How are we doing?

Renfrewshire Council's Public Performance Report

Introduction

Our services are here to make sure that everyone living in Renfrewshire enjoys a good quality of life and can live well. This performance report is designed to help you make your own judgement on how we are doing.

The data presented here relates to 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023, coinciding with the latest publication of the Improvement Service’s Local Government Benchmarking Framework. The data is provided against the backdrop of some of the biggest challenges to face public services in living memory. Renfrewshire, as with elsewhere in the country, has faced both the emergence of new pressures and the exacerbation of existing ones. The cost-of-living crisis and inflation have added to existing inequalities. Public services also face major challenges in addressing climate change, rising demand, and dealing with the longer-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the challenging context we have worked hard to ensure we remain ambitious for Renfrewshire, and that we work with partners to make Renfrewshire a great place to be.

In summer 2022 we developed our new  Council Plan 2022-2027 , supporting the organisation to remain agile and to address new challenges and opportunities over the period as required. The Plan sets out how the Council will work with partners, communities and businesses to progress 5 strategic outcomes:

  • Place – working together to enhance wellbeing across communities
  • Economy – building an inclusive, green and resilient economy
  • Fair – nurturing bright, happy and healthy futures for all
  • Green – leading Renfrewshire to Net Zero
  • Living our values – making a difference together

The Plan also describes a cross-cutting theme – improving outcomes for children and families. Every one of the 5 strategic outcomes should directly contribute to this outcome and demonstrate that services are working together to get it right for children, families and communities.

The new Council Plan was accompanied by a refreshed Community Plan, which covers the longer period of 2017 to 2027, but was revised to consider how to respond to and recover from the unique challenges over the last few years. The refresh also ensures the Community and Council Plans work in harmony, aligning the framework for improving community outcomes with the priorities for the Council.

To help develop the new Council Plan and the refreshed Community Plan, we carried out a strategic needs assessment. This involved research, surveys and analysing data about Renfrewshire to build up a picture about the challenges and opportunities that come with living, working and learning here. This meant we were able to focus in on the themes that matter most to local people where we can try and work together to make a difference.


Summary of Performance

Every year, we report on our performance. Like other Councils we participate in the  Local Government Benchmarking Framework   (LGBF), and report our performance against 108 indicators to an organisation called the Improvement Service. A benefit of the LGBF data is that it gives you the ability to compare performance against other local authorities with a similar profile to Renfrewshire, known as Family Groups.

In this report you can see how our performance has changed over time and compare our performance against every other Council in Scotland by clicking through our interactive PowerBI graphs. This report also features case studies and internal performance statistics.

We also regularly report performance information to Council Boards, including our progress against our Council Plan actions and other performance indicators. These also show how well we are doing and where we need to improve.

Additionally, we are subject to range of different inspections and audits by external bodies and are required to report our performance to Scottish Government in relation to a number of specific statutory duties that we have.


Environment

As a Council, we recognise the major threat climate change poses to the future wellbeing of our communities. We have shown leadership at both a strategic level and operational level to drive change - declaring a climate emergency in June 2019 and committing to work towards net zero for the area by 2030. 

We have developed strong governance to lead by example and take action to tackle climate change, including establishing a Planning and Climate Change Policy Board and committing £1million to a Climate Change Action Fund supporting innovative climate projects and initiatives across Renfrewshire which build on transformative projects that the Council have already delivered across our operations. 

In December 2021, the allocation of £50,000 from the Climate Change Action Fund was approved to progress a pilot Community Climate Fund. The Community Climate Fund provided awards of up to £3,000 to community organisations to develop localised, green community projects and initiatives tailored to the needs of individual communities. The aim of this funding was to encourage participation and raise awareness of the climate emergency within our communities, with initiatives being designed and delivered by local residents but supported by the Council.

On 14th June 2022, the Planning and Climate Change Policy Board approved the award of £49,132.42 from the Community Climate Fund to support 18 community projects. Successful projects include:

  • Howwood Park Pavilion Renovation - Insulation and Low Energy Electrical Fittings (The Villages): This project aims to renovate a derelict football pavilion in an environmentally friendly manner, to minimise energy demand and maximise energy efficiency to make the building as environmentally friendly as possible and ensure CO2 emissions are minimal when the building is back is use.  
  • 'Mon the Weans, 'Mon the Bees, 'Mon the Community! (Kirklandneuk Primary School Parent Council, Renfrew): This project aims to provide an outdoor space that allows pupils to express their feelings, learn, role play and channel their creative skills and provide the school and local community the opportunity to be involved in food growing and preparation and opportunities to learn about creating a biodiversity area within the school grounds.
  • Finding Your Feet Charity Hub Garden (Paisley North, West and Central): This project aims to reclaim an area of disused land and turn it into a garden and play area for all charities in the hub to use, including a sensory garden, outdoor children's accessible play area, nature walks, beekeeping and therapeutic gardening activities for everyone who uses the hub to enjoy.

  Picture 1: Initial Site Picture 2: Cleared Site Picture 3: How the garden looks now 

 Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero   was approved in August 2022, committing us to work towards net zero by 2030 not just as an organisation, but for the area as a whole. A key element of the development of the Plan for Net Zero was the grassroots approach. Officers gathered different views and ideas across all our stakeholders (residents, communities, local organisations, public, private and third sector and community planning partners) to get everyone involved to identify and prioritise key areas for action and ensure everyone can participate in the design and delivery of our transition to net zero. 

Operational activity to support Renfrewshire’s Plan for Net Zero includes launching new active travel schemes such as  Not Far? Leave the Car . Anyone who signs up to the campaign by downloading the free app will receive points for walking, cycling, using public transport or any sustainable journey that means lower emissions than using the car. Points can then be turned into prizes or discounts at local Renfrewshire businesses, with more national and local businesses being added every day.

The Team Up to Clean Up campaign has entered its 5th year and has grown each year since its inception. Facebook Analysis illustrates engagement statistics over 2022/23 demonstrating across the year there were 4,902 posts, an average of 14 posts per day, 82 comments, and 500 reactions per day. 539,612 people viewed the Team Up to Clean Up platform in 2022/23 and over 9,500 volunteers took part in 3,750 clean ups.


Case Study: Clyde Climate Forest

One of the regional approaches that Renfrewshire Council is involved in is the Clyde Climate Forest initiative which has been developed as a part of a wider response to tackling climate change across the Glasgow City Region. The purpose of the initiative is to support tree planting projects which contribute to a new urban ‘forest’ across the City Region that deliver a broad range of climate and ecological benefits, including storing carbon from the atmosphere, helping to prevent flooding, reducing air pollution and noise pollution, improving biodiversity and making urban areas more welcoming to nature, helping keep soil nutrient-rich to help other local nature and improving health and wellbeing and reducing stress of local people, with physical and mental health benefits from making local areas nicer and safer places to spend time in.

The Clyde Climate Forest initiative was developed in early 2021 as part of a wider response to tackling climate change across the Glasgow City Region. The initiative has been led by the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership, which includes the region’s eight local authorities and key agencies such as NatureScot and Forestry and Land Scotland. Initial tree planting events have been delivered in each of the City Region local authority areas to support early phases of Clyde Climate Forest throughout 2022.

In Renfrewshire this has involved the planting of approximately 3,000 trees (‘whips) within Renfrewshire at Barwood Park, Erskine and Gleniffer Braes, Paisley to deliver climate and ecological benefits to local areas following consultation with local ward members, local community groups and stakeholders. Following the successful delivery of early phases, Renfrewshire Council signed a concordat on the 30 August 2022 as a basis for formalising the initiative and future commitment from local authority partners.

The identification of sites and their delivery will be progressed in consultation with ward members, local residents and community groups, in a similar manner to successful early phases in order to support future phases of the initiative in Renfrewshire in future years.


Case Study: Environmental Taskforce

Our Environmental Taskforce was funded as an initial pilot to explore how targeted action could make a difference to the issue of flytipping in Renfrewshire. The Taskforce consists of Community Support Officers as well as StreetScene Operatives, who undertake pro-active joint visits to investigate the source of flytipping. The Team examine evidence in bags and approach nearby residents and businesses, seeking potential witnesses. Officers further check CCTV to detect flytipping offences.

The Taskforce has been fully operational since December 2022 with new processes and procedures put in place. There are positive results so far with over 30 Fixed Penalty Notices issued. The new approach also featured on BBC television programme “The One Show”: highlighting the dynamic work being done in Renfrewshire including the use of our new CCTV equipment.

Overt cameras, already onsite, offer automatic number plate recognition, zoom high resolution images up to 150 metres, 360 view and stream to laptops and mobile phones. These have proven an effective deterrent in large open spaces prone to heavy flytipping from commercial organisations. Smaller cameras have been deployed to deter/detect flytipping at garages, lockups and residential areas.

Investigations are ongoing to establish an appropriate solution for rural roads with no power source. The Taskforce are working alongside one mobile phone provider to trial a suitable solution. The Taskforce has met with one of the Procurator Fiscal’s at Paisley Sheriff Court and Scotland’s Environmental & Wildlife Procurator Fiscal who have both been updated on the creation of the Taskforce and our role.

The Taskforce has a focus on creating connections with local Housing Associations, ensuring the responsibility and limitations of each organisation are understood and the appropriate contacts are identified. The Housing Associations have further raised awareness of the partnership, the Environmental Taskforce, and the issues of flytipping, through their social media.


Performance


Local Government Benchmarking Framework

Power BI Report


Housing

Our housing services are responsible for managing and investing in our housing stock of approximately 12,200 properties and providing services to Council tenants, alongside housing advice and support, assisting homeless people and those threatened with homelessness and ensuring people have safe and healthy places to live.

Successful housing regeneration can help improve people's homes, increase housing supply, help create more balanced communities and improve results in areas like health, education and crime. Our goal is to create desirable and successful communities, providing quality affordable housing in communities, that in turn brings benefits for the area and a lasting legacy of sustainable change and transformed communities. Our £100m Housing Led Regeneration and Renewal programme will deliver modern, high quality, energy efficient, affordable Council housing. Progress on this programme of work during 2022-23 includes:

  • 170 households have been represented at “pop-up” events held in each of the eight regeneration area areas during August and September 2022 and further events will be held during the duration of the programme.
  • In terms of the acquisition of private properties across the eight regeneration areas, 89 were identified and of those, 63 were valued in 2022/23.

In March 2022, the Council and its partners were asked to support the establishment of a Welcome Hub near to Glasgow Airport with the aim of supporting people arriving in Scotland from Ukraine through the Scottish Government’s ‘super sponsor scheme’. Our staff have provided a warm welcome to Scotland for Ukraine Displaced Persons (UDP’s), including the provision of temporary accommodation and support, with UDP’s then moving to more settled accommodation across Scotland.

2022 saw the launch of the new support service ‘MYLA’ (My Life Ahead). MyLA is a housing-led project providing a complete wraparound support. The project offers supports to households in Renfrewshire, regardless of whether they are Council tenants, private tenants or owners, whose life is being affected by alcohol or drugs. It builds on the concept that in order to have good health, you need to have a good, settled home – this is known as a Housing First approach. Specially trained staff have been appointed to provide this support, using what is known as 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.

The New Build Housing Zero Carbon Innovation Project with John Gilbert Architects and the University of Strathclyde was completed in 2022/23. The purpose of this project was to develop a ‘theoretically net zero carbon standard’ newbuild housing specification for future Council developments. This project was a finalist in the Municipal Journal Awards 2023.


Case Study: New build housing in Ferguslie

2023 saw the completion of 101 new-build, energy efficient houses on the site of the old St Fergus Primary School in Ferguslie Park.  Almost all the new homes are council-owned, though a small number were part of a shared-equity scheme for people to own their own home.

Throughout the project, our housing team had staff onsite at the Tannahill Centre to provide advice and support to tenants.  Those moving into the new homes had the opportunity to influence some of the design, including how their kitchens would be set up.

Most of the tenants have moved from older homes in nearby Tannahill.  It was important that the strong sense of community in the area was preserved, so the regeneration masterplan for the area has had community involvement from the start. Feedback from local people living in the new homes has been very positive. 

New resident, Anne Erskine, is one of many moving across from the old Tannahill estate - and she feels the new homes are a big improvement on what they had before.

These are stunning houses... I've not stopped smiling. My favourite things to do is sit with a cup of tea at the dining table, which I couldn't do before. And we've got a utility room as well! It's like night and day from what we had before.

Anne Erskine, resident


Performance


Local Government Benchmarking Framework

Power BI Report


Children and Families

One of our main priorities for Renfrewshire is improving the health, wellbeing, and life chances of our children and families. Through working with our partners and communities we aim to ensure that children get the best start in life and are able to thrive in supportive learning environments, homes, and communities.

Throughout Scotland, local authorities and health boards work with community planning partners to ensure services delivered to children, young people and their families are the best they can be. In Renfrewshire, we do this by listening to our communities to identify what support people need, why they need it, when they need it and how best it can be provided.

This work takes place through Renfrewshire’s Children’s Services Partnership (RCSP) whose members includes the council, other public sector organisations, and the third sector. Together, we identify local priorities and plan how we can join up to add value and deliver services to children, young people and their families that make a real difference to their lives. Our latest Renfrewshire Children’s Services Partnership Plan was developed through 2022/23 and covers the period 2023-2026.

Please click below to read the full version of the Children's Services Partnership Plan.

One of the key priorities set out in the RCSP Plan is delivering The Promise that was made to the care experienced community, that by 2030, Scotland is "the best place in the world to grow up in".  Although it isn't a legal term, ‘care experienced’ is the one which  the Independent Care Review  heard has special meaning for many of the people who identify with it. For them, it combines:

  • a description of the situation they’ve grown up in,
  • a recognition that this situation may grant them additional support and protection under law, and
  • an understanding of their personal identity.

Not everyone who could identify as care experienced will choose to do so, but it’s one which The Promise Scotland uses in a broad and inclusive way due to the meaning that many care experienced young people attach to it.

In Renfrewshire we have an active and growing Promise Keeper network. Promise Keepers act as local champions to ensure The Promise remains at the forefront of service design and delivery. They achieve this through activity like sharing information about The Promise with colleagues and reviewing the language used in their service.

As of March 2023, there were 118 Promise Keepers in place across the local authority, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), and partner agencies. The network ensures thought is given to the needs and voices of those with care experience. This work is complemented by the development of a Promise Self-Evaluation Tool which will enable services to review progress in #KeepingThePromise in key areas such as training and development, trauma-informed practice, and risk management.

Building on the positive learning from the success of the Ren10 mental health and wellbeing family support service, throughout 2022/23 progress continued to be made to develop our approach to early and effective whole family support measures. This means provides support for families, focussing on early intervention, and providing opportunities for children, young people, parents, and carers to shape the services that impact them.

While 2022/23 did not mark a return to normal for learners and educators, it did mark another significant and positive step on the path back to normal awarding of qualifications, following the years of disruption to learning and teaching caused by the pandemic. When comparing to previous years, we must be mindful that these are not like for like comparisons due to 2 years of exam diet cancellations. Nonetheless, young people across Renfrewshire performed exceptionally well over the period of this report and this reflects the considerable effort on the part of young people, their families, and their school community.

Ukrainian pupils have been welcomed by our schools, and pupils were given uniforms and other materials to support them. The resettlement has been supported by the Families First and Active Schools teams, and the children and young people have been able to access wellbeing support such as counselling. An opportunity has been provided for people from Ukraine to join the Council as trainees for a six-month period, to assist the Council to support Ukrainian refugees. In 2022/23 two people participated in programmes located within schools to help Ukrainian children settle in their new school environment and to assist pupils and staff with barriers to learning such as language.

Commitment to providing sustainable support and learning opportunities to the Gaelic community in Renfrewshire has continued. The provision of Gaelic Medium Primary Education (GMPE) has been established and is located at West Primary School in Paisley.

Partnership work with Skills Development Scotland, West College Scotland, Invest in Renfrewshire, and Developing the Young Workforce West continued to progress throughout 2022/23 to support the most vulnerable learners into positive destinations. The work placement programme continued to provide excellent opportunities with approximately 400 new employers who offer a range of opportunities such as site visits, training, and long-term work placements for young people in the senior phase of school.

In 2022/23 one of our main priorities was gaining a better understanding of the needs of our families living in poverty, working with Poverty Alliance to help us listen to people with direct experience of poverty so they can contribute to the development and implementation of local child poverty priorities. The Pilot of this lived experience group, renamed (by themselves) the Fairer Renfrewshire Panel, took place in 2022/23, and the Panel continue to meet, working with service areas right across the Council.

Winter Connections is a programme of events and activities across Renfrewshire that are open to everyone. Winter Connections is built on relationships, places and communities that already exist. Our spaces are open, free and easy to access. Our events and activities are about feeling good and having fun. Our hosts will provide inclusive, welcoming, respectful, and safe places. The Winter Connections Programme funded 38 projects to provide free activities and hot drinks, snacks and food for parents and children at community venues and libraries throughout Renfrewshire over the winter period in 2022/23 benefitting around 1,800 people.

Funding provided by Scottish Government and Renfrewshire Council created an energetic Summer of Fun in 2022. A range of multi-sport, arts and crafts, drumming, dance and other activities were delivered throughout the summer holidays (including the provision of a healthy meal) by Community Learning and Development and partners including Street Stuff with almost 1,000 young people benefiting.

Please click below to find out more about the Fairer Renfrewshire Panel and other actions which support our families and reduce child poverty in Renfrewshire.


Case Study: Alcohol Substance Awareness Education

As part of our early intervention and prevention approach, Renfrewshire Council, in partnership with I Am Me Scotland—a Renfrewshire based charity that helps build safer communities—have developed an Alcohol and Drugs Awareness Action Pack for children and young people.

Since its launch in August 2022, the resource has been accessed by over 1800 people in organisations across Scotland including over 430 teachers actively using it in Renfrewshire schools.  The Alcohol and Drugs Awareness Action Pack has been used across NHS Scotland, by our partners the Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, the Metropolitan Police, Merseyside Police, and Police Scotland among others.  It has also been accessed by all councils in Scotland.

There was a total of 892 people involved in the design, development and testing of the resource, with ten individuals sharing their own stories. The personal and realistic element they brought has helped young people to better understand the journey through drug and alcohol use, addiction, and recovery.

In September 2023, the programme won the COSLA Excellence Award in the Tackling Inequalities and Improving Health and Wellbeing category and in December 2023 was the winner of a Scottish Public Service Award - The Campbell Christie Public Service Reform.


Performance


Local Government Benchmarking Framework

Power BI Report


Adult Services

We want Renfrewshire to be a caring place where people are treated as individuals and supported to live well. Our aim is to focus on person-centred care and ensure we deliver both on our statutory service provision and meet the needs of the most vulnerable in our communities.

In 2022/23 the HSCP and the Council continued to operate within a fast-moving and complex policy environment, which reflected the impact the pandemic had on service demand and the ongoing cost of living crisis. Despite this, in collaboration with our partners, we have continued to deliver essential services for those who need them most. Some examples of our work during this period are highlighted below.

The Home First Response Service, which was launched in November 2022, sees patients who would otherwise potentially spend long periods in hospital receive a tailored care plan, which can be delivered in a home or community environment. The service is particularly helpful to older patients, where treatment at home provides significant benefits – increasing recovery time, preserving mobility, and reducing the chance of delirium. Specially trained HSCP staff have been embedded alongside acute frailty teams at the Royal Alexandra Hospital to help limit admissions, improve early discharges, and support anticipatory care planning.

A co-produced Unpaid Carers' Strategy 2022-25 was published in September 2022. The strategy relates to adult unpaid carers and reaffirms the value we place on them and the contribution they make to the wider community of Renfrewshire. It sets out a commitment to unpaid carers, by prioritising a preventive approach to supporting them and building carer friendly communities across Renfrewshire. Our aim is to help them to remain in their caring roles and to manage their own health and wellbeing alongside their caring responsibilities.

In support, a Carers Partnership Officer funded by the HSCP has been recruited by Renfrewshire Carers Centre, to help identify carers and promote a wide-reaching awareness and development programme. This links with services, acute and community health partners, the voluntary sector, and communities to ensure unpaid carers can access the support they need. The work resulted in the highest number of completed adult carer support plans and the highest number of new unpaid carers accessing support since the HSCP began recording this data.

The HSCP were delighted to host Angela Constance, Minister for Drugs Policy at that time, for the formal opening of the CIRCLE (Continuing in Recovery Changes Lives Entirely) Recovery Hub on 26 October 2022. The Hub provides a unique mental health and addiction service for people looking for a recovery focus, by providing a varied programme of activities aimed at encouraging, involving, and supporting people in recovery. A system of open and self-referrals is in place and 240 referrals were received from launch to the end of March 2023.  As part of the event, attendees heard powerful testimony from people with lived and living experience, underlining the importance of the hub and the support available.

In September 2022, Paisley was the first ever town to welcome the national Recovery Walk Scotland. There was a fantastic turnout with over 4,000 people from across the country who walked through Paisley to help change perceptions of people in recovery from alcohol or drugs.


Case Study – Culture, Arts, Health and Social Care

Renfrewshire HSCP received funding in early 2022 from Future Paisley to develop the Culture, Arts, Health and Social Care (CAHSC) programme, building on the group that had been created as part of the Paisley City of Culture bid. Evidence for the benefits of taking part in arts and cultural activities to improve wellbeing is well documented, and a successful bid to Future Paisley allowed the HSCP to develop a post and associated programme of funding.

The funding allowed the Partnership to create a two-year fixed-term CAHSC Co-ordinator post which has now been extended until January 2026. The funding also enabled the HSCP to create two small funding streams of its own: one to support community-led activity to increase participation in arts and culture for target groups (e.g., people with learning disabilities and autism, people with physical disabilities, people with addictions, and people living in areas affected by health inequalities); and one to enable organisations and constituted groups to increase accessibility and remove barriers to participation in the arts and culture for the same target groups.

By March 2023 there had been two rounds each of the Creative Wellbeing Fund (CWF) and the Making Arts and Culture Accessible Fund (MACAF). CWF has supported 35 new projects or activities and MACAF has improved accessibility to 18 activities. In all, 38 local projects, groups or organisations have benefited from the funding, including some within the HSCP.

One of the successful applicants was Sewing2gether All Nations who received funding from the Creative Wellbeing Fund to hold creative skills workshops in Spring 2023 for patients and carers at the Accord Hospice.

The project set out to provide opportunities for adults receiving end of life care to participate in arts and cultural activity.  Family members were invited to participate alongside them in these sessions, addressing loneliness, isolation, and improving mental health through their participation in arts and cultural activities. Feedback from participants noted that they felt more confident and less anxious after taking part and staff said mood and spirits had been lifted.


Case Study: The Care Home Nursing Support Team

The Care Home Nursing Support Team is an enthusiastic, dedicated community nursing team comprising advanced practitioners (ANP), care home liaison nurses and Practice Development Nurse (PDN) who can respond quickly and visit people in care homes requiring urgent unscheduled assessments, with support, education, and advice.

 Taking both a preventative and reactive approach have been key in supporting better outcomes for care home residents. This team provides service across all 23 care homes in Renfrewshire and two residential care homes on the Inverclyde border. The team meet weekly with a Geriatrician, which evidence suggests enhances the effectiveness of health outcomes for care home residents. This has further strengthened the clinical supervision and support for the team and allowed them to implement a senior decision-maker role as part of the 'Call Before Convey' model. In conjunction with their District Nurse Advanced Nurse Practitioner colleagues the team now provide 7- day cover, providing urgent acute assessment and palliative support.

In the last year the team has provided direct assessment to 772 care home residents resulting in 3,048 consultations from which only 8% needed referral to acute services. The PDN has provided 68 training sessions on a wide range of clinical topics including pressure ulcer risk assessment and management, recognition of deteriorating patient, palliative care, and future care planning. 

Taking a whole system approach, the team has been working with care home residents and staff to ensure each resident’s wishes and future care plans are shared on the Clinical Portal system so it is available to all care specialists.

Care home staff feel better equipped to allow treatment and care to be continued in the care home rather than an unnecessary transfer to hospital. 

Data suggests that 78% of residents assessed have been successfully treated in the care home.


Case Study: Improving the Cancer Journey

Improving the Cancer Journey is a service funded by MacMillan Cancer Support, co-ordinated by Renfrewshire Council and delivered on a partnership basis by Renfrewshire Council, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Macmillan Cancer Support.  The service has been operating since 2020 and helps people get the support they need, whether that’s physical, mental, emotional, practical or financial.

As well as providing information on cancer, it offers counselling, advice on benefits, financial support, dietary therapy, and home and hospital visiting.  The service also runs support groups open to anyone in Renfrewshire aged 16 and over who have a cancer diagnosis or are a parent/carer of someone with cancer. Throughout 2022/23, anyone in Renfrewshire who received a cancer diagnosis got a letter offering them a one-to-one appointment with a support worker who could provide emotional support, assistance at home, help with benefits and other practical supports. 

In 2022/23, the service supported more than 500 people. In August 2022, the project held a celebratory event at Johnstone Town Hall allowing some of those who have been helped by the project to meet the team behind it.


Performance


Local Government Benchmarking Framework

Power BI Report


Economy

Renfrewshire’s economy has a lot going for it.  We are home to around 4,600 businesses of all sizes and have key strengths in manufacturing, construction and transport.   We are home to a university and a college, and we are a connected place, with Glasgow Airport, one of the UK's busiest passenger and freight hubs, acting as a major centre for economic activity and inward investment. We are a major transportation hub, with road and rail connections across Scotland and the wider United Kingdom - making us a key destination for freight and logistics businesses. Collectively, we account for one-third of Scotland's economic output and one-third of its population.

We are investing to ensure that we have the world leading infrastructure, skills, and connectivity to compete, innovate and thrive. This includes growing our reputation for manufacturing by ensuring that Renfrewshire is synonymous with advanced manufacturing and innovation. Using City Deal funding to deliver enabling infrastructure, we have formed a joint-venture partnership to launch the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) which will further embed Renfrewshire's reputation as Scotland's leading advanced manufacturing cluster.  The Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC) was the first facility to open at Netherton, near Glasgow Airport, in November 2022 and is forecast to bring an estimated £200million in advanced technology investment in the first 5 years, and 100 initial high-value jobs.  The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland has since opened on the campus too.  The AMIDS site is also benefiting from Levelling Up Fund monies to support active travel links.

Our Business Gateway team offer a range of support services to new and established local businesses.  We now have three Start-Up Street centres open and fully occupied in Johnstone, Paisley and Renfrew.  These centres provide low-cost space for new businesses for up to two years, with support from Business Gateway advisors as well as training and specialist advice to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.  Our Paisley site is focused on supporting young entrepreneurs and our Johnstone site is focused on health and wellbeing businesses. 

Invest in Renfrewshire helps local people grow their skills and access work experience and employment opportunities.  In 2022/23, 538 people were helped into employment by the team, and Renfrewshire’s unemployment rate remains below the national average.  The team are experienced in helping people who might need additional support in accessing employment because of their individual circumstances, such as having a long-term health condition or being care experienced.  A recent initiative has focused on helping parents who want to return to the workforce.  We can also help local businesses find the right staff for their team.

Our procurement and economic development teams have been working with local suppliers to encourage them to bid for council contracts and other public sector work.  The teams host Meet the Buyer events for local businesses so they can hear about opportunities coming up, and get advice on the tendering process.  This is part of our approach to Community Wealth Building, which helps to keep the benefits and ‘wealth’ within Renfrewshire.

The second phase of the Paisley Townscape Heritage and Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme 2 (Paisley TH.CARS2) concluded in 2022.  TH.CARS2 recognised the value of Paisley’s built heritage and provided grants to property owners in High Street, New Street, Shuttle Street and George Place to repair buildings and improve shopfronts.  Linked to this programme was the Traditional Building Skills Training Support Grant,  which was targeted at construction firms looking to train people in traditional building skills and building conservation.

Work is currently underway to develop town centre plans for Renfrewshire’s other towns.


Case Study: Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre

The world-class Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC), a collaboration between 27 organisations from across the public sector, industry and academia opened the doors at its Renfrewshire facility in December 2022.  It delivered 100 high-value jobs on opening and is expected to generate £200m in technology innovation in its first five years.

Since its opening, the work being progressed has already gained the facility recognition as a hub for innovation, collaboration and sustainable technology advancement.  It is delivering partnership working across the pharmaceutical sector, including in areas such as the use of robotics and artificial intelligence.  The facility has also hosted key events which support innovation within the sector.

New advanced technology and manufacturing solutions developed at the Centre will help the industry become more productive and sustainable, benefitting people across the globe through the development of new and improved medicines. 

The MMIC was the first facility to open at the AMIDS development in Inchinnan.  Every aspect of AMIDS is focused on a net zero future and the developed district is securing Renfrewshire's position as the primary place for manufacturing research and development in Scotland.  The AMIDS programme to date has attracted £185m of investment into Renfrewshire.


Performance


Local Government Benchmarking Framework

Power BI Report


Culture and Leisure

Renfrewshire has a proud cultural history, and we want culture and leisure to be accessible for all to enjoy.  In partnership with OneRen we are building our ambitions for the future.

During 2022/23, our teams worked together to help bring back four of Renfrewshire’s cultural assets. The refurbishment of Paisley Arts Centre and of Paisley Museum, Scotland’s biggest cultural heritage project, continued throughout 2022/23. They promise to add to the rich cultural vibrancy of Renfrewshire, creating destinations that will be a must-see and must-visit for audiences across Scotland and beyond.

We reopened Paisley’s new Central Library in November 2023. Repurposing what was an empty shop unit on the High Street, the new library is a huge statement of intent, creating an exciting new chapter in the development of one of Scotland’s finest library facilities.

Each year we host a full events calendar and continue to build on our reputation for hosting successful events. In 2022/23 this included:

  • Paisley Food and Drink Festival retuned in person in April 2022 with more than 30 traders and vendors, licensed bars and a packed programme of live music, entertainment, and foodie-fun for people of all ages.
  • Renfrew Gala Day took place in June 2022 with the theme of ‘Kings and Queens' to tie in with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations activities included football, rugby, dance and circus skills, and there will also be a funfair and inflatables.
  • Sma' Shot Day took place in July 2022 with thousands turning out to enjoy a day of spectacular parades, performances and live entertainment.
  • The Spree, Paisley’s popular music, comedy and arts festival, returned for its 10th year in September 2022 with a 10-day programme for gig-goers.

In Summer 2022, Renfrewshire Libraries worked intensively with eight schools in a “Whole School Sign-Up” programme for the Summer Reading Challenge. The schools shared their pupil data so that the children could be automatically enrolled for library membership. More than 1,500 children were signed up in this way, an important step towards the goal of making Every Child a Library Member. For the wider Summer Reading Challenge, 2,705 children signed up. As incentives we had free swim passes for OneRen pools given to all children who read 3 books, and fantastic sponsorship for prizes from local businesses.

Our Active Schools team provides opportunities for children and young people to become more physically fit and active. Following a two-year pandemic pause, at their Disability Sports Event 72 students with a disability from P1-P7 attended a Disability Target Sports & Dance event at the On-X, Linwood. The event was delivered by the Active Schools team for any student with a disability in Renfrewshire. On the day, attendees took part in boccia, archery, tennis, dance and playground games. The event was supported by Strathgryffe Tennis Club, Scottish Disability Sport, OneRen sports coaches and the St Benedict’s High School Sports Leaders.

Our events at indoor leisure centres continue to build, with 37 events held between October and December 2022 alone with 11,678 spectators. External events included the World Tae Kwan Do Championship event hosted by OneRen for the very first time with athletes from as far afield as Malaysia and Mexico in attendance. We also hosted the Power of Scotland Thai boxing event at the Lagoon.


Case Study: Paisley Halloween Festival

Paisley Halloween Festival – one of the biggest and best events of its kind in the UK – continues to play a significant role in Renfrewshire’s journey of cultural revival and helps to reveal what makes our place unique. Established in 2013, this award-winning event has captured the hearts of local people and families from across Scotland and has exquisitely shared stories through spectacle, performance and community engagement. 

The festival demonstrates a shining example of socially engaged practice and removing barriers to participation, especially for young people, and the highest commitment to accessibility and inclusiveness. From 2018 – 2022, 1,780 local people have been engaged in the festival, developing creative skills and confidence, and showcasing their talents, while more than 150 volunteers supported the delivery of the festival.

The festival is an important contributor to the local economy (Total Economic Impact of £1,325,571 in 2022), attracting 45,000 attendees in 2022 (28.7% from outwith Renfrewshire) and is readily supported by local businesses and cultural community. 

2022 saw the return of live performances for the first time since before the pandemic and took on the theme of ‘Heroes, Myths and Legends’. Scotland’s leading aerial theatre company All or Nothing performed a spectacular good versus evil superhero tussle, played out on the roof of the town’s Piazza shopping centre, atop a 20ft digital wall, and on an aerial flying rig, featuring a professional cast, alongside community adult and youth casts.

Featured as part of Scotland’s Year of Stories partner programme, and with funding from EventScotland’s National Fund, the event shared stories from a diversity of voices, authentic to our place, which reflect who we are and how others see us on a national platform. For example, highlighting the connection of Renfrewshire and Robert the Bruce the ‘Try, try, again’ poem was included as part of the soundtrack to the Spiders Lair in Abbey Close, narrated by our Renfrewshire Makar Shaun Moore.  

A spoken word programme allowed young people from our region to tell stories of their own heroes and create a series of short films, shown on a giant video wall as part of the event.  

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Best Value

Best Value is a duty that applies to different degrees to all public services in Scotland, including Councils. It is about ensuring that there is good governance and effective management of resources with a focus on improvement to deliver the best possible outcomes for the public. Essentially, it is about making sure public money is spent in the most valuable way for the people it serves. This doesn’t mean funding the cheapest solution to a problem but getting the best solution for the best value.

Audit Scotland adopted a new approach to Best Value in 2023, and have prepared thematic reports on all 32 local authorities;  the report on Renfrewshire Council  was presented to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board in November 2023.  The report noted the Council’s commitment to tackling climate change, and detailed some of the work to increase community participation.  It also noted the challenges arising from issues in Dargavel.

As part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to best value and improvement, self-assessment activity is undertaken across Council services. This also helps us prepare for the audits and inspections that our services are subject to throughout the year by the Council’s internal audit team and by external agencies such as Audit Scotland, Education Scotland, the Scottish Housing Regulator and the Care Inspectorate. Throughout 2022/23 and 2023/24 our self-assessment programme has included two Corporate Self-Assessments, based on the Public Services Improvement Framework (PSIF). These have helped us to consider our strengths and areas for improvement against the themes of leadership, service planning, workforce, partnerships and resources, processes and services, and results. Surveys and workshops have been carried out with the extended Corporate Management Team and the Our Leaders Forum cohort of the Council (which covers all senior managers), to explore these areas in more detail.

Priority areas have been identified and actions are already underway. Some examples include - a new workforce innovation working group has been established; work is ongoing with the Data Advisory Group to explore how the Council uses data; and opportunities are being explored to help improve how we all work better together across Council services to improve outcomes for our communities. New staff forums are being established and they will also explore the key themes from the Corporate Self-Assessment and help to identify new ways of tackling some of the areas for improvement.


 

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