Council and elections

Key facts from our 2025 to 2026 budget

• £549.287 million budget
• £422.373 million Scottish Government grant currently confirmed
• Council tax frozen at 2023/2024 rates
• Further £4 million to confirm the construction of a new Thorn Primary School
• A further £700,000 to support our £5 million Fairer Renfrewshire programme
• A £5 million investment in our roads network
• Funding of £800,000 for artificial playing surfaces
• Additional £200,000 to create a £1 million package of support for local artists and cultural organisations over the next three years
• £130,000 for refurbishment and repairs to community halls
• Five-year investment totalling £281 million in Renfrewshire housing
• £10.9 million for the Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership
• £8.864 million of savings and using up to £6.4 million of reserves
• Inflationary rise of 5% for service charges.

What we are investing in

These are the budget investments agreed for 2024 to 2025:

New Thorn Primary School

As part of this year's budget, a further £4 million in funding was committed to give the green light for the construction of a new Thorn Primary in Johnstone, adding to the £10 million already allocated to this project.  

Activity in support of the Fairer Renfrewshire programme

This includes:

• financial support for the Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau's welfare rights service
• additional funding to enhance the Scottish Welfare Fund
  funding for ROAR - Connections for Life to help tackle the inequalities faced by older people in Renfrewshire
• additional funding to support a targeted programme of summer activities, including the provision of a healthy meal, for children and young people from low-income families
• additional funding for the award-winning Street Stuff programme
• the winter school clothing payment maintained for every child who needs it.

Roads investment

Building on our continued investment in Renfrewshire roads, a total of £5 million will be invested in maintenance and improvements to roads and footpaths in the year ahead - adding to the £6.7 million invested in 2023/24.

Housing investment

A five-year investment totalling £281 million in Renfrewshire housing.

More than 1,200 homes will see the benefit this year of £41million of improvements, which include:

• new kitchens and bathrooms
• more energy efficient heating systems
• replacement windows and roof repairs
• the building of new council houses.

Artificial playing surfaces

In recognition of the importance of outdoor play and sports, we have allocated £800,000 for artificial playing surfaces in sports facilities across Renfrewshire.

Improving reading and literacy

Every child in Renfrewshire between the ages of 2 and 5 will continue to receive a book every month through further investment in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

Cultural investment

To support the growth and ambition of the cultural sector in Renfrewshire, which will now see a decade of additional investment, we will add £200,000 to existing resources to create a £1 million package of support for local artists and cultural organisations over the next three years.

In addition, we will provide funding to the Renfrewshire schools' music service to celebrate the success of our young musicians, and make a contribution to the development of a heritage trail at Oakshaw in Paisley.

Environmental campaigns 

Our award-winning Team Up to Clean Up programme has been boosted to continue the fantastic joint working between the council and local volunteers.

The successful environmental taskforce has received investment to continue its work to tackle fly tipping in Renfrewshire, and a public litter bin replacement programme is underway.

Investing in buildings and shopfronts

Building on previous substantial investment in our community halls, £130,000 will support refurbishment and repair work, and the existing Retail Improvement Scheme will be topped up to continue to deliver the significant improvements to shopfronts and premises across Renfrewshire.

Reaffirming our commitment to The Promise

A further £70,000 will support the Who Cares? Scotland Communities that Care programme in Renfrewshire's nurseries and schools, supporting care experienced children and young people, and reaffirming our commitment to deliver The Promise

Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership

We will provide £10.9 million to support the delivery of adult social care, including:

• social work
• Care at Home services
• care homes
• occupational therapy
• other vital services.

There will also be an additional £1.4 million to support pay awards for health and social care staff.

Key facts from our 2023 to 2024 budget

• £483.2million budget
• £389.7million Scottish
• Government grant
  Brings together £5million in Fairer Renfrewshire funding
• Committing £6.7million investment in roads and footpaths
• Launching an easy-to-access
• £1million Sustainable Communities Fund
• Protecting our five-year £424.2million capital investment programme
• £8.3million of service savings and up to £11million of reserves supporting this budget
• 6% Council Tax increase from 1 April 2023
• Below inflation 5% increase in service charges.

What we are investing in

These are the different budget investments agreed for 2023 to 2024.

Fairer Renfrewshire programme

The budget brings together £5million for our Fairer Renfrewshire programme.

New investments include a £50 winter school clothing payment for children eligible for school clothing grants and a programme of summer activities for children and young people from low-income families, providing them with access to play, sport, and a healthy meal.

There's also two-year support for advice services through Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau to support people during the cost-of-living crisis.

A £200,000 increase in the Scottish Welfare Fund is also being committed.

Roads and footpaths

The new budget continues our significant investment in roads and footpaths, committing a total of £6.7million for the year ahead.

Sustainable Communities Fund

We're launching a new Sustainable Communities Fund, combining our community empowerment and climate change fund into one single easy-to-access £1,000,000 fund. It's part of a series of initiatives which promote community collaboration and better wellbeing, providing for a greener future.

This also includes £200,000 to boost the successful Villages Investment Fund which has helped strengthen the character, identity and heritage of village communities.

Funding is also being delivered through award-winning Team up to Clean Up for the first year of funding for replacing public litter bins.

Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership 

We're providing around £3.3million to Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership so they can pay health and social care staff the Living Wage.

Village road safety 

A combined £1.5million over the next three years from the Council and a cycling, walking and safer routes grant from the Scottish Government will help us to make village access routes safer and enhance the natural environment in Bridge of Weir, Houston, Howwood and Kilbarchan.

A further £150,000 will inform future investment in Bishopton, Elderslie and Lochwinnoch.

Fostering and kinship care

Fostering and kinship care is a vital role which has a hugely positive impact on a child's future and we're providing a 10% increase to the foster and kinship care allowance.

Sporting activity and play areas
Some £450,000 is being invested in play areas which will be added to Scottish Government funding and continue investment in play areas, with every council ward having benefited from our programme.

There is also an initial £50,000 to start the expansion of the concessionary swim programme to pre-school children.

We're also making a first contribution of £200,000 to the resurfacing of the running track at ON-X in Linwood, benefiting local athletes and schools.

Cultural funding

Cultural groups and organisations will benefit from £200,000 to replenish the hugely popular Culture, Heritage and Events Fund (CHEF) which has supported 135 different creative projects since 2016 including festivals, workshops, murals and productions in music, dance, theatre, literature, visual arts and design, film, and animation.

How to find your constituency

The area you live in falls under one of the 2 UK Parliamentary constituencies in Renfrewshire:

• Paisley and Renfrewshire North
• Paisley and Renfrewshire South.

Find which constituency you live in (Boundaries Scotland).

What to do if you move house

If you have moved house or changed your address, you’ll need to register to vote again to make sure your details are correct on the electoral roll. 

Electoral boundaries are the lines that divide the country into voting areas.  

Electoral boundaries for UK Parliamentary elections are reviewed and recommended by the Boundary Commission for Scotland. They are then submitted to the UK Parliament for approval.

The United Kingdom is currently divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. Each constituency is represented by a single Member of Parliament (MP).  

There are 2 UK Parliamentary constituencies within Renfrewshire:

• Paisley and Renfrewshire North
• Paisley and Renfrewshire South. 

Changes to constituencies 

The following changes to the Scottish Parliamentary electoral boundaries for constituencies in Renfrewshire come into effect at the Scottish Parliament election 2026:

Changes to Renfrewshire North and West constituency

The Renfrewshire North and West constituency has been renamed the Renfrewshire North and Cardonald constituency. This constituency will now include the entire Glasgow Cardonald Council Ward.

If you live in Cardonald, your polling card letter will be issued by Renfrewshire Council.

Your usual polling place may have changed. If you’re voting in person, it’s important that you check the details shown on your polling card letter before voting.

Although your voting constituency has changed, all electoral registration for your address in Cardonald will continue to be managed by Glasgow City Council.

If you live in Cardonald, you can find out more about changes to your voting arrangements.

Changes to Renfrewshire South constituency 

The Renfrewshire South constituency has been renamed Renfrewshire West and Levern Valley.

Changes to Paisley constituency

The Paisley constituency will keep its name but will have some boundary changes, including the return of Glasgow Airport to the constituency and changes to the constituency at the Phoenix Retail Park.

How to find your constituency

The area you live in falls under one of the 3 Scottish Parliamentary constituencies in Renfrewshire.

Find your constituency (Boundaries Scotland).

What to do if you move house

If you have moved house or changed your address, you’ll need to register to vote again to make sure your details are correct on the electoral roll. 

Electoral boundaries are the lines that divide the country into voting areas.  

Electoral boundaries for Scottish Parliamentary and local government (council) elections are reviewed and recommended by Boundaries Scotland. Revised proposals are then submitted to the Scottish Parliament for approval.

Scotland is divided into 8 electoral regions for a Scottish Parliamentary election. A region is a larger area which covers several constituencies.

Renfrewshire falls within the boundary of the West of Scotland region.

There are 3 Scottish Parliamentary constituencies within Renfrewshire:

• Paisley
• Renfrewshire North and Cardonald (previously named Renfrewshire North and West)
• Renfrewshire West and Levern Valley (previously named Renfrewshire South). 

In a Scottish Parliamentary election, you have 2 votes:  

• one for an MSP to represent your constituency
• one for a Scottish party or independent candidate to represent your region. 

How to find your electoral ward

Find which ward you live in (Boundaries Scotland).

What to do if you move house

If you have moved house or changed your address, you’ll need to register to vote again to make sure your details are correct on the electoral roll.

Electoral boundaries, also known as electoral wards, are the local areas which make up a council area.

The boundaries for electoral wards are reviewed and decided by Boundaries Scotland for local government (council) elections.

There are 12 electoral wards in Renfrewshire:

• Ward 1 - Renfrew North and Braehead
• Ward 2 - Renfrew South and Gallowhill
• Ward 3 - Paisley North East and Ralston
• Ward 4 - Paisley North West
• Ward 5 - Paisley East and Central
• Ward 6 - Paisley South East
• Ward 7 - Paisley South West
• Ward 8 - Johnstone South and Elderslie
• Ward 9 - Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch
• Ward 10 - Houston, Crosslee and Linwood
• Ward 11 - Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank
• Ward 12 - Erskine and Inchinnan.

Who can vote in a UK Parliamentary election

To vote in a UK Parliamentary election, you must:

• be registered to vote
• be aged 18 or older on the day of the election (‘polling day’).
• be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen
• be registered at an address in the UK or living abroad and registered as an overseas voter
• not be legally excluded from voting – prisoners serving a sentence for a conviction cannot vote.  

Voter ID  

You’ll need to bring photo identification to a polling station to cast your vote in a UK Parliamentary election.  

Find out more about voter ID and acceptable photo identification.

You do not need to provide photographic identification when voting at a polling station in Scottish Parliamentary or local government (council) elections.   

How MPs are elected

MPs are elected using the first past the post system.  

This means you vote for one candidate in your local area – your constituency.  

The candidate with the most votes is elected as your MP.

When the next UK Parliamentary election will take place

The next UK Parliamentary election must be called by August 2029, but the prime minister can choose to hold it at any point before this. 

Previous UK Parliamentary election results

The most recent UK Parliamentary election took place on Thursday 4 July 2024.

See the results of the UK Parliamentary election 2024.

See more previous election results. 

UK Parliamentary elections, also known as general elections, must be held within approximately 5 years of the previous general election.

When you vote in a UK Parliamentary election, you’re voting for a Member of Parliament (MP) for the UK House of Commons.  

There are 650 MPs elected across the UK – Scotland has 57 of these.

Renfrewshire is represented by 2 MPs, covering 2 constituencies:

• Paisley and Renfrewshire North  
• Paisley and Renfrewshire South.

Find which constituency you live in (Boundaries Scotland).

MPs represent you in the UK Parliament.

They consider and propose new laws on issues that the UK Parliament controls. 

Who can vote in a Scottish Parliamentary election

To vote in a Scottish Parliamentary election, you must:

• be registered to vote
• be aged 16 or older on the day of the election (‘polling day’)
• be registered at an address in the area you want to vote in

You must also you must be one of the following:

• a British citizen
• an Irish citizen
• a foreign national of another country who is permitted to enter or stay in the UK. 

How MSPs are elected

In Scotland, MSPs are elected using the additional member system (ASM).  

ASM is a form of proportional representation. This is an electoral system where parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for each party.

This means you have 2 votes:

• one for a constituency MSP
• one for a regional MSP

Constituency MSPs

You can vote for an MSP to represent your local area – called a constituency.

There are 3 Scottish Parliamentary constituencies within Renfrewshire:

• Paisley
• Renfrewshire North and Cardonald
• Renfrewshire West and Levern Valley.

Find your constituency (Boundaries Scotland).

Regional MSPs

You can vote for a Scottish party or independent candidate to represent your region.

Renfrewshire is part of the West of Scotland region.

When the next Scottish Parliamentary election will take place

The next Scottish Parliamentary election will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026.

Find out more about the Scottish Parliamentary election 2026.  

Previous Scottish Parliamentary election results

The most recent Scottish Parliamentary election took place on 6 May 2021.  

See the results of the Scottish Parliamentary election 2021.

See more previous election results. 

Scottish Parliamentary elections take place at least every 5 years.

When you vote in a Scottish Parliamentary election, you’re voting for Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).

There are 129 elected MSPs in total.

Scotland is divided into 8 electoral regions for a Scottish Parliamentary election. A region is a larger area which covers several constituencies.

You are represented by 8 MSPs:

• 1 MSP who represents your local area – known as a constituency MSP  
• 7 MSPs who represent the larger area that includes your constituency – known as regional MSPs.

MSPs consider and propose new laws on issues that the Scottish Parliament controls.  

Find out more about Scotland's powers (Scottish Parliament).

Who can vote in a local government election

To vote in a local government election, you must:

• be registered to vote
• be aged 16 or older on the day of the election (‘polling day’)
• be registered at an address in the area you want to vote in.

You must also you must be one of the following:

• a British citizen
• an Irish citizen
• a foreign national of another country who is permitted to enter or stay in the UK. 

How councillors are elected

In Scotland, councillors are elected using the single transferable vote (STV) system.  

This is where you rank the candidates in order of preference.

On your ballot paper, you’ll be asked to number the candidates in the order of your preference. You do this by putting 1, 2, 3 and so on in the box next to each one.

You can do this for all the people you want to vote for. You do not have to put a number beside every candidate if you do not want to.

Councillors are then elected through a mathematical process based on how they are ranked by voters.

Find out more about the process and how the votes are counted (Electoral Commission). 

When the next local government election will take place

The next local government election is expected to take place in May 2027. 

Previous local government election results

Polling for the most recent local government election 2022 took place on Thursday 5 May 2022.

See the results of the local government elections 2022.

See more previous election results. 

Local government elections take place at least every 5 years.

This is when you vote to elect councillors in Renfrewshire who will represent your views for the wards, or geographic area, where you live.

There could also be an election known as a by-election in a specific area if a councillor steps down or needs to be replaced.

There are:

• 12 electoral wards in Renfrewshire
• 43 elected councillors.

Each electoral ward has either 3 or 4 councillors.

Find which ward you live in (Boundaries Scotland).

You can search for your local councillor by postcode, party or ward on the Renfrewshire Committees and Councillors website. 

In Scotland, you can vote in local government (council) and Scottish Parliamentary elections if you’re aged 16 or older on the day of an election (‘polling day’).  

For UK general elections and other UK Parliamentary elections, you must be aged 18 or older to vote.  

You can register up to 2 years before you reach voting age.  

You can register to vote if you’re:  

• aged 14 or older for local government and Scottish Parliamentary elections, or
• aged 16 or older for UK Parliamentary elections.

Local government (council) and Scottish Parliamentary elections

To vote in council and Scottish Parliamentary elections, you must live in Scotland and be either:

• a British citizen  
• an Irish citizen  
• a foreign national of another country who is permitted to enter or stay in the UK.

UK Parliamentary elections

To vote in UK Parliamentary elections, you must live in the UK and be either:

• a British citizen
• an Irish citizen
• a qualifying Commonwealth citizen

You can also live abroad and be registered as an overseas voter.

Find more information on qualifying Commonwealth citizens and foreign nationals (Electoral Commission).

You need to register if you want to vote in an upcoming election and have:

• never registered to vote before
• just become old enough to register.

You’ll only need to register once – not for every election. 

You’ll need to register to vote again if you have moved house or changed your address.

If you change your name or your nationality, you should contact your Electoral Registration Office to change your existing registration by:

• phone 0300 300 0150
• email ero@renfrewshire-vjb.gov.uk
   

Scottish Parliamentary election 2026

You must register to vote by Monday 20 April 2026 to vote in the Scottish Parliamentary election 2026.

Find out more about the Scottish Parliamentary election 2026.

You’ll need to provide your:

• full name
• nationality
• National Insurance number
• address
• date of birth.

Register to vote (GOV.UK)

Post

If you cannot register online, you can download and fill in a paper form (GOV.UK).

Post the form to your Electoral Registration Office at:

Electoral Registration Officer 
Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board 
Renfrewshire House 
Cotton Street 
Paisley 
PA1 1BF

British Sign Language (BSL) version

You can also watch a British Sign Language (BSL) video on how to register to vote from the Electoral Commission (Vimeo).

You’ll receive a notification from GOV.UK to say your application has been received.

Your Electoral Registration Office will contact you by letter or email to tell you if your registration has been confirmed or failed.

Once your registration is confirmed, your name and address will added to the electoral roll.

You can then:

• vote in person
• apply for a postal vote
• apply for a proxy vote.

You can find out more about registering to vote (GOV.UK).