Service request

ParentPay is easy to use, secure and protects your details.

You can top up your account when you want, so you can budget money for lunches, trips and activities. You can top up online or with cash at your local PayPoint.

You can monitor your child's eating habits by selecting specific meals from the school menu or see what meals or snacks they have chosen at school. Find out more about school meals and menus.

Using ParentPay to pay for meals, trips or other school expenses means children don't have to bring cash with them to school.

When your child's school starts using ParentPay, you will receive a letter with your activation details and instructions on how to set up your ParentPay account.

If you have more than one child at a school or have children at different schools that use the ParentPay system, you can add them into one single account and have one login for all your children.

ParentPay can also be linked to MyAccount, your own online council account. 

If you already have an account, you can:

Log on to ParentPay

You can find help and support with your ParentPay account on the ParentPay website.

You can also speak to your child's school if you need help using it.

How it works

1. Visit the Town and City Gift Cards website
2. Select a purchase type, gift card value and card type
3. Send the gift card to the person you want to treat or reward.

You can also buy a gift card or pick one up to load later at:
Paisley First
1 County Place
Paisley
PA1 1BN

Where to spend your gift card

150 businesses across Renfrewshire currently accept the Renfrewshire Gift Card.

It can be used for:

• shopping
• food and drink
• health and beauty
• leisure and attractions
• services.

View a map and list of all retailers on the Town and City Gift Cards website.

Add your business

Businesses interested in accepting the gift card can sign up on the Town and City Gift Cards website.
 

Spend Local toolkit for businesses

Renfrewshire is home to many fantastic businesses. We can all support them by choosing to spend local.

Around 70p from every pound spent local, stays local.

Print and display a poster, a set of flyers or window/door stickers. We've set these up so you can print in your own premises.

It’s a gift card you can spend with 150 businesses across Renfrewshire.

You can buy a physical card or an e-card, choose a gift card value and then share the gift card with someone you want to treat.

You can buy as an individual and treat friends or family; or you can buy as a business and use for corporate gifting or rewarding.

How to use the service

If you’d like to find out more about how the Invest Renfrewshire team can help you:

• phone us on 0300 300 1180
• email us at invest@renfrewshire.gov.uk
• visit us at the Russell Institute, 30 Causeyside Street, Paisley, PA1 1UN.

Our opening hours are:

• Monday to Thursday, 8:45am to 4:45pm
• Friday, 8:45am to 3:55pm.

Our Employability Support Service is set up to meet the diverse needs of specific groups who can face challenges in the job market. Whether you're a school leaver, a young adult, a parent, or someone overcoming barriers, we’re here to help.

Our service is free and voluntary, and we offer a wide range of support, training, and advice, such as:

• CV and interview help
• in-work support
• confidence building
• counselling
• debt and money advice.

This Employability Support Service is provided by Local Employability Partnership, which is a partnership of council and other organisations in Renfrewshire.

You can use the service if you’re:

• unemployed
• living in Renfrewshire
• and looking to get into work.

We provide:

• a key worker who will help and advise you on your journey towards work
• a better off in work assessment so that you can start to plan your future and maximise your income
• coaching to build confidence and well being support to get you ready to start a job
• financial help with travel, childcare, and work essentials
• career guidance in 1 to 1 support to discuss your options
• work experience and placements, hands on opportunities to gain useful experience
• access to a network of local employers
• chances to develop your skills and do some training – to give you industry-relevant courses and qualifications.

School leavers (16 to 18 year olds)

Challenges for this group can include:

• limited work experience or low qualifications
• uncertainty about career pathways
• transitioning from structured education to work or training.

How we help:

• career coaching and CV workshops
• modern apprenticeships and traineeships
• access to college courses and skills boot camps (SBWA)
• employer engagement programmes
• bespoke training designed for you  
• support for securing first jobs. (pastoral support).

Young people (18 to 24 year olds)

Challenges for this group can include:

• high competition for entry-level jobs
• lack of confidence and soft skills
• barriers to higher education and training.

How we help:

• tailored employability training (such as for interviews and applications)
• work placements, traineeships, and apprenticeships
• sector-based academies for in-demand industries
• one-to-one mentoring and peer support networks.

Adults (25 years old and over)

Challenges for this group can include:

• career transitions or redundancy
• skills gaps and outdated qualifications
• confidence in returning to work after long-term unemployment.

How we help:

• reskilling and upskilling opportunities
• job brokerage and employer introductions
• business start-up advice and self-employment support
• specialist support for long-term unemployed individuals.

Parents from priority groups

Challenges for this group can include:

• balancing employment with childcare
• limited access to flexible work opportunities
• financial barriers to returning to work.

How we help:

• family-friendly employment pathways
• flexible training and part-time opportunities
• support with childcare funding and benefits advice
• confidence-building and networking for parents.

People with disabilities and health conditions

Challenges for this group can include:

• accessibility barriers in the workplace
• discrimination and lack of employer awareness
• gaps in employment history.

How we help:

• disability-confident employer partnerships
• tailored job coaching and reasonable adjustment support
• work trials and supported employment models
• advice on Access to Work funding.

People with previous convictions

Challenges for this group can include:

• stigma and employer reluctance
• gaps in skills and work experience
• rebuilding confidence and personal development.

How we help:

• engagement with inclusive employers
• practical training for specific jobs and skills workshops
• support to disclose convictions positively
• peer mentorship and rehabilitation support.

Care-experienced young people

Challenges for this group can include:

• lack of family or financial support
• higher risk of unemployment and unstable housing
• limited access to training and work experience.

How we help:

• trainee programmes
• tailored training and personal development plans
• ongoing support from a mentor
• access to bursaries and financial help.

New Scots and migrant groups

Challenges for this group can include:

• lack of UK work experience and employer expectations
• cultural differences
• language barriers.

How we help:

• multi-lingual staff to provide support
• work experience opportunities to build awareness of different types of work
• language courses and conversation cafes.

The service is free, and we can help with some of your travel and childcare costs.

If you or someone you live with has difficulty getting in and out of your home, it may be possible to adapt your home to make it more suitable for your needs.

You can apply to adapt your home if you:

• are a council tenant
• are a housing association tenant
• rent from a private landlord
• own your home.

You can contact us if you have any questions.

To start the process, one of our occupational therapists needs to assess your circumstances. They’ll find out what sort of difficulties you’re having in your home and what might be the best way of helping you.

Contact us to arrange an assessment.

Once you've received the outcome of your occupational therapist assessment, we’ll discuss your options with you and can help you decide what to do next.

You might also be interested in resources from these non-council organisations:

• Capability Scotland
• Housing Options Scotland
• Disability Information Scotland.

There’s no cost to apply, but there may be costs to doing the work, depending on your situation.

If you’re a council tenant or housing association tenant

As long as your landlord has adequate funds to do the work, you should not have to pay anything.

If you rent from a private landlord or own your own home

You may be eligible for an improvement grant from the council, depending on your circumstances. Your occupational therapist will help you apply for the grant.

Read our full guide for private tenants and homeowners, which includes information about the grant:
 

How to apply

Read up about the different options then speak to your parents, careers advisor and guidance teachers when making your subject choices.

Find out more about foundation apprenticeships (Apprenticeships.scot).

More information

If you have any questions about foundation apprenticeships email darren.conway@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

It takes 1 year to complete a foundation apprenticeship (level 5 and level 6).

A level 6 foundation apprenticeship is the same level of learning as a Higher (SCQF level 6). As you are working towards your qualification, you’ll spend time out of school at college and with a local employer.

As a foundation apprentice, you’ll:

• learn a skill and get work experience – while you’re at school
• study and work for 1 to 2 years
• choose from up to 15 apprenticeships
• get an equal qualification to a National 4, National 5 or Higher
• do a real job with professionals.

Find out more about foundation apprenticeships (Apprenticeships.scot).

Foundation Apprenticeships in Renfrewshire are offered in partnership with West College Scotland.

You can see the different options on foundation apprenticeship (West College Scotland).

To apply to become a foundation apprentice, you should be in senior school.

Most pupils choose their foundation apprenticeship when they’re at the end of S4 or S5. They take 1 or 2 years to complete.

How to apply

Find and apply for modern apprenticeships (Apprenticeships.scot)

You can also find and apply for modern apprenticeships on MyJobScotland.

You’ll also be able to look for apprenticeships with other employers.

More information

If you have any questions about our modern apprenticeships email tracey.murphy@renfrewshire.gov.uk. 

A modern apprenticeship is a way of getting a qualification while you work and earn a wage.  

As a modern apprentice, you’ll:

• work, earn and learn  
• get a qualification that's recognised by industry employers
• have a job and learn for between 1 and 4 years

Find out more about Modern Apprenticeships (Apprenticeships.Scot)

Types of modern apprenticeships we have

You can apply for these modern apprenticeships with Renfrewshire Council:

• business and administration
• children and young people (Early Years)
• construction trades
• horticulture  
• housing  
• regulatory services
• youth work. 

To be eligible for one of our modern apprenticeships, you:

• must live in Renfrewshire
• preferably be aged between 16 and 24
• have the qualifications or skills for that apprenticeship - these are detailed in the apprenticeship adverts.

If you don't have the qualifications or skills required, we’ll consider your application if you have an appropriate equivalent qualification or practical work experience. 

How to apply

Your memorial mason will apply on your behalf.

See our list of memorial masons who are registered to work in our cemeteries, and find out about the Registration Scheme for Memorial Masons.

All memorials, including plaques, headstones, and monuments in our cemeteries must be authorised by the lair holder and approved by us. 

Your headstone or memorial must be installed by a memorial mason on our qualified contractor list. 

It's your choice if you want to install a headstone or memorial.

The lair holder needs to apply for permission or approve an application on their behalf.

Headstones and memorials must be installed to industry standards and will be included in our memorial safety inspection programme. 

The lair holder owns the memorials and headstones on their lair and is liable for all associated costs. 

One floral container (glass or ceramic is prohibited) or a plaque or tablet may be laid at the head of the lair or immediately in front of the memorial headstone.

What you cannot use it for

You cannot install kerbs, artificial wreaths, pall stones, globes and the like or the planting of trees, shrubs, bushes or similar planting, and such items will be removed after lair holders have been advised and given three months to remove them.  

You cannot have a memorial or headstone on a lair in a woodland setting. Instead, families have the option to purchase a memorial plaque within the burial site or plant seeds of wildflowers for the benefits of biodiversity.

All new headstones or memorials must be installed by contractors who are on our Memorial Masons list. These installations must meet approved industry standards and include a guarantee of works to be reviewed in line with periodic memorial safety inspections.  

Only contractors who are members of the approved scheme are permitted to erect, re-erect, or carry out any works on memorials within Council-managed burial grounds. Membership requires strict adherence to the scheme's conditions, guaranteeing compliance with established safety guidelines.

How to apply

If you are arranging a funeral through an undertaker, the undertaker will contact our office on your behalf to provide the information we require for the burial.

Some interments such as cremated remains can be arranged privately.

If you're arranging a private burial, please contact us.

Forms to complete when a burial is to take place

Contact us for guidance about which form is correct for your situation.

A burial in an existing lair must be approved by the lair holder. The lair holder has the Exclusive Right of Burial (ERoB). Relevant paperwork and a fee is required for the burial to go ahead. Your undertaker can assist with this.

You can only buy a new lair at the same time as you arrange a burial. You cannot buy a lair to use in the future.

If you're the lair holder, you need to apply to make a burial in the lair. 

Most people will arrange for an undertaker to organise all the details of a burial. 

You need to provide the lair certificate along with all applications. You can get a duplicate certificate if you cannot find your copy. It costs £33.85 to get a duplicate copy of the lair certificate. 

If the lair holder is unable to apply

If the lair holder is not able to apply, or approve, or you are applying on their behalf, other supplementary forms will be required. Your funeral director can assist you with the process.

Burial fees are: 

• coffin (Renfrewshire resident), £1056.95
• coffin (from outside of Renfrewshire), £3170.75
• cremated remains (Renfrewshire resident), £298.70
• cremated remains (from outside of Renfrewshire), £896.05.

We'll consider someone to be a Renfrewshire resident if they lived in Renfrewshire for 50 years or more, even if they have since moved out of Renfrewshire.

There are no fees for a child under 18 years of age, for either a coffin or cremated remains.

How to apply for this service

In most cases your undertaker will apply for this on your behalf.

Change of details or transfer of title deeds

You must tell us of any changes to the lair holder's name, address and contact details. 

When the lair holder dies, the lair should be transferred to maintain a point of contact for any issues which may arise regarding the lair or memorial. 

It costs £33.85 for a registration of transfer.

If you need help to apply

Contact Parks and Cemeteries:

Renewing a right to burial  

From 1 March 2026 a new right of burial will last for 25 years. Then:

• after 25 years, it may be renewed for 10 years at a time. This is likely to attract an associated fee which will be determined at the time
• there is no limit to the number of renewals, subject to our approval
• a renewal can only be completed by the current lair holder, or by a person to whom the right has been formally transferred through Renfrewshire Council’s Transfer of Burial process.

When a renewal will be refused

Renewal would only be refused in limited circumstances.

For example, if the lair holder of the right to burial has died and the right has not been transferred following the required process, the right automatically returns to us.

If the right of burial is not renewed:

• the right of burial will expire
• no further burials may take place in that lair unless Rights have been extended
• no new memorial may be installed, and no additional works may be carried out on an existing memorial without our prior consent and approval
• if the lair has not been used, we may sell it again.

Reminder before the right ends

We'll contact the lair holder at least 3 months before the right is due to expire. It's important that contact details are kept up to date. We'll tell you:

• when the right of burial expires
• how to renew it
• what happens if you choose not to renew.

What the Exclusive Right of Burial (ERoB) is

Purchasing the Exclusive Right of Burial (ERoB) gives you the right to bury human remains within a lair. Also known as the Lair Right Holder, it is your responsibility to keep the contact details we hold for the lair holder up to date. 

What a lair is

A lair is a Scottish term for a burial plot in a cemetery. A lair can have more than one burial cremated remains. These are known as interments. 

Being the lair holder and having the Right of Burial does not mean that you own this land. The cemetery grounds are owned by the Council.

The lair holder will also need to approve a burial within their lair. 

They'll also need to use a stonemason who is on our Registration Scheme for Memorial Masons to erect any headstones or memorials. Find out about our headstones safety inspections. 

A lair holder can pass on ownership of the lair to an heir or a person they choose as the owner.

Lairs bought after 1 March 2026 come with a 25 year right of burial.

What you can use it for

We cannot guarantee the number of interments possible in any lair. Often, a lair can have a maximum of 3 coffin interments and 6 cremated remains. However, this is subject to ground conditions, coffin dimensions and any other associated factors.  

You need to apply for each interment you want to make on your lair. 

You can place one floral container (this cannot be made of glass or ceramic), or a plaque or tablet, at the head of the lair or immediately in front of the memorial headstone. 

What you cannot use it for

We need access for grounds maintenance, for future interments, and to install and maintain headstones. To allow access to the lair, you: 

• cannot plant any tree, shrub or plant
• cannot install fencing, kerbing, gravel, or lighting
• cannot lay kerbs, artificial wreaths, pall stones, globes.

Where contact details are available we'll contact you asking you to remove any of these items.

Excessive memorabilia can also affect grounds maintenance, lead to complaints from other lair holders, and are at risk of being stolen or damaged.

It costs £1157.10 for a lair, if you are a Renfrewshire resident and have lived in Renfrewshire for 50 years or more. 

It costs £3471.20 for a lair, if you are a resident from outside Renfrewshire and have lived here for less than 50 years. 

There is no charge if the lair is for a child under 18 years old. There are also no charges for their interment (their burial) or for headstone permits and foundations. 

More than one individual can be registered as a lair holder, except in the case of a trustee. In the case where there are multiple individuals on the register, consent must be agreed by all parties to exercise the ERoB in respect of the lair to which it relates. This also applies to rights of ownership of a memorial at the lair and responsibilities relating to this. 

You cannot pre-purchase a lair or pick its location. To protect capacity across our cemeteries, we do not offer pre-purchase of lairs. We will select the location of a lair. Any specific requests can be considered but not guaranteed.

If you want to find out where someone is buried so that you can visit the lair, you'll need to give us time to search the records. We suggest you allow at least 10 working days for us to locate the lair.

Anyone can ask for the location of a lair.

It can take up to 10 working days if the search is difficult or you've asked for the details for many burials.

Depending on the accuracy of the information you provide, we may not charge you for a search. 

However, if you give us very little information to search with, or have multiple or extensive requests, we may ask you to pay for our time.

We'll let you know if you need to pay for your search.  

Each search costs £45.90 (excluding VAT). 

If we are charging you for the search, you'll need to pay before we start the search. We'll email you details of how to pay, or take a payment on the phone. 

It can take up to 10 working days if the search is difficult or you've asked for the details for many burials.