Councillor Hughes declared an interest in item 10 of the agenda as she was a member of the Renfrewshire Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund Review Panel and indicated that she would remain in the meeting.

Councillor McCartin declared an interest in item 10 of the agenda as she was a member of the Renfrewshire Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund Review Panel and indicated that she would remain in the meeting.

Councillor Devine declared an interest in item 10 of the agenda as he was a member of the Renfrewshire Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund Review Panel and indicated that he would remain in the meeting.

Councillor Hughes declared an interest in item 11 of the agenda as she was the Chair of Renfrewshire Leisure Limited and indicated that she would remain in the meeting.

Councillor McCartin declared an interest in item 11 of the agenda as she was a member of the Board of Renfrewshire Leisure Limited and indicated that she would remain in the meeting.

The Head of ICT gave a presentation on Connectivity as a Service (CaaS) detailing the background to the project; referred to the framework agreement established in 2020 with Commsworld with investment from CityFibre; highlighted that there would be enhanced connectivity at 180 Council buildings, including schools; and that more than 70% of Renfrewshire homes and businesses would be covered by full-fibre broadband. The representatives from Commsworld and CityFibre then outlined the background to both companies; the £40 million investment in Renfrewshire; their involvement in the project; the Council and community benefits of a future-proofed digital infrastructure, including gigabit speeds at 50 times the UK average; and the next steps in the project, including projected completion by 2023.

DECIDED: That the presentation be noted.

There was submitted a joint report by the Chief Executive, Director of Finance & Resources and Chief Finance Officer, Renfrewshire Health & Social Care Partnership relative to the projected revenue and capital outturn position as at 31 March 2021 across all services reporting to this Board.  For financial year 2020/21 the projected outturn position was split into core (business as usual) and Covid-19 related variances to outline the impact of the pandemic on service finances. 

The report intimated that there was a projected annual underspend of £1.870 million in revenue expenditure and there had been capital budget adjustments totalling £6.866 million which reflected budget carry forward to 2021/22 due to continuing amendments to programme timetables arising as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

DECIDED:

(a) That the projected revenue outturn position detailed in Table 1 of the report be noted;

(b) That the projected capital outturn position detailed in Table 2 of the report be noted; and

(c) That the budget adjustments detailed in sections 4 and 6 of the report be noted.

There was submitted the Minute of the meeting of the Climate Change Sub-committee held on 19 April 2021.

DECIDED: That the Minute, as appended hereto, be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the proposed 2021/22 Tackling Poverty Programme.  

The report intimated that the Council at its budget meeting held on 2 March 2018 agreed an allocation of £5 million over five years to support a new Tackling Poverty Programme.  A programme of activity was developed which would sustain key projects that supported people on low incomes with a focus on low-income families with children.  The proposed programme detailed in section 4 of the report continued key projects from the programme and it was noted that there continued to be opportunities to review projects to make sure that delivery models were the most effective and to explore opportunities to align more closely to mainstream service provision.  

DECIDED: That the content of the Tackling Poverty Programme for 2021/22 outlined in section 4 of the report be approved.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the award of funding to Engage Renfrewshire in relation to its role as third sector interface in Renfrewshire to support the capacity and resilience of the voluntary and community sector. 

The report intimated that this built on existing funding arrangements and related to the 2021/22 financial year only.  A grant support agreement in relation to this funding had been developed, performance against which would be monitored during 2021/22.

DECIDED: That grant funding of £360,610 to Engage Renfrewshire be approved to deliver the service outlined within the grant support agreement as detailed within Appendix A to the report.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the Renfrewshire Economic Profile as at April 2021.  

The report intimated that until the start of the Covid-19 pandemic the Board had received six-monthly updates relating to the economic performance of Renfrewshire.  However, the need to focus resources on other matters such as the economic recovery plan resulted in the last update being presented to the Board in December 2019.  The purpose of the economic profile was to describe and track the local demographic and economic indicators within Renfrewshire.  The range of indicators had been extended to include furlough and claimant count statistics, to try to reflect a broader indication of the current health of the Renfrewshire economy and to gauge the impact of the pandemic.  The data and analysis presented provided a context and baseline to assess how well Renfrewshire performed in terms of its economic activities over time.  Scotland and Glasgow city region had been selected as the most appropriate comparators.

DECIDED: That the content of the April 2021 Renfrewshire Economic Profile be noted.

There was submitted an update report by the Chief Executive relative to the Council's pilot initiative 'Start-up Street" to better support business start-up and to provide subsidised managed workspace for new and fledgling businesses.  The report provided an update on the Start-up Street initiative in Paisley and plans to open additional facilities in Renfrew and Johnstone.

DECIDED:

(a) That the progress of the Paisley Start-up street facility be noted; and

(b) That the approach being taken to develop further facilities in Renfrew and Johnstone be approved.

There was submitted a joint report by the Chief Executive and Director of Finance & Resources relative to an award by the Scottish Government of regeneration capital funding of £400,000 in 2020/21 for the Mossedge Centre project being delivered by Linwood Community Development Trust.  The report intimated that subsequent to this award, the Scottish Government had confirmed a further £175,000 grant funding for the project in order to provide sufficient funding for its completion.  This funding required to be committed and claimed from the Scottish Government in 2020/21 and the report sought homologation of the Director of Finance & Resources' decision to accept the grant award.

DECIDED: That the decision of the Director of Finance & Resources to accept the grant offer of an additional £175,000 regeneration capital grant funding for the Mossedge Centre, Linwood, be homologated.

There was submitted a joint report by the Chief Executive and the Director of Finance & Resources relative to a request from Paisley First to the Council to waive normal administration fees charged for the invoicing and collection of levy payments from local businesses.  The report also dealt with the issue of the payment of Business Improvement District (BID) levy payable to Paisley First by the Council during the Covid-19 lockdown period.

The report intimated that Paisley First was a BID which worked on a membership model.  Members paid a fixed levy per annum based on the continuation of the BID, which was based on the votes of its members.  Paisley First's costs were principally met from this levy.  Renfrewshire Council acted as billing and collection agent on behalf of Paisley First and charged £10,000 for this.  When the first lockdown took place in March 2020 Paisley First's Board took the decision not to levy their business members for financial year 2020/21. The report proposed that the Council make a voluntary contribution of its 2020/21 levy recognising that this payment would significantly assist Paisley First's financial position and ongoing operational activities.

DECIDED:

(a) That the waiving of the normal £10,000 administration fee to Paisley First for levy collection for financial year 2020/21 be waived; and

(b) That it be agreed to provide funding to Paisley First equivalent to the BID levy liable Renfrewshire Council properties in Paisley Town Centre for financial year 2020/21.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to the development and launch of the Renfrewshire Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund and the distribution of critical funding to artists, groups and organisations in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.  The report intimated that all available funding of £200,000 had been allocated to 28 artists and 14 organisations ensuring paid work and stability for Renfrewshire's cultural sector.  The report also outlined ongoing support from Renfrewshire Leisure's arts team to previous Cultural, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) and Cultural Organisations Development Fund (CODF) recipients.

DECIDED:

(a) That the breadth and diversity of grant awards approved by the Renfrewshire Cultural Recovery and Renewal Fund review panel and confirmed and distributed by officers between January and March 2021 be noted; and

(b) That the ongoing support being provided to existing CHEF and CODF grant recipients to help them manage the impact of Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions on organisational stability and funded projects be noted.

There was submitted a report by the Chief Executive relative to Renfrewshire Leisure's annual business plan 2021/22.  The report intimated that in terms of the Service Agreement, Renfrewshire Leisure is required to submit an annual business plan to the Council which sets out priorities for the year and outlines how it will deliver the services specified in the Service Agreement.  The business plan sets out the priorities and main actions that will be undertaken by Renfrewshire Leisure in 2021/22 and also highlights its revised five-year business strategy and strategic objectives.

The report outlined that the Board of Renfrewshire Leisure, in preparing the 2020/21 financial accounts, would require to make disclosures of the impact of Covid-19 on the organisation and the scale of earned income losses on cash generating activities.  The external auditor would seek appropriate assurances over the financial going concern of the Trust and in order to meet this requirement, a letter of support would require to be provided by the Council, providing assurance that over the course of 2021/22 Renfrewshire Leisure would be financially supported by the Council to offset the loss of earned income due to Covid-19 disruption allowing the 2020/21 accounts to be compiled on a going concern basis.

DECIDED:

(a) That Renfrewshire Leisure's annual Business Plan for 2021/22 which meets the terms of the Service Agreement be agreed; 

(b) That the monitoring arrangements in place by the Head of Policy & Commissioning (the Renfrewshire Leisure Monitoring Officer) to undertake quarterly performance monitoring meetings with Renfrewshire Leisure and provide six-monthly progress reports to the Leadership Board be noted; 

(c) That the annual Business Plan for 2021/22 as appended to the report be noted; and

(d) That it be agreed, as outlined in section 6 of the report, a letter of financial support be provided to Renfrewshire Leisure from the Council as part of providing the necessary level of assurance to external audit and as part of the closure of Renfrewshire Leisure's 2020/21 accounts.