2. FRSC Programme Update Sep 25 v0.1
Renfrewshire Council · 3 September 2025
Back to Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-committee — 3 September 2025 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: 3 September 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ 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 several 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 27th February 2025, members further reaffirmed their commitment to the Fairer Renfrewshire programme with continued investments in a number of targeted interventions including additional welfare rights and schools advice funding, a targeted programme of summer activities for children and young people from low-income families, another year of the Winter Connections programme in 2025/26, and a further winter school clothing payment in 2025. 1.4. Key priorities for the Fairer Renfrewshire Programme for September – December 2025 are as follows: • Development of our advancement of equality of opportunity programme • Commencement of work on the re-commissioning of external advice contract • Make £50 Winter Clothing Payment to families in receipt of School Clothing Grant • Launch of this year’s Winter Connections programme • Agreement of a plan for the Fair Food Renfrewshire partnership to develop next steps • Develop a Fairer Renfrewshire Action Plan detailing the priorities and programme of work to be undertaken over the next 18-24 months.
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2 1.5. Work on priorities has continued throughout 2024/25, with this paper containing progress updates at Section 4. 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members of the Fairer Renfrewshire Sub-Committee note the report. 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. The programme currently works to deliver against 4 key themes: • Improving financial security • Advancing equality of opportunity • Building community capacity and resilience • Listening to lived experience 4. Fairer Renfrewshire Programme Updates Summer of Fun 4.1 At Leadership Board on 23 April 25, it was agreed that the £100,000 allocated to Summer of Fun in March’s budget be split, with 50% of the funding to be directed to deliver holiday camp provision, and the remaining 50% being allocated to support the establishment of a small grants programme which would allow third and community sector partners to deliver local, targeted provision to low-income families across Renfrewshire. 4.2 To ensure that local organisations were able to access this funding within the necessary timescales before the summer period, the grants funding programme opened at the end of April, and was quickly over-subscribed. Applications were reviewed by a partnership panel, including members from Engage Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire HSCP along with Council officers. Delegated authority had been provided to the Head of Policy and Partnerships to consider and award grant funding of up to £3,000 per application in consultation with the Council Leader with the full £50,000 being allocated. 4.3 In total 20 organisations received funding for activities, which included: o Summer club for families/children o Trips for low-income families who would otherwise be unable to afford them o Art and music activities o Sports and fitness activities
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3 4.4 Summer holiday camps were held across 6 locations in Renfrewshire. These were targeted to parents who are in receipt of school clothing grant, with social work staff also able to refer children. This year Mears were also able to refer asylum seeker families to the camps. 4.5 There had been issues with non-attendance in past camps, so prior to the camps being advertised, the Community Learning and Development team worked with the Fairer Renfrewshire Panel on messaging to parents to encourage attendance and design around late attendance and rewards for those attending all camps they had booked. 4.6 The Summer of Fun programme will be evaluated and a report brought to a subsequent Board. Detail of organisations who received funding is at Appendix 1. School Support and Family Advice Service 4.7 Between the 1st of April 2025 and the 30th of June 2025, the School Support Service assisted 52 clients. These clients made a combined 86 individual contacts. The most popular advice area was in relation to benefits, with 65% of clients having benefits related issues. The clients included 26 who were lone parents and 22 disclosed a health condition. 4.8 The School Support Service, during this period, recorded financial gains for 13 clients totalling £58,329. These client financial gains primarily came from successful applications for Universal Credit, Adult Disability Payment, Child Benefit and the Young Carer’s Grant. 4.9 A review of the School Support Service is planned for the start of the new school year to look at what schools are being booked by families seeking advice and what can be done to boost numbers overall, but especially within schools where bookings are low. 4.10 For quarter 1 of 25/26, Advice Works received 110 referrals for their Family Advice Service and completed 119 cases. Most of these clients have received a benefit check, with some Universal Credit, Adult Disability Payment and Council Tax Reduction applications. The majority of these referrals came from Health Visitor teams, with a number too from Social Work and also through self-referral. 4.11 Client Financial Gain for the year to date for Family Advice is £39,732 however even in cases where a client speaks to an adviser and there is no financial gain made, the client benefits from the reassurance of a benefit check and meeting with Advice Works opens discussion on all financial matters that may be worrying the client, such as debts and budgeting. 4.12 With regard to the Child Poverty Priority Groups, Advice Works have seen 60 families within the Family Advice Service so far this year, falling into these categories:
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4 4.13 Further promotion of the Family Advice Service is part of the Free School Meal/School Clothing Grant application process, with families who start an application, but find they do not meet the eligibility criteria, encouraged to seek advice. For those who do meet the eligibility criteria and apply, an option is given to request further Advice Works assistance which, when selected, generates an email that includes an appointment referral form and additional signposting information which may be relevant. 4.14 Since June, almost one in four applications (839 emails sent/3392 applications received as of 7 August) has resulted in appointment referrals and signposting emails being sent offering further money and debt advice. 4.15 Officers have also been working with Advice Works and RCAB to develop a pathway to advice for families with children of all ages, with the intention of distributing and promoting this to Education staff and Whole Family Wellbeing teams as well as 3rd sector organisations working with parents and children. Local Child Poverty Action Report 4.16 Renfrewshire’s Local Child Poverty Action Report (LCPAR) was approved by Leadership Board in June 2025. The Report is now awaiting scrutiny and approval by the NHSGGC Public Health and Wellbeing Committee before publication on the Council website. The LCPAR is an annual report describing ongoing and planned action to tackle child poverty at a local level. This is a joint duty on both local authorities and regional health boards, and a statutory requirement of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017. Lived Experience Panel 4.17 Elected Members have been given a number of updates relating to work of the Fairer Renfrewshire Panel. Since the last Sub-Committee meeting, the Panel has met with Transport to input into the Local Transport Strategy, with a further meeting arranged for late August. They also met with Community Learning and Development to discuss ways to boost attendance at summer holiday camps.
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5 4.18 Invest in Renfrewshire also engaged the Panel to help design one of their programmes for parents. The idea for the programme had come from an early discussion between Invest and the Panel, and the Panel were happy to have their ideas and feedback recognised, including around the naming of the programme, grant levels and general design. 4.19 Looking forward, the Panel have met over the summer to make plans and also develop a code of conduct as well as recruit new members, as some members have dropped out due to ill-health and clashes with employment. At the first post-summer session, the Panel will feed back to Officers around priorities and timescales. A further session organised by Invest for Employability Month, and including partners such as DWP and Skills Development Scotland will take place in September. 4.20 The Panel have also carried out a self-evaluation, looking at their impact over the last 2 years and plans and priorities going forward, which is presented to elected members as a separate paper. Community Development in Gallowhill 4.21 As previously reported to the sub-committee, at Leadership Board on 4 December, £50,000 of Fairer Renfrewshire funding was allocated in grant funding to Active Communities to support the continuation of community development activity in Gallowhill following the publication of the earlier Community Needs Assessment which took place in the area. This is intended to provide capacity to support the development and implementation of actions emerging from the community needs assessment and continue to improve and expand community led activity and infrastructure in the area. 4.22 The Community Development Officer (CDO) for Gallowhill started in post on 22 April. They will work between Gallowhill and Active Communities office in Johnstone, and have 3 priorities: • Join up services and support available locally, informed by the community needs assessment • Increase uptake of services and support for low-income families, focussed on targeting priority families • Providing dedicated community development support to improve and expand community led activity and infrastructure in the area. 4.23 The CDO has been engaging with community members, carrying out a weekly Team Up To Clean Up activity in the area working alongside local people. They also support the weekly community sessions which take place in Gallowhill Community Centre each Friday which provide an opportunity for the community to come together over lunch, and have developed and run the summer family activity each week over the school holidays as part of Summer of Fun. 4.24 The CDO has also met with others who are working in the area, such as Circle Recovery Café and OneRen who run family activities in the Centre and other Council services and is looking at how they can work together for maximum effect.
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6 4.25 Wider work will also be undertaken to develop a place-based approach based on the learning from the CNA, with a group comprising Council and HSCP officers and Active Communities steering this work. The first meeting of this group took place in July. Fair Food Renfrewshire/Good Food Nation 4.26 The Fair Food Renfrewshire Steering Group, which met initially in September 2023, has continued to meet on a quarterly basis. The next Fair Food Renfrewshire steering group meeting will take place on 10 September, where a new plan will be presented for approval, as well as an update provided on the Food Support Forum and the Good Food Nation work. 4.27 The first Fair Food Renfrewshire work plan was approved in August 2024 by the Steering Group. The focus of that plan was on communications and marketing, re-establishing a Food Support network forum to discuss emergency and community food, and investigating the possibility of increasing access by local food producers to procurement frameworks. In addition to continuing and developing the work of the first plan, the second work plan will cover the work in 2025 onwards including exploring opportunities to apply for external funding and collaborating with Council services to include food growing and reducing food waste within the next phase of the plan for Net Zero. 4.28 The previously mentioned Food Support Forum brings together those organisations within Renfrewshire who provide community and emergency food. The most recent meeting of the group took place on 1 May. The meeting was attended by several organisations who run pantries and food larders as well as by Renfrewshire Foodbank. Previous meetings had identified gaps and issues with regards to community and emergency food support, with the latest meeting focusing on discussing possible solutions. Topics discussed included how the group can work together to enhance food distribution, increase funding options and increase food growing within the community. 4.29 The proposed National Good Food Nation Plan was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 27 June 2025. It sets out over-arching Outcomes; the range of targets and indicators used to gauge progress towards achieving them; and details of food-related policies and initiatives from across the Scottish Government. The Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee plan to undertake scrutiny of the proposed Plan in September 2025. The expectation is that subject to any further amendments, the Plan will be approved and finalised by the end of 2025. 4.30 The national Good Food Nation Plan will be reviewed every 5 years and revised as necessary, with progress reports being published every two years. 4.31 Discussions are continuing around the commencement date for when the statutory duty begins which will require ‘relevant authorities’, that is local authorities and health boards, to publish their own Local Good Food Nation Plans. Relevant authorities are required by the Act to have regard to the national Plan when doing so and the same reporting and revision requirements that apply to the national Plan will also apply to relevant authority Good Food Nation Plans.
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7 4.32 Relevant authorities will be required to hold consultations on their Plans prior to publication and whilst the national Plan can and must serve as a guide for relevant authorities, it is for the authorities themselves to determine the Outcomes, measures and policies that are best suited to achieving a Good Food Nation in their particular areas. Details of funding for local authorities and health boards to develop their plans is not expected until February 2026. We will continue to keep elected members updated as work on the Good Food Nation Plans progresses. Fairer Renfrewshire Action Plan 4.33 It is proposed that a wider Fairer Renfrewshire Action Plan is developed which provides a more formal overview of the breadth of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, as well as priorities and activities to be undertaken over the next 18-24 month period. 4.34 This will be developed throughout Autumn/Winter 2025, and presented to a future board for approval. 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
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8 13. Children’s rights - the articles within UNCRC underpin the work that is being progressed in Renfrewshire through the Fairer Renfrewshire programme, particularly in relation to rights in relation to aspects such as life, survival and development, food, clothing and a safe home and supporting the best interests of the child and their families. Child poverty and family wellbeing are key local partnership priorities. 14. COSLA Policy Position – none Author: Laura McIntyre, Head of Policy and Partnerships