2. FRSC Programme Update Sept 24 FINAL LM
Renfrewshire Council · 4 September 2024
Back to Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee — 4 September 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 ___________________________________________________________________ To: Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee On: 4 September 2024 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Fairer Renfrewshire Programme Update ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1. 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 such as the Tackling Poverty Programme and the change programme established in response to the findings of the Renfrewshire Drug and Alcohol Commission. 1.2. At Council on 2 March 2023 members reaffirmed their commitment to the Fairer Renfrewshire programme and outlined a number of investments including bringing together the current Fairer Renfrewshire funding alongside the Tackling Poverty and Social Renewal reserve funds into a single resource. 1.3. At Council on 29th February 2024, members further reaffirmed their commitment to the Fairer Renfrewshire programme with further investments in a number of targeted interventions being agreed including additional welfare rights funding, a targeted programme of summer activities for children and young people from low-income families, additional resource to explore inequalities experienced by older people and strengthen engagement with young people, and a further winter school clothing payment in 2024. 1.4. Work on priorities has continued with this paper containing updates on a number of key priorities at Section 4. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members of the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee note the report.
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2 3. Background 3.1 As highlighted in Section 1, the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme brings together a number of existing programmes of work focussed on achieving fairness and equity, including the former Tackling Poverty Programme and Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme. These programmes are being brought together alongside the Council’s Social Renewal Plan, mapping a fairer future for Renfrewshire’s residents following the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. 3.2. There are four key themes that underpin the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, and these are: • Improving financial security • Advancing equality of opportunity • Building community capacity and resilience • Listening to lived experience 4. Fairer Renfrewshire Programme Updates Summer of Fun 2024 4.1 In May 2024, funding of £100,000 was allocated through the Fairer Renfrewshire programme to support the development of a summer holiday programme, with a focus on providing support over the holiday period to low-income families. 4.2 A full evaluation report is currently being carried out, as with the 2023 programme, and this will be presented to elected members at the next Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee meeting. 4.3 A presentation will be provided at the meeting on 4 September, which will aim to give elected members information gathered initially through this evaluation process. School Support and Family Advice Service 4.4 With the new school year having started in August, work has been ongoing with colleagues in Advice Works and Education as well as Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau (RCAB) to boost numbers using the School Support Service across Secondary and ASN schools provided by RCAB and the Family Advice Service for families of Primary and ELCC schools provided by Advice Works. 4.5 Working alongside colleagues in Corporate Communications, plans are in place to ensure parents and carers are aware of the advice available to them. The plan includes updates to school websites and newsletters, texts to parents and wider communications including social media and a press release as well as attendance at parents’ nights. 4.6 Engagement with Education Managers will continue throughout the year to ensure relevant school and nursery staff, including pastoral staff are aware of the services and can signpost or
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3 refer parents who may benefit from advice around money and benefits. This will include parents who have school meal debt. 4.7 In addition to this promotion of the service, as part of the work to boost take up of advice by parents with low incomes, Advice Works have embedded a question about whether families need support with money as a part of the application process for Free School Meals and School Clothing grants. Any applicant who indicated they wanted support received an email immediately with information on financial supports available for families, where to access help with money and a link to Advice Works online referral form. One reminder was sent if no contact had been made, again including a link to the online form again and reminding them that help is available. 957 applicants indicated they would like support with money. The number of online referral forms have been limited to date at 11, and the service is still working through the reminder process. The income generated so far for this small cohort is around £8,500, although this is expected to rise. Lived Experience Panel 4.8 Elected Members have been given a number of updates relating to work of the Fairer Renfrewshire Panel. The August session of the Panel was used to examine and feedback on the Local Transport Strategy currently being developed. Early September will see the Panel Event with members of the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee and Officers Group, while the Events team will return later in September to discuss the plans for the Paisley Halloween event and feedback on outcomes from the previous meeting earlier in the year. 4.9 In October, the panel will visit the Russell Institute to carry on the conversation with Invest and see the changes made to the premises based on Panel feedback. Looking ahead the Panel have been commissioned by Renfrewshire HSCP to support them with work around the findings of their most recent Health and Wellbeing Survey, feeding back on the findings and helping identify priorities from the results. Community Needs Assessment in Gallowhill 4.10 As previously reported to the sub-committee, late in 2023, Renfrewshire HSCP was successful in a funding bid to NHSGGC Public Health to carry out a Community Needs Assessment (CNA) in Gallowhill, recognising the increase in Child Poverty rates in the Gallowhill and Renfrew South Ward. The commissioning process for an organisation to carry out the CNA has ended, and Active Communities are the successful organisation. 4.11 The CNA commenced at the start of July 2024 using the Place Standard Tool. An Engagement Event will be organised for autumn and Active Communities are also hoping to recruit volunteers from within the area to carry out the survey with their own social groups. Although the survey is online, it is hoped to complete the majority of forms face to face to capture honest discussion with community members. 4.12 85 surveys have been completed to date, 60 of these in person, allowing richer qualitative evidence to be gathered. Active Communities have been utilising community spaces and have the
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4 buy-in from local shops to engage residents there. With the new school term starting, they will be able to access parents via both primary schools as well as the early learning centres and Paisley Grammar school. 4.13 An application has been made to the Scottish Government Child Poverty Accelerator Fund to support the testing of new place-based approaches to child poverty in Renfrewshire, which would be informed by the CNA currently taking place. This is a joint bid with Renfrewshire HSCP, NHSGGC and Active Communities, with Renfrewshire council being the lead partner. The Scottish Government will inform applicants whether they have been successful in mid-September. 4.14 Over the summer holidays, Community Learning and Development summer camps ran in Gallowhill and post summer holidays, Invest in Renfrewshire are continuing their weekly employability outreach in Gallowhill Community Centre, with Digital Champions also attending the Community Centre to support digital inclusion. Thrive under 5 4.15 Following the launch of the Thrive under 5 programme to referral organisations, as previously described to the Sub-Committee, the launch of the programme for parents and carers in Johnstone took place on July. Supporting a minimum of 60 families, the service is targeted to parents in the child poverty priority groups who have children under 5 and offers: • 12 free shops at Active Communities Community Pantry • Access to Cooking Workshops and free equipment • A cooking starter pack and 8 weeks of free recipe kits • Money Advice from RCAB, including income maximisation • Physical activity opportunities for families provided by Active Communities 4.16 The first referral window for families closed in early August with 28 referrals made and 21 families accepted for the programme, with a mix of referrers including Social Work, GPs, nurseries and 3rd sector organisations. 4.17 Further tranches of recruitment will take place for families once this first group have been through the programme. Affordable Credit 4.18 As one of their funded projects, Renfrewshire Affordable Credit Alliance (RACA) was invited to present at the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit’s 20th Anniversary Conference in August. Over the last year, RACA has been working with a number of new partners to promote affordable credit options and so reduce illegal borrowing. 4.19 With a focus on social housing tenants, RACA has targeted local housing associations providing them with information and their newly launched ‘Your Good Guide to Credit’ booklet. While this engagement work is ongoing, Williamsburgh Housing Association have agreed to issue the
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5 booklet to all their new tenants, and RACA are working towards a similar agreement with Linstone, Ferguslie Park and Bridgewater Housing Associations. 4.20 Over the summer, RACA has supported Multiply sessions, Summer of Fun sessions for teenagers, including at the School of African Cultures and started working with the St Mirren Charity. They have also engaged with Invest in Renfrewshire around offering support within Job Clubs and their booklet is being handed out to parents and carers who are engaged in the Thrive Under 5 initiative. 4.21 They have also commenced work with two new affordable credit lenders, Salad Money who provide loans for those in employment and Moneyline, who provide small loans. Both of these organisations are not for profit Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFI) and offer loans only. While RACA still promotes our local credit unions which support savings and loans, and can help build financial resilience, CDFIs can offer loans to those who may need a quicker loan, or who would be too high a risk for a credit union to lend to. A loan from this type of organisation which offers fair finance can stop an individual approaching an illegal money lender, with the subsequent issues that may bring. 4.22 Using voices from their recent survey on debt borrowing and spending habits in Renfrewshire, RACA has recently developed an animation about loan sharks which has been cascaded to partners and promoted on social media. The survey revealed that people within Renfrewshire were using loan sharks, and while numbers weren’t large, each person had felt threatened by the lender, and in one case had been assaulted. RACA continues to work closely with the Scottish Illegal Money Lending Unit and local partners to reduce loan shark use in Renfrewshire. Pension Credit campaign 4.23 The UK Government has announced that older adults of state pensionable age in England and Wales not in receipt of Pension Credit or other means tested benefits will no longer be entitled to Winter Fuel Payment. This benefit has been devolved to Scotland, and the Scottish Government had previously announced it would replace Winter Fuel Payments with its own scheme called the 'Pension Age Winter Heating Payment' (PAWHP) this coming winter. These payments would be paid to everyone over State Pension age. 4.24 On 14th August, the Scottish Government announced that the payment in Scotland will also be restricted to those on eligible benefits. PAWHP will also be deferred until 24/25, to allow more time to plan in light of the change. Because Winter Fuel payment has already been devolved, Scottish Government are in discussion with the Department for Work and Pensions which has committed to administer a payment equivalent to Winter Fuel Payment to older people in Scotland this year. 4.25 While awaiting further detail on this payment, Advice Works and Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau (RCAB), along with Corporate Communications, have planned a Pension Credit take up campaign to ensure as many of those eligible in Renfrewshire who have not yet claimed this benefit do so.
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6 4.26 The campaign will take place in early September, and should the Scottish Government or Department for Work and Pensions announce a similar campaign, will be tied to that to amplify the message. Alcohol and Drugs Change Programme 4.27 As reported previously to board, an evaluation of funded projects and initiatives which have been delivered in response to the recommendations of the Alcohol and Drugs Commission is now underway. In order to ensure continuation of key projects whilst the evaluation is completed, the programme board has recommended that additional funding of £46,000 from the Change Programme be allocated to support the MYLA project to be extended until March 2025. This is a housing led project in partnership with Turning Point Scotland, which provides intensive support to people with complex needs and aims to help improve outcomes for service users across a number of areas, including being able to sustain a tenancy. Positive outcomes data is emerging for this project and the extension of the funding will allow a full evaluation of the project to be completed to inform future funding recommendations. 4.28 The programme board has also recommended that £75,000 is allocated to support an organisation programme which will promote positive language and aim to reduce stigma. This will be linked to the Council’s values training and our wider work relating to trauma. 4.29 Through the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership in Renfrewshire, local partners are currently considering their response to the recently published drug related death figures which have been published at both a national local level. Through the Alcohol and Drugs Commission, partners considered the impact of alcohol and drug use for individuals, families and communities and it is very concerning that the number of drug related deaths in Renfrewshire remain high. 4.30 The local figures confirm that in Renfrewshire, there were 44 drug-related deaths in 2023 which represents an increase of 13% from 39 in 2022. This is the fifth highest number recorded in the past decade. Drug misuse deaths in Renfrewshire, 2014 to 2023
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7 4.31 Renfrewshire had the seventh highest rate of deaths per 100,000 population (2019-2023) at 27.5 and above the Scottish average of 23.6. This is similar to the previous 5-year rate where we had also had the seventh highest rate of deaths at 28.9. 4.32 A more detailed update for members on the data available, and the steps being undertaken in Renfrewshire by partners to support people at most risk of harm, will be provided at the next meeting of this board. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – There are no financial implications associated with this report. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none 3. Community/Council Planning – The Fairer Renfrewshire Programme is a key driver in achieving the ‘Fair’ strategic outcome and theme within the Council Plan, and covers a number of the key actions identified in the plan. It also represents a significant partnership programme of work which supports the ‘Fair’ theme within the Community Plan, with dedicated partnership governance being established to ensure alignment between these areas of work. 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets - none 6. Information Technology - none 7. Equality and Human Rights – Equality and human rights are a key pillar of this plan, and it is anticipated that the programme will likely advance equality of opportunity. 8. Health and Safety - none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. Climate risk – none 13. Children’s rights - the articles within UNCRC underpin the work that is being progressed in Renfrewshire through the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, particularly in relation to rights in relation to aspects such as life, survival and development, food, clothing and a safe home and supporting the best interests of the child and their families. Child poverty and family wellbeing are key local partnership priorities. 14. COSLA Policy Position – none
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8 Author: Laura McIntyre, Head of Policy and Partnerships