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Spotlight on our Service: Renfrewshire Council
Renfrewshire Council is situated in Central Scotland. Our office is based in Paisley town centre. The population of the area is 192,200.
Our mediation service has been running since 2002. The service comes under the Community Safety Team. We also have Anti-Social Investigators within the service although mediation is independent of this.
When the service was in its early years there were six members of staff, but over time this has been reduced to two. Some time ago two members of our team staff were seconded to the Homeless Service to carry out Mediation with Young People.
Summer Newsletter now out
With a mini-heatwave due to reach our shores in the next few days, it seems somehow appropriate that we rollout our Summer 2026 Newsletter. In it you can read about some of our recent training of staff within the farming and housing sectors, together with a couple of blogs. Information about future workshops and training can be found here.
Summer 2026 Newsletter from the Scottish Community Mediation Centre
SFHA: A year on
It is now over a year since we joined the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) as an Associate Member. Hearing the work that staff at housing associations across Scotland do to ensure safe, warm and affordable homes are provided for so many, whilst handling conflicts between tenants, is something that has coloured our work in the past few years. We have met staff from over 18 housing associations and cooperatives since 2020 and becoming a member of SFHA felt the natural next step. Both to engage more with that sector, but also to learn more.
A stupid question?
Image by Benzoic on Magnifi.com
During our mediation training course, I usually find myself saying “there’s no such thing as a stupid question”. The aim is to provide a safe space for questions and thoughts, helping people work through the complexities of mediation and build their understanding. For me, however, it has a deeper resonance.
selling mediation: a reflection
It’s almost a year since I last wrote about selling mediation and our one-day workshop that we run for experienced mediators in Scotland. We have been delivering this workshop now for several years and have seen how the message of mediation is communicated differently across Scotland and over time.
What has emerged in the past few years is that the process of selling mediation is an increasingly difficult ask. Selling it comes in two forms. Firstly, there is selling the idea of mediation to two neighbours who haven’t seen eye to eye for years. Secondly (and more challenging) is convincing sceptical officials that supporting a properly funded mediation service can save money and help communities grow and develop. Mediators have experience in overcoming barriers when working with clients, through addressing concerns and explaining the mediation process in ways that are both understandable and reassuring. What can be more challenging is convincing officials.
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