By Monica Gibson

“HARD work and determination” have led to East Renfrewshire Council receiving top marks in its latest report card.

Over the past 12 months, strong results have been achieved in: educational attainment; employment and training; housing; support for vulnerable residents; and improving the local environment.

However, the council’s annual performance report also identified some room for improvement, such as addressing a small drop in the out-of-work claimant rate and increasing use of online services.

Council leader Cllr Tony Buchanan said: “These results are down to the hard work and dedication of all the staff across the council, who work hard every day to make residents’ lives better.

“Our vision is to be a modern, ambitious council creating a fairer future with all and our services are designed to support residents at every stage of their life.

“The council’s services have been modernised and transformed by improving the use of digital technology and data, and we aim to continue this positive momentum in the years ahead to benefit our residents even more.”

The positive aspects of the performance report reinforced results from the council’s most recent citizens panel survey published earlier this year, which found a record 79 per cent of residents were satisfied or very satisfied with council services, and 93 per cent satisfied with East Renfrewshire as a place to live.

Key education highlights included 82 per cent of young children reaching expected milestones by P1 (up from 74 per cent in 2015/16), and 77 per cent of S4 pupils gaining five or more passes at level five (up from 72 per cent in 2015/16).

In housing, 79 affordable homes were added to the area, bringing the cumulative five-year total to 238, exceeding the council’s target of 150 units. Approval for 120 new-build council homes was also granted, with phase one of the project set to provide 40 new homes.

The report also revealed the benefits of recent road improvements, with East Renfrewshire now boasting the best condition rating for A roads in Scotland – 10 per cent better than the national average.

For 2017/18, an additional £1.6m will be made available to help deliver carriageway and footway projects on residential and unclassified roads.

A council spokesman said the authority’s programme of change gathered pace during the year, with a continued focus on increasing digital and online services.

One-in-three customer contacts are now made online, and more than half of council services are available for customers to pay, book or apply for online, at times that suit them.

“ParentPay” has also been introduced across the area’s schools, giving parents the freedom to make online payments 24/7.

The report also highlighted 375 new business start ups in the area (260 in 2015/16) and that 96.6 per cent of school leavers went into further education, employment, training or volunteering (96 per cent in 2015/16).

The spokesman added: “Almost 80 per cent of our working age population are in employment (75 per cent in 2015/16), 97 per cent of older people live at home (97.5 per cent in 2015/16) and 98 per cent of council tax is being collected (98 per cent in 2015/16).”