The recent council elections will trigger a number of things that will impact on us. Council on May 25 will elect a Leader who will appoint a Cabinet and determine the responsibilities within each portfolio. The policy agenda will reflect the commitments made during the election which includes new projects and programmes. We’ve already held induction sessions for our councillors. In an induction presentation I explained to them how the organisation functions, the roles of councillors and officers and the importance of maintaining mutual respect. There were also a series of presentations from senior staff on our services. It’s a daunting prospect for our new politicians, with a huge amount of compulsory training ranging from planning and licensing to safeguarding and data management. I know officers will make a concerted effort to help the new members to settle in. We’ve made a good start by holding a market place event where councillors spoke to staff from every service area. Thanks to all the staff who organised and took part in the market place event and to the councillors who attended.
CMT meeting
Corporate Management Team considered a number of reports relating to performance management and a new suite of indicators to reflect the next set of policy commitments and service performance. This will be driven by a newly established Strategic Delivery Unit to work closely with service directorates to ensure coherent and joined up delivery of Council priorities.
We also discussed workforce issues, including sickness management, and we’ll be having further discussions on this in the coming weeks.
Rhian Millar updated CMT on the results of the telephone survey of customers and I’m always impressed by the number of people who rate what we do. Every two months we survey the public on a number of issues and we always score very highly on staff being friendly (89%) efficient (82%), treating customers with respect (89%) and the level of customer service we provide (83%). Overall satisfaction with the way we run things is (71%). This is a great reflection of our staff. But it’s also interesting that only 34% of people would speak highly of us. I’m not sure why there’s such a gap between these scores, but it’s something I want to look at more closely.
Communities First – where next?
Since the Welsh Government decided to discontinue the Communities First approach to tackling poverty, we’ve been working closely with them to develop a transition plan to focus on employability, empowerment and early years. I was delighted when Swansea was selected to be one of the “early adopters” to pilot the new approach and I’m grateful to all the staff who’ve been working on this. This is an excellent piece of work that will now be presented to the Welsh Government for approval. Key to making this plan successful will be a joined-up approach which links employability to our early years and schools work, our apprenticeships strategy, the major investment programmes for the city and our social benefits policies.
Congratulations
As a keen walker I was delighted to hear that Rebecca Tribe (Waste Management) and Terri Shaw (Corporate Building Services) have just completed the Great Wall of China challenge to raise money for Ty Hafan. They joined a team of fundraisers in China last week, walking for up to 9 hours a day! Between them all they managed to raise a fantastic £70,000 for the local charity. Ever dedicated to her job – Rebecca even managed to take a photo of the recycling bins along the way! Congratulations to Rebecca and Terri for a fantastic achievement.
Ian George, contract monitoring officer in adult services, recently completed the London Marathon. Ian was thrilled to have finished in 5 hours and 21 minutes. Currently the funds raised stands at over £5,000 and this will help Shaw Trust to support vulnerable people in academy schools. You can donate here
Our Food and Safety team received a Certificate of Commendation from the Swansea and West Wales Occupational Safety Group. It’s in recognition of the team visiting local businesses and manufacturers to talk to them about health and safety in the workplace.
We’re on a bit of a roll at national award ceremonies and our latest successes came at Sunday’s inaugural Professional Teaching Awards Cymru. Mark Thompson, who has led St Helen’s Primary School since 2011 and supports other schools in Swansea as a challenge adviser, was named Head Teacher of the Year. Bethan Baglow of Olchfa Comprehensive School won the award for School Business Manager, while Hafod Primary School, shortlisted for the Whole School Award for promoting relationships with parents and the community, just missed out. Many congratulations to everyone involved.
Staff events
Many of our colleagues have already become Dementia Champions as part of our commitment to make Swansea a Dementia Friendly city. On Thursday (May 18) Dementia Friendly Swansea is holding an open morning at the Waterfront Museum as part of Dementia Awareness Week.
On Tuesday (May 16) between 6pm and 8pm the Foster Swansea team will be staging the first of two information evenings at the Civic Centre so that anyone considering becoming a foster carer can find out more.
C’mon the Swans!
Finally, this weekend could well be a significant one for our local football club, Swansea City, who travel to Sunderland in an attempt to avoid relegation from the Premier League. I suspect the issue of who gets relegated will not be determined until next Sunday but I hope any staff who are travelling have a safe trip and an enjoyable day. It’s really important for the city that the Swans retain their Premier League status.
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