General information

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.

Attend a landlord forum

Email us at ownerservices.hps@renfrewshire.gov.uk if you'd like to be added to our invite list.

Landlord forums are an opportunity to meet up with other landlords, agents and a variety of council departments involved in the private rented sector.

These meetings are organised by the council. We hold several meetings in Paisley throughout the year.

We contact registered landlords directly in advance of each meeting.

How to become accredited

Learn more on the Landlord Accreditation Scotland website.

We encourage all landlords and letting agents to become members of the Landlord Accreditation Scotland, Scotland's leading provider of accreditation and industry training for people working in the private rented sector.

Becoming a member will:

• provide benefits for both private landlords and their tenants
• promote best practice and continuous improvement of standards
• provide training opportunities for landlords
• provide advice to landlords and tenants
• give tenants reassurance that their landlord will operate to high standards.

Being awarded accredited status is a method of standing out from other landlords and letting agents.

To become accredited, landlords and letting agents must adhere to the Scottish core standards for accredited landlords.

Landlords who already carry out good management practices will be ready to achieve these standards.

Stages in the fostering process

There are three stages to become a foster carer:

• information
• preparation
• formal application.

Information stage

At this stage, you are reading up on fostering and assessing if this is something you want to do. You can:

• download our fostering information pack
• sign up to a fostering email list to receive information about fostering and event.
• speak to a member of the team and ask questions. Phone us on 0300 300 1199 or email childrenandfamilies@renfrewshire.gov.uk. 

Preparation stage

When you’re ready to start the fostering process, you should phone us on 0300 300 1199.

This stage includes:

• initial home visit
• preparation groups.

Formal application stage

Once you’ve completed the preparation stage, you can formally apply to become a foster carer.

This stage includes:

• home study assessment
• fostering panel.

Timescale

How long it will take to complete the process of become an approved foster carer varies depending on your situation. We need to:

• carry out a comprehensive assessment
• determine applicants’ qualities, skills, and reasons for wanting to foster.

Many candidates will remain in their job throughout the process until they are officially registered as foster carers.

Home visit

You’ll receive a home visit from a social worker to chat about your circumstances and motivations to foster. You’ll be able to ask any questions you have about fostering during the visit.

If both you and the social worker are happy to continue, we will invite you to attend the next available preparation group.

Preparation groups

Preparation groups are made up of 6 introductory modules. The modules are designed to give a comprehensive understanding of the roles and responsibilities of foster carers. All new foster carers must complete all 6 modules.

You’ll hear about the experiences of foster care from:

• other foster carers
• young adults who have been in care
• staff.  

After completing the modules, we’ll arrange a home visit to discuss feedback with you.

If you and the social worker are happy to continue, we’ll give you a formal application to complete. 

Home study assessment

Your supervising social worker will carry out a home study assessment. This is a very thorough assessment that considers the background, family history, relationships and living situation of all individuals seeking to become foster carers.

It can take between 6 to 9 months to complete.

After completion, we will present successful assessments to the fostering panel for final review and approval.

Fostering Panel

Your home study assessment will be reviewed by a group of professionals on the fostering panel.

Your supervising social worker will make a recommendation to the panel on your suitability to become a foster carer. You may be asked further questions relating to your answers at the panel.

The panel will make recommendations on the age, gender and number of children you'll be allowed to foster. These will go to the agency decision maker for a final decision. If agreed, we will send out an official letter of confirmation within 14 days of approval.

Foster with Renfrewshire Council

Find out how to become a foster carer with us.

Contact fostering

You can contact us online about fostering.

Contact us about fostering

From short-term to long-term foster care, there are different ways you can support children and young people.

We have different types of foster care arrangements to help meet the needs of children in different circumstances. You could foster:

• younger children
• teenagers
• siblings
• disabled children
• black and minority ethnic children
• unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

Stay over fostering

You could care for children or young people for:

• an overnight stay
• or a weekend or slightly longer.

Short term (interim) fostering

You could foster a child or young person until they:

• can return home to their own family
• are placed with long-term foster carers or adoptive family.

Short term (interim) breaks can last from a few days to several months.

Long term fostering

You could foster children or young people for a number of years, up until age 18.

You'll be able to offer the long term support they need to grow and thrive if they cannot return to their family.

Foster with Renfrewshire Council

Find out how to become a foster carer with us. 

Contact us

You can contact us online about fostering.

Contact us about fostering

How we support our foster carers

We have a team of supervising social workers who provide support to our foster carers.

You’ll get:

• quality training to become a foster carer and ongoing
• dedicated support from a social worker
• access to an educational psychologist team
• access to Renfrewshire’s foster carer network and support group
• free memberships of the Fostering Network.

You’ll get to meet other foster carers and share experiences, advice and support with each other.

You'll also receive an exclusive membership of the Fostering Network, with its comprehensive training and development programme.

How we support foster children

Foster children and young people also have an allocated social worker who will visit the child in your care and offer advice and guidance relating to the child’s circumstances.

Foster with Renfrewshire Council

Find out how to become a foster carer with us.

Contact fostering

You can contact us online about fostering.

Contact us about fostering