Renfrewshire Council

As we approach the end of the year, I cannot believe how quickly the months have passed. And yet when I shared this thought with my youngest son - for whom 2024 has meant yet more exams and the start of university life - he was pretty vocal in his disagreement, declaring "This has actually been the longest year ever Dad!"  

Whichever view you share, there's no doubt it's been a significant 12 months and some of what has been achieved by our organisation has been unprecedented in scale of delivery and outcomes.  

I would like to thank all of you for your individual and collective contributions this year, for living our values and showing incredible care and pride in what you do for our communities in Renfrewshire.  

Teams across the organisation have been recognised for their work in improving outcomes for our communities. That includes our work to continue to improve our housing, for our education outcomes and care for the most vulnerable. We have our award winning events programme and our work in delivering a sustainable Renfrewshire and progress towards our target of net zero. Our employee support for our unpaid working carers and our customer services and digital operations have all also been recognised. It's tremendous recognition for everyone involved and your hard work and commitment to improving the quality of life for our communities and businesses doesn't go unnoticed.   

This year we've continued to advance our high profile City Deal projects, with the Glasgow Airport Investment Area now complete and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) - including its award-winning District Heating Network - continuing to develop. I'm also looking forward to the tenders returning next year for our AMIDS South project as we create a new bridge, roads and active travel routes from Paisley town centre into AMIDS. In addition, the Renfrew Bridge which will link Renfrew to Clydebank and Yoker is now in the final stages of testing and set to open early in the new year. It's also been fantastic to see the realisation of our investment in a number of our cultural infrastructure projects, with Paisley Arts Centre now reopened as well as Paisley Town Hall and the Learning and Cultural Hub which have won numerous awards and have welcomed record visitors through their doors. 

It's also been a year of increased audit scrutiny for the Council, navigating effectively two statutory audits on the Council response to Dargavel School Planning and highly positive inspection reports for services supporting children at risk of harm; education; and workforce planning. Thanks once again to everyone involved and those busy preparing for next year's full Best Value Audit of the Council and the joint inspection on adult Services and protection across Renfrewshire . 

We've made great strides in the delivery of our employability and skills agenda securing modern apprenticeships for 56 local people, the majority here at the Council, and several placed within local businesses. We were also able, for the first time, to offer three new modern apprenticeship opportunities in Regulatory Services, Housing Services and Youth Work. Well done and best of luck to the 21 modern apprentices who successfully completed their programme this year and have now all progressed to sustainable employment.  

Our employability advisor, Joan Ferguson, knows a little something about making great strides, as her son Craig was nominated for The Best FIFA Fan Award 2024 for his extraordinary contribution to the game. His 1,017 mile walk from Hampden to Munich to watch the national side at the Euros, this summer, in aid of mental health charity 'Brothers In Arms', raised over £78,000. An experience of a lifetime and despite not winning the award overall,  to be selected as one of the three global finalists by football's governing body is high praise indeed. Well done!

Congratulations also to our class of 2024 graduate apprentices - Georgia Bell, Mark Johnstone, Iain McLarty and Gary Marsh who all completed their Degrees with Glasgow Caledonian University. Georgia was also named Best Student and Best Dissertation - a fantastic effort indeed!  

I've had the pleasure of visiting several schools this year, meeting colleagues who nurture an incredible sense of community and of course chatting to our young people who never cease to amaze and inspire in equal measure. I'll share some insights and photographs from a great visit to Williamsburgh Primary School and Nursery in my next update but want to take this opportunity to congratulate head teacher Vhairi Cochrane and her team on their hugely positive inspection report which was a real testament to the whole school community and very well deserved.  

Our schools will close this week and while many colleagues across all services will take some time off to spend with friends and family over the festive period, I would particularly like to thank our teams who will be continuing to provide 24/7 services over the coming weeks, working in care homes, responding to emergencies, and gritting the streets.  

I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Gerard McLaughlin, our new Head of Education (Strategy & Improvement) who has recently joined us from North Lanarkshire Council, completing the renewal of our senior leadership team in Education over the past twelve months.

And also wish Louisa Mahon, our Head of Communications and Marketing, the very best in her new role as Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games. Louisa has been a hugely valued colleague for the past nine years and someone who really epitomises living the Council's values every single day. Our loss will be a huge gain for the Commonwealth Games team - the very best of luck Louisa - not that you'll need it! 

Lastly, this time of year can be overwhelming for some, so its important to remember the support and advice available to help you look after your own wellbeing and check in with neighbours over the festivities and cold winter weather.  

I hope you and your families all have a peaceful and happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year. 

Best wishes, 

Alan. 

Published Wednesday 18 December 2024