Key facts from our 2025 to 2026 budget
- £571.512 million budget
- £469.069 million Scottish Government grant
- £2.5 million to unlock a £90 million investment in our roads network across the next 10 years
- £2.5 million as an initial contribution to unlock up to £170million over future years for major investment in our schools
- £700,000 for existing school pitches to improve outdoor sport and exercise opportunities
- £450,000 more for our Fairer Renfrewshire programme, helping people with the cost of living and continuing to tackle inequality and poverty
- £550,000 for our local environment, including the award-winning Team Up to Clean Up campaign, and an additional £180,000 for a dedicated community environment team
- £200,000 for parks and open spaces
- £800,000 to encourage community ownership of council land and buildings
- £500,000 for town centre regeneration projects
- five-year investment, totalling £292 million in Renfrewshire council housing
- £6.094 million for the Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership
- maintaining Council reserves at a minimum of £10 million
- council tax rise of 9.5% to help meet costs and fund investments
- inflationary rise of 5% for service charges and fees.
What we are investing in
These are the budget investments agreed for 2025 to 2026:
Schools
£2.5 million as an initial contribution to unlock up to £170million over future years which will reshape, refurbish and rebuild schools across Renfrewshire.
Improving opportunities for outdoor sport and exercise for pupils and communities, a further £700,000 will be invested in existing school pitches.
Roads and pathways
A £90million investment in our roads, pathways and infrastructure over the next 10 years, delivered through £2.5million this year to unlock borrowing capacity and ringfencing £4million capital funding each year.
It builds on the previous record £40million investment in local roads and footways in 2019 which has significantly improved the condition of our network
Creating a fairer Renfrewshire
Our Fairer Renfrewshire programme provides targeted support for households and families impacted by increased living costs, with £450,000 being invested in:
- continuing the £50 winter school clothing payment to each child eligible for a school clothing grant, which has been provided every year since 2022
- delivering a further Winter Connections programme
- a summer programme for children and young people from low-income families which gives access to activities and healthy food over the school summer holidays.
A further £450,000 will top up funding for discretionary housing payments.
Every child aged between 2 and 5 will receive a free book every month through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library programme following a £100,000 commitment to make this permanent.
Funding to Renfrewshire Citizens Advice Bureau to allow them to continue to provide a Welfare Rights Advocacy service, and advice in schools.
Reaffirming the commitment to develop an inclusive soft play area at the Lagoon Leisure Centre.
Health and social care
Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership will receive £5.594 million to support adult social care services, including social work, Care at Home services, care homes and occupational therapy.
An additional £500,000 will support the recent increased costs of employer national insurance contributions.
Recognising the invaluable contribution foster and kinship carers make to improve the lives of children in Renfrewshire, £200,000 has been committed on a recurring basis to allow a 3% increase in foster and kinship carer fees and allowances.
Community and neighbourhood improvements
To continue the joint-working with communities to look after neighbourhoods, £550,000 will be invested in the local environment and make the award-winning Team Up to Clean Up initiative a permanent council service.
£180,000 will establish a community environment team dedicated to keeping communities clean.
£30,000 will be allocated specifically to a dog fouling awareness campaign.
£200,000 will be invested in open spaces and parks, including an initial £80,000 for the refurbishment of the Robertson Park pond, and an additional £40,000 will be provided for play park maintenance to protect the significant investment in play parks made in recent years and support their continued development.
Our places, town centres and villages
£800,000 to develop appropriate council land and buildings to make them more attractive for community ownership.
£500,000 will help unlock further regeneration of our town centres for projects where redevelopment involving significant local buildings or sites may have stalled.
£150,000 will support more local improvement projects, with £50,000 for each of the Villages Investment, Retail Improvement and the Historic Buildings in Villages funds.
£100,000 will support the costs for communities developing local place plans.
And £30,000 will support improvements in the Oakshaw conservation area.
Arts, culture and events
£150,000 will support the successful events team to work closely with the local community to develop and deliver a calendar of cultural events for the area's five main town centres.
£50,000 to improve festive lighting in Linwood and Erskine and £50,000 for festive lighting infrastructure improvements across each of Renfrewshire's five town centres.
Council housing
A five-year investment totalling £292 million in Renfrewshire Council housing.
2,100 homes will see the benefit this year of £61million of improvements, which include:
- kitchens and bathrooms
- more energy efficient heating systems and insulation
- replacement windows and roof repairs
- building new council houses
- ongoing investment in our major housing programme benefiting 1100 homes across eight areas.
There are also additional environment teams who improve the grounds around our council housing and a three-year, £600,000 fund which will give tenants the power to decide how it's spent.
A further £20million will bolster the responsive repairs and maintenance service tenants rely on.