Engage Newsletters
Keep up to date with Engage Renfrewshire
Engage Update - 14 September
Hello All,
You First Advocacy is closing its doors at the end of September, after more than 20 happy, successful years of supporting and working with the people of Renfrewshire and liaising with relevant agencies on their behalf.
We would love you to share in this celebration and invite you to:
An Open Door Event at Re:Hope Church Hall (Gordon Street, Paisley) on Thursday 24th September between 3:30pm and 7:00pm.
Please join us to celebrate the journey, sharing memories and stories.
**Tea/coffee and sandwiches will be available.
Please let us know if you are able to come, by responding to myself and feel free to pass details of the event on to others.
Simon Clark
Service Manager
simon@youfirstadvocacy.org
Tel. 0141 849 1229
Mob: 0771 891 9505
Newsletters
Trading Standards Scotland Bulletin 10 September
Cyberbyte - September 2026
Engage Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire HSCP are hosting another Tobacco and Vaping event on Wednesday 7 October, 10am–1pm, with lunch provided at Engage Renfrewshire.
The event will provide an opportunity for organisations who are supporting communities affected by tobacco and vaping to share and learn about what we can do to prevent or reduce these harms in our communities. It will also be an opportunity to hear updates on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and the changes we may see from as early as October 2026, as well as consider what these changes could mean for our work.
To register your interest, please email kwilkinson@engagerenfrewshire.com or call 07927 534 968.
Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce’s 2026 ROCCO Awards will take place on Friday 13th November at Ingliston Country Club & Hotel.
Engage Renfrewshire are once again sponsoring the Community Champion Award and we invite all charities, community groups and individual community leaders to consider entering. The ROCCO Awards are an opportunity to highlight and celebrate your work locally.
ROCCO Award for Community Champion – Sponsored by Engage Renfrewshire
To enter the ROCCO Awards, simply click the category name above to download an application form. Please complete the form digitally and return it to awards@roccoawards.com.
If your application is selected for shortlisting, you will be required to present to the judges at some point during the week commencing Monday 26th October 2026.
ROCCO Award for Renfrewshire’s Favourite Business
To nominate your favourite business in Renfrewshire, please email awards@roccoawards.com by midnight on Friday 11th September. Please include ROCCO AWARD in the subject header. In the email, please include the name of the business you wish to nominate and why in <100 words, and include your own name, address and phone number.
Full list of ROCCO Awards are on the website.
Click this link to be taken to the Chamber of Commerce website.
HSCP Chief Officer's Weekly Vlog
I’m pleased to share my latest Vlog with you below.
In this week’s Vlog, I talk about:
- The Solace Conference in Oban.
- The Renfrewshire Economy Conference.
- My regular acknowledgement of feedback on our services.
If you have any feedback on this video or ideas for future topics, I’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch or email: HSCPcommunications@renfrewshire.gov.uk
I hope you enjoy this week’s update…
Programme for Government
The Programme for Government (PfG) outlines what ministers want to achieve before the next Scottish Parliament election in 2031.
This five year PfG will be supported by an update each spring aligned to the Scottish Budget.
This programme, set out by the First Minister, focusses on:
- eradicating child poverty
- growing the economy
- tackling the climate emergency
- delivering a stronger NHS and public services
Read more about the Programme for Government 2026 to 2031:
Programme for Government: 2026 to 2031
news release
First Minister's statement
Accredited Mediation Skills
Why not join Scottish Community Mediation Centre in their 25th year of running their mediation programme. Across six days you will learn how to handle conflict more constructively and the skills necessary to become a qualified mediator.
It will be provide a safe – and fun! – space to learn. The training will be delivered online using Zoom.
Objectives
By the end of the course, you can expect the following:
- to understand your own and others’ responses to conflict
- to recognize that there are different models and styles of mediation
- to be aware of the ethics informing mediation practice
- to appreciate the legal context in which mediation operates
- to know how current legislation affects mediation practice
- to understand the role of the mediator at different stages of the mediation process.
Dates: 22, 23, 29, 30 October, 4+5 November 2026
Course fee: £700
To discover more, visit us at https://scmc.sacro.org.uk/training-courses/mediation-skills-1/