Renfrewshire Council: the Audit of Best Value and ... - Audit Scotland

107. Particular challenges for Renfrewshire include the need to regenerate deprived urban areas and to
sustain the local economy. The council’s housing renewal and regeneration work to improve
neighbourhoods has a major role in this. Local initiatives, often involving the independent sector, help
to build the capacity in communities to improve neighbourhoods and promote employment. An
example is the Sustainable Communities Project which enables community action groups to promote
healthy living, conservation, and environmental improvements in deprived areas. The Recycle
Renfrewshire project (Exhibit 9) demonstrates an innovative programme to promote recycling,
employment and social inclusion.
Exhibit 9
Recycle Renfrewshire
This innovative project is sponsored by the council and delivered by the Wise Group - a charitable
organisation which is dedicated to helping unemployed people back into work. The project aims to tackle
poverty and digital exclusion in Renfrewshire, whilst providing a route back to work for local unemployed
people through training and work experience. The project involves the refurbishment and repair of
household and computer goods before distributing them free of charge to local communities.
The project brings many benefits: it promotes sustainable waste management; it provides work
opportunities for the long term unemployed; it provides the workforce with interpersonal and employability
skills, for example in computing or furniture repair; and the community gains from the educational and
social benefits of internet ready PCs.
Source: Renfrewshire Council
108. The council is involved in many environmental initiatives. These include: the Local Biodiversity Action
Plan; the Strategic Waste Fund and Integrated Waste Management plan to increase recycling and
reduce landfill flood prevention and drainage assessment guidance to ensure sustainable building and
infrastructure developments.
109. The council also has a Sustainable Development Action Plan covering the period 2002 to 2005. This
has an over-riding focus on environmental aspects of sustainability, but also includes social and
economic aspects such as area renewal and integrated transport. A senior councillor has a brief to
champion sustainable development and progress reports on the action plan are considered at the
leadership board.
110. The council recognises that it must better coordinate and monitor its sustainable development related
activity if it is to meet the evolving Scottish Executive guidance. For example performance indicators
need to be developed to support the monitoring of the council’s sustainable development action plan.
In order to address this, the council has reinstated its Sustainable Development Working Group. The
group’s aim is to set clear objectives for sustainability and monitor progress against these through
existing policy frameworks. This will help the council to better coordinate, monitor and resource its
sustainable development activities.
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