Local Authorities Guide: East Renfrewshire Council

The following is a Q&A with Labour Owen O'Donnell, leader of East Renfrewshire Council.

The Public Sector Reform strategy is a key mission of the Scottish Government. What does that mean for you and your council?

This is a very good question as it is unclear what Public Sector Reform means to our council. When the Minister for Public Finance Ivan McKee held a conference on this early last year most of my council colleagues and fellow council leaders thought that this was going to be about structural changes in Scottish Government departments, the NHS, and finally a ‘bonfire of the quangos’. But given the Scottish Budget in January with forecast flat cash settlement for the foreseeable future and local government share of the total Scottish Government decreasing, once again we are seeing councils being squeezed and undervalued. This is devastating for local government. Greater dialogue needs to happen between the Scottish Government and Cosla to fully discuss and understand what is being asked of us from Public Sector Reform.

Are there particular innovative or collaborative ways of working that you can point to in your own council as examples of how you can do more with less?

Given public service austerity since the 2008 financial crash, councils are well versed and experienced in delivering more with less. Collaboration is key to this whether it is through our Health and Social Care Partnership where we were one of the first councils to integrate services or to our work with police and fire colleagues in tackling antisocial behaviour together. With the hollowing out of council economic development budgets over the last 20 years, collaboration with Glasgow City Region Cabinet and the Glasgow City Region Deal has been key in delivering major local infrastructure projects which we would not have had the capacity or financial capability to deliver on our own.

AI is held up as a potential game changer in terms of public service delivery, but on the ground, what contribution is digital technology making to your own approach?

I don’t think we yet fully understand the opportunities and threats from AI. The landscape is moving at a furious pace. AI has massive potential to improve operational efficiencies and importantly to improve the services we offer our residents, although implementation has to be done in a transparent and ethical manner. Digital technology is always evolving, and East Renfrewshire has been highlighted nationally recently by Audit Scotland for our excellent use of data to engage with our communities.We were the only council in Scotland who used anonymised banking data to help to understand and target support to local communities during the cost-of-living crisis and among the first to move over to a modern digital telecare system that supports our most vulnerable residents live safely at home.We have recently approved a new five-year digital strategy that will help to ensure council services keep pace with new, modern ways of working by utilising AI, automation, new technologies and data to improve outcomes, reduce long-term costs, increase productivity and improve services.

What counts as a good day in the office?
A clear email inbox. Casework cleared or in progress.  Getting out to meet residents or community groups.  All fires extinguished and some time available for longer term strategic thinking and planning.  

What keeps you awake at night?

The long term sustainability of social care for the residents of East Renfrewshire is a real worry. At a time when our population is rapidly aging and demand increasing, we have seen an £8.6m cut in our social care budget allocation. For a small council this is devastating. Social care is also a real concern across all of Scotland, and I see no evidence of a national strategic debate to work through the implications and long term funding models for the rapid demographic changes that we are all facing.  If as a nation we are serious about Public Sector Reform and the prevention agenda, then sustainable solutions for social care must be at the heart of that debate.

How do you describe what you do as council leader to a stranger?

Simply put I am the elected leader of around 100,000 residents in East Renfrewshire and responsible for maintaining and improving their wellbeing. To elaborate I ask them to think of their five senses and look around. Although we have a focus on the most vulnerable in society we are responsible for their children’s education, care for their elderly parents, the council houses they live in, the roads and potholes they drive on, the parks they walk in, the air quality that they breathe, the licensing and standards in the pubs and restaurants they eat and drink in, the sports centres that they sweat in, the community centres where they can meet and the libraries where they can read and learn. We also pick up the tab for their prescription charges and free bus pass. And we regularly pick up their multi-coloured bins!

This article appears in Holyrood's Local Authorities Guide 2026.