I went to the first Leadership Team meeting since my return and it was a chance to meet our heads of service and set out my priorities.
I mentioned my priorities last week in my blog so I won’t repeat them now. It was good to see some familiar faces as well those Heads of Service that have been appointed in the past couple of years. It was also the last Leadership meeting for Rachel Moxey, Head of Poverty and Prevention, who is taking up a post in Pembrokeshire. I’d like to thank Rachel for all her hard work and wish her well.
Gower College came along to present their ideas for closer working with us on a training and apprenticeship programme. There’s potential for them to second a member of staff to us to better understand our needs and to deliver a programme for us. We all know how important apprenticeships are so this could be a really productive partnership.
The importance of this was highlighted this week at Gower College Apprenticeship Awards where a number of our staff were rightly rewarded with an Apprentice of the Year award. These are:
Aaron Redden – Bricklaying
Ingrid Parker (St Thomas Community School) – Childcare
Iestyn Thomas – Information, Advice and Guidance
Cameron Lewis – IT
Elizabeth Jarvis – Leadership and Management
Luke Evans – Apprentice of the Year
We also won the Employer of the Year award for organisations with more than 250 employees.
This is a great achievement by all of our staff and they should be rightly proud and I wish them well in their careers. It’s also recognition of our strong track record with apprentices. University isn’t for everyone and it’s crucial that we give people a choice. I’m sure our work links with Gower College will further strengthen this and create even more opportunities.
This week’s Corporate Management Team meeting looked at the issue of mental health services and a new strategy being developed by ABMU health board and local authorities in the region. Those of us living in Swansea may already be aware through personal experience that services are pretty weak, particularly around prevention and early treatment and out of hours support. The strategy is designed to get all the partners to agree a model for future services which set out the shape and scope of services. This will be going to Cabinet in the coming months, but the big challenge is the need for major investment in these services which will not be possible without national funding. That will be an interesting debate in the coming months.
When I was appointed Chief Executive in 2011 one of the first meetings I attended with a range of officers from across the council was about the Local Development Plan. At the time we were looking at candidates sites and it was clear then that this was a huge and complex task. So it’s quite amazing to be back at a time when the LDP has been approved by Council eight years after that initial meeting. It demonstrates the professionalism, determination and stamina of those officers involved. Following comprehensive public consultation and engagement including a rigorous independent examination by the Planning Inspectorate, the LDP was approved by Council. It’s the most up-to-date plan of its kind in Wales and the primary strategy and policy document against which the Council will make decisions on development proposals. The LDP is based on a strong ‘Place-making’ agenda and seeks to address the need for new homes, jobs, infrastructure and community facilities to support economic growth and raise standards of living. It also includes policies that require proposals to respect and promote cultural heritage, important landscapes and sensitive environments. My thanks to Paul Meller, Tom Evans, Rachel Willis, David Rees, Ruth Henderson, Sarah Jenkins, Andrew McTaggart and Lisa Roberts for all their hard work. It’s much appreciated.
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