City Deal investment. It is estimated that circa 15% of the projected outputs and outcomes have been realised. 17-May-2022 Page 13 of 180
Page 18
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 14 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CP17.D HS.01 Support the Regional Economic Framework and locally driving economic progress through the Renfrewshire Economic Leadership Panel 31-Mar-2022 Work is ongoing to consider the future of the ELP and its link to the regional economic framework. In particular by aligning the ELP to sectoral growth ambitions. EKOS consulting have been commissioned to carry out analysis in support of ambitions. In addition, the ELP have been engaged on active travel, tourism and wider strategic projects such as the work of the city deal team and wider GCR matters. As we continue to move out of the Covid pandemic, the ELP will continue to play a key role in driving the Economic development Strategy. They have also been involved in the development of the wider place shaping ambitions. 17-May-2021 CP17.C E.01 Progress our digital ambitions, implementing free public wifi across our town centres and working with partners to promote digital skills and development 31-Mar-2022 A programme to implement the Digital Strategy "Digital Leadership & Skills" Workstream 2021/22 priorities has been progressing over the last 12 months as agreed with the Digital Board which includes Learning pathways in development with customisable content; Microsoft Office Specialist qualifications were launched which commenced in September 2021 at West College Scotland, with Fear Free Technology training scheduled to be rolled out in spring/summer 2022. The development of a Digital on-line community was launched in January 2022 to provide opportunities to share ideas, and resources and ask a Digital Champion a question: Monthly communications are planned via the Take 5 and will feature quick tips, features by Digital Champions and digital challenges for staff to upskill this group in the technologies/themes being rolled out and provide a dedicated on-line channel for regular communications and information for staff. Training in building “Digital Leaders” which will provide specific resources to support managers in embedding digital capabilities across their team is being developed by identifying Digital Champions with recruitment of this group which was planned for February 2022 and developing specific resources to support managers in embedding digital capabilities across their team will be promoted and implemented to begin from Summer 2022. 18-May-2021 CP17.R LL.01 Invest in our cultural and economic infrastructures, transforming Paisley Town Hall, Paisley Learning Hub and Paisley Museum 31-Mar-2022 The Cultural Infrastructure investment programme has progressed. The Paisley Museum Reimagined (PMR) project will appoint a main works contractor in May 2021, with a site start anticipated in July. The Paisley Town Hall Refurbishment (PTHR) main works contract was awarded in March 2021 and works have commenced on site, with Practical Completion anticipated in November 2022. The Paisley Learning & Cultural Hub (PL&CH) main works contract is in preparation, with an anticipated site start during August 2021 and completion in late 2022. The Paisley 17-May-2022 Page 14 of 180
Page 19
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 15 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date Arts Centre refurbishment design process is approaching completion, with an Advance Works contract planned for Autumn 2021, Main Works during 2022 and completion in January 2023. The Public Realm & Junction improvements project has restarted and will be carefully re-programmed to accommodate project updates and dependencies, with a view to completion of consultation and design processes by the end of 2021. CP17.D HS.02 Deliver on the ambitions of our town centre strategies, and specifically working with partners to transform Paisley Town Centre 31-Mar-2021 The Vision for Paisley Town Centre, developed in association with Scotland’s Towns Partnership and supported by Scottish Government, was launched by the Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government in Paisley in January 2020. This ambitious document sets out a 10 year transformation plan for the town centre as a place to live, to socialise and of civic life. Delivery of this strategy and those for Renfrewshire’s other centres has been supported by the award of funding from the Scottish Government Town Centre Fund and is the basis of further grant applications being developed during 2021/22. 17-May-2021 CP17.E C.01 Continue to invest in infrastructure to support growth - from road and rail links to bridges, cycle and pedestrian routes 31-Mar-2022 Restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic have had an impact on the ability to deliver infrastructure improvements this year. However, progress continues to be made on improving accessibility for disabled people at bus stops and providing new bus shelters in Renfrewshire and the strengthening of Crosslee Bridge, over the National Cycle Route N7. The opportunity has also been taken to progress designs for an off-road cycle link to the Hawkhead housing development and a bus turning loop in Erskine. The progress of the refurbishment of the footbridge across the White Cart was also delayed by Covid-19 restrictions and is now planned for reopening to pedestrian and cycle traffic in mid-May 2021. 28-Apr-2021 CP17.C E.02 Implement our destination marketing plans 31-Mar-2022 The purpose of the Paisley.is destination brand is to tell the story of Paisley and Renfrewshire in a new way and position the area as a great place to visit, live and invest – attracting visitors and talent. 13-Nov-2020 Page 15 of 180
Page 20
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 16 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date The four priorities for the year two marketing plan have been successfully delivered; developing brand partnerships; building the brand; raising the profile of Paisley and Renfrewshire; and developing engaging visitor campaigns. Key performance indicators for marketing and communications activity are outlined here: Digital footprint: Paisley.is unique page views - 497,000, more than doubled from Year 1: 245,000. Almost 12,000 social media followers and a social media reach of 3.5m Opportunities to see and hear something positive about Paisley and Renfrewshire (OTSH): 236m generated from 5030 media articles, with combined PR value of £10m 14 media familiarisation visits based around event weekends and Renfrewshire-wide itineraries have been delivered – golf, spa breaks, great outdoors, architecture. Brand activity included; the development and launch of the Wallace Begins trail, with Renfrewshire acting as a start point and gateway, and new connections made with The National Wallace Monument and Dumbarton Castle (9,600 visits to Wallace Begins on Paisley.is website generated via 787,971 search and display impressions); updated marketing collateral (Paisley Walking Trail and Great Things to See and Do in Renfrewshire); local, regional and national distribution of Renfrewshire marketing collateral in hotels and visitor accommodations, visitor attractions, leisure and retail attractions and other large public venues. Through VisitScotland partnership, 4 paid-for campaigns targeted at visitors living within a two-hour drivetime of Renfrewshire generated over 5.7 million impressions of Paisley.is brand and over 30,000 unique visits to the Paisley.is website. Exhibited at VisitScotland Expo. 5 strategic partnerships established: Scotrail, VisitScotland, EventScotland, Glasgow City Region and Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce. Page 16 of 180
Page 21
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 17 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date 7 media partnerships activated: The Herald/Newsquest, The List, The Skinny, Capital FM, What’s On Network, Ocean Outdoor and MILL Magazine. Delivered marketing campaigns for 15 town centre events, including national event marketing for Paisley Food & Drink Festival, Paisley Halloween Festival and The Spree. CE.SIP. 17.01. 01 Deliver a range of diverse and exciting events to increase visitors to our town centre and grow local event attendances 31-Mar-2018 The 2019 annual events programme (15 events) was successfully delivered, including 4 major visitor events - Paisley Food and Drink Festival, British Pipe Bands Championships, The Spree Festival and Paisley Halloween Festival – with the Halloween festival alone drawing an audience of over 40,000 people. The programme delivered 156,024 attendees, £3.4m combined economic impact, supported 108 volunteers and achieved an overall event satisfaction rating of 97%. A new events strategy is being developed to enable the reintroduction of an events programme in 2021 that can accommodate COVID-19 safety measures and restrictions. Work continues at a national level with EventScotland to support the national restart plan 13-Nov-2020 CP17.D HS.03 Work to increase the number of new business and social enterprise start ups in Renfrewshire, using innovative approaches to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation 31-Mar-2022 The team provide the one-to-one business advice and support needed to get an idea off the ground and help develop the new business. Each business gets access to research and information, workshops, training, and expert help for their business. During 2021/2022, 273 businesses were started with the support of the team. Start-Up Street is our new initiative offering new and growing businesses low-cost, high-quality workspace and wraparound support for up to 2 years. Our first Enterprise Centre located in George Street, Paisley was launched in October 2020, 30 new business start-ups have benefitted from support. Other new centres are being developed are in Johnstone and Renfrew. The InCube Creative programme aims to work intensively with up to 20 start-up and early stage businesses per annum in order to increase their survival during the crucial early years when they are most vulnerable. To date more than 60 businesses have participated in the programme 19-May-2022 Page 17 of 180
Page 22
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 18 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CP17.D HS.04 Proactively work with property owners to bring some of the area's most valued assets back into use 31-Mar-2022 Active progress has been made across several buildings. 2/3 County Place, Paisley refurbishment has been completed; as has the refurbishment of the former Johnstone Police Station with grant support from the Council and Scottish Government; the Leadership Board has approved grant support for the Liberal Club and 5 George Place in Paisley; the Council has secured £800k from Scottish Government for PACE theatre’s new youth theatre project. Further work is progressing on priorities such as Forbes Place in Paisley and Renfrew's former police station. 19-May-2022 CP17.D HS.05 Support growth activity in relation to emerging manufacturing, digital, culture and food industries locally 31-Mar-2022 The Marketing and Communications service have completed a new inward investment section on Paisley.is. The team continue to work with Economic Development to create content in relation to growth sectors, property search and a referrals and enquiries process. Marketing includes the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), Glasgow Airport Investment Area (GAIA) , and Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside (CWRR), including promotional information for potential investors/locators and a route for referrals and enquiries. AMIDS is being showcased by several national and regional partners including UK Dept of Trade & Industry, Scottish Development International, Scottish Cities Alliance and Invest Glasgow. Further activity included the promotion of the procurement exercise to recruit a Joint Venture partner for AMIDS, support of an SDI-led virtual showcase for investors including promotion online and via trade press. This work is ongoing and will be carried into 2022-23 as the sector growth work develops. 19-May-2022 Page 18 of 180
Page 23
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 19 Local Outcome 02: Building strong, safe and resilient communities Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CP17.D HS.09 Deliver the Local Housing Strategy to ensure good quality and affordable housing is available which meets the needs of the local population going forward 31-Mar-2021 This Action was completed at the end of 2021. Achievements included: • 195 affordable homes which can be attributed to good partnership working between various Services in the Council as well as positive working relationships with Housing Associations and various other sectors of the house building industry. • A further 219 affordable homes in 2020/21 • 2,715 owners who stay in pre-1919 tenement property were sent information on the Council missing share scheme. • Funding from the Scottish Government’s Home Energy Efficiency Initiative for Scotland: Area Based Schemes (HEEPS:ABS) was used for external wall insulation projects with around 247 tenants and 204 owners in Whitehaugh, Blackstoun, Gallowhill, Bridge of Weir, Kilbarchan, Howwood, and Inchinnan benefitting from this initiative. • Paisley Housing Association were successful in receiving funding of £11,495 in 2019/20 from Energy Action Scotland’s Fuel Poverty Challenge, to provide a Fuel Bank Voucher Service to assist tenants in crisis. A further £49,975 was awarded by the Energy Saving Trust for a 2-year energy advice project starting in September 2020. • The HomeChoice@Renfrewshire Homexchange Shop helped 1,144 visiting customers and assisted 162 customers to register for a mutual exchange through the online service. • A further 73 applicants self-registered for a mutual exchange, with the Council enabling 17 successful mutual exchanges in 2019/20. 24-May-2022 CP17.D HS.06 Work to tackle unregistered private landlords to ensure required housing standards are met 31-Mar-2022 This action was completed in 2020, the following text is updated to then. An enhanced enforcement activity programme remains in place for landlords within the private rented sector. Officers continue to work with private landlords to improve the standard of housing across Renfrewshire. To date, 284 unregistered landlords have been identified during the 19/20 financial year. Of these, 212 have applied to be entered onto the Register of Private Landlords and the remaining landlords are at 13-Nov-2020 Page 19 of 180
Page 24
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 20 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date various stages of enforcement action for failing to register. 28 Repairing Standards visits have been undertaken within this timescale to enforce remedial works to address various areas of disrepair within these properties. CHS.SIP .17.06. 06 Implement recommendations flowing from the national reviews of child protection and the care system. 31-Mar-2020 This action was completed in 2020, the following text is updated to then. We are continuing to improve culture, ethos and practice by quality assuring our practice against the lessons learned from National and Local Initial Case Reviews (ICRs) and Significant Case Reviews (SCRs), identifying existing good practice and highlighting areas for development. In addition, Renfrewshire is part of the North Strathclyde Region who has been successful in becoming one of the first areas nationally to pilot and implement the learning from the new Joint Investigative Interview course. Our successful application, ‘A Holistic Trauma Approach to Joint Investigative Interview (JII), brings together the North Strathclyde Partnership (East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, Inverclyde, “K” Division and “G” division) and 3rd sector partners Children 1st, in a development based on the European Promise quality standards. The Independent Care Review was published in February 2020 and any updated policy and guidance emerging from both these reviews will be implemented as it becomes available. 13-Nov-2020 CHS.SIP .17.06. 03 Continue to develop residential provision in childcare. 30-Nov-2018 Our newest Children’s house in Linwood was completed at the end of January 2019 and became operational in February 2019. 13-Nov-2020 CP17.E C.02 Develop and deliver strategies for how the Council will respond locally to the risks posed by serious organised crime and terrorism 31-Mar-2022 The multi-agency Community Protection (Prevent) Steering Group has been established with key partners across Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. Partners include: • Renfrewshire Council • Police Scotland • Scottish Fire and Rescue Service • Scottish Ambulance Service • Scottish Prison Service • West College Scotland • University of the West of Scotland • Good Shepherd • Kibble • Spark of Genius The Operational Working Group has also been established in Renfrewshire to lead on the agenda and feed into the wider multi-agency divisional meeting. The Group will look at both Counter Terrorism and Serious and Organised Crime. An action plan has 13-Nov-2020 Page 20 of 180
Page 25
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 21 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date been developed to allow partnership working and a sub group is being established to look at disrupting and deterring serious and organised crime. CP17.H SCP.01 Design a new way of working with key partners to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable adults in our area, ensuring they get the right support at the right time 31-Mar-2022 The IJB’s Strategic Planning Group, consisting of members from the HSCP, Third Sector, partners in the NHS and Renfrewshire Council and wider representatives of carers and service users, has worked collaboratively to improve local relationships. A range of collaborative and partnership-based projects have been taking place since early 2021 to address agreed priorities covering (i) loneliness and social isolation; (ii) lower-level mental health and wellbeing; (iii) housing as a health issue; (iv) inequalities; (v) early years and vulnerable families and (vi) healthy and active living. Subsequent funding has provided (and will provide) a unique opportunity for both collaborative cross-sector working and innovative design and development of community-based health initiatives. The HSCP is currently funding10 projects involving around 14 local organisations Focused on our shared priorities, these projects will support families with young children; people with mental health issues; people from BAME communities; and people with disabilities; as well as the general Renfrewshire population. All funding applications had to also outline how their proposal would support those most adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The successful projects were assessed positively by an independent panel on their ability to be scaled up and sustained if successful. Due to the pandemic, some of the projects are slightly behind schedule, however they will be evaluated during 2022 and the SPG will work together to move to the next phase of addressing priorities. In support of this, the HSCP has also implemented cross-sectoral working through the Voluntary Sector Group, which has the objective of improving working between organisations in the third sector and the HSCP. This enables broader discussions on current and future approaches to service delivery. In addition, the HSCP and Renfrewshire Council worked jointly with Engage Renfrewshire to undertake the assessment of proposals for funding to implement Community Mental Health and Wellbeing initiatives. This funding was allocated by the Scottish Government to Third Sector Interfaces and there has been close 23-May-2022 Page 21 of 180
Page 26
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 22 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date partnership working to ensure that funded projects meet local priorities. In total over 50 projects have been funded with a share of £550k funding. CP17.D HS.07 Along with our key partners we will monitor and review the impact of the range of services we provide to homeless people and those threatened with homelessness 31-Mar-2022 A Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RRTP) for Renfrewshire was approved by the Policy Board in August 2019. The RRTP, which had been agreed with partners, details how we would improve the outcomes for homeless applicants between 2019 and 2024, and £183k was awarded from the Scottish Government to support its implementation in 2019/20. This funding has been used to deploy Temporary Resettlement Officers, upscale our use of the Housing First approach to 30 service users, and launch a Shared Living Initiative in partnership with Simon Community Scotland to support homeless people who were interested in sharing a tenancy. A Steering Group with membership from a range of partners was established to track the implementation of the RRTP, chaired by Head of Housing & Planning Services. The Renfrewshire Homelessness Partnership continues to meet regularly to monitor and review all the measures in place to support those who are homeless. During the pandemic, Operational letting activity has continued to focus on the provision of temporary and settled accommodation for homeless people and other people with the highest levels of housing need, in keeping with the needs based framework set out in the housing allocation policy. This sustained focus on homelessness was necessary, in order to enable people to move on from temporary accommodation to settled housing, create greater capacity within the system and return to a situation where it would not be necessary to use B&B accommodation. 13-Nov-2020 CRSIP1 7.01.0 3.07 Develop and deliver phase 2 of the Renfrewshire Community Safety Partnership hub. 31-Mar-2018 Phase 2 of the Renfrewshire Community Safety Hub has been completed with the Renfrewshire Wardens fully integrated into the Hub. The proposal is to move onto Phase 3 to continue to expand the hub. This will include reviewing and implementing outcomes from the Collaborative Leadership Programme led by Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Phase 3 will also include the Community Safety Hub assisting regeneration projects by expanding the public space CCTV network to include Paisley Town Hall, Paisley Museum (whilst under refurbishment) and Robertson Park. To assist the Joint Agency Command Centre (JACC), a direct link between CCTV and the Conference Room will be integrated to allow real time images to be displayed to partners. 13-Nov-2020 Page 22 of 180
Page 27
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 23 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CP17.C S.01 Continue to modernise our school estate, maximising opportunities for communities to benefit from new facilities 31-Mar-2022 The Council’s extensive £51.850m investment programme is supplemented by a School Improvement Fund (SIF) which has amounted to £4.35m. This fund supports smaller scale projects and a further allocation of £0.65m has been agreed from 2022 / 23 capital resources providing a total additional investment of £5m on school buildings. Paisley Grammar School Community Campus: Space planning consultants have engaged in extensive consultation with stakeholders to develop a strategic brief which has been approved by the PGSCC Governance Board and site visits to benchmark with other projects across the country are being planned and undertaken. Council funding of £10m towards the construction of a new build Thorn Primary School was agreed in February 2022. A formal process of application is required in relation to securing LEIP phase 3 match funding and a project status evaluation document will be developed in due course. Bids are expected to be submitted for phase 3 funding in September / October 2022. 04-May-2022 CE.SIP. 18.02. 01 Work with key partners in local areas to empower people to develop and deliver services, assets and facilities in their local communities 31-Mar-2021 This action was completed in 2020, the following text is updated to then. Along with investment such as the Community Empowerment Fund, work continues with key community organisations to develop partnerships and their ideas for local communities and assets. Nine applications totalling £173,760 have been awarded from the Community Empowerment Fund to support community organisations to progress their plans using Community Asset Transfer. In total 22 projects have been awarded funding with the total amount awarded to date being £353,235. 13-Nov-2020 CE.SIP. 18.02. 02 Implement a new approach for Local Area Committees 31-Mar-2019 This action was completed in 2020, the following text is updated to then. Local Partnerships are now fully operational. All Local Partnerships have agreed membership and a set of local priorities. These local priorities are informing the award of local grants and other development work. Meetings to decide 2020/21 grant allocations were postponed in March 2020 due to COVID-19 but took place in September 2020. A very successful Participatory Budgeting pilot took place, with young people aged 12-25 having a direct say on the allocation of £150,000 of grant funding. Young 17-May-2021 Page 23 of 180
Page 28
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 24 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date people have designed and delivered the process, including identifying priorities, agreeing criteria for the fund, supporting applicants and delivering an announcement event. Another round of ‘Celebrating Renfrewshire’, the youth-led participatory budgeting exercise, was successfully completed in December 2020 in partnership with Youth Services and Renfrewshire Youth Voice. Over 1,700 young people voted on the 80 project ideas which were submitted, and £124,437 was awarded to youth projects across Renfrewshire, with 68 projects receiving funding across the seven Local Partnership areas. Renfrewshire was one of the few local authorities in Scotland to carry out Participatory Budgeting exercises in 2020/21. The Partnerships and Inequalities Team have also been supporting Environment and Infrastructure with the design of the Community Investment Fund, which will be the Renfrewshire Council’s first step towards mainstream Participatory Budgeting. CE.SIP. 18.02. 03 Work with communities to develop local action plans to tackle the issues people care about most 31-Mar-2021 Each of the seven Local Partnerships has agreed a set of local priorities that they want to take action on. Award of funding to community groups through the Local Partnership is guided by the local priorities, with community groups asked to demonstrate how their project will contribute to delivery of local priorities. Another round of ‘Celebrating Renfrewshire’, the youth-led participatory budgeting exercise, was successfully completed in December 2020 in partnership with Youth Services and Renfrewshire Youth Voice. Over 1,700 young people voted on the 80 project ideas which were submitted, and £124,437 was awarded to youth projects across Renfrewshire, with 68 projects receiving funding across the seven Local Partnership areas. Renfrewshire was one of the few local authorities in Scotland to carry out Participatory Budgeting exercises in 2020/21. The Partnerships and Inequalities Team have also been supporting Environment and Infrastructure with the design of the Community Investment Fund, which will be the Renfrewshire Council’s first step towards mainstream Participatory Budgeting. 17-May-2021 CE.SIP. 18.02. 04 Make Renfrewshire a leader in supporting volunteering within communities 31-Mar-2021 During the pandemic, a national campaign called Scotland Cares was launched to encourage people to volunteer to support the pandemic response. Over 50,000 people signed up to volunteer in Scotland, with over 1,100 registered in Renfrewshire. At a local level officers worked closely with Engage Renfrewshire to 13-Nov-2020 Page 24 of 180
Page 29
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 25 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date develop our local volunteering response through the Renfrewshire Volunteer Reserve Bank, to which 248 people signed up. Local volunteers are at the heart of the neighbourhood hub model being developed in partnership with communities. The Neighbourhood Hub model which was put into place as part of the initial pandemic response, continues to develop with colleagues across the Council and our partners. Seven hub areas have been established, supported through three physical locations in in Renfrew, Paisley and Linwood. The hubs operate on a partnership basis with Renfrewshire Leisure, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, Engage Renfrewshire, local groups and organisations across communities, and are supported by local volunteers. The hub teams have provided support services to over 300 households since the start of the lockdown period. Support provided has included befriending calls to people who feel isolated or vulnerable, signposting to food services and delivery of books and toys through the Libraries Direct Service. Hubs have also taken responsibility for the prescription delivery service operation. In addition, there is a new focus from October 2020 on those required to self-isolate due to the Test and Protect programme. Page 25 of 180
Page 30
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 26 Local Outcome 03: Tackling inequality, ensuring opportunities for all Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CP17.C S.02 Take forward a "Celebrating Youth" programme, offering young people in Renfrewshire the chance to get involved and to participate in a range of social, cultural, digital and sport activities. 31-Mar-2022 Youth Services and Renfrewshire Youth Voice planned the “Celebrating Youth” programme during the Youth Voice Residential which focused on the 2019 theme of “Participation”, this included: • Support for young people to attend youth voice groups and events through the Scottish Attainment Challenge and Young Scot partnership project; including smart travel and rewards and discounts. • Youth Voice Residential involving young people from youth voice groups, young carers, volunteers to plan year programme and events. • Participation Roadshow running over the summer school holidays to community venues across Renfrewshire: Youth-led “Escape Rooms” events focussing on problem-solving and team working, Young Scot information, Youth Voice and Participation workshop, promotion of the Celebrating Youth Participatory Budgeting programme. • Planning and organising an issue-based Climate Change event for encouraging youth action on environmental issues. • Outdoor Learning Programmes during holidays for young people to get outdoors; identifying focus of future community based environmental projects and after school clubs. • Youth Events Panel continue beyond Year of Young People, to work with RC Events Team to engage young people in cultural events; the Spree, Youth Arts Festival, Halloween Festival, etc. 13-Nov-2020 Page 26 of 180
Page 31
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 27 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date • Community youth clubs participating in workshops with artists to participate in the Halloween parade and aerial displays. • Planning for Positive About Youth Awards, 9th year celebration of youth achievement; nominations open with venue, media company and event management progressing. Digital Academy to involve young people in creating content for Young Scot portal/council website CP17.C S.03 Ensure Renfrewshire is a "Child Friendly" place where children are nurtured and thrive. 31-Mar-2022 With the appointment of the new Principal Educational Psychologist we are revisiting Renfrewshire Nurturing Relationships Approach to ensure that it is refreshed and embedded in the practice of all education staff within Renfrewshire Council. This has been coupled with a renewed focus on GIRFEC and The Promise. 04-May-2022 CHS.SIP .17.02. 04 Further develop our early years curriculum to support new legislation and in particular the additional hours being allocated for early learning and childcare. 31-Jul-2021 Renfrewshire Council has fully implemented the expansion of 1140 hours of early learning and childcare to eligible children, with all children aged 3 to 5 years and eligible 2-year-olds now receiving this provision. This is despite a delay, due to the Covid pandemic, in some of the Council’s planned infrastructure work required to support the expansion. 04-May-2022 CP17.C S.04 Provide high quality education and support to narrow the poverty related attainment gap 31-Mar-2022 A mid-year report was submitted to the Scottish Government providing an evaluation of the Scottish Attainment Challenge programme. In summary, patterns of attainment are similar to previous years. Comparison to winter 2020 data suggests that: • Attainment in P1 has increased across all measures and decreases in overall figures are due to lower P4 figures. • Decreases are largest in SIMD 30% most deprived group. • Decreases are largest in quartile 2 schools. • Listening & talking figures remain consistent across all stages. • Attainment in quartile 4 schools has increased across all measures. 04-May-2022 Page 27 of 180
Page 32
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 28 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date • Comparison to June 2021 figures for P1/P2 and P4/P5 cohorts suggests figures are lower than in June. However, variation in type of data collected. • Attendance - there were some improvements in 21-22 but this is not a direct comparison to previous years due to schools closures / periods of home learning. Health and Wellbeing - a range of central data has been collected this year, including the HWB national census data. This data demonstrates that services and interventions are having a positive impact on the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people. CP17.C E.07 Working with local equalities led community groups and employees to implement specific and meaningful equalities outcomes 31-Mar-2022 Following engagement, draft equality outcomes were agreed by Council and published in March 2021. Work to further consult and develop the draft Equality Outcomes will be developed as part of the development of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme. 19-May-2022 CP17.H SCP.02 Develop innovative approaches for tackling social isolation across all groups in society 31-Mar-2022 The HSCP is one of the lead organisations who support residents experiencing social isolation. Its strategic partnerships and operational interfaces with Housing and third sector organisations are enabling us to better to identify and support adults who may have little contact with other people, and offer a range of ways to connect them into their communities; support services and social activities. The HSCP support numerous services who are supporting different approaches to tackle isolation including the Community Connectors Programme, ROAR – Connections for Life and the Carers Centre which help people sustain and renew connections with others. ALISS (A Local Information Service for Scotland) provides access to over 200 community-based resources that can help to improve health and wellbeing. In the context of self-directed support, ALISS provides greater choice for adults and carers, enabling them to access information about resources in their communities, to support them to achieve their identified outcomes. Many people use self-directed support budgets to access services which allow them opportunities to interact with others and take part in purposeful activity that specifically interests them, 24-May-2022 Page 28 of 180
Page 33
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 29 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date The Community Connectors programme, based in local GP Practices, continues to provide vital support to people in local communities to address social issues via Community Link workers, local health champions and a specialist housing advice worker. The partnership approach of this programme has been recognised as having benefits in supporting local people as well as reducing unnecessary appointments with GPs. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Active Communities provided a befriending service which was utilised by workers in the Neighbourhood Hubs, enabling them to refer people feeling isolated or lonely as a result of COVID-19. Since then, funding has been secured to work with the STAR Project and ROAR – Connections for Life to increase the number of volunteer befrienders for health and social care staff in locality teams to refer people to with the prime objective being to increase social connectedness. The work of the HSCP complements the activity led by the Council to ensure Renfrewshire is a safe, thriving and inclusive community and help people to overcome the impacts of poverty and poor health. CP17.H SCP.03 Take forward targeted action to address the number of drug related deaths in Renfrewshire 31-Mar-2022 The projects within the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme are continuing to progress, including the Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire Programme – a partnership programme of work to ensure that recognising and responding to trauma is part of every service we deliver. A coordinator post has been created to lead this programme of work going forward, with recruitment currently underway. A steering group has been established, and engagement with the Improvement Service and other local authorities has taken place. An initial high-level action plan is currently being developed. Work has also progressed on the Stigma/Language Matters project with a marketing and communications activity plan being developed, with objectives including: demonstrating leadership by ensuring the Council does not use language that stigmatises people in public and staff communications; supporting staff across partner organisations to understand the power of language, be confident in their use of language and to challenge stigma by speaking up when people make negative or wrong comments; and, supporting national campaigns to help people in Renfrewshire understand the power of language. A training module has also been developed with HR/OD, which will be used to roll out to staff. 19-May-2022 Page 29 of 180
Page 34
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 30 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CP17.R LL.02 Maximise use of leisure assets in Renfrewshire, promoting positive health and mental wellbeing 31-Mar-2022 In addition to the main cultural, sport and leisure activities available in our cultural and leisure facilities, OneRen runs a range of classes, activities and projects in our libraries, leisure centres, museums and town halls which advise on, promote, support and encourage positive health and mental wellbeing. Since COVID-19 restrictions have lifted, the OneRen team has worked hard to provide a wide range of programmes and activities for our communities to get involved with in person. Shifting engagement back to in person events. Our venues are now back up and running with full opening hours and increased capacity, with full and varied timetables of activities. Highlights from 1st October to 31st March include: A successful in person Paisley Book Festival with 96 events and 1941 attendees, with excellent feedback from those who attended. This included our biggest schools programme yet for the festival with 30 events in school and public libraries. We recorded 434574 indoor leisure attendances including swims, group exercise, court usage, gym usage, clubs and events. Public libraries saw 63290 physical attendances (49,275 more than the same time the previous year) as well as 71685 physical book issues. An outdoor camp run by our sports services sector took 34 children away for 2 weeks to take part in 6 different outdoor activities. The Performance Programme facilitated by our arts team launched its first season of live performances since the closure of the Paisley Arts Centre for refurbishment, one event attracted 114 children, many of which would have been experiencing live performance for the first time. 13-Nov-2020 One Ren CP17.C S.05 Review support for young carers, identifying opportunities to improve life chances 31-Mar-2022 Support for young carers’ is being embedded within our wider GIRFEC approach, rather than as a stand-alone service. The development of new, multi-agency community-based family support service, will co-ordinate the identification and provision of holistic supports to young carers. 19-May-2022 CE.SIP. 18.03. 02 Deliver approaches to help mitigate the impacts on low income households of the next phase of Welfare Reforms 31-Dec-2018 A programme of work was completed with the rollout of Universal Credit in September 2018. Well-developed management arrangements were put in place to monitor Universal Credit rollout and the change in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction caseloads, as well as monitor rent and council tax income and arrears levels. This supported effective workforce planning and revenue collection activities. 13-Nov-2020 Page 30 of 180
Page 35
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 31 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CE.SIP. 18.03. 03 Deliver a range of interventions to support financial inclusion across Renfrewshire 31-Mar-2019 This action was complete in 2020 and the note reflects to that point. The programme is being reviewed under the Fairer Renfrewshire banner. The Tackling Poverty Programme continues to deliver a range of projects to support families living in poverty. In this period, targeted income maximisation support has put £1.7million in the pockets of low-income families, as well as continuing to provide services such as holiday provision with a healthy meal, breakfast clubs and services which support the mental health and wellbeing of young people. The Local Child Poverty Action Plan, developed in partnership with the HSCP and NHS GGC, was published in June 2019, the learning from which will influence the direction of the Tackling Poverty year 3 programme. The second annual report was published in September 2020. Working in partnership with Renfrewshire Leisure, free sanitary products are now available in town halls, community centres and libraries. This was launched as part of a wider ‘Period Poverty’ campaign during Challenge Poverty Week in October 2019. 13-Nov-2020 CHS.SIP .18.03. 07 Introduce a youth and equalities forum as a key element of local engagement. 31-Mar-2022 Youth Services continue to support the development of Youth Voice initiatives - Renfrewshire Youth Voice (RYV), including the Youth Events Panel, Youth Commission on Mental Health, newly elected Members of Scottish Youth Parliament, and senior members from Community Youth Clubs. Youth Services and RYV have jointly run a Youth Leadership training course in 2019, which included roadshows and youth participation events across the authority. Partnership working with Children’s Services has seen RYV involved in the forthcoming PSHE review in schools, youth perspective on developing Council Values, links to Local Partnership Forums, and the Participatory Budgeting process for the Youth Challenge Fund. In collaboration with Youth Services, a large-scale consultation with young people to develop a ‘Framework for Personal and Social Education in Renfrewshire’ took place in 2019/20. 13-Nov-2020 Page 31 of 180
Page 36
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 32 Local Outcome 04: Creating a sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CRSIP1 7.01.0 4.17 Finalise the delivery of the project to replace all street lighting in Renfrewshire with LEDs. 30-Sep-2017 Renfrewshire’s Street Lighting Investment Strategy has now been completed, with 30,756 street lights being converted to LED Lanterns at the end of 2018/19. 13-Nov-2020 ECSIP1 8.04.0 4 Work to meet the challenging targets set out in our carbon management plan – through our council fleet, street lighting, public realm and floodlight strategy 31-Mar-2021 To support the growing number of EVs in the Council Fleet, EV Chargers have been installed in Operational Depots at Underwood Road and Robertson Park as well as HCSP facilities at Mile End Centre, Montrose Care Home, and Johnstone Town Hall to increase the provision of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure and deployment of Low Emission Vehicles at these locations. 28-Apr-2021 ECSIP1 8.04.0 5 Ensure a residual waste treatment and disposal facility is fully operational by end of 2019 as part of the Clyde Valley Waste Management solution 31-Dec-2019 The Council, in collaboration with four other councils, has invested in the Clyde Valley Waste project, an energy from waste plant at Dunbar at a cost of £177 million with a total contract value of £700m over the 25-year period. This will enable the Council to meet its landfill diversion targets. The contract commenced in January 2020 and the project is now being delivered. 13-Nov-2020 ECSIP1 8.04.0 6 Deliver the requirements of the Scottish Household recycling charter and related service changes 31-Mar-2021 Renfrewshire Council has implemented the charter by improving on the waste collection tonnages (accounting for the COVID-19 recovery). Various initiatives have been delivered in support of the Recycling Charter including consultation with householders and a school project (which had been delayed by COVID-19). Assessment of school recycling performance has been completed. The Circular Economy Bill has been delayed by the Scottish Government. Consultation and a routemap for waste are expected to be published in May 2022. The service has been working alongside Climate Change Champions throughout schools in Renfrewshire. Champions have had visits to Enva to raise awareness and enhance education on recycling. 28-Apr-2021 Page 32 of 180
Page 37
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 33 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date The revised charter and route map will provide a foundation from which further changes can be made. The Deposit Return Scheme will be launched on 16 August 2023. Implications for Local Authorities are still being determined. Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme has not yet been laid before UK parliament. Relevant tonnage information and composition of waste streams will be considered to determine how these schemes are implemented across Renfrewshire. Baseline information has been gathered in 21/22 for all waste streams; residual, food/green waste, paper and card and mixed plastic and cans. . ECSIP1 8.04.0 7 Review and update Renfrewshire’s Sustainable Food Strategy and achieve Sustainable Food City Status 31-Mar-2021 Restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic have had an impact on the ability to achieve Sustainable Food City Status. 28-Apr-2021 ECSIP1 8.04.0 8 Deliver the Team Up, To Clean Up campaign throughout Renfrewshire, involving local communities 31-Mar-2021 During 2020/21 the service targeted fly-tipping and addressed a number of areas where extensive flytipping over the years had blighted the community. Work was also undertaken to secure other open spaces where fly-tipping is prevalent. The COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for Team Up to Clean Up litter picking activity. Volunteers, many furloughed or with less hours needed on site for work, ventured out alone, or with their families, to clean up their neighbourhoods. This resulted in almost 700 litter picking kits being handed out to volunteers across Renfrewshire in 2020/21. An unprecedented volume of community activity has taken place over the last 12 months; 2,958 volunteers have gone out litterpicking on 1,842 occasions, removing 8,781 bags of litter from Renfrewshire streets and green spaces. StreetScene Services supported the Campaign by promptly uplifting bags 28-Apr-2021 Page 33 of 180
Page 38
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 34 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date and disposing of flytipping. The group’s Facebook community group has grown from 750 members in 2019, to 2.4k group members. ECSIP1 8.04.0 9 Ensure that the Council’s integrated enforcement policy is adhered to, ensuring businesses and communities are treated fairly and consistently 31-Mar-2021 Enforcement staff across the Council continue to work with businesses to ensure they can flourish and grow without an overpowering burden of enforcement. Advice can be provided by staff with compliance visits undertaken to ensure compliance with the appropriate legislation. During the pandemic, Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers worked to ensure that business premises have as much help and guidance as possible to support them to comply with legislation and guidance. This has been both proactive (e-mail, phone, and visit) and reactive (phone call or visit). In line with the Council’s Integrated Enforcement Policy, businesses have been supported by officers adopting an “engage, explain, encourage and then enforce” model which affords people the best opportunity to comply before any enforcement action is taken. 17-May-2021 ECSIP1 8.04.1 0 Deliver a refreshed Air Quality Action Plan to improve air quality for Renfrewshire 30-Sep-2018 The draft Renfrewshire Air Quality Action Plan has been completed for the 3 Air Quality Management Areas in Paisley, Johnstone and Renfrew. This has been passed to the Scottish Government and SEPA for review as per requirements under legislation and once returned with comments, will go out to wider consultation in due course. The Action Plan details actions to reduce air pollutants within these areas. 13-Nov-2020 Page 34 of 180
Page 39
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 35 Local Outcome 05: Working together to improve outcomes Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CP17.F R.01 Continue to manage the Council's resources, ensuring financial sustainability of the organisation 31-Mar-2022 The Scottish Government has confirmed its intention to publish a resource spending review in May 2022 which should provide additional context for the council’s financial plans; however the financial outlook is expected to remain challenging and service transformation along with other financial sustainability workstreams will be required to underpin the council’s medium term financial outlook. 19-May-2022 CP17.F R.02 Take forward opportunities for transformation, innovation and efficiency through our Better Council Change Programme 31-Mar-2022 Progress continues to be made on Right for Renfrewshire activities but at a slower pace than planned due to the impact of the pandemic on capacity. The programme is currently being reassessed to ensure it remains appropriate and continues to underpin the Council’s financial sustainability. Service redesigns within Finance and ICT are ongoing and will be fully implemented in 22/23. 19-May-2022 CP17.C E.08 Review existing strategic partnership agreements and work with community planning partners to identify opportunities to share and connect resources 31-Mar-2022 Community Asset Transfer Annual Report submitted to Infrastructure, Land & Environment Policy Board (25 August 2021) 19-May-2022 CP17.C E.09 Develop our data and analytics function, working with partners to build a better picture of how to improve outcomes for local people, businesses and communities using an early intervention approach 31-Mar-2022 The Data Analytics & Research Team has worked with a number of services using geographic information, population projections and economic data to improve the efficiency and accessibility of services. User workshops and resources were made available expanding capacity in Excel, data visualisation and survey design and use. Dashboards were developed to expand the use of Business Intelligence at an operational level. 13-Nov-2020 Page 35 of 180
Page 40
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 36 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date CP17.F R.03 Continue to modernise our services, taking advantage of new technologies to deliver better, more accessible and more efficient services that meet customer needs - such as My Account 31-Mar-2022 Digital and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) services are being deployed as detailed in the Digital Council action plan. All work scheduled to be undertaken in 2021/22 is complete. 19-May-2022. CP17.C S.06 Engage with proposed changes to education governance and local democracy, maximising opportunities for the organisation and communities 31-Mar-2022 Children’s Services have been involved in local, collaborative and national discussions throughout the session ensuring we are contributing fully to the national agenda. We are working collaboratively with the West Partnership to support continuous improvement in educational outcomes for all children and young people. Renfrewshire is leading on aspects of the West Partnership plan and has representatives across all other areas. 13-Nov-2020 CP17.C E.10 Implement an action plan for the organisation, addressing any recommendations from the recent Best Value Audit 31-Dec-2018 The Improvement Plan is reported to the Leadership Board annually. In the recently published Annual Audit Report, Audit Scotland confirmed that the Council continues to make good progress in terms of implementing the recommendations made through the Best Value Assurance Report. 13-Nov-2020 CP17.F R.04 Roll-out the Performance Development and Review programme across the Council 31-Mar-2018 Since PPT was approved by Members, HR&OD have been working with services to roll out the policy, designing bespoke training and supporting materials, ensuring managers have the right skills to carry out PPT effectively. Implementation of the policy is taking into consideration other on-going Council priorities and configuration of appropriate systems to record and report output data. 13-Nov-2020 CP17.F R.05 Implement new leadership and management development programmes 31-Mar-2022 Over 600 managers and leaders throughout the Council participated across the ‘Leaders of the Future’ and ‘ASPIRE’ programmes. These leadership programmes are now being replaced with our new Lead to Succeed programme, which offers 3 different options linked to Chartered Management Institute (CMI) accredited qualifications at Levels 2, 3 and 5. These programmes will support leaders of all levels across the Council by combining a range of leadership 13-Nov-2020 Page 36 of 180
Page 41
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 37 Code What we will do Due Date Status % complete Progress update Latest Note Date topics recommended by CMI with additional content that centres around supporting the Council’s recovery to COVID-19 and ongoing transformational change. These programmes will be delivered in a blended format to offer maximum flexibility and, while all participants will complete the same learning experience, those who choose to go a step further and complete the related CMI assessments will be fully supported to achieve the accredited leadership qualification. CP17.C E.11 Fully embed our staff "intrapreneurship" programme and recognising staff for success 31-Mar-2020 Phase 1 and 2 of the programme have been fully implemented. 13-Nov-2020 CP17.F R.06 Implement our workforce plan for Renfrewshire Council 31-Mar-2022 The current Council Workforce Plan (2017-2020) is complete and will be replaced by a new People Strategy in 2021. Significant progress has been made to deliver the Workforce Plans across the Council, with positive activity around communication and engagement, supporting career pathways including professional traineeships and qualifications, mentoring and coaching in support of succession planning and health and wellbeing initiatives aligned to national campaigns delivered in partnership with Occupational Health, Employee Assistance providers and third sector partners. 13-Nov-2020 Page 37 of 180
Page 42
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 38 Council Plan Scorecard PI Status Alert Warning OK Unknown Data Only Long Term Trends Improving No Change Getting Worse Short Term Trends Improving No Change Getting Worse Local Outcome 01: Reshaping our place, our economy and our future PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target DHS.EMP.01 Number of new unemployed people being supported through Renfrewshire Council Employability Programme (INVEST) 924 1,100 859 1,100 237 275 194 275 209 275 219 275 A total of 1791 people were supported through the service. The figures are broken down into 3 distinct groups: Page 38 of 180
Page 43
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 39 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target • 859 new people registered with the service for a full training / guidance and support employability service; • 432 people were registered during 20-21 and continued to get a service during 21-22 • Around 500 additional people worked with the service specifically to access Kickstart Opportunities being delivered by the Invest in Renfrewshire team. DHS.EMP.09 Renfrewshire Claimant Count (NOMIS) 7,285 Data only 4,180 Data only 5,985 Data only 5,075 Data only 4,420 Data only 4,180 Data only The claimant count has been reducing steadily and the quarterly figures are taken every 3 months from June 2021. A recent report from ONS and SG showed that Renfrewshire had the second highest youth employment rate in Scotland in 2021 at 67.4% (54.9% is Scotland average) and (by a considerable margin) the highest youth employment growth over the last 10 years Page 39 of 180
Page 44
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 40 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target across Scotland at 21.1% (against a Scotland increase of -0.3%). This shows the level of commitment and work on the youth employment agenda over the years, but particularly the last year. This data is taken from NOMIS. DHS.WORKPOP Percentage of Renfrewshire population working age (16-64) 64.2% Data only Data only Data only Not measured for Quarters Not measured for Quarters Not measured for Quarters Not measured for Quarters NOMIS, 115,100 adults aged 16-64 resident in Renfrewshire in 2020 (latest figures) – an increase of 200 from the year before. DHS.EMP.08 Number of new business start ups in Renfrewshire with Business Gateway support 86 310 272 320 80 80 78 80 60 80 54 80 The Start Up figures have improved on last year however the Business Team were still working on the COVID-19 grants (sometimes intensively) during 2021-22 and so the figures are lower than the target. DHS.SLAEDOC9 Town Vacancy Rate N/A Data only N/A Data only Not measured for Quarters Not measured for Quarters Not measured for Quarters Not measured for Quarters Due to COVID-19 and the lockdown, the annual town centre audit was unable to be undertaken. A number of businesses are currently closed or are operating at Page 40 of 180
Page 45
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 41 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target reduced hours, so any survey of the town centre would not provide an accurate measure of vacancy rates. A full survey of all town centres will be completed once the lockdown restrictions are eased to measure the impact of the lockdown on vacancy. DHS.CP.RR01 Number of properties on Buildings at Risk Register 30 42 27 42 30 42 27 42 27 42 27 42 The Buildings at Risk Register, prepared and managed by Historic Environment Scotland, includes 27 Renfrewshire properties, a reduction of three since the start of 2021. CEX/EVENTS/01 Number of people participating in the events programme, digitally or in person New indicator 789 300 200 75 81 75 508 75 0 75 This is a new indicator with an annual target of 300, and the baseline position for 2020 was 150. 789 participation opportunities were delivered against an annual target of 300. Q1 events, Paisley Food and Drink Festival and Renfrew Gala day generated 200 participation opportunities. Food Festival workshops - Page 41 of 180
Page 46
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 42 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target pakora making and gin tasting plus cookery demonstrations and workshops on food sustainability. Families were able to learn how to make low-cost nutritional family meals and received food donations through EBI Unites and Bridgewater Housing Association. Renfrew Gala day programming featured a series of Renfrew on Film screenings and a walking challenge for residents to explore areas of the town. Q2 events Sma Shot’ Day, Radical War – Paisley Radicals and Doors Open Days had 81 participants across live music, poetry, dance, theatre and ariel activities. Sma’ Shot was delivered as a digital programme with a focus on the history of the Charleston Drum and the burning of the Cork. The event also featured a small and unadvertised return to live performance in Paisley town Page 42 of 180
Page 47
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 43 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target centre with musicians and spoken word artists performing in popup spaces. The Radical War project, Paisley Radicals, saw the culmination of the Future Paisley funded project which delivered over 115 hours of community engagement with the final output of the project an immersive walking tour app now available for visitors to enjoy and learn about Paisley’s role in the war. Doors Open day was delivered as a hybrid event with some venues re-opening for the first time, others were showcased online in the form of interactive family tours. Q3 participation opportunities came from The Spree, Wee Spree, Spree for All, Halloween and the Christmas programme across Renfrewshire - Festive Fun. Opportunities were available across music, Page 43 of 180
Page 48
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 44 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target dance, costume and creative workshops, animation, and street theatre. Please note there are no council events in Q4. CEX/EVENTS/04 Number of people viewing or attending the events programme New indicator 63,630 65,000 18,300 16,250 17,553 16,250 27,777 16,250 0 16,250 This is a new indicator with an annual target of 65,000, reflecting the restrictions on large scale outdoor events in Q1 and 2. The cancellation of the British Pipebands Championships due to COVID-19 restrictions further impacted attendance/viewing numbers. Total audience for 2021/22 was 63,630 against target of 65,000. Breakdown: Two digital events took place in Q1 due to covid restrictions: 17,000+ people tuned in to watch the Food and Drink festival programme (live cookery demos, cooking and bake along family sessions, interactive cocktail making, Page 44 of 180
Page 49
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 45 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target crafts and live music) 1,000+ participated in digital Renfrew Gala day. Q2 - Sma’ Shot day (2,136) , Paisley Radicals and Doors Open Days (15,000) online content. Q3 - in-person events with restricted numbers to meet covid capacity restrictions: The Spree programme lost one third capacity Main stage mass gathering events – Halloween and Festive events were re- designed. Halloween festival moved to a 5-day walking trail event. A 4-week Festive programme was designed with activity taking place across weekends in Nov/Dec. CEX.OTSH.PI Opportunities to see or hear something (OTSH) positive about Paisley and Renfrewshire as part of Paisley is destination brand 160,18 5,805 240,00 0,000 314,04 1,621 240,00 0,000 31,200, 000 60,000, 000 107,46 3,573 60,000, 000 109,41 0,795 60,000, 000 65,967, 253 60,000, 000 Q4 PR performance featured the announcement of Renfrewshire Council’s events programme for 2022 as well as the launch and initial promotion of this year’s Paisley Food and Drink Festival, which Page 45 of 180
Page 50
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 46 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target generated local and national coverage in March. The Future Paisley Exhibition and Paisley Book Festival also saw strong levels of local coverage during this period. Local Outcome 02: Building strong, safe and resilient communities PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target CHS/LGBF/01 Percentage of Looked After Children cared for in the community 93% 89.9% 88% 89.9% 93% 89.9% 93% 89.9% 93% 89.9% 92% 89.9% Performance remains stable with almost all looked after children being cared for in a community setting. Residential settings are more suitable for a small number of children and young people based on their particular needs but the service will always seek to place a child in a family setting where appropriate. HSCP/AS/HC/02 Percentage of long term care clients 29% 30% 30.62% 30% 28% 30% 29% 30% 29% 30% 30.62% 30% This indicator has increased to 30.62% and therefore exceeds the national target Page 46 of 180
Page 51
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 47 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target receiving intensive home care (National Target – 30%) of 30%. Care at Home is demand and need led service which continues to ensure that the most vulnerable clients receive a high level of support to allow them to continue to live in their own homes. HSCP/CI/HCES/02 Percentage of adults supported at home who agree that they are supported to live as independently as possible N/A Data only 62% Data only Not measured for Quarters The Health and Care Experience Survey is carried out on a bi-annual basis and asks about peoples' experiences of accessing and using their GP Practice and other local healthcare services; receiving care, support and help with everyday living; and caring responsibilities. In addition, a section in relation to COVID-19 was added to the 2021/22 survey. Overall, Renfrewshire received 4,375 responses (23% response rate) to the survey. However, for this particular indicator there were 349 responses 62% had a positive response (reduction of 5% from Page 47 of 180
Page 52
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 48 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target previous survey), 27% neutral and 11% were negative. The national picture was relatively similar with 65% of response being positive, 24% neutral and 12% negative. CHP/CF/DD/01 Number of acute bed days lost to delayed discharges (inc AWI) 6,250 Data only 5,878 Data only 1,334 Data only 1,471 Data only 1,289 Data only 1,784 Data only Acute services are demand led and subject to multiple variables including peak demands this coupled with the underlying strong trend of a rising ageing population which is driving demand upwards. The service targets are to minimise the number of people over 65 with non- complex care codes delayed more than 72hours. When benchmarked against other HSCP’s our performance in relation to delayed discharges remains amongst the best in Scotland. The service will continue to pro-actively manage performance with close monitoring of patient movement. Page 48 of 180
Page 53
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 49 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target SOA08.09o Percentage of adults who agree that Renfrewshire is a safe place to live. 75% 85% * 86% Not measured for Quarters *This comes from the Renfrewshire Public Services Panel which was carried out in December 2020. SOA09.1218a % of adults who agree with the statement “I am satisfied with my neighbourhood as a place to live”. 82% 88% * 91% Not measured for Quarters * This comes from the Renfrewshire Public Services Panel which was carried out in December 2020. CR.PP.07 Number of incidents of anti-social behaviour reported to Renfrewshire Council Community Safety Service 1,662 1,800 1,299 1,800 315 420 401 420 317 420 266 420 The Q4 total for 2021/22 has followed the seasonal trend of reducing numbers during the colder winter months. As part of this ongoing annual trend, we can expect to see these numbers increase during Quarters 1&2 of 2022/23 due to the warmer Summer weather and school holidays. CR.PP.32 Number of complaints regarding youth disorder 307 650 248 650 86 150 39 150 38 150 85 150 The overall total of 248 for 2021/22 represents a 19% reduction in comparison to the overall total for 2020/21. This is mainly attributable to the ongoing Covid restrictions in place during this period, which also impacted notably on the Youth Team, particularly in Page 49 of 180
Page 54
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 50 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target relation to additional interventions and new referrals/case load. CHS/CJ/CPO/02 % of NEW unpaid work orders/requirement complete by the required date 91% 72% 90% 75% 91% 75% 95% 75% 86% 75% 89% 75% Court services are recovering and work is underway to address their significant backlog. The number of new orders imposed has increased throughout the year and the service has continued to prioritise workloads and deliver unpaid work activity in accordance with safe working guidelines. CR.PP.06c Number of recorded attendances at Street Stuff activities 5,146 25,000 12,023 25,000 1,414 6,250 6,273 6,250 1,782 6,250 2,554 6,250 Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the Street Stuff programme was massively impacted due to the legislative restrictions on the gathering of people. Where possible and allowed, sessions were run outdoors in a safe environment. As legal restrictions have been lifted, a new programme of sessions is being deployed with continuing close links with Community Learning and Development team to Page 50 of 180
Page 55
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 51 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target maximise attendance and opportunities. HPCMT05 Average time from household presenting themselves as homeless to completion of duty (number of weeks) 25 23 22.25 26 25.73 26 23.19 26 20.18 26 19.89 26 It was anticipated that performance with this indicator may slip back in 2021/22, given the challenges during COVID recovery. A commitment to our key RRTP objective of a stepped increase in the number and proportion of social rented lets to homeless applicants, as well as adjusting the arrangements for matching and resettling homeless applicants to their new tenancies, resulted in this figure actually improving to its best level for many years. It continues to be significantly better than the national average. It may be a challenge to continue to meet this level of performance given the demand for social rented properties from programmes such as Homes For Ukraine. Page 51 of 180
Page 56
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 52 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target HPSIP01 Affordable housing completions 250 200 170 243 Not measured for Quarters The affordable newbuild housing programme involves both Council and Housing Association developments across a range of sites in Renfrewshire. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic some developments were delayed. The Council along with the Housing Associations active in Renfrewshire and the Scottish Government continue to work in partnership to deliver affordable housing across Renfrewshire and to ensure that delivery exceeds the target next year. Over 450 new affordable homes are now expected to be completed in 2022/23. SOA10.10a Private housing completions 751 500 * 500 Not measured for Quarters Private housing completions are monitored in an annual Housing Land Audit. Despite the pandemic, 1383 new private homes were completed in the 2 year period from 2019 to 2021 which exceeds targets. A range of new homes Page 52 of 180
Page 57
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 53 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target continue to be delivered across Renfrewshire including at Dargavel Village, the former BASF site in Paisley and the former Johnstone Hospital. *The 2022 audit will be complete in the summer which will record completions for the period 2021/22. HPCHARTER08 Percentage of council dwellings that are energy efficient * 100.0% * 100.0% Not measured for Quarters This indicator previously recorded the percentage of council dwellings that are energy efficient. It has been superseded by EESSH indicators which are returned to the Scottish Housing Regulator. Local Outcome 03: Tackling inequality, ensuring opportunities for all PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Page 53 of 180
Page 58
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 54 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target CHS/EY/03 % of entitled 2 year olds accessing 1140 hours of early learning and childcare 99% Data only 100% Data only 99% Data only 100% Data only 100% Data only 100% Data only All eligible 2-year-old children are in receipt of this provision, in accordance with legislation. CR.FM(S).01 % uptake of free school meals in primary and secondary schools 48.4% 75% 40.8% 75% 52.5% 75% * 75% * 75% * 75% Although below target performance in the first quarter of 2021/22 at 52.5% was above the 2020/21 figure of 48.4%. Lockdown periods and transmission of COVID-19 in the pupil population impacted on the uptake of school meals. A new approach for gathering school meal uptake data is being developed in conjunction with Parent Pay . * Free meal uptake, for each sector, is calculated by taking the total number of free meals served and then dividing that by the maximum free meals served. Work is being undertaken to improve data quality for these indicators. Page 54 of 180
Page 59
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 55 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target CHS/ATT/10 Average complementary tariff score of pupils living in SIMD 30% most deprived areas 583 Data only * Data only Not measured for Quarters Latest data on school leavers attainment shows 2020/21 complementary tariff score is ahead of 2019/20 and represents a continuation of an overall upward trajectory across the previous 6 years. Please note, assessment methods continue to be impacted by the pandemic, and comparison with previous years should be treated with caution. *This data is not yet available CHS/ATT/11 Average complementary tariff score of all school leavers in Renfrewshire 763 Data only * Data only Not measured for Quarters The average complementary tariff score increased significantly in 2020/21. The average tariff of 763 is significantly higher than the previous 5 year average. Please note, assessment methods continue to be impacted by the pandemic, comparison with previous years should be treated with caution. *This data is not yet available CHS/ATT/04 No. of opportunities for N/A 1,130 808 1,130 * * * * * * * * 2019/20: 261 DofE participants + 1047 engaged Page 55 of 180
Page 60
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 56 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target young people to achieve through accredited awards in community-based learning programmes offering wider achievement *Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this figure is not available for 2020/21. 358 DofE Participants + 450 engaged in community- based learning programmes offering wider achievement CHS/YC/01 Number of young carers engaged with services 46 Data only * Data only 28 Data only 12 Data only * *This service is now provided by Renfrewshire Carers' Centre on a commissioned basis and the council's contract monitoring processes apply. As such, this dataset is no longer produced by the council. HSCP/CI/HCES/08 Percentage of carers who feel supported to continue in their caring role. Bi- annual Data only 26% Data only Not measured for Quarters The Health & Care Experience Survey is carried out on a bi-annual basis and asks about peoples' experiences of accessing and using their GP Practice and other local health care services; receiving care, support and help with everyday living; and caring Page 56 of 180
Page 61
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 57 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target responsibilities. In addition, a section in relation to COVID-19 was added to the 2021/22 survey. Overall, Renfrewshire received 4,375 responses (23% response rate) to the survey. However, this particular indicator there were 703 response. 26% of respondents felt positive about being supported in their caring role, 46% neutral and 28% negative. This is slightly below the positivity rate for Scotland which is 30%. During the COVID-19 pandemic the HSCP has worked closely with the Carers Centre including: • Developing a triage system for carers who are providing personal care to access PPE • Completing Adult Carer Support Plans remotely Page 57 of 180
Page 62
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 58 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target • Regular check-in calls to find out if support needs have changed • Moving training and one-to-one and group support online (Alzheimer and Dementia, Parent Carer, Male Carer, Mental Health Carer • Providing COVID-19 specific training course including: Autism Quarantine Anxiety, Energy Booster During COVID-10, and Helping Carers Cope During Lockdown Providing opportunities for online peer support and social interaction HSCP/HI/ADS/06 Reduce the estimated prevalence of problem drug use amongst 15- 64 year olds (percentage of total population age 15-64) * Data only * Data only Not measured for Quarters A study to produce prevalence estimates of problem drug use is conducted every three years. The most recent study was published in March 2019 showing the 2015/16 data estimates. CP.RLL.PL.01 Number of attendances at pools 33,096 Data only 209,12 8 Data only 22,301 Data only 56,404 Data only 58,123 Data only 72,300 Data only Increased attendances are due to a number of factors. Page 58 of 180
Page 63
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 59 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Increased operating hours, expansion of learn to swim programme, increase in number of group exercise classes and the return of indoor clubs. CP.RLL.SL.01 Number of attendances at indoor sport and leisure facilities excluding pools 71,413 Data only 876,74 9 Data only 26,151 Data only 67,749 Data only 69,676 Data only 713,17 3 Data only Increased attendances are due to a number of factors. Increased operating hours, expansion of learn to swim programme, increase in number of group exercise classes and the return of indoor clubs Local Outcome 04: Creating a sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target CR.PP.01 Air Quality - Annual average PM10 value across all continuous monitoring sites 10.2 18 * 18 Not measured for Quarters *Data is calculated annually will not be available until later in 2022 following validation by the Scottish Government. CR.PP.01b Air quality - average nitrogen dioxide value of 40 41 * 40 Not measured for Quarters *Data is calculated annually will not be available until later in 2022 following Page 59 of 180
Page 64
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 60 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target monitoring sites, within AQMA(s) exceeding limits validation by the Scottish Government. CR.SSL.01a Street Cleanliness Score - % of areas assessed as clean 93.6% 92% * 94.5% * Data for 2021/22 will not be published until February 2023 The percentage of Renfrewshire's street assessed as clean was 93.6% for 2020/21. This figure is provisional and is awaiting verification by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The cleanliness score is based on 3 sample surveys carried out throughout the year by both the Council and Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB). This score represents the percentage of areas assessed as acceptably clean (categories A and B) using KSB’s Local Environmental Audit and Management System (LEAMS) methodology. CR.W.06a % of Household Waste Recycled (Calendar year data) 49.1% 54% 50% 50% 46.6% 50% 54.06% 50% 54.5% 50% 47.1% 50% 2021 stat still to be verified by SEPA. Recycling levels are likely to have been impacted by COVID-19. There have been greater yields in some waste streams and the overall rate Page 60 of 180
Page 65
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 61 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target will also be affected by the temporary closure of the HWRCs. Recycling levels are likely to have been impacted by COVID-19. There have been greater yields in some waste streams and the overall rate will also be affected by the temporary closure of the HWRCs. SOA13CR.08 % of the vehicle fleet which uses alternative fuels, such as electricity 23.7% 23% 25% 25% 25.9% 25% 25.9% 25% 26.4% 25% 25% 25% Renfrewshire Council have purchased 14 Electric Vehicles to add to our zero emissions fleet of cars, light vans, minibuses and large goods vehicles resulting in almost a quarter of the fleet now using alternative fuel sources. SOA13CR.09 Amount of CO² emitted by the public vehicle fleet 2,992 3,250 3,223 3,000 Not measured for Quarters The amount of CO2 emitted by the public vehicle fleet has increased from 2,992 in 2020/21 to 3,223 in 2021/22. This is above target of 3,000 but reflects the increased vehicle use because of the requirement to maintain social distancing throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Page 61 of 180
Page 66
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 62 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target SOA13CR.12 Reduce the amount of CO² emitted from public space lighting. 1,368 1,700 1,246 1,700 Not measured for Quarters There has been a slight reduction in CO2 emissions from public space lighting due to a small number of the remaining ‘conventional’ lanterns transferring to LED. This figure shows an improvement in 2021/22 compared to the previous year. There was a 10% reduction in CO2 between 2020/21 and 2021/22. Any future improvements will level out as the LED programme is substantially complete. Local Outcome 05: Working together to improve outcomes PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target CMTABS01d Councilwide - Average number of work days lost through sickness absence per employee 10.7 9.9 11.87 9.9 2.91 2.6 2.93 2.1 3.64 2.8 3.24 2.6 During 2021/22 the council has recorded a provisional overall absence rate of 11.87 days lost per FTE employee which is 1.97 days above the council target of 9.9, if Page 62 of 180
Page 67
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 63 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target covid-19 absences are removed, this figure is 11.40. Absence data is being reviewed and a confirmed annual figure will be available in early June 2022. CW.SPSO.02d Number of complaints closed at Frontline Resolution as a percentage of all complaints 84.95% 85% 86.8% 85% 87.9% 85% 86% 85% 87.5% 85% 86.2% 85% 7,930 Frontline resolution complaint cases were closed against a total of 9,139 complaints received. Target was achieved for this period - 86.8% CWFOI01 % Of FOI requests completed within timescale 95% 90% 95.4% 90% 95.3% 90% 93.4% 90% 96.3% 90% 97% 90% A total of 1,226 FOI requests were received during 2021/22. Of those, 1,170 were completed within timescale (95.4%) FCSCSU03 % of calls answered by the Customer Service Unit within target (40 seconds) 67% 70% 58% 70% 59% 70% 56% 70% 61% 70% 57% 70% Several periods of increased calls through the year due to changes in restrictions and services offered as well as reduced resource levels due to leavers within the team caused a reduction in the service level through the year. Recruitment activity is ongoing to increase resource levels. Page 63 of 180
Page 68
Appendix 1: Council Plan Progress Report 64 PI Code & Short Name Current Status Short Term Trend Arrow Long Term Trend Arrow 2020/21 2021/22 Q1 2021/22 Q2 2021/22 Q3 2021/22 Q4 2021/22 Explanation of Performance Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target Value Target FCSKPI001 Percentage of Council Tax due in the year, collected by the end of the year (cumulative position to date) 95.03% 96% 95.48% 96% 32.84% 32.76% 59.8% 60.27% 87.26% 87.98% 95.48% 96% Following the substantial impact of the COVID pandemic in 2020/21 the Council has made significant progress in recovering the collection position. HPCHARTER31 Gross rent arrears (all tenants) as at 31 March each year as a percentage of rent due for the reporting year. 6.42% 8.00% 8.04% 8.00% 6.94% 8.00% 8.17% 8.00% 8.53% 8.00% 8.04% 8.00% Although rent arrears have increased over the course of the current pandemic. The increases have been marginal. This figure remains better than the Scottish average. HPCHARTER13 % of reactive repairs carried out in the last year completed right first time 85.1% 93.0% 93.0% 93.0% Not measured for Quarters From the total number of reactive repairs completed (14150) a total of 12,037 repairs were completed right first time during the reporting year. PT.DS.PPF.CMT01 Average Time for processing Planning Applications (Householder) 6.9 8 * 8 6.7 8 6.7 8 * 8 * 8 *This indicator is verified by the Scottish Government bi- annually. PT.DS.PPF.CMT.06 Application Approval Rate 96.9% Data only * Data only 97.4% Data only 97.1% Data only * Data only * Data only *This indicator is verified by the Scottish Government bi- annually. Page 64 of 180
Page 69
___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 22 June 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Social Renewal Update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This paper provides an update on work that is being undertaken with partners through the Social Renewal programme in Renfrewshire. The programme was initially developed in recognition of the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on local residents, but has been increasingly driven by the local response to the cost of living crisis, with significant challenges being experienced in relation to poverty and financial insecurity in households across Renfrewshire. 1.2 The Council has well-developed partnership programmes in place to collectively target poverty, inequality, wellbeing and issues such as alcohol and drug use, and through the Social Renewal programme officers have been working with partners to address the changing needs of local individuals and families. 1.3 As agreed by Council on 3 March 2022, all activities will now come together to form a new Fairer Renfrewshire Programme in Renfrewshire. Officers are working with partners to develop the principles of this programme, and will bring forward a more detailed report for the new sub-group of the Leadership Board to consider after the summer recess. Council agreed on 19 May 2022 to form this sub-group to facilitate more scrutiny and oversight of issues relating to poverty and inequality in Renfrewshire. 1.4 Notwithstanding these more recent developments, officers have continued to work with partners to identify immediate actions which need to be progressed to support people experiencing financial insecurity in Renfrewshire now, with particular focus in relation to food and fuel support. 1.5 Section 4 of this paper sets out several proposals for approval by elected members, to allow for support to be extended and developed across a number of key areas, including in relation to a proposed extension of the local fuel insecurity pilot, and community funding in Item 2 Page 65 of 180
Page 70
recognition of ongoing demand and challenges being experienced around community food provision. 1.6 Over Summer 2022 we will also commence work through the Get Heard programme to engage with people from low-income households, which will inform future partnership plans in Renfrewshire. This will build on a recent refresh of our local COVID community impact assessment, which included a further survey of the Renfrewshire Public Services Panel focusing on financial insecurity. 1.7 Community partners play a critical role in providing locally based support to people experiencing issues in relation to poverty, and we will continue to engage with partners around local issues, with a specific priority being the progression and development of a new food partnership in Renfrewshire. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members of the Leadership Board: • Note the content of the report • Agree to allocate a further £34,000 to top up the Community Food Fund and to open the fund immediately to applications in line with principles set out in paragraph 4.5 • Agree the allocation of £50,000 to extend the fuel insecurity pilot until the end of 2022/23, awarding funding of £17,000 to Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau, and £16,500 each to Linstone Housing Association and Renfrewshire Foodbank. • Approve the statement on the Exercise of Functions relating to period poverty, as set out in Appendix 1, for submission to Scottish Government. • Agree grant funding of £45,000 of funding to Active Communities to deliver the peer health project, previously agreed by Leadership Board in February 2022; • Agree the allocation of £30,000 from Social Renewal funding to support a community capacity building initiative led by the Tannahill Centre, and • Note the work being undertaken to develop the principles of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Council and partners have a key focus on tackling inequality and improving wellbeing, and have longstanding programmes of work and partnership arrangements in place to address these issues, such as the Tackling Poverty Programme and the change programme established in response to the findings of the Renfrewshire Drug and Alcohol Commission. 3.2 Evidence gathered through a partnership COVID community impact assessment in 2021, indicated that the inequalities that had existed prior to the pandemic had been exacerbated further, with the impact of the COVID often falling disproportionately on particular groups of people across communities. Page 66 of 180
Page 71
As an immediate response to this work, partners developed and agreed a Social Renewal Plan for Renfrewshire which was approved by Council in March 2021. 3.3 The Social Renewal Plan set out a number of key actions which have been progressed by partners, with particular focus on supporting people experiencing financial insecurity. Previous papers to Leadership Board have provided detailed updates for elected members on the work that has been undertaken in relation to areas such as affordable credit, money advice and income maximisation, hardship payments and funding for initiatives which target food and fuel insecurity. Initial funding of £2m was allocated by Council to support the Social Renewal programme in 2021, and this was supplemented by £0.85M Scottish Government funding to be allocated over Winter 2021 to support local people experiencing food and fuel insecurity. 3.4 As elected members will be aware, the cost of living crisis has worsened significantly, and further work is now being undertaken with partners to identify gaps in provision, and to develop new ways of providing support for individuals and families that are struggling. A local energy summit was held with key partners to discuss current provision, and engagement is also ongoing with services and local community organisations to assess levels of demand and how the need is changing. 3.5 The UK inflation rate is now 9%, which is the highest rate for 40 years. The biggest contributor to inflation is the rising cost of energy bills. The rising energy price cap for households rose 54% to £1,971 per household (for those on direct debit) in April 2022, with estimates that this could rise another £800 in autumn 2022 to £2,800. Rising global food prices are also a concern, with households facing rising shopping bills as a result. Fuel pricing is also rising, with petrol prices hitting in excess of 180p per litre in mid June 2022. Pay and wages are also largely not keeping pace with inflation, and for those earning more than £9,880 have also been contributing additional National Insurance contributions as a result of the new Health and Social Care Levy. 3.6 At end of May 2022, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reported on analysis which suggested that in light of the proposed price cap of £2800 which will come into force later this year, £1 in every £5 from low income family budgets could go on energy costs. It is suggested that for single adults on low incomes, this could mean spending 49% of their income on energy costs. 3.7 This paper seeks approval to progress activities across a number of key areas over Summer 2022. A full update on wider progress being achieved will be brought forward after the summer recess for discussion at a new sub-group of the Leadership Board which will focus on issues relating to poverty and inequality. 3.8 Work is also ongoing to develop the new Fairer Renfrewshire programme, as agreed as part of the Council’s budget approved on 3 March 2022. The programme will bring together activities and funding currently being progressed through the existing Tackling Poverty, Alcohol and Drugs and Social Renewal programmes, under one umbrella programme. Further information on the development of Fairer Renfrewshire is provided at section 5. Page 67 of 180
Page 72
___________________________________________________________________ 4. Key activities for progression during Summer 2022 Food insecurity 4.1 At its meeting on 28 April, Council agreed the following motion: “Council agrees to prioritise food justice as part of its cost of living crisis response and committed to bring about change locally by appointing a Food Champion. It is unacceptable that in one of the richest countries in the world, many households across Renfrewshire struggled to put food on the table, before and during the Covid-19 crisis. Food poverty has become more acute due to a cost of living crisis that had hit many households hard. Council noted that local authorities across the UK had appointed a food champion and a growing number were consolidating Covid Support Groups into formalised networks and partnerships. Council agreed that a comprehensive strategy was required on developing and maintaining food/fuel partnerships. That an update/action plan outlining timescales and work to develop a strategy be brought to the next leadership board, that a senior lead officer be identified as ‘food champion’ to support the strategy and recommended that the Leadership Board has food/fuel insecurity as a standing item on the agenda. 4.2 Food insecurity was identified as a particular issue within the Social Renewal Plan developed with partners, in response to the initial impacts of the pandemic. A range of activities have been progressed in response including: o £75,000 funding to support three local organisations (RAMH, STAR Project and Active Communities) to develop/expand food pantry models o The establishment of a £25,000 Community Food Fund, to provide resources and support to community organisations across Renfrewshire that have been working to provide food support to individuals and families (approx. £13,000 allocated to date) o Additional funding of £10,000 has been provided to Renfrewshire Foodbank in recognition of pressures that were anticipated over Winter 2021 o A hardship payments scheme has been launched to support people who are struggling to pay for food and fuel costs within existing household income, recognising the choices households are having to make between essential items such as food and fuel. o Breakfast club provision and free food during the holiday Street Stuff activities funded through the Tackling Poverty Programme o Scottish Government funding continues to be utilised to provide payments to families during holiday periods, where children would have been entitled to free school meal provision during term time. 4.3 As recognised within the Council motion it will be important for the Council to work with local groups and organisations that are providing food support to people. The Head of Policy and Commissioning will lead this programme of work, and will seek to engage with local groups and organisations and services as to how a partnership group could work in Renfrewshire. Page 68 of 180
Page 73
Officers will aim to undertake this engagement over the summer recess period, with a view to the partnership being established as quickly as possible thereafter and a shared action plan being developed by September 2022. Initial actions are likely to include work to better signpost and provide information on where food support can be accessed in Renfrewshire, and the identification of gaps in terms of provision within particular areas, including potentially villages and more rural areas across Renfrewshire. 4.4 Elected members may be aware that a Good Food Nation Bill is currently being progressed through Scottish Parliament as part of the Programme for Government, and this is likely to result in a duty for local authorities to produce Good Food Nation Plans. The partnership plans and arrangements under development in Renfrewshire will require to align to the principles and requirements of this legislation going forward. 4.5 It is important to note that over and above this planned work during the summer period, officers are continuing to work with partners to support people experiencing food insecurity now. In addition to increased demand being experienced across local organisations for food support, there are also a range of issues being experienced around food supply, largely driven by cost pressures and supply chain issues. In light of recent discussions it is recommended that the Community Food Fund is topped up to £50k from the residual budget of £16,060 and relaunched with refreshed guidance, to allow organisations to access up to £10k for a wider variety of purposes, including the purchase of food where this is required. Applications would be considered by Leadership Board in Autumn 2022, and the current assessment process would continue to be utilised. Fuel insecurity 4.6 As part of the Social Renewal Programme, a fuel insecurity pilot was introduced working alongside Renfrewshire’s Citizens Advice Bureau, Linstone Housing and Renfrewshire Foodbank to provide additional emergency fuel support across Renfrewshire, and improve referral routes to this support linked to both dedicated energy advice and wider money advice services. Partners have also worked to improve awareness around energy issues and available support for front-line staff working across the Council and its partners, as well as participating in communications activity to raise awareness of available support for both residents and Council employees. 4.7 This pilot has been successful to date in providing streamlined support for households, and in the context of continuing challenges around energy costs it is recommended that this work is extended until the end of 2022/23, with further evaluation of its impact to be undertaken over Summer 2022. Members are asked to agree the allocation of £50,000 to support this extension, with additional funding of £17,000 specifically to be allocated to Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau, and £16,500 each to Linstone Housing Association and Renfrewshire Foodbank. 4.8 A partnership energy summit was also held in April 2022, which provided local organisations to discuss recent challenges and potential future interventions. Page 69 of 180
Page 74
Financial Insecurity Winter Payment 4.9 A Financial Insecurity Winter Payment was launched using the Scottish Government’s Winter Support Fund, which is a flexible hardship payment provided to households who are experiencing financial insecurity, particularly due to rising energy costs. The payments are available on a referral only basis in order to enable targeting to groups that have been unable to access other supports, and is administered by Advice Works alongside the provision of wider money advice for households. 4.10 This funding has provided payments to 1204 people since its inception in February 2022, and has worked with over 15 different services and partners to reach households experiencing financial difficulties. 4.11 The funding for the Financial Insecurity Winter Payment has since been supplemented with additional funding from the Council’s budget, as well as the Scottish Government Economic Recovery Fund. A review will be carried out over the Summer to understand how this fund is working, and in particular how it might be scaled to support the increasing cost of living demands faced by residents. Period products 4.12 The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021 will come into force from 15th August 2022, which aims to make sure everyone in Scotland who menstruates can have reasonably convenient access to period products, free of charge, as and when they are required. It places a duty on Local Authorities to make free period products available in schools and more widely. The Council currently make period products available in schools, as well as a range of community settings (predominantly OneRen premises) and to order for home delivery. Current provision is focussed on low-income households and school pupils. The legislation requires Councils to consult with those who need to use products before putting in place arrangements to fulfil the new duties, and also the publish a ‘Statement on exercise of functions’ detailed how the Council will deliver the duty. 4.13 The consultation for Renfrewshire residents has been open from 2nd – 29th May 2022, and sought views from residents on what provision they would like to see in Renfrewshire. A Statement of Functions can be found at Appendix 1, as well as a summary consultation report at Appendix 2. Tackling Poverty Programme 4.14 The Tackling Poverty Programme is now in the fifth year of its current phase, and will be reviewed and evaluated as part of the wider Fairer Renfrewshire programme development throughout 2022. The funding allocation for the 2022/23 financial year was agreed at Leadership Board in February 2022. 4.15 The Peer Health programme is a long-standing project within the programme, which provides opportunities to young people in all secondary schools to provide peer support around a range of health topics, and particularly youth mental health. Page 70 of 180
Page 75
This project is co-ordinated by Active Communities, who work with schools to develop and evaluate their programmes of activity. The continuation of this project was agreed in February 2022, and it is recommended that £45,000 grant funding is awarded to Active Communities to continue to deliver this project for the 2022/23 academic year. This is in line with previous years funding. Get Heard 4.16 Officers have continued to develop plans to implement new participatory processes in Renfrewshire so that people in low incomes can influence policy and practice within the local authority. Working alongside the Poverty Alliance, it is proposed that a ‘test of change’ is commenced over the summer, with new models of participation in place from Autumn 2022. 4.17 This test of change will seek to develop a model of participation that will have a practical impact on local policy making, that will result in meaningful engagement on the part of both people with experience of poverty and policy makers, and that will contribute to realising a greater sense of community empowerment. This will test the process for establishing the Panel model from the ‘Room Where It Happens’ report. This panel will be developed in line with the recommendations contained in the report which describes panels as: ‘A group of people with experience of low income and willingness to advocate for change, acting as an advisory panel for decision-makers. Typically an advisory panel would provide comment on new ideas and provide an opportunity to collaborate with grassroots activists, acting as a sounding board for a decision-making group’. 4.18 Panel development and recruitment would be carried out over the summer, with engagement and deliberation on local policy priorities happening from Autumn 2022. This will be particularly critical as the Council develops the ‘Fairer Renfrewshire’ programme as well as the local policy responses to the cost of living crisis. Public Services Panel results 4.19 The participative approaches detailed above will also allow us to build on learning from the latest Public Services Panel, carried out in early 2022. 795 people responded to the survey, which asked questions about how households have been affected by and are recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to providing a comparison to last years results, additional question sets were added to the survey specifically to understand how the cost of living crisis is being felt locally. The survey results are currently being analysed. Community capacity building 4.20 As outlined in previous papers to Leadership Board, community organisations across Renfrewshire have played a vital role in terms of responding to the immediate needs of residents throughout the pandemic. This has often been in addition to existing service delivery, and there is an increasing need for these organisations to continue to develop capacity and resilience at a local level, as we move into the next phase of the pandemic. 4.21 The Tannahill Centre has worked with a range of local groups and organisations to provide support to people living in Ferguslie Park through the pandemic and are now working with these groups to consider the next steps in terms of what is required within the area over the Page 71 of 180
Page 76
medium term. It is recognised that since the height of the pandemic, these small groups have continued to develop, supported by the Tannahill Centre, establishing new activities that address isolation and loneliness, food poverty and fuel insecurity often supported by short-term funding for the immediate COVID-19 response. Further development work is proposed by the Tannahill Centre to develop the next phases of community capacity and it is recommended that £30,000 of Social Renewal funding is allocated to support this programme of work, the learning from which could be shared with other local organisations. Officers will work with the Tannahill Centre to define a detailed specification for this work, which will be monitored through a grant support agreement. ___________________________________________________________________ 5. Fairer Renfrewshire Programme development 5.1 On 3rd March 2022, Council agreed its budget for 2022/23 and allocated £3.98m of additional funding to support and consolidate existing programmes of work in Renfrewshire which are focused on tackling the inequalities that exist across Renfrewshire’s communities. It was specifically agreed that activities being undertaken through the Tackling Poverty, Social Renewal and Alcohol and Drugs programmes would come together with other priority areas of work linked to COVID and the cost of living crisis, to form a new Fairer Renfrewshire programme. 5.2 Work is now being progressed to develop the principles of the programme for discussion after the summer recess, by the new Leadership sub-group which will be formed to focus on issues such as poverty and inequality. Terms of reference for the new sub-group will be presented to Council for approval on 30 June 2022. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – as outlined within the recommendations of the report, additional funding is proposed to support the community food fund of £34,000. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – Key priorities and actions within the Social Renewal plan have been agreed with partners and will form core elements of the new Community Plan under development. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets - none 6. Information Technology - none 7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. Page 72 of 180
Page 77
8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. COSLA Policy Position – none 13. Climate Risk – none ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Laura McIntyre, Head of Policy and Commissioning Page 73 of 180
Page 78
Appendix 1 – Social Renewal Update, Leadership Board 1 Renfrewshire Council – Statement of Community-Based Provision for the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021 June 2022 Page 74 of 180
Page 79
Appendix 1 – Social Renewal Update, Leadership Board 2 1. Background The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021 was passed in 2021 and will be fully in force from 15th August 2022. The Act aims to make sure everyone in Scotland who menstruates can have reasonably convenient access to period products, free of charge, as and when they are required. Period products must be reasonably easy to obtain and provided in a way that respects the dignity of those obtaining the products. In addition, there must be a reasonable choice of different products available. Each responsible body, including all Scottish Local Authorities, must, as soon as reasonably practicable, prepare a written statement describing the plans for provision. The Act requires responsible bodies to consult with individuals on the arrangements that should be put in place prior to making decisions on how they fulfil their duties. Renfrewshire Council carried out a free period product consultation over 4 weeks in April 2022. The results of this consultation informed our Statement of Community-Based Provision which is as follows: ‘Renfrewshire Council will work with partners across Renfrewshire to ensure that free period products are available for those who need them, where and when they need them. Renfrewshire Council will ensure that both single use and reusable products are available, and in all cases will seek to provide and promote environmentally friendly products. Renfrewshire Council will ensure products are available in ways that preserves the dignity of our citizens and will work to reduce the stigma associated with menstruation.’ 2. How we will do this Products will be sited in the following locations: • Renfrewshire House • The Russell Institute • All OneRen Libraries, Town Halls and Leisure Centres in suitable locations, including toilets and public areas. • JobcentrePlus offices • Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau • Community Pantries • Other community locations at the request of the organisation involved. This may include 3rd sector organisations, Early Learning and Childcare Centres, Respite Units, Community Centres and community and voluntary groups. Page 75 of 180
Page 80
Appendix 1 – Social Renewal Update, Leadership Board 3 Products held in those locations will be freely accessible without individuals having to ask for them or justify why they need them or the amount that is needed. In addition, we intend that any individual living in Renfrewshire will be able to order a supply of products online for delivery to their home address. We will also work with Renfrewshire HSCP to establish a supply of free products in health settings such as GP surgeries, Sandyford Clinic and pharmacies. Organisations who wish to hold period products for their service users can contact Renfrewshire Council at any time to be considered for products. Retail premises, such as shopping centres will be involved in the provision where possible. The service and locations of products will be promoted throughout Renfrewshire so everyone who needs period products knows where they can access them. 3. Consultation Scottish Government guidance stated that to ensure that the arrangements meet people's needs, responsible bodies should consult with individuals who may either • need to use free products currently • need to use products in the future or • need to collect products on behalf of someone who needs to use products The consultation must seek information to inform decisions about: • The way products may be made available; • The types of products required; • The premises where the products will be available (including location within these premises) Method Renfrewshire Council used an online public consultation to gain as many responses as possible. This was promoted on Council social media, to Council staff, via Engage Renfrewshire (our 3rd sector interface) and via existing networks such as our Advice Partnership and Our Children group. Questionnaires were also offered in a paper format. Notification of the survey also went to organisations working with ethnically diverse groups and those with a physical disability, as well as those with mental ill-health. In addition, in-depth sessions were held with two community groups, Kairos Women+ a community-led women’s space for all women and non-binary people in Renfrewshire and STAR Project, a community organisation which supports people in a number of ways and aims to tackle the impacts of poverty. What we asked Page 76 of 180
Page 81
Appendix 1 – Social Renewal Update, Leadership Board 4 We asked questions about: • Existing provision (online and in community settings) and how well that works • Who was/would be accessing products and how • What products people wanted to see: • Where they should be sited what buildings/organisations and where within those buildings • Potential levels of usage, ie. will use free products/won’t use free products/will use sometimes • What the barriers would be to using free products Results 424 Responses were received to the online survey and the responses have informed both our Statement and our provision plan. A separate Consultation Report is available. 4. Provision Plan 1. We intend to work right across the Council area, including schools, to ensure widest access to products. 2. We will work to get a supply of period products in the locations highlighted in the consultation where a current supply of products is not available. This includes GP surgeries, Sandyford Clinic, pharmacies and retail premises. 3. While our existing service around free period products in schools and the community to date has been absorbed by services, we will examine the resource requirement to expand access, centralise online order approval, distribution and invoice control across the Council as well as carry out regular reviews to optimise the service. 4. We will work with Communications and Marketing Teams to promote the service in a number of ways, including: • providing marketing materials to all venues involved • providing marketing materials to be displayed more widely throughout Renfrewshire • social media posts • Council website 5. The list of community settings for products will be reviewed and updated on at least a 6 monthly basis. 6. We will work with and provide guidance to organisations holding products so that they meet the standards for dignified provision. 7. We will work with partners to help challenge the stigma about periods, especially for young people, and encourage people to talk more openly about them. 8. We will examine options for inclusion/development of an app showing locations of free period products in Renfrewshire. Page 77 of 180
Page 82
Appendix 2 – Social Renewal Update, Leadership Board Renfrewshire Council Period Products Consultation Summary report – June 2022 1. Background 1.1 The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021 was passed in 2021, and will be fully in force from 15th August 2022. The Act aims to make sure everyone in Scotland who menstruates can have reasonably convenient access to period products, free of charge, as and when they are required. 1.2 Period products must be reasonably easy to obtain and provided in a way that respects the dignity of those obtaining the products. In addition, there must be a reasonable choice of different products available. 1.3 The Act requires responsible bodies, of which Renfrewshire Council is one, to consult with individuals on the arrangements that should be put in place prior to making decisions on how they fulfil their duties. 1.4 Scottish Government guidance stated that to ensure that the arrangements meet people's needs, responsible bodies should consult with individuals who may either: • need to use free products currently • need to use products in the future, or • need to collect products on behalf of someone who needs to use products. 1.5 The consultation must seek information to inform decisions about: • The way products may be made available; • The types of products required; • The premises where the products will be available (including location within these premises). 1.6 Renfrewshire Council carried out a free period product consultation over 4 weeks from 2 May 2022 to 29 May 2022. 2. Method 2.1 Renfrewshire Council used an online public consultation to gain as many responses as possible. This was promoted on Council social media, to Council staff, via Engage Renfrewshire (our 3rd sector interface) and via existing networks such as our Advice Partnership and Our Children group. Questionnaires were also offered in a paper format. 2.2 Notification of the survey also went to organisations working with ethnically diverse groups and those with a physical disability, as well as those with mental ill-health. 2.3 In addition, in-depth sessions were held with two community groups, Kairos Women+ a community-led women’s space for all women and non-binary people in Renfrewshire and STAR Project, a community organisation which supports people in a number of ways and aims to tackle the impacts of poverty. Page 78 of 180
Page 83
3. Questions 3.1 We asked questions about: • Existing provision (online and in community settings) and how well that works • Who was/would be accessing products and how • What products people wanted to see • Where they should be sited what buildings/organisations and where within those buildings • Potential levels of usage, ie. will use free products/won’t use free products/will use sometimes • What the barriers would be to using free products 4. Results 4.1 424 Responses were received to the online survey. Current Service 4.2 The majority of people were unaware of the current Council service, with 244 unaware and 179 aware. Of those who were aware, only 60 had used the service. 4.3 Of those 60, the products used were split. Most had used pads (50), with tampons at 30 and period pants at 25. Less used were menstrual cups at 9, and reusable pads had been used by 14. Most people (49) had obtained the products for use themselves with 30 accessing them for others. 4.4 An even split had used the online ordering and picking up in a building at 31 each. 1 had accessed products by another means. Only 7 of the respondents found the products not easy to access either physically or online, with most (74) finding them easy to access. Locations 4.5 The venue named most be respondents where products should be sited was GP Surgeries and Health Centres, with 89 suggesting this. 76 agreed products should be in OneRen venues, such as Town halls and Sports Centres and Online was third most popular with 72 agreeing that this service was a useful way to get products. 50 chose libraries. 4.6 When asked where within physical locations products should be sited, the overwhelming majority (257) stated in toilets where it is discreet. Some comments made reference to products only being available in female and disabled toilets, however as products are available to all who menstruate as well as those who will pick them up for others, where products are placed in toilets, it should be all toilets for ease of access. 95 respondents wanted the products to be in open areas, clearly visible or display stands. Usage 4.7 When it came to usage, 382 respondents stated that the Council supply would be their main source of period products. This was split between online and picking up from a venue, with 249 respondents stating online ordering would be their main source and 133 stating a venue would be where they would access products. 148 will only pick up for emergencies if they are near a venue that holds products and 63 will pick up products if they happen to be in a venue that has them. 69 do not intend to use the products at all. Page 79 of 180
Page 84
Barriers to usage 4.8 The biggest barrier identified to accessing products was not knowing where to find them (275), with not sure how much they can take being second (191). Not being clear whether products were free to take would be a barrier to 177 and 132 stated embarrassment would be a barrier. 18 didn’t have access to online ordering, while a cultural or language barrier was identified as an issue for 8. Products people would like to see 4.9 When it came to products, a range of products was popular with single use pads being the product most people would like to see available, and would use at 176. 135 would like to see and use tampons and panty liners. When it came to reusables, although not quite as popular, a significant number of respondents wanted to see these available. 110 wanted to see and would use period pants, 75 reusable pads and 60 menstrual cups. App 4.10 The majority of respondents stated they would find it beneficial to locate venues offering free products via an app by using GPS or a postcode. 373 thought it would be useful as opposed to 51 who wouldn’t. 5. Who completed the survey 5.1 The survey reached a wide demographic. Most of those who completed it were users of period products (345), with 209 also being parents. Respondents also comprised those with a disability or long term health condition, carers, care experienced and people who are transgender, non-binary or intersex. 95 of those who completed the survey had low incomes, 10 lived in rural areas, while 2 experience cultural/language barriers. 154 of those who responded would pick up products for others. 6. General Comments 6.1 General Comments were also collected. These fell into 5 main areas • Stigma • Locations • Products • Marketing • Comments on online service Stigma 6.2 Stigma was raised as an issue for many, with general comments such as ‘It’s vital that stigma is reduced’ and ‘Normalising the way people access period products is a great thing. It should be recognised as a normal, healthy body function that no-one need be embarrassed about.’ 6.3 Stigma around obtaining products was also mentioned, with respondents who mentioned stigma generally being in favour of online ordering as well as discretion in being able to obtain products – like within bathrooms. This was thought especially important for young people. Page 80 of 180
Page 85
6.4 In addition, when speaking to the groups STAR Project and Kairos, the issue of stigma, especially amongst young people was raised as a barrier to accessing products. It was agreed that speaking about periods should be normalised, however there is a way to go yet until people feel able to be open about periods and able to request products. The consultation results and in-depth conversations both highlighted the need for products to be easy to access without asking and for privacy, should be available in all toilets, male, female, non-gendered and disabled to allow discreet use as well as, where space allows, or in places without public toilets, easily accessible. Locations 6.5 An online ordering service was welcome, especially for those who work or have health issues, and may not be able to visit venues where products are currently held. For example, one respondent stated they have ‘severe anxiety and don't really go out unless I must go to appointments, I would only be able to use this service if it was available online’. 6.5 Other suggestions of places to hold products were made, such as GPs and pharmacies and all Council offices. Shops and shopping centres were mentioned as fitting in with working hours and being a place where most people go. ‘The only place I go to regularly where I could pick them up is supermarkets/shops.’ 6.7 At the discussion with Kairos, suggestion was made to have the products in the Sandyford Clinic also, while at STAR project, churches were also thought to be a useful venue. Products 6.8 In general a mix of products was welcomed, with reusables, especially period pants being described as ‘awesome’ and others asking for a variety of different pads and panty liners to be available for different flows. This came across in conversations at STAR too, where good quality products for those with heavy menstrual bleeds were particularly requested. 6.9 Size of packs available from venues was also mentioned, with respondents stating that rather than single products or small boxes being available, packs should be available for taking home. 6.10 Reusables, while generally welcomed, were not a product that suits everyone. Feedback from Renfrewshire Foodbank was that clients did not want these, as they couldn’t wash them effectively. Low-income clients and others where discretion is vital may prefer single use items. Marketing 6.11 The importance of good marketing was highlighted, with suggestions such as ‘make sure there are signs up on the front of the venue to make it clear that the products are available inside…’ and signs with the products stating "these are FREE please take as many as you need" being helpful. An app to show where products are available was thought useful, and in the session held at Kairos, stickers with a QR code, showing where products were available to be distributed all over Renfrewshire – cafes, bars etc. was discussed as being really beneficial to spread the word. Page 81 of 180
Page 86
6.12 It was suggested that front facing Council Services, especially dealing with those in crisis, such as Scottish Welfare Fund, should ask clients if they would like information about where to access free period products. 6.13 In addition, Kairos service users considered stalls at local events, such as Winterfest were an excellent place to both give out products and spread the word about the free service. Online Service 6.14 The current online service was thought discrete and easy to use, however mention was made of the delays in products arriving. This was a particular problem last year when the Suez Canal was blocked and products couldn’t reach the UK. Many people thought that online had to be a vital part of any service ‘Online service … must be offered alongside in person pickup.’ 7. Statement 7.1 The results of this consultation will inform Renfrewshire Council’s Statement of Community- Based Provision for the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021. Appendix A – Copy of Period Product Consultation Period Product consultation New legislation is being introduced to make free period products widely available in Scotland. This means everyone in Scotland who menstruates should have reasonably convenient access to period products, free of charge, as and when they are required. Councils will have to make sure that free period products are available for people. We are looking for your views on where and how these products should be made available in Renfrewshire and what types of products we should offer. This consultation is for anyone who uses period products, will use them in future or will pick them up for family or friends. Please give us your views below. This consultation will end on May 29th, 2022, at 11:45pm. By taking part in this short survey, you will help us to ensure that we are providing the best choice of products in the best possible way. This should take approximately five to ten minutes to complete. If you would like to contact us in an alternative way, please contact communityplanning@renfrewshire.gov.uk 1. Are you aware of our current community provision of free period products in Renfrewshire? Page 82 of 180
Page 87
2. Have you used this service? 3. Please tell us more about how you accessed these free period products. (Please tick all that apply) o Online ordering o Telephone ordering o Renfrewshire House o Library o Town Hall, Sports centre or other One Ren (Renfrewshire Leisure venue) o Pantry or community food group o Foodbank o Other community setting (RAMH REStore/Remode/Home-Start etc) o Early Learning Centre/ nursery 4. What free period products have you accessed? (Please tick all that apply) o Pads o Tampons o Reusable menstrual cups o Period pants o Reusable pads o other 5. Who did you access products for? (Please tick all that apply) o Myself o Family member/ friend o other 6. How did you access products? (Please tick all that apply) o Online o In a building o By telephone 7. How easy were the products to access in a building? o Not easy to access o Had to ask, not clearly signposted or easy to access o Had to ask, but easy to access o Easy to find, easy to access 8. If there was difficulty accessing, please tell us what that was? (If you got products that way) Page 83 of 180
Page 88
9. How easy were these products to order online? o Not easy to order o Had some difficulty ordering o Easy to order 10. If there was difficulty ordering, please tell us what that was? (If you got products that way). 11. Do you feel that the service you used is dignified and meets your need for discretion? o Service is dignified and discreet o It is somewhat dignified and discreet o It isn’t dignified and discreet 12. If the service is not dignified and discreet, please tell us what could be done to improve it. 13. What free period products would you like to see available, and which would you/your family/friends make use of? (Please select one answer for each product) Like to see/ Will use/ Both/ Neither o Period pads o Tampons o Period pants o Reusable menstrual cups o Reusable pads o Pantyliners 14. Where do you think would be the best place to access free products? (Please tick all that apply) o Council building o Town Hall, Sports centre or other One Ren (Renfrewshire Leisure venue) o Library o Doctors/health centre o Foodbank o Pantry/Community food group o Local community group o Online ordering postal service 15. Do you think that having products in the locations from Q14 is enough? If not, where would you have them? (Are there any areas missing?) (Any venues missing?) 16. Where in the above venues would you most like to see free period products? o In reception areas even if they are visible to others o In toilets where it is discreet (including male, female, and disabled toilets) Page 84 of 180
Page 89
o On display stands that are easy to find and access o Somewhere out of the way where no one will see me pick up 17. How do you think you will access free period products? (Please tick all that apply) o Will order online. This will be my main source of sanitary products o Will pick up from a venue. This will be my main source of sanitary products o Will pick up if I happen to be in a venue that holds products o Will use only for emergencies if I’m near a venue that holds products o Don’t intend to use free products 18. What is your postcode? (Please provide your postcode as this will allow us to ensure we reach all areas of Renfrewshire) 19. Would you find it beneficial to locate venues offering free products via an app by using GPS or a postcode? (This will let us know if we have managed to reach all areas of Renfrewshire) 20. What, if anything, would stop you from accessing these products? (Please tick all that apply) o Not knowing where to get them o Embarrassment o Not sure how much I can take o My preferred brand not available o Can’t get out to access venues o A cultural/language barrier o Don’t have internet access for online ordering o Not clear if the products are free and I’m allowed to take them 21. To make sure we are asking a broad section of the community their views can you tell us a bit more about yourself. This information will remain anonymous. (Please tick all that apply) o I am a user of period products o I will pick up products for someone else o I am a carer (for an adult) o I am parent/guardian o I have a disability/ long-term health condition o I am a transgender or non-binary or intersex person o I am currently homeless o I am a Gypsy/Traveller o I have a low income o I live in a rural location o I experience cultural/language barriers o I am in care/ care experienced 22. To help us to provide the best service it would be helpful to let us know if you have any further comments or personal circumstances which would affect the way you access products that we could help to overcome. (Optional) Page 85 of 180
Page 90
Page 86 of 180
Page 91
___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 22 June 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Local Child Poverty Action Report 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ 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 annually. 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 2021 and March 2022, as well as planned and proposed actions for the future. 1.3 With a continued focus on recovery and renewal, the report highlights work being undertaken to respond and recover from the impacts of the pandemic and to support those parents and families disproportionately impacted with issues such as low income, insecure employment, caring responsibilities and disabilities. 1.4 The continuing impacts of Covid alongside recent financial challenges facing residents has precipitated an increase in immediate support with short term actions that help families now being developed alongside our existing initiatives and longer-term plans. 1.5 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 87 of 180
Page 92
1.6 Work is ongoing to develop the new Fairer Renfrewshire programme, as agreed as part of the Council’s budget approved on 4 March 2022. The programme will bring together activities and funding currently being progressed through the existing Tackling Poverty, Alcohol and Drugs and Social Renewal programmes, under one umbrella programme. It is anticipated that a focus on child poverty will be a key priority within the programme, with a deep dive exercise planned for community planning partners during 2022. This will be aligned to the key priorities set out within the National Child Poverty Delivery Plan. ___________________________________________________________________ 2 Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board: • Note the content of the draft Child Poverty Local Action Report 2021/22. • Approves the Local Child Poverty Action Report for publication. ___________________________________________________________________ 3 Background 3.1 The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 sets out ambitious 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 percentage of children living in relative low income families is 18% before housing costs. This figure is an increase of 1.1% on last year’s reported figure and is less than the Scottish average of 21%. An estimate of child poverty after housing costs shows a rate of 23.1% against the Scottish rate of 24%. These figures are to March 2020, so do not take account of any of the impacts of the pandemic or indeed of the worsening cost of living crisis, which is likely to have seen more families experiencing poverty and financial insecurity. 3.4 In September 2020, Council agreed that a community impact assessment should be undertaken to develop a deeper understanding of the impact of the pandemic on local people, and that this would inform the development of a Social Renewal Plan for Renfrewshire setting out how the Council will work with partners to tackle both the impact of COVID-19 and existing inequalities across Renfrewshire’s communities. Page 88 of 180
Page 93
3.5 This Plan was published in March 2021, and in conjunction with the existing Tackling Poverty Programme and Economic Recovery Plan for Renfrewshire, has formed the basis of our recovery work. These plans have wide-ranging priorities including targeted actions to support those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic with issues such as low income, insecure employment, caring responsibilities and disabilities, especially families with children. 3.6 The Tackling Poverty Programme continues to have a positive impact on low- income families in Renfrewshire, supporting projects such as Healthier Wealthier Children advice, Cost of the School Day, and provision of energy advice specifically to families. 3.7 Renfrewshire’s Child Poverty Action Report recognises that a significant amount of work has been and is being done which is intended to reduce child poverty. The Report highlights the many activities carried out by Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership 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. 4.2 This report focusses on our longer-term response to the pandemic, but also highlights actions and achievements throughout 2021/22. These are 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 • 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. Page 89 of 180
Page 94
Following the pandemic, partnership working in Renfrewshire has now helped reduce the unemployment rate to 3.8%, now lower than the Scottish rate of 3.9%. • Invest in Renfrewshire have continued to deliver the Parental Employability Support Fund, providing flexible and user-based model of delivery that supports parents into work as well as helping those already in work to increase their household income. 92 parents were supported during 2021/22, with 64 of these being lone parents, one of the Child Poverty priority groups. • Successful delivery of the Scottish Government’s Young Persons Guarantee in Renfrewshire is evidenced by achievement of the key objective to reduce unemployment to pre Covid 19 levels. At the height of the pandemic 1585 were claiming out of work benefits, as at 1st April 2022, there are 680 young people claiming out of work benefits - 75 fewer than in February 2020 (pre Covid). Renfrewshire’s Youth Employment rate (now 67.4%) has seen the biggest growth across all 32 local authority areas over the last 10 years and is the 2nd highest in Scotland. • Renfrewshire received £2.654m through the Economic Recovery Fund to provide support to businesses and low-income households. A significant portion of this was allocated to supporting low-income household boost their household income through employment by supporting work placements, direct financial support to households and support for in-work progression. 4.4 Maximising the support available for families to lead dignified lives and meet their basic needs • Much of our work to tackle inequalities and maximise support for families in Renfrewshire is underpinned by our Social Renewal Plan. During Summer 2021, officers worked with partners to identify actions in relation to income, financial insecurity and poverty, recognising the effect of the end of the furlough scheme and removal of the Universal Credit uplift on income. In addition rising food and energy costs, anticipated to worsen over Winter 2021, caused an increase in outgoings. Actions identified included a benefit take up campaign, affordable credit work, supporting the development of community food initiatives and a fuel insecurity pilot. • Income maximisation through advice has continued to be a key focus. The financial gain for Advice Works clients alone this year was over £9.25million. The Council also continues to be a key funder of Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau, where their general service has gained over £2 million for the people of Renfrewshire this year. This is in addition to the Legal Service, Fair Work and Welfare Rights services, further funded by the Council. Page 90 of 180
Page 95
• It was announced in late 2021 that £848,000 additional funding would be allocated to the Council from Scottish Government, to support people experiencing financial insecurity over the immediate winter period. This funding was focussed around cash-first approaches to alleviate financial pressure for households, such as establishing a Financial Insecurity Winter Payment for people experiencing hardship, providing an additional £50 payment per child for winter clothing for children in receipt of School Clothing Grant and topping up the Scottish Welfare Fund and Discretionary Housing Payment funding. • The Council have also administered a number of other funds to support residents including the Tenant Support Fund, Low Income Pandemic Payment, Scottish Child Bridging Payment and free school meal payments during the holidays. • As well as our general provision of period products in libraries, leisure centres and town halls and our ordering service for individuals, we have focussed on provision to community groups who work with families with young children, especially those with young children such as Home- Start and have also provided products to Early Learning Centres in areas of high deprivation, for mothers and other carers and family members to pick up what they need. Our consultation on free period products will be live in May 22 and the results will be the basis for our longer-term strategy with regard to period products. • Renfrewshire Council’s Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal Programme will 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 Renfrewshire as a place and will be central to the economic and social recovery of Renfrewshire. 4.5 Supporting the next generation to thrive • The key focus of the Council’s Tackling Poverty Programme continues to be targeting support to families that need it the most and removing the barriers to participation for children and young people, with key projects delivering through the course of 2021/22 such as the cost of the school day fund, breakfast clubs, Street Stuff, Skoobmobile and the peer health programme. • Breakfast Clubs are part of a number of schools, some of which are funded through the Tackling Poverty Programme and others through other means or organised by individual schools. An evaluation of our breakfast clubs was carried out this year. Over 80% of parents used the Clubs to help with their working schedule, with almost 30% saying it helped with the family budget. Parents with more than one child were more likely to use the Clubs to help with working arrangements and 36% of these parents advised the Club helped with family budget. Page 91 of 180
Page 96
• Street Stuff Clubs provide free activities for children in the evenings, during the holidays and at weekends. A free healthy meal is provided and the Street Stuff buses also have free wifi to ensure young people aren’t digitally excluded. 258 young people attended over the festive period, and there were 540 attendances over the spring holiday. Looking ahead, Street Stuff will be providing their offer to children age 5 and over through the Scottish Government Summer Holiday Food and Childcare Programme funding. Although currently activities are focused in areas of multiple deprivation, working with partners will allow the service to be extended and Child Poverty Priority Groups to be better targeted. • In response to our equity audit, which has been ongoing throughout the pandemic and attainment data, targeted approaches and interventions were developed to support schools with raising attainment and addressing health and wellbeing needs. In line with national guidance, schools used their Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) in a flexible way and responded directly to the emerging needs of children and young people. Schools utilised PEF to provide targeted support in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. ___________________________________________________________________ 5 Next Steps 5.1 Work is ongoing to develop the new Fairer Renfrewshire programme, as agreed as part of the Council’s budget approved on 4 March 2022. The programme will bring together activities and funding currently being progressed through the existing Tackling Poverty, Alcohol and Drugs and Social Renewal programmes, under one umbrella programme. Officers are working with partners to develop the principles of this programme, and will bring forward a more detailed report for the new sub-group of the Leadership Board to consider after the summer recess. 5.2 It is anticipated that a focus on child poverty will be a key priority within the programme, with a deep dive exercise planned for community planning partners during 2022. This will be aligned to the key priorities set out within the National Child Poverty Delivery Plan. 5.3 Work will continue to assess and mitigate the cost of living crisis as it progresses, with a sustained effort to develop mitigations for local residents. However, it is recognised that the scale and depth of this crisis and the impacts it will have on local residents would require interventions significantly beyond the Council’s resources and span of control. The Fairer Renfrewshire programme will have a significant focus on these challenges, but policy interventions are required at Scottish and UK level to have a meaningful and material impact for local residents. ___________________________________________________________________ Page 92 of 180
Page 97
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 10. Risk – No implications 11. Privacy Impact – No implications. ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Annabelle Armstrong-Walter, Strategic Partnerships and Inequalities Manager. Tel: 0141 618 5968 Page 93 of 180
Page 98
Page 94 of 180
Page 99
Appendix 1 Local Child Poverty Action Report Renfrewshire 2021/2022 Page 95 of 180
Page 100
2 Foreword During this year, our fourth of producing our Local Child Poverty Action Report, we have continued to respond to the immediate challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, while developing our longer term plans to support Renfrewshire’s economic and social recovery. Too many families in Renfrewshire are facing the challenges of financial insecurity and poverty and Renfrewshire Council and its partners, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership and other Community Planning Partners have worked tirelessly to protect our families and tackle child poverty right across Renfrewshire in 2021/22, the period of this report, and continue to do so. As a Council, we continue to be ambitious for Renfrewshire. Tackling poverty sits at the heart of our strategic priorities, decisions and actions, making sure that everyone in Renfrewshire is able to access the opportunities and benefits available and no one misses out. We know from our assessment of need and from feedback from service providers that local families are worried about the increasing cost of living, and low-income households in particular are facing difficult decisions. While this report clearly shows that the Council and our partners have a critical role in preventing and alleviating poverty and its impacts in our area, we are clear that the challenge ahead is of a scale beyond the influence of the Council and our local partners. Looking forward, we are working on our new Council and Community Plans which set the longer- term strategic direction of our organisation and our place. These plans set the direction for Renfrewshire Council and our partners and embed our commitment to a recovery which tackles inequality across all our communities. Alan Russell Chief Executive, Renfrewshire Council Page 96 of 180
Page 101
3 Summary and Priorities This is the fourth Local Child Poverty Action Report produced by Renfrewshire Council. The report captures the range of activity that has taken place in Renfrewshire to reduce child poverty in 2021/22 and looks forward to the actions planned for 22/23 and beyond. The report has a focus around longer-term plans, however, recent financial challenges facing our residents have precipitated an increase in immediate support, with short term actions that help families now being developed 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 It highlights our actions and achievements throughout 2021/22 that fit into those themes, including: • Our Economic Recovery Plan which focuses on job retention and creation, employability, supporting upskilling and innovation, tackling inequalities and delivering a ‘green’ recovery. • Our employability service, Invest in Renfrewshire, which offers a wide range of tailored supports to help residents on the journey towards and into employment. Successes here include: • By 1 April 2022, the level of unemployment amongst 16 – 24 year olds had reduced to below the pre-pandemic figure with 75 fewer young people out of work than at February 2020. • 92 parents, 64 of whom were lone parents, supported this year, with 58 of these gaining employment. • 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. This partnership working has helped reduce the unemployment rate to 3.8%, now lower than the Scottish rate of 3.9%. • A Social Renewal Plan, with initial funding of £665,000 to support families with children who are living in poverty. This funding has supported: • £100,000 funding for Place Based responses to food insecurity, including support for Pantries and a Community Food fund. This has allowed thousands of families throughout Renfrewshire to access food in a dignified way. Page 97 of 180
Page 102
4 • An initial £50,000 to provide emergency fuel support, backed by energy advice, to low- income families struggling with energy costs. • £45,000 to support our affordable credit work, including employment of an Affordable Credit Officer to work in our communities, targeting priority families. • With £1m per year invested in our Tackling Poverty Programme over 5 years, this continues to have a positive impact on low-income families in Renfrewshire, supporting projects such as Healthier Wealthier Children advice, Cost of the School Day, and provision of energy advice specifically to families as well as supporting young people’s mental health. • An increase in the number of accredited living wage employers in Renfrewshire to 82. • Our Procurement Team has realised 198 Community Benefits this year, with 78 recruitment opportunities amongst these, of which 37 went to those in Priority Groups. • Our Energy Advocates have saved clients over £325,000 this year including ongoing savings, write offs and Warm Home Discounts. This includes 144 families with children. • We top up our Cost of the School Day funding by £75,000 each year through our Tackling Poverty Programme. Food vouchers, energy top-ups, toiletries and warm clothing have been supplied this year as well as more usual items such as stationery and school uniforms. • 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, 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 ‘Fair Work’ service which deals with issues regarding to employment. • A benefit take-up campaign which has received £5,000 through the Social Renewal budget. • Funding of £100,000 to tackle digital exclusion in partnership with SCVO by building a network of volunteers and staff, and capacity across local third and community organisations to support local people to access and use digital technology. This will allow us to begin to understand how place-based solutions to digital inclusion could work and to develop a model of best practice for use across Scotland. • There is still a clear commitment and expectation within Renfrewshire to raise attainment for all whilst closing the poverty-related attainment gap and data has been used to target Page 98 of 180
Page 103
5 approaches and develop interventions which support schools to raise attainment and address health and wellbeing needs. • Work around The Promise has progressed well with development around Promise keepers and a Promise Self-Evaluation toolkit. • In the past year we have administered a range of funds to support families, for example using part of the Scottish Government Winter Support Funding to provide an additional £50 per child for children receiving School Clothing Grant to help with winter clothing. Priorities For 2022/23 our main priorities are gaining a better understanding of the needs of our families living in poverty using our Get Heard programme, ensuring we are collecting relevant data and using this to inform our policy development and actions and focussing on increasing income from employment for families, especially those in the child poverty priority groups. • We will work with Poverty Alliance on Get Heard to establish a process to allow for meaningful engagement of people with direct experience of poverty to contribute to the development and implementation of local child poverty priorities. • We will focus on collecting relevant data which will give us a better understanding of the picture of child poverty in Renfrewshire and will further our evidence-based policy making. • Through the Renfrewshire Local Employability Partnership we will focus on finding out what is holding parents back from considering work as a good option and how we can change their minds as well as develop supports to meet their needs. As we reach the end of our five year Tackling Poverty programme at the end of 22/23, our tackling poverty and social renewal work, along with our Alcohol and Drugs programme will be brought under a Fairer Renfrewshire Programme as agreed as part of the Council’s budget approved in March 2022, with significant funds allocated to continue our work to reduce child poverty and support families and individuals in need across Renfrewshire. While we recognise that much has been achieved this year, we will continue to work with NHSGGC, our Health and Social Care Partnership and many other external and third sector partners, in communities and across all services to ensure our low-income families are supported and child poverty is reduced. Page 99 of 180
Page 104
6 Introduction This Local Child Poverty Action Report has been produced when the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on child poverty levels is still largely unknown, particularly the long-term effects on families and the economy. We do know that the impacts have been felt most acutely by the most disadvantaged in our society. The continuing impacts of Covid alongside recent financial challenges facing residents has precipitated an increase in short term actions to provide immediate support for families, as we continue to develop our existing initiatives and longer-term plans. This report captures the range of activity that has taken place in Renfrewshire in 2021/22 to reduce child poverty by the Council, NHSGGC, Renfrewshire HSCP, Community Planning Partners and beyond. It also looks forward to our longer-term plans. In the coming year our new Council and Community Plans will be developed, with child poverty at the heart of these. A specific programme of work is also planned through the ‘Get Heard’ initiative and we will engage with a wide range of voices and experiences of poverty to inform our policies and plans. By working alongside people affected by poverty, we will find out what is working and not working in their communities and what needs to change to ensure support is available. In Renfrewshire we are committed to addressing child poverty and ensuring all our children thrive and prosper. Besides the work to maximise the income of our families this report reflects a wealth of work which supports the mental health of our young people and provides opportunities for them to develop and gain skills for life. Page 100 of 180
Page 105
7 Scottish Government Targets 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. The refreshed Scottish Government child poverty delivery plan ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’ focusses on three key themes and this, Renfrewshire’s report is set out in a way that reflects those 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 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 for the financial year in question is less than 60 per cent of the median equivalised net income for that financial year. 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. 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. 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 101 of 180
Page 106
8 Drivers of Poverty The three key drivers of child poverty are identified by the Scottish Government as: • Income from employment • Costs of living • Income from Social Security and benefits in kind In Renfrewshire, focussing efforts on these drivers as well as enhancing children's wellbeing, and supporting them to achieve their potential and avoid becoming parents in poverty in the future will help mitigate the consequences of poverty both in the short and longer term. 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. Page 102 of 180
Page 107
9 Renfrewshire’s Health and Social Care Partnership Renfrewshire HSCP 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. See the report here for more details of the HSCP priorities. Renfrewshire HSCP will continue to work within the following plans and use them to influence our Poverty work going forward: • A Fairer, Greener Scotland: the Programme for Government for 2021 to 2022 • A Scotland Where Everybody Thrives - Public Health Scotland • Turning the Tide through Prevention The Public Health Strategy • Covid Recovery Strategy: for a fairer future 2021 • Public Health Scotland Strategic Plan 2020-2023, and • NHSGGC Public Health Directorate Remobilisation Plan 2020. This report has a strong input from the HSCP Health Improvement Team who focus on prevention and early intervention. Social Renewal Plan In March 2021, an initial Social Renewal Plan was approved by Council. The plan set out the high- level actions that the Council and partners will take as we move forward from the pandemic, with a clear focus on tackling inequality and improving wellbeing. In June 2021 a range of initial priorities were identified with partners for immediate action in light of the issues being experienced across communities. A range of funding proposals were approved at that time utilising funding to support social renewal, with £665,000 allocated specifically in relation to poverty and financial insecurity, digital exclusion and community resilience and capacity amongst other areas. Funding supports a number of supports which will help alleviate poverty in families with children. These include community food supports; £75,000 towards the development pantries where lower cost food can be purchased, a £25,000 Community Food Fund, £45,000 for an Affordable Credit project and £50,000 to support people struggling with energy costs. Tackling Poverty Programme 2021-22 was the fourth year of our five year Tackling Poverty Programme. The Programme continues to have a positive impact on low-income families in Renfrewshire, supporting projects such as Healthier Wealthier Children advice, Cost of the School Day, and provision of energy advice specifically to families. The initiatives support two key priorities: • Targeting support to families to that need it most (£0.7 million allocated); and • Removing barriers to participation for children and young people (£0.4 million allocated). Page 103 of 180
Page 108
10 Specific Tackling Poverty programme funded activities are included within their key theme areas in this report. How we work with people In 2020/21 we carried out a Community Impact Assessment, finding out how our communities had been impacted by the pandemic. This helped us to develop a deeper understanding of the pandemic on local people and communities and we engaged with a range of families, including those with lived experience of poverty. This informed the development of our Social Renewal Plan with wide-ranging priorities including targeted actions to support those disproportionately impacted with issues such as low income, insecure employment, caring responsibilities and disabilities. To ensure our social renewal and tackling poverty plans reflect the real needs of our citizens, £75,000 has been allocated for us to develop a mechanism by which local people can continue to feed their ideas and opinions into the Council in a systematic way. During 2022/23, we will continue to work with Poverty Alliance to 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. These conversations will help us develop work around issues such as costs of living and how we can best support those in Priority Groups to gain or progress into well paid employment. As stated on page 8, children with a disability are a key target group of the Child Poverty Act (Scotland) 2017. Plans to convene a Steering Group, scope out and commission research into needs of families with children and a disability across NHSGGC and with all linked local authorities will be progressed in 2022/23. This will allow us to better understand families experience and impacts of poverty for families with a child with a disability around all 3 drivers of poverty. This research will identify themes and make recommendations for progress for this particular group. Providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to enter, sustain and progress in work Local Employability Partnership Renfrewshire Local Employability Partnership (RLEP) is the local strategic employability partnership consisting of partner agencies from the Renfrewshire Community Planning Structure. It is chaired by Renfrewshire Council and its purpose is to support the implementation of local and national employability policy (including No One Left Behind and the Young Persons Guarantee) 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 that help Renfrewshire residents make a successful transition towards employment and reduce unemployment in the area. The COVID pandemic had a massive impact on the rate and number of residents out of work in Renfrewshire as can be seen on the chart below. At its peak in August 2021 (6.8% equating to 7,765 Page 104 of 180
Page 109
11 residents) Renfrewshire was above both the Scottish and UK levels. The very strong local partnership working during the pandemic has greatly helped the recovery process and the figure has reduced significantly to 4,365, 3.8% (Feb 2022) now below the Scottish rate of 3.9% 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. Recognising the key contribution that employability services can make to tackling child poverty, RLEP’s performance framework includes a range of indicators to help measure progress in relation to increasing income from employment of parents with low income as well as other outcomes and indicators such as tackling youth unemployment and increasing the disability employment rate and increasing engagement and positive outcomes for all RLEP priority groups. RLEPs Employability Delivery Plan for 2022-25 provides more detail on this. Renfrewshire HSCP Health Improvement Team chair the RLEP Health Conditions and Recovery Group. This Group focuses on those in Recovery from health conditions and brings together and supports services while identifying gaps to people accessing support to work or in-work support. With adults with a disability within a household being an indicator of child poverty, this group also looks at support for those with a disability and those in Recovery from Addictions and Mental Health illness. Parental Employment Support There has been significant effort and resources contributed by the Scottish Government and local employability partners working in partnership with local employers from the public, private and third sectors to support parental employment In 2019, the Scottish Government launched a Parental Employment Support Fund (PESF) to target both employed and unemployed families who face barriers to progressing their careers, including help to gain qualifications, improving skills or work experience; money advice, and motivational support. This support is intended to increase annual income, lifting families out of poverty. PESF provides person-centred help for parents to address their barriers to work, which might include a lack of skills or work experience, health support, money advice, or motivational support. Renfrewshire Council’s Employability Service Invest in Renfrewshire is the key delivery partner for PESF working closely in partnership with RLEP members and other local organisations. PESF provides the flexible and user-based model of delivery that supports parents into work as well as helping those already in work to increase their household income. The programme provides: • Person-centred help for parents to address their barriers to work, which might include a lack of skills or work experience, health support, money advice, confidence building or motivational support; childcare advice and assistance. • Targeted support to tackle the increased challenge of in-work poverty by helping parents already in work through the provision of training and employability support to remain active in the workplace and gain progression through a rewarding career. Page 105 of 180
Page 110
12 • Confidential income and money advice which includes: Benefit checks and help with any claim processes; Better off in work calculations; Help with debts as these can be a barrier to work; Creation of a bespoke budget for the family; Budgeting skills support to ensure long lasting effect. Parents are supported to gain new skills, qualifications and assist with job applications and compiling a CV and frequency of support is based on individual need. For the majority of the reporting year, due to Covid-19, contact was carried out remotely by telephone and on-line however face to face support was gradually introduced as restrictions eased early 2022. 92 parents (64 of these lone parents) were supported during 2021/22 and the majority were female and within the 30 – 39 age bracket. When registering with the service clients identify with several different barriers that they feel hold them back when trying to enter employment. The main types of barriers to employment that were raised were: Living in a jobless household with dependent children (56) and Living in a single parent household (55), with from an employment deprived area being the next most identified barrier (41). 9 clients identified themselves as under employed. The barriers identified show the importance of support around childcare and specific advice for unemployed parents. As can be seen from the graph below over half of the clients registered with the service also identify as having no advanced qualifications. 0 10 20 30 40 15 - 19 20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 39 40 - 49 50+ Age and Gender Male Female Key for ISCED Levels ISCED 2 – National 4/Standard Grades ISCED 3 – National 5/ Higher/Advanced Higher ISCED 4 – no direct match to Scottish qualifications ISCED 5 – HNC/HND ISCED 6 – Degree ISCED 7 - Masters Page 106 of 180
Page 111
13 Increasing the qualifications of current parents who are unemployed, combined with the benefits of improved attainment for our children will help more of our families of the future live free from poverty. Over and above the 92 parents who engaged with employability support in the reporting period, advisors were also supporting parents who had registered the previous year. This support has resulted in 37 parents gaining a qualification; 23 starting part time employment and 35 starting full time employment. A key challenge which has not reduced significantly in the reporting period has been services’ ability to engage parents. Whilst online support had been readily available, it doesn’t suit all. Home schooling has had a significant impact on parents and the target groups for PESF are amongst the hardest hit i.e. lone parents and parents with 3+ children. One of our main areas of focus in the coming year will be finding out what is holding people back from considering work as a good option for them and what messages could we use to help change mind sets and behaviours and increase the number of Renfrewshire residents who are currently economically inactive or unemployed coming forward for advice and help. Focus groups will take place with residents early in 2022/23. The Young Persons Guarantee and Child Poverty There is a clear link between youth employment and child poverty. The Young Person's Guarantee is a commitment to bring together employers, partners and young people. It aims to connect every 16 to 24 year old in Scotland to an opportunity. This could be a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training or volunteering. Successful delivery of the Scottish Government’s Young Persons Guarantee in Renfrewshire is evidenced by achievement of the overarching key objective to reduce unemployment to pre Covid 19 levels. As at 1st April 2022, there are 680 young people claiming out of work benefits – at the height of the pandemic this had risen to 1585. There are now 75 fewer young people claiming out of work benefits than in February 2020 (pre Covid). Renfrewshire’s Youth Employment rate (now 67.4%) has seen the biggest growth across all 32 local authority areas over the last 10 years and is the 2nd highest in Scotland. Details of Renfrewshire’s successful work across youth unemployment is at Appendix A In addition, NHSGGC has created Kickstart opportunities within its Facilities Team, which it will evaluate in 2022/23 and is supporting the ongoing recruitment and support of modern apprentices aligned to its Workforce Plan. Within the recently published Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Delivery Plan there is a stronger focus on parental employment than in previous versions with significant levels of resource being allocated to support this. Full detail on local allocations of funding and expectations on the LEP and local partners is awaited and actions will be outlined within the LEP Delivery Plan. It commits to providing the opportunities and integrated support parents need to enter, sustain and progress in work. Renfrewshire LEP will play a key role in managing delivery in Renfrewshire and ensuring a coordinated approach that best meets the needs of local families. Renfrewshire already has a strong track record in supporting parents into and within work and new activity will build on what has worked best. Page 107 of 180
Page 112
14 Procurement Renfrewshire Council is committed to maximising Community Benefits through its 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. Community Benefits are targeted to child poverty priority groups and evaluated as part of the tendering process and monitored on a quarterly basis. In 2021/22, 198 Community Benefits were realised from Council contracts. Community Benefit Type Number Offered Community engagement activities 40 Support for social enterprises (Financial and Non-Financial) 40 Other sustainable procurement benefits 22 Supply chain opportunities and business advice/support to SMEs, Social Enterprises and Voluntary orgs 22 Qualifications 58 Number of Qualifications Achieved Through Training by Other Employees 35 Number of Qualifications Achieved Through Training by Priority Groups 23 Recruitment 78 Number of apprenticeships filled by priority groups 2 Number of jobs filled by priority groups 6 Number of work placements for priority groups 29 Number of work placements for school pupils, college and university students 8 Total number of apprenticeships recruited to deliver contract 17 Total number recruited to deliver contract 16 Grand Total 198 NHSGGC is also working to increase community benefits as part of its Community Wealth Building approach. The Health Board has initiated work with Public Health colleagues on the Health Anchors Learning Network (HALN) Project to encourage more local SMEs to become suppliers to the Board and focus on increasing diversity. Current NHSGGC spend across the Health Board is £77m and in 20-21 it was £13,866,596 in Renfrewshire alone. In the coming year they will continue work on the HALN Project and look to increase their local spend above 12%. Economic Recovery Plan The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the UK, Scottish and Renfrewshire economies. It has impacted upon numerous key economic sectors, including those which are important to Renfrewshire residents and businesses, such as manufacturing, aviation and hospitality. In response last year an Economic Recovery Plan for Renfrewshire for the period December 2020 to December 2022 (here) was prepared in conjunction with and approved by Renfrewshire’s Economic Leadership Panel. Page 108 of 180
Page 113
15 The Plan promoted actions under 6 themes: Supporting Our Young People, Supporting Business and their Workforce, Economic Well Being, Skills and Employability, Capital Investment and Green Recovery. These themes link with the key outcomes of the recently published Scottish Government’s Covid Recovery Strategy, which looks to achieve financial security for low-income households, promote wellbeing of children and young people and create good, green jobs and fair work. From these overarching themes, 14 priority actions were included in the Plan (which were thought would make the largest difference to the local economy and would specifically address the economic challenges arising from the pandemic) and progress against these is being monitored. The Council’s Children’s Services work with colleagues via the Renfrewshire Economic Recovery Group to deliver the priority work around ‘Supporting Our Young People’ detailed in the Economic Recovery Plan. This work focusses on youth employment, promoting enterprise and entrepreneurial activity in Renfrewshire’s high schools and supporting the most vulnerable to move into positive destinations post school. Economic Recovery Funding In February 2022, the Scottish Government provided £80m to Local Authorities to provide support to businesses and low-income households. The purpose of this funding is to support business recovery and cost of living impacts on low-income households. Renfrewshire has received £2.654m to support a number of initiatives and deliver interventions that best meet that local need. Levels of funding and numbers supported will be changed according to demand. Through grant support to businesses, estimates of outcomes are as follows: • 230 businesses financially supported to grow and develop • 80 young people secure additional 6 months employment through a Kickstart Plus programme • 250 UC claimants supported to get skills/qualifications • 600 UC claimants financially supported to work/search for work through free travel for 3 months • 200 families in receipt of benefits financially supported to move into work • 1000 people experiencing financial insecurity as a result of the cost of living crisis to receive hardship payments of £100 Fair Work Renfrewshire The Social Renewal Plan funded Fair Work Renfrewshire service was launched in October by Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau. This £100,000, two-year project provides employment advice to support clients to retain employment wherever possible and where this is not possible, ensure they are supported to obtain their full redundancy entitlement as well as access the correct benefits. 137 clients have used the service in the first 6 months and the issues the service has supported clients with include pay and entitlements, dismissal and terms and conditions of employment. Page 109 of 180
Page 114
16 Childcare Excellent progress has been made in relation to the implementation of 1140 hours of high-quality early learning and childcare for all eligible children across Renfrewshire, which helps support families into work. Since August 2021, all children aged 3-5 years and eligible 2-year-olds are in receipt of this provision, in accordance with Scottish Government legislation. This success was achieved despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and consequential impact on necessary infrastructure development. Community Learning and Development The Renfrewshire Community Learning and Development Strategy for 2021–24 was developed in collaboration with a wide range of partner organisations, third sector groups and individual service users across Renfrewshire. The Strategy (here) recognises the impacts of the pandemic on disadvantaged learners and communities, including people with low incomes or who are in more insecure employment. It also highlights particular concerns around the health and wellbeing of local people, particularly in relation to loneliness and isolation and the impact that this can have on mental health and wellbeing. Through engagement with members and workers from community groups, projects and services information was gathered on how the lockdown and restrictions were impacting on children, adults, and families. Insights were gained through these community conversations around the challenges ahead, shaping the CLD Strategy and identifying the key actions that will be taken to support individuals and communities impacted by COVID-19. The Key priorities identified were: Social isolation and loneliness, Interruption of learning, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Loss, Bereavement, Poverty, low income, food insecurity, fuel poverty, and Digital Exclusion The Scottish Government recognises that Community Learning and Development practitioners have a vital role to play in rebuilding from the pandemic and responding to the new challenges ahead, and that CLD support is made available to assist disadvantaged communities to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. In Renfrewshire the CLD Partnership took a pro-active approach to re-engage communities and reach out to individuals and targeted groups and communities. The Community Based Adult Learning Fund provided an opportunity for the Renfrewshire CLD Partnership to enter a phase of delivering recovery and response to our communities, focussing particularly on targeted groups who are identified as being vulnerable to and most impacted by the pandemic (i.e. women, carers, the BAME community, families with Additional Support Needs (ASN), adults and families experiencing hardship). Through an outreach Programme with a number of partners learners identified an overall improvement in their wellbeing and a reduction in feelings of isolation as a result meeting, being active and learning together. The groups have decided to continue exploring further adult learning opportunities together. Renfrewshire HSCP supports local members of the community furthest from the labour market to access volunteering opportunities within NHS settings and to seek further opportunities using Engage Renfrewshire supports. Local people from Renfrewshire are part of core volunteering team Page 110 of 180
Page 115
17 within NHSGGC increasing their confidence and skills and supporting them along the employability pipeline. Free Bus Travel – NEC More fully detailed under ‘Maximising the Support Available for families to Lead Dignified Lives and meet Their Basic Needs’, entitlement to free bus travel can also assist with transport costs for young people attending work. Through our Youth Services team, support is offered to those older young people through increasing the number of appropriate trusted verifiers for that group. These include our employability service, Invest in Renfrewshire, social work and residential units and information has been provided to West College and University of West Scotland to highlight the application process to students. Those who can’t follow the standard processes have the option of getting in touch with Youth Services who will offer alternative solutions based on their need. Renfrewshire has received praise for its network of trusted verifiers and taking the approach of setting up an easy access point for organisations working with young who experience barriers to access. In the 19-21 year old age bracket, 5,851 young people in Renfrewshire are eligible and we will continue to support access to the scheme. Transport Strategy Our refreshed transport strategy will be published during 2022/23. This refresh gives us an opportunity to focus on maximising sustainable transport opportunities to deliver an inclusive, reliable, affordable transport system that provides choice for all. This will include a focus on eliminating transport poverty and ensuring everyone has safe and affordable transportation to access services and social activities as well as employment. Maximising the support available for families to lead dignified lives and meet their basic needs In Renfrewshire, we support families to make the most of their money, working to ensure their income is maximised and outgoings are minimised. Both our longer-term Tackling Poverty Programme and our more recent Social Renewal Plan include projects and activities which help families living in poverty. These, combined with our Housing plans, work on digital and other actions across the Council contribute to reducing poverty and financial insecurity, digital exclusion and increasing community resilience. Our Advice Partnership continues, with advice providers across Council Services, the 3rd sector, Scottish Social Security and most recently NHSGGC coming together to share information and work to reduce gaps and coordinate services. Our ongoing commitment to advice provision and our innovative affordable credit work; our digital initiatives, and housing strategies alongside our work to bolster administered funds and maximise their 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. Page 111 of 180
Page 116
18 Social Renewal Much of our work to tackle inequalities and maximise support for families in Renfrewshire is underpinned by our Social Renewal Plan. During Summer 2021, officers worked with partners to identify actions in relation to income, financial insecurity and poverty theme as a key focus, in recognition of the end of the furlough scheme and rising food and energy costs being experienced and which were anticipated to worsen over Winter 2021. The initial range of initial priorities and actions developed under the plan include a number which support families to lead dignified lives. These include: • The development of a benefit take up campaign, underpinned by £5,000 funding • Allocation of £45,000 funding to Engage Renfrewshire to lead an affordable credit initiative. • £75,000 funding allocated to three local partner organisations to establish or develop community pantries and promote dignified access to food • Development of a £25,000 Community Food Fund, and • Development of a £50,000 fuel insecurity pilot to work with low-income households struggling to meet immediate fuel costs linked to the provision of energy advice in partnership with Renfrewshire Foodbank, Linstone Housing Association and Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau. Tackling Poverty programme Projects under our Tackling Poverty Programme provide supports that help families lead dignified lives. Targeting support to families that need it most initiatives are: • Families First/School Support which continues to offer targeted financial advice across Renfrewshire’s schools • The Healthier, Wealthier Children service which continues to provide targeted advice and support to new and expectant parents on managing changes to finances and supporting them to claim benefits they are entitled to. • Specialist Energy Advice continues to be offered to families who need support to reduce their energy bills, manage fuel debt and improve the energy efficiency in their homes. Support with Food • Pantries - £75,000 funding allocated to three local partner organisations to establish or develop community pantries and promote dignified access to food. The organisations provided with funding, STAR Project, Recovery Across Mental Health (RAMH) and Active Communities were selected as already well established in their communities and offering a number of support services for families already. This will allow families to access holistic support along with low-cost food. • Community Food Fund - £25,000 of funding was allocated to provide small awards to organisations to develop community food offerings which move from emergency response to Page 112 of 180
Page 117
19 promote dignified, localised, access to food and community resilience. An initial allocation of £8940 was made to three local groups to alleviate some of the pressures of food insecurity in their areas by providing ongoing and accessible support to families. • Support for Renfrewshire Foodbank - £10,000 has been provided to Renfrewshire Foodbank to help sustain their service. A Renfrewshire Council advice worker is attached to the Foodbank on a full time basis to provide advice to clients attending. Support with Energy • Fuel Insecurity Pilot - Development of a £50,000 fuel insecurity pilot to work with low-income households struggling to meet immediate fuel costs linked to the provision of energy advice in partnership with Renfrewshire Foodbank, Linstone Housing Association and Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau. The Foodbank and Linstone Housing Association provide fuel vouchers for both pre-payment and credit meters to provide emergency assistance to families, and this is supported by advice from Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau Energy Advisors. • Energy Management Unit - Our 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 21/22 was £325,376. Clients supported included 144 families with children under 16. • Information sessions - In the latter part of 2021 and early 2022, energy bills became the issue most families reported being concerned with. To assist practitioners working with low-income families, either in the 3rd sector or within Council Services a ‘Spotlight Session’ was organised to clarify where those worried about energy costs could seek help and financial support within Renfrewshire. A further ‘Ren Talk’ session was arranged for Council, HSCP and OneRen staff. • In addition, NHSGGC ran a series of online information sessions for their staff in partnership with Home Energy Scotland. The Health Board also include messages around advice on their payslips. Income maximisation through advice Throughout 2021-22, income maximisation through advice has been a focus for the Council and partners. 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 was over £9.25 million. Advice Works provides the Healthier Wealthier Children advice, as well as that offered to all schools in Renfrewshire. The predominantly Council funded Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau’s (RCAB) general service has gained over £2 million for the people of Renfrewshire this year. This is in addition to the Legal Service, Fair Work and Welfare Rights services, all funded by Renfrewshire Council. Page 113 of 180
Page 118
20 This year, Advice Works and RCAB have worked closely with to ensure people are getting the benefits they are entitled to and the best money advice. They worked together on development of a benefit take up campaign, developed with partners and successfully launched during November 2021, with the aim of maximising income for low-income households. 60 clients of all ages were seen during the launch week, with support given around a number of benefits. A further 50 clients were seen in January 2022 when a similar campaign was run around debt and money advice. These campaigns have been very successful and it is intended to run them at regular intervals each year. 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. In our benefits take up work, we have 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. Healthier Wealthier Children The Healthier Wealthier Children (HWC) service works closely with antenatal and community child health services to target pregnant women and families with young children experiencing, or at risk of, child poverty as costs increase and employment patterns change around the birth of a child. The project offers income maximisation advice and aims to prevent families from falling into child poverty by working with health and early years services to identify families at risk at an early stage. The service has helped 528 families this year, with client financial gain of £417,319.15. Of these, 132 fitted into the Child Poverty Priority Groups, with lone parents being the largest group receiving advice. The service is now collecting postcode information for the Priority Groups which will allow us to better plan services. HWC data is reported into NHSGGC Financial Inequalities Group, the NHSGGC Child Poverty Group and as part of HSCP Strategic Planning. School Support Service Our School Support service offers advice to parents and carers via all schools and Early Learning Centres. This year 514 clients were assisted with advice with associated financial gain of £620,140.40. Improving the Cancer Journey The Improving the Cancer Journey service, in partnership with Macmillan, has continued to offer holistic advice for those with a cancer diagnosis, with a growth in referrals from Renfrewshire HSCP. With money worries highlighted as the main issue for service users, in the last 2 years, £793,174.13 has been gained for 800 clients. Although this is a universal service, many parents have gained from the service. Next year, the service will grow to cover long-term health conditions as well as cancer. Page 114 of 180
Page 119
21 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. Late in 2021/22 their Health Improvement Lead with responsibility for the service, joined Renfrewshire’s Advice Partnership. In the Royal Hospital for Children, which supports Renfrewshire families, the Money Advice service continues to support parents, carers and families. It provides an embedded and co-located Money and Debt advice with advocacy service to ensure that families access all benefits and entitlements and supports with debt issues, budgeting, energy costs, housing or eviction issues, employment, grants, white goods and applies a whole family holistic approach. 16 families from Renfrewshire were supported in 2021/22. The Raising Money Worries in Maternity services also had 15 referrals from Renfrewshire families. In addition, research carried out with BAME women including women in persistent poverty, highlighted barriers to service access (including use of interpreting) and ways in which the experience could be improved. Initial actions to address structural barriers in the maternity pathway include piloting video interpreting in the early pregnancy pathway and improving access to the Maternity Booking Line through use of a patient interpreting code. Looking forward, a pilot to support patients or staff with Universal Credit issues is in development at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. This will involve telephone access for direct support to a dedicated DWP staff member which aims to prevent sanctions. NHSGGC Health Visiting and Special Needs in Pregnancy Service (SNIPs) There has been a detailed pilot and review in NHSGGC for those accessing SNIPs and receiving Money Matters supports in the Glasgow area. This service is a Specialist Maternity Service that supports people who are pregnant with drug/alcohol misuse, domestic violence issues, who may be a teenage pregnancy and those with mental health issues. The learning from this will be rolled out across Renfrewshire for all families accessing SNIPs support. The updated Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan covering the period of 2022-26 (24 March 2022) highlights that the Health Visiting Universal Pathway promoting support to families with money worries. This reinforces that section of the pathway and plans for NHSGGC refreshing this process are being reviewed by the NHSGGC Financial Inequalities Group. Affordable Credit £45,000 funding was provided to Engage Renfrewshire, our Third Sector Interface to lead an affordable credit initiative under the existing banner of Renfrewshire Affordable Credit Alliance (RACA – www.RACA.org.uk). An Affordable Credit Officer (AFO) was employed in October 2021 with Page 115 of 180
Page 120
22 two priority areas; promotion of affordable credit options in Renfrewshire, and the prevention/reduction of people using illegal money lenders. The AFO has carried out sessions with a number of community groups, including money management sessions with young people and local ethnically diverse communities, tailoring messages to their needs. This includes ‘Tea and Tech’ sessions working with Barclays Bank and local Credit Unions, Fair For You and Scotcash as well as our local Citizens Advice Bureau to help people engage with financial services safely online. In addition, joint sessions have been run with Renfrewshire HSCP’s Financial Insecurity team and presentations given to both Renfrewshire Council and Renfrewshire HSCP staff both as practitioners and consumers. Work around illegal money lending has led to RACA being awarded the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit Charter Mark. Looking forward to the year ahead, the AFO will continue to work with organisations targeting Child Poverty Priority groups, such as Barnardos and Pachedu and continue to build connections in Renfrewshire communities. Digital Within the community impact assessment undertaken in late 2020, the positive benefits that digital access has brought to many households across Renfrewshire were recognised, however for specific groups of people there remain real barriers to access 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. The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way in which people across communities have used technology, and has also widened existing inequalities around access and skills. Renfrewshire Council has participated in the Connecting Scotland programme to ensure that local people are able to gain access to devices and connectivity to support their wellbeing, and just under 2000 devices have been allocated to date. In addition, City Fibre are investing in a 700km network providing Renfrewshire residents and businesses with access to the fastest, most reliable gigabit speed connectivity. The Council will continue to develop this approach through the development of a Digital Champions network in partnership with OneRen and £80,000 has been allocated to this project from the £100,000 allocated to tackle digital exclusion. This will be an initiative with SCVO and will build a network of volunteers and staff, and capacity across local third and community organisations, so that more local people can be supported to access and use digital technology. This will allow us to begin to understand how place-based solutions to digital inclusion could work and to develop a model of best practice for use across Scotland. A new focus group has been created called ‘Citizen Voice’. The group is made up of 23 members across public and the third sector representing the needs of citizens with regard to digital. This group is working collectively to identify local barriers to digital participation and how these can be overcome. Page 116 of 180
Page 121
23 Free Bus Travel - NEC 11,060 young people in Renfrewshire have signed up for an NEC card with free bus travel. Support has been provided by our Youth Services team, who worked with a number of organisations who supported young people were likely to face barriers to applying to get the card. These organisations are known as Trusted Verifiers – we have an agreement in place that staff act as referees for the young people and can confirm their personal information to the degree required by the scheme, removing the need for the young person to do it. Services who supported young people with the process include: Renfrewshire Council Social Work (Fostering Service, Throughcare, Kinship Care, Area Teams, Unaccompanied Young People, Supported Carers, Care Experienced Team, SPACE Team), Renfrewshire Women’s Aid, Who Cares? Scotland in Renfrewshire and Kibble We adapted processes for take up of the Junior card (for 5 – 10 year olds), adding an application process through ParentPay (which is popular in Renfrewshire). Schools can also provide paper applications. Those applying for the Young Scot National Entitlement Card (the card for those aged 11+) have always been able to apply at any local library in Renfrewshire. This way they can be supported by a member of staff if they need it. One Ren Libraries and Youth Services support this process. We were also aware that some families could not access the required proof documents for the scheme or faced paying £15 for a birth certificate. We decided to simplify the form so that those in school could simply include their school on the form and we would verify their details using SEEMIS or other back of house systems where possible. This has made accessing the scheme easier and more inclusive. Looking forward, each year Youth Services manages the primary 7 bulk process for Young Scot cards. This gives every primary 7 pupil the chance to apply for a card and typically takes place between March and May. It involves a photographer visiting every school to photograph the P7 pupils for their card and a bulk data exercise for those who provide consent. During the summer holidays we will be looking at uptake at certain schools and where this is low, will include a sign-up availability at Summer activity camps for parents. These tend to have a higher uptake from families experiencing poverty and so information and easy sign up may assist those who haven’t used the methods already available. Winter Support Funding In the past year Renfrewshire Council has administered a range of funds to support families. It was announced in late 2021 that £848,000 additional funding would be allocated to the Council from Scottish Government, to support people experiencing financial insecurity over the immediate winter period. In developing options in relation to this additional Scottish Government funding, officers worked with partners and across services to map financial payments / support arrangements that have been allocated through local authorities during the pandemic, and to undertake an initial assessment of specific groups that could be targeted through this funding. Page 117 of 180
Page 122
24 In response to the local needs assessment undertaken and in line with the Scottish Government’s guidance on the utilisation of this funding, the £848,000 of additional Scottish Government has been initially allocated as follows: • £230,000 to provide individual grants of £100 for people facing financial insecurity/hardship • £325,000 to provide a £50 payment per child for winter clothing for children in receipt of School Clothing Grant. • £160,000 to top up the Scottish Welfare Fund to maintain payments at the current rate. • £90,000 to top up Discretionary Housing Payments which will assist clients in maintaining their tenancy and prevent homelessness. • £38,000 for an additional Improving the Cancer Journey Coordinator for one year to support individuals who have a long-term condition. This will allow clients to be seen quicker and provided with appropriate advice. Administering other support funds There has been a Tenant Support Fund funded by Scottish Government and administered by local authorities to people renting in social or private sectors who are struggling with rent arrears directly caused by COVID-19 or at risk of repossession or homelessness. A one-off Low Income Pandemic Payment of £130 was made in Autumn 2021 to help towards increased costs and potential lost income during the pandemic. This was paid to people who are in receipt of Council Tax Reduction as well as some people who are exempt from Council Tax. There have been a number of Scottish Government funded payments throughout the pandemic focussed on low-income households with children. These will be sustained throughout 2022 as four payments throughout the year (known as Scottish Child Bridging Payment), when they will be replaced by the full-roll out of the Scottish Child Payment by Social Security Scotland. These payments are £130 per child eligible for free school meals due to low-income, and will be made at Easter, Summer, October and Christmas in line with the start of the school holidays. These payments are for children 6 and over, as those under 6 will receive Scottish Child Payment. In addition, cash payments of £2.25 per day, per child are made 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. Locally, we continue to administer both the Scottish Welfare Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) throughout the pandemic. While these supports are ‘business-as-usual’, since the beginning of the pandemic they have been topped up by both local and national funding to meet demand. In 2021/22 DHP was topped up by £190,000 and Scottish Welfare Fund by £160,000 (including additional Scottish Government funding). In February 2022, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes announced a further £290 million in financial support to help address the rising cost of living. New measures announced included £280 million to provide £150 to every household in receipt of Council Tax Reduction in any Band and to provide £150 to all other occupied households in Bands A to D. In Renfrewshire, the households affected received £150 credit towards their Council tax bill. Page 118 of 180
Page 123
25 Period Poverty As well as our general provision of sanitary products in libraries, leisure centres and town halls and our ordering service for individuals, we have focussed on provision to community groups who work with families with young children, especially those with young children such as Home-Start and have also provided 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 worked with a number of our pantries and Renfrewshire Foodbank to provide reusable products to establish if those types of products work well for people with lower incomes. Our consultation on free sanitary products was carried out in May 2022 and the results will be the basis for our longer-term strategy with regard to period products. Housing Renfrewshire Local Housing Strategy 2022-2027 At the time of writing this Local Child Poverty Action Report, the Council’s Local Housing Strategy 2022-2027 is in draft form and out for consultation within the area. The draft Local Housing Strategy builds on the previous housing strategy and supports the regeneration of existing neighbourhoods and the delivery of high quality, well designed, energy efficient and sustainable places. The draft strategy proposes five Strategic Priorities for Renfrewshire, which the Council and partners will seek to deliver over the next five years. • Strategic Priority 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; • Strategic Priority 2: People live in high quality, well managed homes in sustainable neighbourhoods; • Strategic Priority 3: Address the challenges of the climate emergency, delivering homes that are warm, energy efficient and fuel poverty is minimised; • Strategic Priority 4: Preventing and addressing Homelessness with vulnerable people getting the advice and support they need; and, • Strategic Priority 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. Data released by Energy Action Scotland in January 2022 showed that just over one in 5 people in Renfrewshire are living in fuel poverty. As part of Strategic priority 3, a distinct Fuel Poverty strategy is being developed for Renfrewshire. Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal Programme Renfrewshire Council’s Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal Programme will 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 Renfrewshire as a place and will be central to the economic and social recovery of Renfrewshire. This ambitious programme will be taken forward as a key Council priority, designed to deliver maximum benefits for local communities, with the active involvement of services across the Council. Phase 1 of the Page 119 of 180
Page 124
26 £100m, ten-year Programme covers eight areas which have been identified as being in particular need of investment and which contain a total of 1,648 properties; 1,147 of which are in Council ownership. The programme will see a mix of investment to improve existing buildings and the common areas around them, with potential demolition and new-build in some areas, improving the wider neighbourhoods as places to live and contributing to the area’s recovery from the pandemic. It is anticipated that, along with refurbishment of existing properties, around 400 new affordable social rent houses will be built. A package of enhanced improvement works will be developed which may include external improvement works such as thermal render, roofs, rainwater goods and energy-efficient doors and windows to properties along with environmental improvements to the surrounding area. Fabric works will be tailored to the buildings in each area and will adopt a whole house retrofit approach with measures to improve energy efficiency and help reduce energy costs for tenants and residents. During summer and autumn 2021, an in-depth survey was conducted with residents to establish views on the initial proposals being made and collect information on household demographics to assist planning. Renfrewshire Housing First The Renfrewshire Housing First Service, initially set up as a one year pilot in 2013 continues to grow. The service provides outreach support to individuals aged 18 or over who are homeless, have an active addiction and live in the Renfrewshire area. Renfrewshire Housing First service supports people to access a permanent tenancy within the local authority. The service also employs Peer Support Practitioners who have been through their own addiction and in recovery and staff who offer a wide range of support to individuals with complex needs. As well as providing support with the practical aspects of maintaining a tenancy, service users also receive support to access services relating to mental health, addictions and social opportunities and are offered support to find something in their life which is meaningful to them, through leisure activities, voluntary work, education or employment. The emphasis is always on what the individual wishes to have in their life, at a time when they are ready for it. Support is not time limited and can be in place for as long as the person requires it. Service users have access to an on- call service out with service hours. The number of individuals being supported via the Housing First approach, which provides wraparound support for those in housing need to move to (and sustain) settled accommodation, has increased from 20 to up to 43 at any one time. 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. Page 120 of 180
Page 125
27 Supporting the next generation to thrive Tackling Poverty Renfrewshire’s Tackling Poverty programme (see page 6) supports a number of projects which help our young people thrive and help break down some of the barriers to attainment. The programme: • Augments Cost of the School Day funding by £75,000 a year • Provides funding for Breakfast Clubs in some of our most deprived areas relieving financial pressure on low-income families, but most importantly, makes 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 Street Stuff out of school activities during the holidays and at weekends, along with the provision of free healthy meals. • Ensures the Skoobmobile continues to provide a mobile public library service directly to children and families in communities. Breakfast Clubs are part of a number of schools, some of which are funded through the Tackling Poverty Programme and others through other means or organised by individual schools. An evaluation of our breakfast clubs was carried out this year. Pupils and their parents/carers were asked a number of questions about the Clubs. Response to the Clubs was very positive. 95% of children thought the Clubs helped them get ready to learn and 92% said the Breakfast Clubs helped them concentrate throughout the day. 95% enjoyed socialising with their friends. Over 80% of parents used the Club to help with their working schedule, with almost 30% saying it helped with the family budget. Parents with more than one child were more likely to use the Clubs to help with working arrangements and 36% of these parents advised the Club helped with family budget. One parent with 3 or more children said, ‘It’s allowed me to take up employment couple of days a week, without it I’d never be able to make my work on time’. Breakfast Clubs were also 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. Street Stuff provide free activities for children in the evenings, during the holidays and at weekends. A free healthy meal is provided and the Street Stuff buses also have free wifi to ensure young people aren’t digitally excluded. Street Stuff activities took place this year in local communities. This was a change from previous years where activities were in located within St Mirren FC. Over the Christmas break period, 258 young people attended, with 225 healthy meals bought, with children feeding into the menu Page 121 of 180
Page 126
28 choice. At Christmas gift vouchers were purchased for the young people from stores selected based on conversation and feedback from staff and young people. Over the spring holiday period, there were 540 attendances over the 2 week period, again, with lunch provided. Our Street Stuff buses were used during spring break. Looking ahead, Street Stuff will be providing their offer to children age 5 and over through the Scottish Government Summer Holiday Food and Childcare Programme funding. Although currently activities are focused in areas of multiple deprivation, working with partners will allow the service to be extended and Child Poverty Priority Groups to be better targeted. Skoobmobile The Skoobmobile provides a 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. After the pandemic restrictions, Skoobmobile has returned to communities this year, providing a limited service. 3449 primary school pupils, 327 pre-5 children and 306 adults were reached in in approximately 500 sessions. 2573 books were borrowed and 694 children became members of Renfrewshire libraries. The Team has been showing the older children some of the online resources available through the libraries, and how to download audio books. Looking forward, over the summer period, Skoobmobile will support the summer reading challenge through a programme of weekly stops throughout the summer holidays. These include stops in schools within areas of multiple deprivation. As the reading challenge this year is linked to STEM, the bus team have received training to support this. Scottish Attainment Challenge In response to our equity audit, which has been ongoing throughout the pandemic and attainment data, targeted approaches and interventions were developed to support schools with raising attainment and addressing health and wellbeing needs. Some examples are outlined below: Our team of numeracy Modelling and Coaching Officers (MCOs) engaged with 12 target schools, offering bespoke, in-class support and professional learning activities to develop teachers’ knowledge and skills in effective teaching in numeracy and mathematics. The officers are having a direct impact on children as well as staff: “The MCO has had a noticeable impact on the way numeracy and maths is being taught...Staff confidence has developed as well as skills…staff are more willing to try out some tasks and activities. [Children] talk more positively about numeracy and maths and what they have learned. In the stages the MCO is focussing on attainment has increased as November results demonstrated.” The pandemic meant that many children and young people missed out on vital transition visits to their primary or secondary schools. Transition teachers from primary schools supported 90 children ensuring their move to secondary was as seamless as possible. 86% agreed that their transition teacher had helped them settle into high school learning and gave them curricular support when needed. Page 122 of 180
Page 127
29 The pandemic has had a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people. A digital mental health and wellbeing policy for schools was developed and implemented helping schools set out their aims and approaches as well as identifying training needs to support the outcomes of children and young people. Partnership working has allowed us to strengthen and add value to the work of schools following the pandemic. Active Schools are working with 11 schools to support learning through an after- school physical activity programme. 257 children have participated and benefited by engaging in a variety sport and physical activities which include literacy and numeracy content to support learning: "In the Active Schools Reading Club we have been focusing on inciting pleasure of reading though implementing Dive into Reading strategies. We worked on comprehension…we discussed vocabulary and how it fits the purpose of the text; we made connections to what we know about the world. But most importantly, we tried to have fun with the text we have been reading." The Place2Be service is supporting improvements in the emotional wellbeing of children, young people, staff and families. Since August 2021, Place2Be have supported 314 children and young people in targeted schools through 455 drop-in sessions, 191 one-to-one therapeutic counselling sessions, 35 parent partnership sessions and 178 staff Place2Think sessions. "I like Place2Be because I am able to share my opinions and they don't judge you and they respect it.". – Child "I have been feeling so overwhelmed and felt helpless about how to get help for my son. I am really grateful to Place2Be for supporting him" – Mother Through our work with Barnardos, 3 schools and 1 Early Learning and Childcare Centre (ELCC) were awarded ‘SEL Worldwide Model School’ Status for their outstanding commitment to social and emotional learning through their involvement in the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) programme. In line with national guidance, schools used their Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) in a flexible way and responded directly to the emerging needs of children and young people. Schools utilised PEF to provide targeted support in literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing. Some effective uses of PEF included supporting enhanced transition of pupils from associated primaries, delivering professional learning for teachers and support staff to support the implementation of effective interventions and providing targeted support for groups of young people at risk of disengaging from education through nurturing approaches. Cost of the School Day (COSD), which was topped up by the Tackling Poverty programme, was also used flexibly to directly support families. The majority of COSD funding was used to purchase uniforms and winter / outdoor clothing for children. This was particularly important due to increased ventilation and outdoor play requirements in schools throughout the pandemic. Families also received food vouchers and financial support with utility bills to help alleviate food and fuel poverty. Through COSD funding, 9 schools took part in a Participatory Budgeting (PB) pilot. Schools were encouraged to work in collaboration with each other and include wider community partners. Projects focused on gender equality, food poverty, outdoor learning, nurture and family learning. As a result, children have developed a range of skills in decision making, negotiating, planning and Page 123 of 180
Page 128
30 leadership. Senior pupils have been able to gain experience of working with younger children which has supported their applications to further and higher education. Looking ahead, the Scottish Government published a revised mission statement for the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) and all local authorities will receive funding to close the poverty related attainment gap. The refreshed mission is cognisant of the role that partners play in closing the gap ensuring that all children are able to learn, achieve and attain. This also includes an enhanced focus on collaborative working with local poverty action groups and community planning partners. The SAC offer in Renfrewshire will include targeted and universal support to enhance learning and teaching, health and wellbeing, families and communities and leadership. This will be delivered in partnership with schools and wider partners to ensure that there is no poverty of ambition for children and young people in Renfrewshire. Peer Health The Peer Health Project, in partnership with Active Communities, continues to work across all Renfrewshire secondaries, including our ASN secondary school. Peer educators are recruited and trained and workshops provided so teachers can support this work. In addition, a drop-in community drop in takes place once a week. Older pupils, who are providing support can use this as to contribute toward Saltire and Duke of Edinburgh awards. Activities are decided within individual schools and based on their priorities. Examples of the work taking place are: • Cooking sessions delivered by a restaurant aimed at pupils leaving/moving out and for young carers across the school • LGBTQ+ lessons delivered to all S3 pupils • Wellbeing Homework Club to be started with online input from teachers to help through the homework • Random acts of Kindness across the school • Mental Health First Aid training • Pupils volunteering within the community Renfrewshire’s Children’s Services Partnership Renfrewshire’s Children’s Services Partnership Plan 2021/22 – 2023-24 (here) sets out our vision, that Renfrewshire’s children and young people are happy, healthy, safe and thriving. The Partnership is responsible for a range of universal, targeted and specialist services which promote the safety and security of children, young people and their families. It supports a range of activities around health, safety, young people’s rights and ensuring children and young people make positive contributions to their communities. The plan for the next three years outlines actions and outcomes and will be monitored by a monitoring and evaluation sub-group which prepares a progress report for each meeting of the Partnership Board. The Partnership board will be responsible for decision making on appropriate local spend for the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund which is being distributed by Scottish Government and is intended to scale up and drive the delivery of holistic whole family support services. Spending criteria have Page 124 of 180
Page 129
31 been developed, with input from stakeholders, to guide decision making by Children’s Services Partnerships, reflecting consistent stakeholder input that flexibility will allow optimisation of approaches which best meet local need. This funding forms a key part of Scottish Government’s commitment to Keep the Promise, recognising the importance of early intervention in reducing need for formal care. The Promise Renfrewshire has a Promise Strategic Oversight group with 5 subgroups sitting beneath replicating the 5 pillars of the Promise. More than 50 individuals are involved in this workstream from 9 different agencies. This includes all key strategic partners, frontline staff and care experienced people. Throughout 2021, Renfrewshire’s Promise Strategic Oversight Group and Promise Sub groups met regularly. Work around The Promise has progressed this year, with development in a number of key areas, including Promise Keepers where we have developed a set of values for what is required to be a Promise Keeper for individual staff to ensure that staff are considering the Promise in their day to day working lives. As a Council it is important that we all recognise that we all play an important role in ensuring that the promise is kept across Renfrewshire, and also what that means and looks like for our individual job roles. Promise Keepers will be responsible for championing The Promise in their services or organisations to ensure that The Promise is at the forefront of service delivery and design. Promise Keepers will be formally recruited through an application form and will receive relevant training and development opportunities to ensure that they are fully supported in their roles. A Promise Self-Evaluation toolkit has also been created in line with the key recommendations of The Independent Care Review and Plan 21-24 of The Promise. This tool aims to allow services and staff teams across the local authority to evaluate and measure their progress in implementing The Promise across these key areas. This will allow elements of best practice to be identified and celebrated, providing key learning opportunities across a wide range of services. This document will also allow us to gain an improved understanding of areas where improvement is needed so support can be provided to ensure that these gaps in provision are addressed. In addition, a successful bid was made to the Life Changes Trust Legacy Fund and £400,000 granted for Digital Skills for People with Care Experience 2022-2025. This consortium bid with YMCA Scotland, YMCA Paisley, Youthlink Scotland, Barnardo’s, Scottish Tech Army and Mhor Collective will support The Promise. Community Learning and Development - Youth Services 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. For work with young people, this includes universal and targeted actions such as community- based youth work to build strength and capacity amongst young people, delivery of an extensive Youth Voice programme to ensure young people have every opportunity to be fully engaged in local and national decision-making structures and to raise awareness and participation in Page 125 of 180
Page 130
32 democracy and citizenship opportunities – actively removing barriers to participation. Duke of Edinburgh Award Programme and other wider achievement programmes are supported and delivered in schools and communities. Digital development opportunities and Education Recovery learning programmes ensure no young person is left behind, with a particular focus on reducing the educational poverty attainment gap. Universal youth engagement programmes will be maintained and developed that will reduce the impact of anti-social behaviour on communities – promoting safer communities and providing opportunities for participation, volunteering, employment and building – as well as addressing known issues of poverty and holiday hunger in targeted communities. Supporting the education recovery of young people, the collaborative working partnership Renfrewshire Youth Work Network, has developed community-based Academies which offer thematic learning activities. There are four Academies: • the Culture Academy (led by Create Paisley); • the Digital Academy (led by Paisley YMCA), • the Outdoor Academy (led by Renfrew YMCA); and • the Community Empowerment Academy (led by Renfrewshire Council’s Youth Services) In each of the Academies, young people not only engage and learn new skills, but are able to produce and create material and resources that will benefit others, peers and communities. This programme seeks to strengthen the youth work and schools partnership, focussing on reducing the poverty attainment gap. The Academies were formed as part of the Youth Work Educational Recovery Programme, supported by the Scottish Government and focus much of their work on some of the more deprived areas in Renfrewshire, although are open to all young people across the local authority area. Feedback for each academy has been excellent. Young people said they loved learning new skills, looking forward to new experiences each week, and enjoying meeting up with new friends. More information on Community Learning and Development plans and activities can be found in their Strategy. Page 126 of 180
Page 131
33 Appendix A Youth Unemployment Achievements Renfrewshire’s Youth Employment rate (now 67.4%) has seen the biggest growth across all 32 local authority areas over the last 10 years and is the 2nd highest in Scotland. A record 96.5% of pupils across Renfrewshire were in a 'positive destination' within three months of leaving school last year. An increasing % (93%) of young people aged 16-19 years are participating in work/learning/study (Aug 21 Annual Participation measure). The gap in this participation rate (12% at Feb 22) between Renfrewshire’s most and least deprived areas is fluctuating (84.2% participating in most deprived areas and 96.2% in least.) 730 Kickstart opportunities were created with 430 being filled with 18-24 year olds (at 25.3.22) 99 young people gaining skills and experience through volunteering since November 2020. There have also been 120 young people awarded their Saltire Award during this period. 411 Young people participating in specific YPG and NOLB funded employability programmes in 21/22 101 Young People participated in West College Scotland’s YPG funded Skills Boost College Provision (2020/21 Academic Year) 416 young people started a Modern Apprenticeship (1 April to 31 December 2021) The Modern Apprenticeship achievement rate in Renfrewshire is 71.7%. 62 Graduate Apprenticeships were registered, with 50 registered with employers in Renfrewshire (2020-21) 45 pupils started Foundation Apprenticeships in schools at SCQF Level 4-6 (2020-21) 14 local employers have formally signed up to the YPG pledging support and have to date provided 305 opportunities for local young people ( 2 mentoring; 67 work experience placements ; 67 Modern Apprenticeships;25 Foundation Apprenticeships; 4 Adopt an Apprentice; 49 volunteering and 91 paid internships) Many more employers have created employment and work experience opportunities for young people. Page 127 of 180
Page 132
Page 128 of 180
Page 133
___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 22 June 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme Update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report provides the Leadership Board with an update on the progress of the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme which was established following the publication of the Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drugs Commission final report in December 2020. 1.2 The report set out 27 recommendations to be progressed by partners, and the Council allocated £2m of funding to support the local response to these recommendations. 1.3 The report and its recommendations were endorsed by Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire Integration Joint Board and Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Executive Group, with full support gained to respond to these recommendations on a collective basis. 1.4 A Programme Board, chaired by the Council’s Chief Executive, was established to oversee the local partnership response to the Commission, meeting regularly. 1.5 The delivery of this Programme remains a key priority for all partners and it is important that it continues to be delivered at pace, given the significant harm that local people are currently experiencing in relation to alcohol and drug use. Moving forward work will be undertaken to further develop this programme, to ensure activities are closely linked to the wider Fairer Renfrewshire programme, and activities being progressed by the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership. 1.6 This paper provides an update on the progress that has been achieved to date, with specific focus on support for a programme of recovery events in partnership with Scottish Recovery Consortium and the proposed launch of a Recovery Change Fund in in Renfrewshire. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members of the Leadership Board: a) Note the progress of the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme since the last update provided to the Leadership Board on 15 September 2021; Item 4 Page 129 of 180
Page 134
b) Approve £69,500 funding for the Connected and Caring Renfrewshire project from the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme budget and a further £20,000 to extend the Alcohol Policy project; and c) Approve the guidance for the Recovery Change Fund which will launch in June/July 2022 at Appendix 1 ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 In late 2018, Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Executive Group agreed to establish an independent Commission to consider the true impact of alcohol and drug use across Renfrewshire’s communities. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 caused the Commission to pause its work, however this resumed in September 2020, with the Commission’s final report being published in December 2020. 3.2 The report sets out the Commission’s main findings and provides 27 recommendations to guide the local response. Priority actions identified included: urgently addressing issues in relation to mental health service provision, including provision for young people; considering trauma as part of everything that partners do in Renfrewshire; and introducing a whole system approach to supporting people with their alcohol and drug use. 3.3 The report and its recommendations were endorsed by Council, Renfrewshire Integration Joint Board and Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership Executive Group, with full support gained to respond to these recommendations on a collective basis. 3.4 Prior to the report’s publication, Council allocated £2m of funding in March 2020 to support the emerging recommendations of the Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drugs Commission. Given both the impact that the pandemic has had on local people and communities and the urgent nature of some of recommendations identified within the Commission’s report, officers worked with partners to bring forward an initial tranche of funding proposals which would target the priorities identified as being most urgent by the Commission. 3.5 In December 2020, Council agreed to allocate £1.34m of the £2m allocated funding to support a range of projects which will aim to pilot new ways of working across the community planning partnership, with the opportunity to use this learning to transform the way in which people receive support across Renfrewshire. A further £200k was allocated to the Holistic Support Model project at the December 2021 Leadership Board. 3.6 A Programme Board was established to oversee the local partnership response to the Commission, and this is chaired by the Council’s Chief Executive. Partners are working very closely to ensure that all of the activities being progressed are joined up and make maximum use of the funding and resources available. ___________________________________________________________________ 4. Progress of the Change Programme 4.1 Following the Alcohol and Drugs Commission’s final report in December 2020, partners have prioritised a range of actions in response to the key recommendations, as well as establishing a Programme Board to drive the local response, ensuring that all partners work together, join up service developments, and maximise the resources available. Key developments which have been progressed include the following projects, under the themes of the Commission’s final report: Page 130 of 180
Page 135
4.2 Risk of Harm Assertive Outreach (Harm Reduction Response Team – HaRRT) - Outreach programmes enable services to be more responsive to the needs of individuals who use drugs, and those who may be less likely to engage with services. A Harm Reduction Response Team (HaRRT) is currently being established in Renfrewshire, aiming to deliver harm reduction services to individuals on an outreach, flexible, and accessible manner, to reduce the risk of overdose and other drug related harms, and to proactively link individuals into treatment and support services. The Service will be provided outwith traditional core hours, on a dynamic and responsive basis across local communities in Renfrewshire – this is informed by the review of drug related deaths data, together with ongoing feedback from service users. The mobile unit to deliver this service has been procured and stocked with supplies, and recruitment of staff has taken place, with all necessary training complete. An initial steering group has been set up, and engagement with wider partners has taken place including Community Safety, Homelessness services, Police Scotland and GPs. A soft launch of the service is planned for early Summer, with a more formal launch taking place shortly after. Work is currently underway with the HSCP and Council Communications teams to plan the launch and promotion of the service. Holistic Support Model (MYLA – MyLifeAhead) – This housing-led project which provides holistic wraparound support, using many of the elements of Housing First. The project will support any household in Renfrewshire, regardless of tenure, whose life is being affected by alcohol/drugs, and builds on the concept that in order to have good health, you need to have a good, settled home. A specialist support provider (Turning Point Scotland) has been appointed to provide this bespoke support intervention via experienced staff, who will deploy a therapeutic and trauma informed approach, with support being centred and tailored around the individual, to help sustain their settled housing and stabilise their lives. A coordinator in Communities and Housing Services has also been appointed. The project formally launched on 16 May 2022, with a steering group also being established, involving partners such as Renfrewshire HSCP, social registered landlords, and third sector support providers. Crisis Based Mental Health Services - The project involves extending the current out of hours crisis support service provided by RAMH to include support in relation to alcohol and drugs. Recruitment has been completed and staff are undergoing training and induction, including shadowing Alcohol and Drug Recovery Services colleagues. The service is anticipated to formally launch by the end of June 2022. Building Based Services - The Alcohol and Drugs Commission and the HSCP Whole Systems Review of the Alcohol and Drugs Services, identified issues with stigma and the environment at the Back Sneddon Street service. As a result, the HSCP are currently undertaking a property review through a trauma-informed lens, the findings will used to inform a Property Strategy. Currently services are utilising space at Back Sneddon Street, Torley Unit (Dykebar Hospital) and New Sneddon Street. The HSCP are also considering expanding the use of space in other buildings across Renfrewshire to support a shift to a more community-based model. Hidden Harm - It is important that partners across Renfrewshire better understand the level of hidden harm in Renfrewshire, recognising that local drug and alcohol services will not engage with all people experiencing issues with alcohol and drugs locally. This is important to understanding how services can better reach out to support people at an early stage. Independent research was commissioned and completed by We are With You and the findings from this research are currently being shared and discussed with partners. Page 131 of 180
Page 136
4.3 Mental Health Trauma Informed and Responsive Renfrewshire Programme - Recognising the fundamental issue of trauma that local people and families told Commission members they had experienced, work has commenced on a partnership programme of work to ensure that recognising and responding to trauma is part of every service we deliver. A coordinator post has been created to lead this programme of work going forward, with recruitment currently underway. The Trauma steering group has been established, and engagement with the Improvement Service and other local authorities has taken place. An action plan is currently being developed, and awareness sessions at a leadership level are already underway. It is anticipated that actions will include: • Reviewing current training and development programmes • Reviewing HR and recruitment policies through a trauma informed lens, • Deliver awareness sessions to highlight what becoming more trauma informed can mean for services and partnership • Linking this work to existing and emerging priorities such as The Promise, Our Values, etc. Youth Health and Wellbeing Service - Service proposals are being progressed for a Youth Health and Wellbeing Service, which will provide drop-in facilities for young people who require to immediately access to mental health support. The service is currently being developed by the HSCP in collaboration with Children’s Services but will work in partnership with clinicians and the third sector whilst complimenting the REN10 programme. 4.4 Prevention and Early Intervention Alcohol Policy - A partnership officer has been recruited to drive policy change across Renfrewshire, focusing on issues such as alcohol availability, supply and promotion and also how employers across Renfrewshire can identify and respond to support people and their families who are affected by alcohol use. Actions over the last six months include: the partnership officer is now the chair of the Licensing Forum, and has commenced a review of activity and development of an action plan, as well as looking to recruit new young persons representatives to the group; and, working with Council HR colleagues to develop a Workplace Alcohol and Substance Policy, as well as colleagues in West College Scotland to update similar policies. £50,000 was initially allocated to support the development of this project, with a further £20k agreed by the Programme Board to allow the project to be extended to 2 years. Approval is requested from the Leadership Board to allocate this additional funding as recommended by the Programme Board. 4.5 Young People and Families Enhanced Education and Training Across Educational Establishments - Children’s Services in partnership with I Am Me Scotland have developed a digital, interactive and progressive curricular programme in substance use for early years to senior phase aligned to the principles of Curriculum for Excellence, and reflecting the context of drug use within Renfrewshire. A steering group comprising key partners including representatives from the emergency services and those with lived experience being was established and were involved in the development of the programme. Consultation with pupil steering groups across various primary schools has been very successful, and pupils have contributed to animation scripts, provided voiceovers for animations, and been consulted on lesson plan content. Page 132 of 180
Page 137
The model is now being replicated at secondary level. Lessons come in the form of engaging interactive powerpoint presentations for use on class whiteboard, including videos (biteables), animations, discussion points and quizzes. A book for early years has also been developed and copies printed for all early years establishments. The resources will formally launch in August 2022, and links will be explored around the developing stigma and language workstream. 4.6 Recovery, Relationships and Connections Peer Worker Model - The Commission heard that often people who use drugs and alcohol would benefit from peer support as they worked towards recovery. A Peer Coordinator and two peer workers have been recruited, and are actively promoting recovery within Continuing in Recovery Changes Lives Entirely (CIRCLE) and within wider communities. CIRCLE is a Recovery Hub in Renfrewshire for individuals affected by mental health and/or alcohol and drugs, based on a peer-led model that involves people with lived and living experience in all aspects of service planning. The model delivers a core programme of activities and is developing links for future implementation. Current service provision includes activities such as a book group, gardening group, focus group, football, drama etc. The Coordinator and workers have been hugely involved in the development of the Connected and Caring Renfrewshire proposal, as well as its ongoing development with the Scottish Recovery Consortium and wider recovery network. Recovery Change Fund - The aim of the Recovery Change Fund is to support the development of local groups and organisations which provide social connection and support recovery in Renfrewshire. The Fund is also intended to provide opportunities to support piloting new ideas and projects in relation to mental health, recovery, stigma, and social isolation - gaps in provision identified through the extensive engagement during the work of the Commission. Further detail is provided at Section 6. Connected and Caring Renfrewshire – Details of this proposal are included at Section 5 below for approval. The proposal, developed by the Scottish Recovery Consortium, involves a programme of events and activities to take place throughout 2022 in Renfrewshire, to highlight and deliver: recovery development support; active Citizenship/Lived Experience Representation; Stigma & Discrimination Reduction; amplification of compassion; and connectedness and community wellbeing across Renfrewshire. The proposal includes an Art of Recovery Festival, as well as the Recovery Walk Scotland to be held in Paisley in September 2022. Stigma/Language Matters - Partners are currently developing a Language Matters initiative, which will support them to challenge preconceptions and stigma around drug and alcohol use and promote positive conversations about recovery in Renfrewshire. Preliminary work has included developing a marketing and communications activity plan, with the following objectives: • demonstrating leadership by ensuring that we do not use language that stigmatises people in public or in our communications; • supporting staff to understand the power of language, be confident in their use of language and to challenge stigma by speaking up when people make negative or wrong comments; and • supporting national campaigns to help people in Renfrewshire understand the power of language. 4.7 Work on the evaluation framework for the Programme is currently being developed, aligning the projects to the themes and outcomes. The Programme outcomes currently include: Page 133 of 180
Page 138
Outcome 1: Strengthen partnership working and adopt a whole system approach Outcome 2: Increase understanding of trauma and ensure it’s reflected in the way staff work across the partnership; Outcome 3: Value and further involve those with lived and living experience; and, Outcome 4: Increase understanding, and strengthen local data, and service insight available relating to alcohol and drugs. 4.8 The delivery of this programme of work remains a key priority for all partners and it is important that it continues to be delivered at pace given the significant harm that local people are currently experiencing in relation to alcohol and drug use. Key priorities over the next six-months include continuing to progress the existing projects, identifying further actions and funding proposals and consider how best to articulate Renfrewshire’s overall approach to tackling the impact of alcohol and drugs to Commission members, partners and members of the public. ___________________________________________________________________ 5. Funding Proposal: Connected and Caring Renfrewshire 5.1 The Scottish Recovery Consortium (SRC), working in partnership with colleagues in CIRCLE, have developed a proposal for a programme of events and activities to take place throughout 2022 in Renfrewshire, to highlight and deliver: Recovery Development Support; Active Citizenship/Lived Experience Representation; Stigma & Discrimination Reduction; Amplification of Compassion; and Connectedness and Community Wellbeing across Renfrewshire. 5.2 The proposal supports a number of areas identified during the work of the Commission, including the importance of social relationships and social connection to support recovery, valuing lived and living experience, and reducing stigma and promoting positive conversations about recovery in Renfrewshire. In terms of the recommendations in the Commission’s final report, this proposal would largely help to support areas within the Relationships and Connections theme, particularly in relation to partners addressing barriers to recovery, such as loneliness, isolation, and stigma, as well as acting robustly to eradicate stigma and have positive recovery conversations with communities, as well as engagement with local media, with those with lived experience playing a leading role. 5.3 The provisional timeline in the proposal is flexible and adaptable, including a number of events and activities and culminating in the Recovery Walk Scotland taking place in Paisley on 24 September 2022, during Scotland’s celebration of International Recovery. 5.4 SRC’s primary operational partners will be participants and staff at CIRCLE, working in partnership with Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire HSCP, Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, as well as local statutory, third sector, and community organisations to deliver the project locally and nationally. 5.5 The overall project cost is £139,000, with half of this funded required provided by the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership. It is proposed that the remaining £69,500 is funded through the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme. ___________________________________________________________________ 6. Recovery Change Fund Guidance 6.1 As previously reported to the Leadership Board, during the Commission's listening programme, local groups and organisations stated that it was very difficult to gain funding to support their activities and that further funding could allow them to expand and grow what they did to support local people. Page 134 of 180
Page 139
In turn, local people experiencing issues with alcohol and drugs felt there needed to be more community-based alternatives to support, as opposed to through formal services. This was felt to be particularly true in terms of mental health and peer support. 6.2 As a result, Council agreed to allocate £150,000 to establish a Recovery Change Fund. The aim of the fund is to support the development of local groups and organisations which provide social connection and support recovery in Renfrewshire, as well as to provide opportunities to support piloting new ideas and projects in relation to mental health, recovery, stigma, and social isolation - gaps in provision identified during the work of the Commission. 6.3 In order to administer the fund, the guidance attached in Appendix 1 below has been developed and clearly sets out the background, criteria, decision-making process, and key dates. The guidance has been developed in consultation with some of the third sector organisations who took part during the Commission’s Listening Programme, and with our partners in Renfrewshire HSCP and Renfrewshire ADP. 6.4 Subject to approval of the guidance, it is anticipated that the fund will be launched late June/July 2022. A report outlining funding recommendations will be submitted to Leadership Board in September 2022. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – The paper proposes that £69,500 funding from the Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme be allocated to support the Connected and Caring Recovery Programme. This will be provided as grant funding and be subject to a grant agreement between the Council and Scottish Recovery Consortium. The paper also approves the allocation of an additional £20,000 to support the Alcohol Policy project to run for 24 months. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – The Commission was established by Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership and the report has been endorsed by the Community Planning Partnership Executive Group. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets - none 6. Information Technology - none 7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none Page 135 of 180
Page 140
12. COSLA Policy Position – none 13. Climate Risk – none Author: Laura McIntyre, Head of Policy and Commissioning, Chief Executive’s Service Page 136 of 180
Page 141
Appendix 1 Renfrewshire’s Recovery Change Fund 2022/23 Background Renfrewshire’s Alcohol and Drugs Commission was asked by Renfrewshire Community Planning Partnership to establish a true picture of drug and alcohol use in Renfrewshire. Comprising of a range of local and national experts, the Commission undertook an extensive programme of engagement and evidence gathering which involved over 300 local people and groups. The final report was presented in December 2020. It includes 27 recommendations which provide clear direction to community planning partners on the action that must be taken to fundamentally address the impact of alcohol and drug use in Renfrewshire. During the Commission's listening programme, local groups and organisations stated that it was very difficult to gain funding to support their activities and that further funding could allow them to expand and grow what they did to support local people. In turn, local people experiencing issues with alcohol and drugs felt there needed to be more community-based alternatives to support, as opposed to through formal services. This was particularly true in terms of mental health and peer support. One of the key findings of the Commission highlighted the strength in local communities to support recovery, as well as the importance of lived and living experience being able to provide a bridge between services and supporting people with their recovery. The Commission also heard about the key role of social relationships and social connection to support recovery, and that there needed to be more opportunities for social connection in Renfrewshire. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns and restrictions have had a significant impact on individuals, families, and communities across Renfrewshire, as well as on the way services and support are delivered. Over the past two years, services and support for those impacted by alcohol and/or drugs have experienced significant challenges, requiring to adapt quickly, with much support moving to online/digital, where possible. The reduction in regular social contact and connections has had a profound impact on people’s mental health, particularly those in recovery who have been unable to participate in usual activities and access face to face support. As the outlook for the pandemic improves, and restrictions ease further, there is a recognition that it may take some time for some to feel more comfortable getting out and socialising more, and reconnecting with others in the same way as before. The recovery community in Renfrewshire has been gaining momentum, with groups and organisations building many positive relationships and opportunities to support recovery at a community level, as well as adapting quickly in response to the significant challenges over the past two years. The Recovery Change Fund seeks to build on all the great work taking place across Renfrewshire, and help to support additional capacity for re-establishing vital social connections, following the easing of restrictions, as well as piloting or expanding projects and initiatives that will make a positive impact on individuals, families, and communities affected by harmful alcohol and/or drug use. Page 137 of 180
Page 142
About the Recovery Change Fund The aim of the Recovery Change Fund is to support the development of local groups and organisations which provide social connection and support recovery in Renfrewshire. The Fund is also intended to provide opportunities to support piloting new ideas and projects in relation to mental health, recovery, stigma, and social isolation - gaps in provision identified through the extensive engagement during the work of the Commission. These ideas and projects can be used to inform the future design of services in Renfrewshire. As this funding will only be available for one year (2022/23), a particular focus of the Fund will be future sustainability. The intention is to support initiatives that will make a positive impact on individuals, families, and communities affected by harmful alcohol and/or drug use. Who can apply: • Any community or voluntary organisation with a constitution and a bank account • A consortium of community and/or voluntary groups working together, with the lead organisation completing the application (with constitution and bank account) What the funding can be used for: Examples of what the funding can support might include, but is not limited to: project costs, training, volunteer expenses, new/developing existing activities, equipment, expansion costs, research or consultation exercises etc. For example: • Costs associated with expanding existing activities to support alcohol and drug recovery to a different area in Renfrewshire • Costs associated with piloting a new project relating to mental health, stigma, recovery, or social isolation • Costs associated with providing new activities such as group work sessions or costs for purposeful activities, for example art classes, fishing trips, teen-only drop-ins etc. • Costs associated with courses or training sessions on practical topics like food safety or paying for someone to teach groups about mindfulness or safety and harm reduction tactics • Costs associated with promotion and marketing of your activities, or research and consultation exercises to find out what people in your area need or want activities to look like What the funding cannot be used for: • Day to day running costs for existing projects/groups • Individual grants for one person • Major capital works How much can be applied for? • Grants of up to £10,000 are available. Applications above £10,000 will be considered in exceptional circumstances. Please do not apply for more than you will need for your project. Page 138 of 180
Page 143
Decision-making process A multi-agency panel comprising officers from Renfrewshire Council, Renfrewshire HSCP, Renfrewshire ADP and Engage Renfrewshire will assess the projects against the following criteria, with a particular focus on Impact: • Impact: the extent to which activities will make a positive impact on the lives of those affected by alcohol and/or drugs, and how this can be evidenced. • Social Connection: the extent to which the initiative provides opportunities to reduce social isolation and loneliness for individuals and families impacted by alcohol and drug use • Sustainability: applications that demonstrate how the level of support they would be offering could be sustained beyond the funding period will be at an advantage. • Innovation: How new and innovative the project/proposal is will also be considered, particularly for those piloting new ideas. • Past experience/track record: the extent to which the organisation has past experience of providing support to individuals, families, and communities. • Partnership working: the extent to which projects work in partnership, as well as part of the wider recovery network will be considered. The geographic spread of applications will also be considered in the allocation of awards. Recommendations from the panel will be submitted to the Leadership Board who will make the final decision on awards. Monitoring and evaluation We will work with successful applicants to monitor the outcomes delivered by projects and initiatives supported through the Fund. Key dates • The Fund will open in late June 2022 and close on 29 July 2022 • During August we will engage with groups on any additional information required, with the Assessment Panel meeting at around mid-August. • Recommendations would be submitted to the Leadership Board for approval in September 2022. • Please note: this funding is non-recurring and there will be no additional funding rounds Application process The Council’s Voluntary and Community Organisations Grant Application process will be used to apply for Recovery Change Fund funding and applicants will be required to complete the standard application form ensuring that they demonstrate how they meet the criteria. Page 139 of 180
Page 144
Page 140 of 180
Page 145
___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 22 June 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Update on Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This paper provides an update on the local response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, with a specific focus on work being undertaken to support the resettlement of Ukrainian nationals across Renfrewshire’s communities, and the ongoing deployment of a Welcome Hub at Glasgow Airport. 1.2 Section 3 of the report provides an overview of the work that is being progressed to support community resettlement of Ukrainian nationals through private sponsorship arrangements, including the extensive work programme in place to undertake checks of relevant host sponsor and properties. 1.3 Section 4 outlines initial work that has been undertaken in Renfrewshire at the request of the Scottish Government, to establish a Welcome Hub at Glasgow Airport to support any arrivals from Ukraine. This now represents an area of significant activity for the Council which is likely to be required into Autumn 2022. 1.4 The paper also provides elected members with an update on recent developments relating to asylum dispersal, with the UK Government indicating that it intends to move to a system of full asylum dispersal across Scotland. This change in approach will have a range of implications for the Council and its partners, and the paper provides an overview of these based on the information currently available at a local level. Item 5 Page 141 of 180
Page 146
1.5 As previously reported to Leadership Board, there are well developed partnership arrangements in place in Renfrewshire to support community resettlement of refugees. These arrangements combined with the experience of council teams, continue to provide a solid foundation upon which to support Ukrainian people coming to Renfrewshire through the various mechanisms. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members of the Leadership Board: • Note the contents of this report; • Note the establishment of the Welcome Hub at Glasgow Airport • Approve the extension of delegated authority to the Chief Executive as detailed in paragraphs 6.1 and 6.2 and; • Note the proposed changes by the UK Government in respect of a national dispersal programme for asylum dispersal and the associated implications within the local authority area. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 It is now estimated that over 15m people have been displaced from their homes and country as a result of the war in Ukraine. As elected members will be aware, there has been significant damage to infrastructure across areas within Ukraine, and this combined with the ongoing dangers of the conflict itself, has lead to significant numbers of Ukrainian nationals fleeing the country to seek refuge. 3.2 The UK Government have established a number of schemes by which Ukrainian people can come to the UK to seek support: • The Ukraine Family Scheme allows family members of British nationals, UK settled persons and certain others to come to or stay in the UK. • The Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme allows Ukrainian nationals and their family members to come to the UK if they have a named sponsor under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. This is largely an independent process whereby Ukrainian nationals have linked themselves to host sponsors through a variety of mechanisms. 3.3 The Scottish Government is a named sponsor under the Home for Ukraine Scheme, under what is commonly referred to as the “Super Sponsor” arrangement. Page 142 of 180
Page 147
This means that Ukrainian people can apply to come to Scotland without a sponsor being in place beforehand, and that the Scottish Government will work with local authorities to provide temporary accommodation and support on arrival, and then longer term resettlement. 3.4 Under these specific arrangements, Ukrainian nationals and their families receive a visa to live in the UK for a period of up to 3 years, with the ability to work, and to access support such as benefits, housing, health and education. 3.5 Sponsors are asked to provide accommodation for a minimum of 6 months, and the UK Government will offer a thank you payment of £350 per month for the first 12 months period of this agreement. Local authorities across the UK will receive funding of £10,500 for each individual that settles within their area through this scheme. The UK Government requires that local authorities undertake accommodation and safeguarding checks in relation to the sponsor and the accommodation, and facilitate the £350 payment as required. 3.6 A link to relevant guidance is available here:- Super Sponsor Scheme and Homes for Ukraine: guidance for local authorities - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) Accommodation and safeguarding checks for sponsors 3.7 As outlined in 3.5 above, local authorities are required to undertake relevant checks in relation to all private sponsor arrangements as part of the Home for Ukraine scheme. In practice this means undertaking agreed accommodation checks and co-ordinating Disclosure Scotland applications in relation to all adults living within a sponsor property. 3.8 As elected members will be aware, thousands of people across Scotland registered their expression of interest to host Ukrainian people through the Homes for Ukraine scheme. In practice a significant number of these expressions of interest have not been progressed, as many potential sponsors have been unsure about how to approach the matching process to a Ukrainian individual or family. Scottish Government have made initial contact with those registering expressions of interest, and have passed the contact details to relevant local authorities for them to establish whether sponsor accommodation can be matched nationally to support Ukrainians arriving through the Super Sponsor scheme. Officers from across the Council have progressed all expressions of interest within the Renfrewshire area. Accommodation and Disclosure Scotland checks are being progressed for any sponsor that wishes to offer host accommodation as part of the Super Sponsor Scheme. Page 143 of 180
Page 148
This is a significant process with over 200 properties across the Homes for Ukraine and Super Sponsorship scheme being reviewed in Renfrewshire. Community integration 3.9 Officers from the refugee resettlement team continue to make contact with all known local arrivals of Ukrainian individuals and families and sponsors in the community. The team provide welcome backs and offer support to do things like register for a GP, apply for benefits, and to link to wider services such as employability. They are also working to establish links with community groups and organisations that can provide support and integration opportunities at a local level. ___________________________________________________________________ 4 Establishment of Welcome Hubs 4.1 As reported to Leadership Board in April 2022, Renfrewshire Council was asked to establish a Welcome Hub at Glasgow Airport to support Ukrainian arrivals to Scotland through this entry point. The purpose of these hubs is to ensure that any Ukrainian individual or family is able to be signposted to relevant information and support if this is required. The initial welcome at the airport is delivered in close partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council. Once arrivals have passed through the initial welcome area staff from the council and partner organisations are providing additional support to those in need. 4.2 For people arriving under the super-sponsor arrangement, the Welcome Hub provides temporary accommodation and support, and an initial assessment of need and requirements will be made and passed to the COSLA Migration team to allow matching of the family or individual to offers of accommodation within local authority areas across Scotland. 4.3 This has been a significant undertaking for the organisation, and in addition to the steady stream of arrivals at Glasgow Airport itself, the Glasgow Airport hub has also provided additional overflow temporary accommodation to Ukrainian nationals arriving through Edinburgh City. This support was requested by Scottish Government in response to the high volume of arrivals being received through Edinburgh, which has in effect become a national hub for arrivals into Scotland. 4.4 Scottish Government have indicated that costs incurred by local authorities hosting welcome hubs will be met, and agreement on the detail of this financial arrangement is currently being progressed by officers through COSLA. 4.5 As the pace of community resettlement increases in Renfrewshire, there will be likely be significant additional demand to be managed in terms of facilitating integration, with an ongoing need to support Ukrainian arrivals, hosts and to manage any breakdown in support arrangements. The Welcome Hub therefore presents a very significant additional resourcing requirement over the medium term in Renfrewshire, over and above community integration. Page 144 of 180
Page 149
___________________________________________________________________ 5. Asylum dispersal 5.1 In April 2022 the UK Government notified all UK local authorities of their intention to expand asylum dispersal arrangements. For a number of years, Glasgow City Council has been the only Scottish local authority designated as a dispersal area. Due to increasing numbers of asylum seekers being housed in temporary accommodation (including hotels), all local authorities are now expected to participate in dispersal. An informal consultation will be launched in May 2022 to capture the views of local authorities as to how such a model will work and how to take account of the impact on councils. 5.2 The contract for asylum dispersal in Scotland is currently operated by Mears and officers have attended meetings with COSLA, UK Government, Glasgow City Council and Mears to discuss the national proposals further. Information has recently been received through these discussions that asylum dispersal will begin to take place in areas including Renfrewshire, from June 2022. Officers continue to engage with representatives from the Home Office, Mears, the HSCP, Police Scotland and third sector partners to respond to these developments and to any need and support requirements as these arise. 5.3 The UK Government has indicated that funding will be made available to support the widening of the asylum dispersal on a short term basis only. The asylum dispersal scheme is very different from resettlement schemes which the Council has participated in previously, and this is a very complex area of activity which services and partners will have to operate within to support vulnerable people as appropriate. ___________________________________________________________________ 6 Next steps 6.1 Given the level of uncertainty that currently exists in terms of the arrival of Ukrainian arrivals, and the requirement of the local authority to respond at pace to any requests for support, it is recommended that the Chief Executive continues to be authorised to put in place such arrangements and resources as may be required to support both the operation of the Welcome Hub and the resettlement and support of refugees from Ukraine within Renfrewshire. This was previously agreed by Leadership Board in April 2022, but it is recommended that this continues over the Summer recess period. 6.2 Further that given the notification from the Home Office of the intention to extend the Asylum dispersal programme to areas beyond Glasgow City including Renfrewshire, that the Chief Executive is authorised to put in place the necessary arrangements to ensure a coordinated partnership response to any implications that may arise from the asylum dispersal programme. Page 145 of 180
Page 150
6.3 It is intended that regular updates will continue to be provided to all elected members as this emerging situation develops further. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial –. The paper notes the funding that will be allocated to local authorities by the UK Government for each arrival through the Homes for Ukraine scheme. Funding arrangements for the Welcome Hubs remain subject to further agreement with the Scottish Government. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – the recommendation in this report supports ‘Our Renfrewshire is fair’ and ‘Our Renfrewshire is safe’ given the potential for addressing inequalities and protecting the vulnerable. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets - none 6. Information Technology - none 7. Equality and Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. COSLA Policy Position – COSLA Leaders agreed that local authorities would support those seeking refuge in Scotland through the UK Government schemes, and would work with Scottish Government to ensure support was in place to any Ukrainian arriving through the super sponsor arrangements in place as part of the wider Homes for Ukraine scheme 13. Climate Risk – none List of Background Papers: Author: Laura McIntyre, Head of Policy and Commissioning Page 146 of 180
Page 151
Page 1 of 5 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: June 22nd, 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Head of Marketing and Communications ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Future Paisley 6-monthly update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report provides a 6-month progress update on delivery of the Future Paisley programme, including evaluation of the impact of programme’s cultural funding to date, plus the launch of two Future Paisley cultural funding programmes for 2022/23 - Round 12 of the Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) and Round 3 of the Cultural Organisations Development Fund (CODF). 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Leadership Board: (i) Notes Future Paisley Programme highlights since the last report to Board in December 2021. (ii) Notes the evaluation of CHEF, CODF and Renfrewshire’s Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund (RCRRF) and their success in supporting Renfrewshire’s cultural sector. (iii) Agrees the established Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund Panel will review the recommended awards in the forthcoming rounds of CHEF and CODF and delegates authority to the Head of Marketing and Communications to determine the applications for funding – based on the views of the review panel, and to distribute the agreed awards swiftly. Item 6 Page 147 of 180
Page 152
Page 2 of 5 3. Background 3.1 Future Paisley is a collection of interlinked projects, partnerships, investments— and most importantly, people—using culture and creativity to transform their future. It draws on the rich heritage, cultural strengths and creative potential of Paisley and wider Renfrewshire to shape the area’s future and helps to drive social and economic change. It combines targeted, sustainable investment in cultural activity with the embedding of culture and creativity into policy making. This report provides a spotlight on activity completed and underway in 2022 and outlines the launch of new rounds of cultural funding to support communities, groups and cultural organisations in Renfrewshire. 4. Programme highlights – 6-month update 4.1 Future Paisley activities and events 4.10 - Glen Cinema Memorial - one of Future Paisley’s most poignant projects, the town’s first permanent memorial to the Glen Cinema tragedy was unveiled in December 2021. The beautiful statue called Rattle, Little Mother, commissioned as part of the 90th anniversary, was installed in Dunn Square, close to the former cinema site, with the unveiling attended by remaining survivors Robert Pope and Emily Brown. The statue was funded by Future Paisley and Paisley Rotary Club, and was created by artists Rachel Lowther and Kerry Stewart, who worked with the local community to co-design the memorial. The unveiling attracted local and national broadcast media. 4.11 - The Future Paisley Exhibition – The Future Paisley Exhibition, funded by Future Paisley, ran from 15th December to 2nd May in Paisley’s Piazza Centre. The Exhibition, which included a digital exhibition, community engagement and events programme, shared the story of Paisley’s cultural regeneration journey and set out Paisley’s vision for the future, asking local people to help shape how the town will respond to society’s big challenges and opportunities, including climate change. The exhibition opened 4 days per week, 10am – 4pm, Wednesdays through Saturdays. More than 1,000 public visitors attended, plus 380 visitors from partners, community and schools and 180 peers through 3 Grand Conversazione events – past, present and future. The digital exhibition was a key resource for engagement and was distributed widely via Engage Renfrewshire, schools – primary & secondary, further education institutions, place & regeneration partners. Evaluation highlights include: • 94% agreed or strongly agreed that they enjoyed the exhibition • 89% agreed or strongly agreed that the exhibition had taught them something about Paisley • 56% agreed or strongly agreed that the exhibition had made them feel more confident about Paisley’s future. 4.12 - Paisley Book Festival - Paisley Book Festival, funded by Future Paisley and delivered by OneRen, ran from 17th - 26th February, themed to response to Scotland's Year of Stories, with 530 people booking 1504 tickets (1202 live event tickets). “Stories Mak Us” was a blended programme of live and digital workshops, events book Page 148 of 180
Page 153
Page 3 of 5 launches and opportunities for both established and emerging writers to showcase literature inspired by or written in Scotland. As part of the 2022 programme, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, chaired a conversation What Maks a Makar, with Scotland’s Makar Kathleen Jamie and previous Director of the Scottish Poetry Library, Robyn Marsack, signalling the festival’s national profile built over the past 3 years. Future Paisley will continue to support the Book Festival in 2023 and 2024. 4.13 - About Us, Unboxed 2022 - About Us opened in Paisley, running from March 1 - March 6 in Abbey Close and Paisley Abbey, attracting just under 49,000 visitors. The event marked the launch of UK festival Unboxed, with Paisley hosting the official opening, which brought together national broadcast and print media, with cultural influencers from across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England, including DCMS. The open-air immersive light and sound show told the story of the history of the universe (13.8 billion years) from the Big Bang to present day and attracted significant national media attention for Paisley. Significant community engagement was undertaken, with specific focus on primary school engagement involving Stemettes and The Poetry Society. Paisley Philharmonic Choir joined The City of Glasgow Chorus and Strathclyde University Chamber Choir to perform new original score by Nitin Sawhney CBE as part of the show. 4.14 - Thread – 24th to 29th May at Renfrew Townhall - an original Scottish musical set in Paisley and created by Paisley-based theatre company, Kick the Door and delivered in partnership with OneRen. The musical was supported by Creative Scotland and Future Paisley. Sold out. 4.15 - Underwood Lane – a new John Byrne musical play set in 1950’s Paisley, co- produced between Tron Theatre Company and One Ren, funded through Future Paisley. The premiere takes place at Johnston Town Hall on 7th July, with the show running from 14th to 30th July. Sold out. 4.16 - Other Side of the River 2023 (in partnership with In Motion Theatre Company) - written by producer, playwright and actress Lisa Nicoll, co-authored with the community of Ferguslie Park, the play reflects the impact on communities of a place being victimised by the press. The development of the script is a best-practice example of co-design and has enabled many of the issues raised in its making to be examined further through a series of podcasts to be published later in 2022. Casting for the play is in progress. The Scottish Tour will begin in Ferguslie in March 2023, touring to main houses across Scotland and community venues. 4.17 - National Theatre of Scotland 2023 - Following a call-out for artists NTS, OneRen and Renfrewshire Council creative teams appointed the lead artists to deliver a major live performance event in summer 2023 in Paisley, funded by Future Paisley, creating a pivotal moment during the opening year of the town’s cultural attractions. The major event will include significant community engagement, which has already commenced from a permanent base in The Art Department (formerly Alders department store), generate national media coverage, create opportunities for local freelance artists and organisations, and employment for local people. The show will be formally announced on 20th June. Page 149 of 180
Page 154
Page 4 of 5 4.18 - Royal National Mod 2023 - Preparations for Paisley to host Royal National Mod in October 2023 are now underway, with the Mod Fringe funded by Future Paisley. Revisions to arrangements for Local Organising Committees have been confirmed, which removes fundraising targets from LOCs. The main venue for the event will be the newly opened Paisley Town Hall, and the list of supporting venues is currently being confirmed by An Comunn Gàidhealach, preparing for a launch event in October 2022. 4.2 Future Paisley Partnerships – underway in 2022 4.20 - Sculpture House Collective - Sculpture House Collective is a community interest company (CIC) based in Renfrewshire directed by renowned artists Laura Aldridge, Nick Evans and James Rigler. As artists with careers spanning several decades they use sculptural objects, techniques, materials and thinking as catalysts for building agency and community voice. The Collective work alongside a range of artistic and non-artistic collaborators and wish to relocate their respective studios from Glasgow to Paisley, and in doing so create space for other artists in the town. In 2020 Laura Aldridge was invited by Collective Architecture and the arts organisation Create to contribute to The Making of Ferguslie Park – a major consultation exercise set out the local community’s vision for the future of the Ferguslie Park neighbourhood in Paisley over the next five to ten years. The resulting plan, rooted in local priorities, ambitions and aspirations, identified as a priority the establishment of an artist’s residency, reusing a vacant property within the neighbourhood as a social space for arts, craft and community events. In response, Sculpture House Collective, supported by Future Paisley, have engaged in extensive negotiation with stakeholders and have developed a business case and fundraising strategy to support relocation to Craigielea House, a council owned Victorian town house in Ferguslie Park, formerly used as council offices. The project will develop Craigielea House as a centre of excellence for the visual arts and creative community activity. The project has the potential to contribute significantly to Future Paisley step changes and strategic outcomes, contributing to socially engaged practice, building community voice, generating positive social outcomes through creativity and addressing issues of artist space. Permission to enter a 20-year lease with the Collective is subject of a report to ILE Board on 15th June. 4.21 - Castlehead School of Creativity/Glasgow School of Art (GSA) – May Creativity Week celebrated the 50th birthday of the school and delivered a range of creative workshops and activities for S1-S3 pupils from 9th to 13th May, expanding cultural and creativity across the school curriculum. Activity included: • Commissioning of a school mural by GSA (Ida Hendrich) - co-designed with pupils as a 50th birthday gift to the school. This was completed during Creativity Week. • A series of GSA tutor workshops for S3 pupils covering Architecture, Design and Fine Art. • ‘Rapid Response Day’ for all S2 pupils – developing creative responses to disasters and emergencies across all curriculum areas. • ‘Sma Shot Day’ workshop delivered by Renfrewshire Council with 20x S1 pupils at Castlehead High School, selected by the Humanities Department. Page 150 of 180
Page 155
Page 5 of 5 • Kevin Waters presented the opportunities for pupils at the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) and the range of STEAM opportunities for young people embarking on their future careers. • A programme of S1 & S2 pupil visits and seminars will take place on site at GSA from 6th to 9th June. • A video diary has been created and will be developed into a digital prospectus for the school for parents and carers of future pupils. • Pupil feedback will be presented to the Future Paisley Partnership Board and a future Leadership Board. 4.23 - Centre of Culture, Sport and Events (CCSE) - work is ongoing to support 3 PhD students and drive Future Paisley programme evaluation. The CCSE Annual Symposium, supported by Future Paisley will take place online on 22nd June on the topic of Localism: Re-evaluating the future of culture, events and tourism. The event will run from 12.30 to 4.00pm and will include a keynote on Scotland’s Themed Years from Lord John Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso (Chair of VisitScotland & ex-Officio Board Member, VisitBritain). Elected members are invited to register through Eventbrite for 3 workshops: • The future of tourism: A regenerative approach to the visitor economy, with panellists: Gordon Smith (VisitScotland Director – North, East, South Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire), Ms Sarah Cameron (SensScot), Dr Nancy Duxbury (University of Coimbra/Portugal) • Socially engaged arts & cultural labour, with panellists: Prof Eleanora Belfiore (University of Aberdeen), Prof Graham Jeffery (UWS), Claire Webster Saaremets (Skimstone Arts, Newcastle) • The social value of community events, with panellists: Prof Gayle McPherson (UWS/CCSE), Dr Nancy Stevenson (University of Westminster); Amy Finch, (Spirit of 2012/Local Trust) 4.3 Future Paisley funded visitor marketing 4.30 Visit Scotland Destination and Sector Marketing Fund - Paisley.is was awarded £40K from VisitScotland to assist with tourism recovery and encourage footfall to Paisley Town Centre. The ‘Paisley.is Calling’ campaign was activated in December 2021 and an additional top up of £16K has been awarded to extend the activity to August 2022. The purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness of Paisley.is, generate visits to Paisley Town Centre with associated visitor spend and increase dwell time. The ‘Paisley.is Calling’ campaign highlights stories that are unique to Paisley - the home of the Paisley Pattern; the town with a radical past & present; rich musical history and impressive architecture. The promotional activity was linked to existing self-guided products which allowed visitors to experience these rich stories over a day or weekend visit. These include: Four Architects Walking Trail, Mural Trail, The Paisley Music Tour App and Paisley Radicals Catalyst for Change Walking Tour App. Page 151 of 180
Page 156
Page 6 of 5 Visit Scotland audience profiles were used to targeted as potential visitors (Engaged Sightseers, Curious Travellers and Natural Advocates) and all promotional activity was placed out-with Renfrewshire up to 1 hour-drive time to attract potential new visitors. Campaign activity included: • Paid-for advertising: Glasgow Central Station large scale screens, Glasgow City Centre Streethub screens and subway 6 sheets. Print – Hood Magazine, Best of Scotland insert in The Herald on Sunday and Sunday National, Staycation magazine and Scots Magazine. Digital – What's on Network (Glasgow, East Renfrewshire & Lanarkshire) and Spotify 30sec audio ad. • Paid for social media campaign on Facebook and Instagram promoting the self- guided tours • Influencer visits – BBC Journalist Nicola Meighan guest blogs on Paisley’s musical heritage and promotion on her social media channels, family influencer visit to Paisley Food and Drink festival • Content creation – six-minute film showcasing Paisley’s musical history and heritage and ‘Paisley.is Calling’ film commission which takes viewers on a journey to discover a genuine & authentic experience when they visit the town. The additional £16K VisitScotland funding will include additional paid-for advertising activity and social media campaign to further promote the Paisley.is calling film. The results to date include 5.8million marketing opportunities to see and hear and an increase of 7918 pages views on www.paisley.is. A final evaluation of the activity at the end of August will be completed and reported to a future Leadership Board. 4.31 - Spring visitor campaign – a digital campaign was launched to promote things to see and do across Renfrewshire during the Easter holidays. This included paid-for and organic social media activity, Google ads, paid-for digital advertising and blog articles created on Paisley.is. 4.32 - Summer visitor campaign – a visitor campaign will be launched at the end of June to coincide with the school summer holidays. The purpose of the campaign is to make Renfrewshire a destination of choice as a place to visit during the summer. It will showcase what Renfrewshire has to offer for our key target audiences (Natural advocates, Engaged Sightseers, Local Advocates, Adventure Seekers and Family Favourites) – see Appendix 1. As part of the SS campaign planning marketing propositions have been developed for each of our target audiences and our product offer has been matched to these. The campaign will be supported by: • High impact media buy including large-scale advertising, radio, print and digital promotional activity • Content refresh on www.paisley.is providing engaging and inspiring content which will be shared on social channels • New creative concept with refreshed campaign photography focusing on must-visit places to see and hidden gems in Renfrewshire Page 152 of 180
Page 157
Page 7 of 5 • Partners and industry toolkit which will provide an update on the campaign and information on how to get involved. Additional activity for 2022 includes partnerships opportunities with Visit Scotland being activated in autumn/winter, ongoing promotion of local and visitor events and sponsorship of the Renfrewshire Chamber Rocco Awards. 5. Evaluation - Cultural Funding Programme 5.1 Since 2016, Renfrewshire Council has awarded £1.72m in grants through three cultural funding programmes: • CHEF: Culture, Heritage and Events Fund - £1.14m to support 135 creative projects: festivals, events, workshops, murals, performances, exhibitions, tours and productions in music, dance, theatre and drama, heritage, literature, film and animation across Renfrewshire. • CODF: Cultural Organisations Development Fund - £380,000 was awarded in grants to 7 cultural organisations for activity between 2019 and 2022 to strengthen and build their capacity. Organisations in receipt of funding are Create Paisley, Erskine Arts, Outspoken Arts, PACE Theatre Co, Paisley Opera, Right2Dance and Star Project. • RCRRF: Renfrewshire’s Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund - developed in 2020 to support the cultural sector adapt to the impact of Covid-19. The fund includes three grant programmes - Cultural Organisations Support grants (COS), Artist Development Grants (ADG) and Town Centre & Neighbourhood Creative Installations grants (TCNCI). In 2021/22, 43 grants with a total value of £200,000 have been awarded through RCRRF. 5.2 An interim evaluation of the programmes was undertaken in January and February 2022 including external evaluation of RCRRF, ongoing CHEF evaluation and interviews with grant recipients (a final evaluation will be reported following of conclusion of all currently funded activity in 2022). This highlighted how critical sector funding continues to be to strengthen and build Renfrewshire’s cultural ecology. An important emerging theme is the requirement for long-term sustainable funding to provide stability and certainty to cultural organisations operating in Renfrewshire. This has been further reinforced through considerable sector engagement led by OneRen on Renfrewshire’s new cultural strategy A summary of the interim evaluation can be found at Appendix 2. Key highlights include: • Funding programmes have had strong cumulative impact with investment supporting the creation of a new cultural landscape in Renfrewshire - the development of new cultural organisations, events and partnerships, and enabling existing infrastructure to extend its reach. • Future Paisley funds have redistributed power, enabling Renfrewshire’s creative communities to lead their own projects on their own terms, based on their own Page 153 of 180
Page 158
Page 8 of 5 needs. This investment is helping to build agency and capacity in local communities and the next generation of cultural leadership in Renfrewshire. • Funding programmes have built confidence in Renfrewshire, within and beyond the area – in the local community but also in the development of our relationships with national organisations and partners. • Projects have contributed to enhancements in community health and wellbeing, promoted cultural diversity and strengthened social cohesion. • Investment from CHEF and CODF prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, and RCRRF during, meant Renfrewshire’s creative communities were in a stronger position to manage the pandemic than they would have been had they not received this funding. Due to funding flexibility, and the responsive approach of officers to the needs of grant recipients, professional freelancers were able to continue working as artists in Renfrewshire, communities were able to continue to access the arts and culture during a time of isolation, and some organisations even report that they were able to thrive, not just survive. • Regular core funding is essential and would be very beneficial to local cultural organisations. • Through the administration of the funding programmes, strong and positive relationships have developed between One Ren’s Arts Team (funded by Future Paisley), and Renfrewshire’s cultural organisations, groups and freelance artists. In response to the evaluation findings, commitment was made to extend cultural funding and make improvements to the application process. 6. 2022/23 Cultural Funding programmes – CHEF and CODF 6.1 Renfrewshire Council confirmed £200,000 in the Council’s 2022/23 budget to top up funding for CHEF recognising a significant need to sustain and develop Renfrewshire’s cultural sector during continued social and economic uncertainty. In addition, £200,000 of Future Paisley funding, identified through budget reprofiling, will support Renfrewshire’s cultural organisations up to April 2024, responding to evaluation insights and reflecting the stated needs of the sector. Both funds will be launched on 1st of June. 6.2 The Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) The purpose of the Fund is to raise cultural ambition and stimulate new cultural, heritage and events activity, aiming to create long-lasting cultural, economic and social transformation in Renfrewshire. The objectives of the Fund are to: 1. Increase the number of people taking part in creative activity in Renfrewshire 2. Increase opportunities for young people to develop their creative ambition 3. Stimulate the local economy Page 154 of 180
Page 159
Page 9 of 5 4. Realise the potential contribution creativity can make to education, social inclusion and quality of life 5. Strengthen and broaden the network of people developing cultural and creative projects in Renfrewshire 6. Increase the number of people visiting Renfrewshire 7. Raise the profile of Renfrewshire throughout the UK. CHEF supports a wide range of projects that develop practice and encourage engagement and participation in cultural and heritage activities and events in Paisley and Renfrewshire. Funded projects support artistic development, partnerships and collaborations, engage and involve our local community, generate footfall in our town centres, attract tourism and showcase the area’s assets and the talent of its people. The maximum grant award in Round 12 will be £20,000. 6.3 The Cultural Organisations Development Fund (CODF) The purpose of the fund is to strengthen and build the capacity of local cultural and creative organisations in Renfrewshire. The Fund has 3 objectives: 1. To support organisations to become more sustainable and to take the next steps in their strategic development. 2. To build capacity in organisations to raise cultural ambition in Renfrewshire. 3. To support organisations which have an ongoing commitment to diversifying and expanding cultural participation. CODF is reserved for established or developing organisations based in Renfrewshire that have a cultural and creative purpose. In Round 3, applications are accepted from single cultural organisations for their own organisational development activity, as well as groups of cultural organisations for joint activity. This will both nurture this sector’s growing culture of collaborative working and increase the impact of our investment at a critical time. The maximum award for single organisations will be £20,000. The maximum award for joint applications from groups of organisations will be £50,000. 6.4 The next rounds of CHEF and CODF, live on 1st June, will be delivered through a partnership between Renfrewshire Council and OneRen. Considerable work has been undertaken to improve grant systems and processes, which will benefit applicants and grant recipients. Round 12 of CHEF is being launched with the application deadline of 26th July 2022. The application deadline of Round 3 of CODF will be 30th August 2022. Grants will support activity delivered up to April 2024. OneRen officers will lead a series of pre-application information sessions and advice surgeries for potential applicants. A new digital online application process will streamline the application process and increase accessibility. 6.5 Recommendations of awards will be made by assessing officers and presented to the Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund Panel (comprising two elected members, one from One Ren’s Board, one from Renfrewshire Council and Engage Renfrewshire). Delegated authority will sit with the Head of Marketing and Communication to make a final determination of the grant applications, taking into account the views of the review panel and to ensure that funds are distributed as quickly as possible. A full report will Page 155 of 180
Page 160
Page 10 of 5 be brought back to Leadership Board in December to update on progress with the distribution of the grants from the Fund. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – none 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – none 4. Legal – none 5. Property/Assets – none 6. Information Technology – none 7. Equality & Human Rights - none 8. Health & Safety – none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. Cosla Policy Position –not applicable _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: Leadership Board paper: Future Paisley Update, 1st December, 2021 ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Louisa Mahon, Head of Marketing and Communications T: 0141 637 7845 E: louisa.mahon@renfrewshire.gov.uk Page 156 of 180
Page 161
Summer campaign overview Our key aims are to: Position Paisley and Renfrewshire as a destination of choice for day-visitors, Raise awareness of the visitor offer available across Renfrewshire; Create ambassadors and advocates for Renfrewshire; Re- engage industry and key stakeholders in Paisley.is activity Activate a summer campaign focused on the following marketing propositions: Family Days Out, Easy Outdoor and Microadventures, to coincide with summer holidays and better weather June -September. Visit Scotland Audiences • Natural advocates • Engaged sightseers • Local advocates • Adventure seekers • Family favourites Target geographical areas • 1-2 hour geotarget –digital activity • 30 –45 mins –out of home (based on Jim Law map and rail network) Page 157 of 180
Page 162
Sneak peek –campaign creative The following slides shows the draft creative concepts for the summer campaign. The photography commission will provide us with new campaign imagery showcasing must-visit locations in Renfrewshire. Page 158 of 180
Page 163
Page 159 of 180
Page 164
Page 160 of 180
Page 165
Page 161 of 180
Page 166
Page 162 of 180
Page 167
Page 163 of 180
Page 168
Page 164 of 180
Page 169
Activity Date Dec 21 Jan 22 Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 22 Jan 23 VS Campaign Social media—Four Paisley Architects Social media—Murals Social Media—Paisley Radicals Social Media—Music Influencer Visit Music and Family Media Buy Content Creation—Paisley Music Town Content Creation—Paisley Film Spring Summer Autumn Winter Food & Drink Festival Spree Doors Open Days Paisley Halloween Festival Visitor Activity Calendar Page 165 of 180
Page 170
Page 166 of 180
Page 171
February 2022 Cultural Funding Programmes – Interim evaluation Future Paisley, Cultural Regeneration Team 1. Background Cultural funding programmes have been a significant component within the Future Paisley/UK City of Culture bid programme since 2016. Between 2016-2021, £1.72m has been awarded in grants to Renfrewshire’s cultural sector and creative communities through three Future Paisley funding programmes: Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF): Since 2016, CHEF has provided £1.14m to support 135 creative projects, which have included: festivals, events, workshops, murals, performances, exhibitions, tours and productions in music, dance, theatre and drama, heritage, literature, film and animation across Renfrewshire. Projects were redeveloped to be delivered in a Covid-secure way during 2020-22. Cultural Organisations Development Fund (CODF): £380,000 was awarded in grants to 7 cultural organisations for activity between 2019 and 2022 to strengthen and build their capacity. Organisations awarded CODF grants are: Create Paisley, Erskine Arts, Outspoken Arts, PACE Theatre Co, Paisley Opera, Right2Dance, Star Project and Paisley Opera. Star Project and Outspoken Arts have completed their funded activity. The five remaining organisations will complete their funded activity between March and December 2022. Renfrewshire’s Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund (RCRRF): Renfrewshire’s Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund was developed in 2020 to support the cultural ecology of Renfrewshire in adapting to the impact of Covid-19. The fund recognises the different elements needed to retain a healthy and sustainable cultural sector in Renfrewshire. The fund is a suite of three grant programmes - Cultural Organisations Support grants (COS), Artist Development Grants (ADG) and Town Centre & Neighbourhood Creative Installations grants (TCNCI). In 2021/22, 43 grants with a total value of £200,000 have been awarded through RCRRF. The fund has protected 10 cultural organisations across Renfrewshire during the pandemic, supported the livelihoods of 24 freelance artists living and working in Renfrewshire. All funds have now been awarded for existing Future Paisley cultural grant programmes. However, with funded activity continuing into 2022, evaluation is not yet fully complete. Further evaluation activity will be completed and reported. Page 167 of 180
Page 172
2. Beneficiaries CHEF grant recipients have been wide-ranging, including individual artists, musicians and entrepreneurs; new and established professional and amateur arts, events, media and heritage organisations; youth work organisations; community groups; third sector organisations; schools and nurseries; churches; and further and higher education institutions. CODF focused specifically on the needs of established cultural organisations based in Renfrewshire. RCRRF grant recipients have predominantly included professional cultural organisations and freelance arts practitioners working in Renfrewshire. Renfrewshire Council’s investment of £1.72m to date across all three funds has been awarded through 185 grants in total to 129 unique applicants (individuals and organisations). Where applicants have received more than one grant since 2016, this investment has supported their cultural progression at different stages in their careers and development. This has helped freelancers build professional careers in Renfrewshire, growing and retaining talent. It has enabled cultural and creative organisations to grow and consolidate, providing new opportunities for the communities surrounding them. This in turn has supported the development of Renfrewshire’s burgeoning cultural ecology. Our investment has generated new opportunities for Renfrewshire’s children and young people, families and communities, particularly in areas of deprivation, as this feedback from one organisation to have received CHEF, CODF and COS grants illustrates: ‘Over the last few years Renfrewshire’s investment in culture has undoubtedly had a huge long-term impact on outcomes for local young and the regeneration of the area. It has allowed our organisation to significantly expand the breadth and inclusiveness of our work – reaching more young people in areas of deprivation or who face other barriers to participation. It has allowed us to support more local freelance artists and help kickstart the careers of young emerging artists.’ ‘Strengthening and building the capacity of our organisation has ensured the strengthening of, and cultural capacity building for, our communities for years to come.’ Investment in local cultural and creative organisations and professional artists is building community capacity and voice, an important outcome for Future Paisley, and helps to build next generation cultural leadership. Future Paisley cultural funding programmes are a significant component in building a critical mass of cultural and creative activity in Renfrewshire. Page 168 of 180
Page 173
Evaluation findings - the cumulative impact of CHEF, CODF and RCRRF Future Paisley cultural funding programmes have played a crucial role in the development of Renfrewshire’s cultural ecology since 2016 and building strengths in socially engaged practice. Impacts have been wide ranging: Renfrewshire’s cultural sector and creative communities would currently be in a weaker and more vulnerable position had this funding investment not been made by the Council over the past six years. The significant amount of new investment made prior to the pandemic meant that when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, many organisations and individuals were in a stronger position that they would have been had they not received CHEF or CODF grants. This was bolstered by the response provided by RCRRF grants to support creative organisations and freelancers during the pandemic. ‘We now have a more solid Board, a team with more capacity, better systems in place, a smarter approach to some areas of work, and a decent plan going forward with clear areas of focus.’ CODF grant recipient organisation ‘Our organisation was in a much stronger position due to the CODF support. We had invested in fundraising primarily as well as strengthening our governance. This allowed us to be sustainable and grow during a challenging time.’ CODF grant recipient organisation Prior to the pandemic, considerable gains were made by CHEF and CODF in building a critical mass of cultural and creative activity in Renfrewshire. Grants developed agency in our cultural and creative communities, enabling grant recipients to lead their own arts, heritage and events projects and their own creative and professional development on their own terms. CHEF generated momentum and created a new cultural landscape in Renfrewshire – it supported the development of new creative organisations, annual events and partnerships that didn’t exist before and enabled existing cultural infrastructure to extend its reach. CODF provides a small group of strategically significant cultural and creative organisations with new core funding between 2019 and 2022. This investment has already produced a wide range of beneficial impacts, not just for the grant recipients but the broader ecology connected to them in Renfrewshire, with a wide range of other cultural organisations and freelancers benefitting despite not having been grant recipients themselves. Cultural grants have been particularly beneficial for marginalised groups. CHEF grants have enabled organisations and freelancers to reach audiences and participants who would not otherwise be able to take part due to various barriers, whether financial or due to mobility and physical access or simply pre-existing provision not meeting participants’ needs. CODF Page 169 of 180
Page 174
grants have also developed organisational development capacity to enable creative organisations to better respond to the diverse needs of their local communities. ‘We believe our creative approach to be innovative and life changing. With the support of this funding, we were able to see a clearer future where our approach ensures our most vulnerable community members continue to engage with art and culture and that equality of access to cultural opportunity continues to be improved upon. By improving our own organisational capacity, we will continue to improve the cultural capacity of the families and communities that work with us, utilising art and creativity through our community model as a foundation stone and exemplar, contributing to cultural regeneration.’ CODF and CHEF grant recipient organisation Funded projects have improved communities’ health and wellbeing, and enhanced quality of life for residents. This is particularly the case for CHEF, where 50 (or 37% of) projects were devised with an explicit health or social inclusion purpose. These projects have had a broad range of outcomes, such as improved mental health in participants and reduced isolation in older people. CHEF projects have enabled children with additional needs to improve their wellbeing and provided paid employment and increased employability for artists and musicians with disabilities and long-term health conditions. Many projects have been based on collaborations involving partners with strong expertise in health and social inclusion as well as the arts, culture and heritage. For example, Theatre Nemo working with vulnerable young people referred by housing associations on a visual arts and local heritage project; and CHEF enabled more carers to enjoy the health and support benefits of singing in Renfrewshire Carers Centre’s Choir. Prior to the pandemic, cultural funding programmes, particularly CHEF, significantly increased opportunities for children and young people to develop their creative ambition. 72 CHEF projects (or 53%) were specifically developed for children, young people and families. Crucially, funding programmes created new opportunities for young people living in target SIMD areas and young people who haven’t experienced these cultural and heritage events and activities before to take part. CHEF provided opportunities for young people to take part in new creative activities in schools and nurseries across the area. Projects supported young people’s creative skills development in further and higher education institutions as well as in youth work settings. A particular strength of CHEF has been to create new opportunities for children and young people not provided in mainstream education, as well as new opportunities for care experienced young people to develop their talents and leadership skills through the arts and culture. CODF has also built the capacity of local cultural organisations to increase their cultural offer for children and young people during and beyond the pandemic. ‘We’re passionate about working towards a bigger vision with partners across Renfrewshire and beyond. CODF funding has allowed us to secure our core and expand our operations, allowing us to attract more funding, invest in local, national and international Page 170 of 180
Page 175
partnerships and increase our work with local freelance artists. Ultimately, this allows us to serve more children and young people, many who face disadvantage and unequal access to creativity. Without CODF funding this would not have been possible.’ CODF grant recipient organisation Funded projects have promoted cultural diversity and strengthened social cohesion. Workshops, festivals and events, such as Paisley Mela, Africa in Motion film festival, South Asian dance classes and the establishment of a new Polish Roots Club promoting Polish- Scottish cultural connections, have celebrated the growing cultural diversity of Renfrewshire’s communities. Funded projects have helped put Paisley ‘on the map’. While many projects focused on Renfrewshire communities, some funded projects have had a national or international reach. There is evidence within some individual projects to show that CHEF has raised the profile of Paisley and Renfrewshire, helping to put Paisley ‘on the map’ as a cultural destination. For example, Morgan Spence’s Lego animation shows how a teenager based in a Renfrewshire village created an exceptional project with a relatively small amount of funding that had a global reach, boosting Paisley’s profile in the run up to the town being shortlisted for UK City of Culture. The Paisley International Tango Festival is an example of a new festival established with CHEF funds that has added Paisley to a national and international arts circuit. ‘It’s fantastic that we’ve had such overwhelming support for the event not just in Paisley but from the whole of Scotland. People have come from Europe, America and even Australia to visit the festival and it’s given them a great excuse to visit Paisley and Scotland. It’s great to be able to show that Paisley can host international events like this.’ Drew Moir, Paisley International Tango Festival (2019) All three funds have helped to grow or sustain creative businesses in Renfrewshire: CHEF has supported the establishment of creative businesses and has helped established businesses to grow, often through relatively small grant awards. Investment in some new businesses has led others to develop their own creative micro-enterprises. 18 CHEF projects have focused on business development and/or creative entrepreneurship. However, many other projects have supported this implicitly, for example, by providing paid employment for artists or increasing young people’s employability. The introduction of CODF was the first time that Renfrewshire Council has provided regular funding for a cohort of strategically important cultural organisations. Prior to the pandemic, strong progress was being made by this cohort with their organisational development activity. When the pandemic hit, the priorities of many of the CODF organisations changed. With support from OneRen and the Council, CODF grants were able to adapt to grant recipients’ dramatically shifting circumstances to enable organisations to address new challenges and continue to operate. Organisations have reported that this flexibility has enabled them to survive or even thrive during this period of great uncertainty. Page 171 of 180
Page 176
‘The flexibility shown in allowing us to repurpose some of this funding during COVID was also crucial, along with the COS fund, in ensuring the organisation’s long-term survival.’ CODF grant recipient organisation ‘The ability to repurpose funds has been crucial to support our organisation. It allowed us to contribute to core staffing costs, enabling us to continue to provide a service throughout the pandemic. This support was vital when our income levels were greatly reduced. This has also enabled us to generate further funds from other sources, to continue to benefit the residents of Renfrewshire.’ CODF grant recipient organisation ‘We’ve been incredibly grateful for the flexibility offered on CODF funding during Covid. This allowed us to repurpose the grant, invest in new team members (Fundraising Manager) and external fundraising support and built capacity to become more responsive to young people and their needs and grow our cultural programme. As a result, we not only survived in a challenging environment but thrived.’ CODF grant recipient organisation ‘The funding made a real difference to our effective working in the local economy. The fund was created as an investment in cultural jobs and without it we would not have been able to secure any growth in staffing costs from other funders. This is vitally important, particularly when many other funders, notably Creative Scotland and National Lottery do not offer funding for staffing costs but only time limited project costs or creative/artistic temporary posts. The funding allowed us to invest in quality personnel, training young producers and programmers and in building networks of support across what is sometimes an itinerant and fragile marketplace.’ CODF grant recipient organisation RCRRF grants helped creative freelancers and organisations adapt to the impact of the pandemic. RCRRF was launched at a time when arts freelancers were having work opportunities cancelled, new arts opportunities were not being created at a sufficient rate to replace them, and when arts practitioners across the country were having to turn to new temporary employment. Artist Development Grants (ADG) were important to freelance arts practitioners, not only in enabling them to earn income at a time of crisis but also to continue their professional practice, developing skills and opportunities that otherwise may be lost or not exist. Initial evaluation findings show grant recipients (freelance artists supported by ADG and TCNCI) report they now feel Renfrewshire is a sustainable place to be a practitioner. ADG and TCNCI grants have been a stabilising influence for professional freelance arts practitioners living and working in Renfrewshire. Our funding programmes and funded projects have built confidence in Renfrewshire, within and beyond the area. In Renfrewshire, this is not only within the creative sector but also in schools and communities. Funded projects have built children and young people’s confidence Page 172 of 180
Page 177
and pride in their creative achievements and their hometown. Funding programmes have also supported the development of the Council’s and OneRen’s relationships with national organisations such as Creative Scotland and Event Scotland. It has helped to build external confidence in Renfrewshire’s commitment to cultural regeneration. Cultural funding programmes have developed and strengthened relationships between OneRen and Renfrewshire’s cultural and creative communities. While much Future Paisley programming is developed by council and OneRen cultural workforce, grants distribute power and provide equality, so recipients devise and lead delivery of their own projects on their own terms based on their own identified needs. The structure of CODF relationship management has also contributed to the development of positive and strong working relationships between OneRen and cultural organisations, which made it easier to respond to grant recipients’ changing needs when the pandemic hit. Initial evaluation of CODF shows: - The lead officer approach has built trust and respect between funded organisations and public institutions. - Lead officers have been able to provide knowledgeable and responsive feedback to CODF organisations when they needed it. - This trusted relationship has been beneficial in supporting organisations to work towards their short, medium and long-term ambitions. - Lead officers have deepened their understanding of Renfrewshire’s cultural sector. ‘The circumstances and impact of COVID has presented challenges in terms of how the organisation was able to operate, and I think my role was significant in terms of fostering trust and demonstrating unique and experience-based understanding of their situation. I would describe my role as a trusted peer.’ OneRen CODF Lead Officer ‘To refer to the climate brought about by the Covid crisis, there was quite a bit of learning and understanding of challenges undertaken together. In many ways, we faced similar challenges, with the difference being that by being the Lead Officer representing a funding body that was supporting them, I was in a position to listen and respond to their needs as they navigated a change in priorities.’ OneRen CODF Lead Officer ‘I have a better understanding of the financial challenges faced by organisations whose main income is from external funding as well the funding environment due to Covid.’ OneRen CODF Lead Officer ‘I’ve learned that the [CODF] organisation demonstrates great resilience in the face of set backs and are very determined and resourceful.’ OneRen CODF Lead Officer The creation of Arts Connection as a network and CODF legacy: A significant legacy of CODF grants – most of which are yet to conclude – is the creation of the new Arts Connection network of the seven cultural organisations within the CODF cohort. This new approach to Page 173 of 180
Page 178
collaborative working is likely to extend the impact of CODF investment well beyond the scope of the original individual grants awarded. ‘Arts Connection is a collective group of organisations working to advance a thriving and sustainable cultural environment for Renfrewshire [through] partnership working, sharing of good practice, joint funding applications, research and planning, expansion of our creative programmes, and generally just helping each other out. Together we all share the same ambition, to help regenerate Renfrewshire by bringing the community and culture together.’ Arts Connection organisations ‘The creation of the CODF Cohort (Arts Connection) not only developed a stronger relationship between Renfrewshire Leisure and CODF organisations, but it also strengthened the relationships between different organisations. We are now more connected, collaborating more and working forward collaboratively to meet a shared goal of raising cultural ambition in Renfrewshire.’ OneRen Officer 3. Considerations for future cultural funding programmes Core funding – previous grants were awarded with no expectation of further funding and were developed to build capacity and sustainability in a way that did not create a new dependency on core funding. Local cultural organisations have provided feedback that regular funding for the core costs would be beneficial. It not unusual for UK local authorities to provide regular core funding to arts organisations, often to those also supported by regular funding from bodies such as Creative Scotland. Renfrewshire does not currently have any Creative Scotland Regularly Funded Organisations, however we do have organisations that aspire to this status, or are of national significance. It will be important to consider how future funding might leverage national funding or funding via trusts and foundations. We would push for this investment in grass-roots culture to continue and suggest some funds be directed to support the core costs of trusted charities providing crucial local cultural services, such as PACE. We believe regular core funding, as demonstrated by Creative Scotland’s Regularly Funded Organisations scheme and seen in some other local authority areas, provides the best long-term results and provides the council with best value-for-money, gives organisations crucial stability, and ensures best practice is embedded in the structure of organisations. It also strengthens the vibrant, independent cultural sector that is necessary to meaningfully regenerate Renfrewshire. Grant Mason, Chief Executive, PACE Theatre Co Non-funding sector support - research has shown that in the UK, non-funding support is also valuable to arts organisations. This may come in such forms as subsidised rent or in-kind premises, help with licences and opportunities for networking and development. Indeed, Arts Page 174 of 180
Page 179
Connection organisations receive non-funding support from both OneRen and the Council through a variety of other routes. Funding needs to be considered as one tool within an interconnected system of sector support, driven by Future Paisley. This will include looking at how the wider programme can establish progression routes and opportunities for participants involved in short-term grant-funded projects, and partnerships and commissioning opportunities with local cultural organisations, building a self-sustaining ecology. Making grants more accessible - a new digital application process should be developed to improve the process for applicants, ensure greater accessibility and improve application quality. Renfrewshire’s unique context and approach to cultural funding - positive outcomes have been achieved because funding has been designed to respond to the specific circumstances and needs of Renfrewshire. Future models should respond to the cultural context and meet the needs of creative communities and respond to Renfrewshire’s Cultural Strategy priorities. This will include longer-term, sustainable support for cultural organisations and ‘fleet of foot’ grants to support creative freelancers and build agency within local groups and communities. It is important that future cultural funding provision is strategically aligned with the wider Future Paisley programme, notably new projects to ‘build the system’ in health, social care and education, to avoid duplication and maximise impact of the Future Paisley programme and investment in the period leading to April 2024. ENDS Page 175 of 180
Page 180
Page 176 of 180
Page 181
1. ___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: 22nd June 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: OneRen Director Nominations ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 OneRen is the trading name of Renfrewshire Leisure Limited, a charitable organisation and a company limited by guarantee which operates within the provisions set out in the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Companies Act 2006. To ensure compliance with both Acts, OneRen has detailed Articles of Association to govern the operation of the company which set out the appointment, role and responsibilities of the company directors. 1.2 OneRen currently operates with eleven directors: three appointed by the Council; six independent directors from the business, sport and cultural community, and two employee directors. Council directors serve for the term of the administration of Renfrewshire Council (unless they resign or are removed as a director by Renfrewshire Council during the term). Independent directors are appointed for a period of five years. 1.3 Independent directors are appointed by Renfrewshire Council guided by a nominations committee established by OneRen. The nominations committee reviews the skills of the nominees and assesses whether they meet the requirements of the company before making a recommendation to the Council on their appointment. The recommendations for the appointment of two independent directors to the Board of OneRen are now made to the Council. Item 7 Page 177 of 180
Page 182
2. __________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Leadership Board: i) Approves the nominations committee recommendation in section 3.7 of this report for the appointment of the following independent directors to One Ren’s Board: Kieron Achara, Independent Director – Transformational change Elaine Robertson, Independent Director – Commercial, marketing and sales, and fundraising and development _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Renfrewshire Leisure Limited was established as a charitable trust in 2002 under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965. In November 2014, it converted into a company limited by guarantee, with Renfrewshire Council the sole shareholder, to support the transfer of cultural facilities, services and employees from the Council to Renfrewshire Leisure, now OneRen. 3.2 OneRen has detailed Articles of Association which govern the operation of the company. Part 2 of the Articles of Association sets out how the company can appoint directors, directors’ powers and responsibilities and appropriate rules for decision making by the directors. 3.3 OneRen currently has nine directors, from a maximum of eleven, who are entitled to attend and vote at any General meeting of the charitable company. 3.4 The Chief Executive carried out a skills audit with the current Board of Directors and identified skill gaps in the following areas, which informed the recruitment drive: - • Commercial, marketing and sales • Fundraising and development • Transformational change 3.5 The company’s Articles of Association sets out how to nominate and appoint directors. For the appointment of independent directors, a nominations committee is established to review potential candidates and to make recommendations to the Council in relation to the selection of appropriate individuals for appointment as independent directors of OneRen’s Board. Page 178 of 180
Page 183
3. 3.6 To select appropriate candidates with the relevant skills and experience necessary to assist the company in carrying out its objectives, the nominations committee was appointed, as detailed below: Councillor Lisa Marie Hughes, Chair of OneRen Mary-Frances Felletti, Independent Director, OneRen Victoria Hollows, Chief Executive, OneRen Laura McIntyre, Renfrewshire Council 3.7 Following consideration by the nominations committee, the recommendation to the Leadership Board is for the appointment of the following independent directors to the Board of OneRen. Kieron Achara, Independent Director – Transformational change Elaine Robertson, Independent Director – Commercial, marketing and sales, and fundraising and development ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - not applicable 2. HR & Organisational Development - not applicable 3. Community/Council Planning - not applicable 4. Legal - not applicable 5. Property/Assets - not applicable 6. Information Technology - not applicable 7. Equality & Human Rights - (a) The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report because for example it is for noting only. If required following implementation, the actual impact of the recommendations and the four mitigating actions will be reviewed and monitored, and the results of the assessment will be published on the Council’s website. 8. Health & Safety - not applicable Page 179 of 180
Page 184
4. 9. Procurement - not applicable 10. Risk - not applicable 11. Privacy Impact - not applicable 12. Cosla Policy Position - not applicable _________________________________________________________ List of Background Papers - not applicable ___________________________________________________________________ Author: Laura MacIntyre, Head of Policy and Commissioning Chief Executive’s Service laura.mcintyre@renfrewshire.gov.uk 0141 618 6807 Page 180 of 180