Updating our policies

Our leadership group, made up of heads of service and CMT, this week had an important discussion about the future of our management of absence policy. Working alongside managers, our HR and occupational health teams already do good work to support staff wellbeing and manage absence. But the policy has not been reviewed since well before the pandemic and as absence across the Council has been around 12 days per FTE for some time, we should take a fresh look. Leadership group has agreed on a set of principles to work into the policy – focusing on managing long-term absence, prioritising stress management, reducing unnecessary burdens where possible and ensuring an effective occupational health service. We’ve also started a positive dialogue with trade unions about the policy because we all want to ensure it continues to be fit for purpose and operates in the interests of staff wellbeing and the wider council. While the policy is jointly developed, we have started working on a toolkit of practical guidance and support needed in implementing any changes. I will keep you posted on progress.

Leadership group also considered the council’s budget position for the coming financial year, ahead of discussions opening with Cabinet members next week. We all accept the financial situation is challenging with difficult decisions ahead, and I’ll keep you updated on developments and the hope that more money is made available by both the UK and Welsh Governments. We also looked at the way we produce corporate reports for meetings to make them more straightforward for many of our staff who write them and Members who consider their contents. I’ll let you know how this goes over the coming weeks.

Last night I was pleased to be at Brangwyn Hall for the opening night of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales 2024/25 season. Brangwyn Hall is a working building for many of us but it’s a perfect and popular setting for set-piece events featuring top musicians and performers. They’ll be back in December for Carols for Christmas and next year too. The fact the BBC is showcasing Swansea in this way is testimony to our growing reputation as a year-round top-class destination for culture, the arts, music and events. Senior executives from both the BBC and the Arts Council for Wales couldn’t have been more positive about the venue and the support from the Council.

A further example of this is the first-ever Swansea Arts Weekend which starts today – find out more about it here. My thanks to Tracey McNulty and her teams for their ongoing work in this area. It not only boosts the council’s reputation for organising and hosting such occasions, but their wider efforts also inspire our creative communities and have tangible benefits for businesses too.

Thursday was also the day of our annual Council where all Councillors meet to approve various reports and policies. Yesterday included our director of Social Services, Dave Howes who gave his annual report about our social services provision which as you will know is one of our corporate well-being objectives but a cornerstone of why we are here in local government to provide services to some of the most in need and vulnerable within our communities. Dave’s report gave a story of expectation work in extremely challenging circumstances but showed how our staff are helping people and improving outcomes for our residents across both child family, and adult services. This is a testament to everyone involved in the service and you should all be incredibly proud of your continued achievements. Dave also rightly highlighted the challenges including unrelenting demand and budget pressures facing social care across the UK and how we are looking to meet this in Swansea. My thanks to everyone involved in all the work you do.

As it happens today I’m heading off to meet the Youth Justice Service, part of our Child and Family Service team. The service works with children, families, carers and victims to prevent offending or re-offending among children. It’s important, challenging work that can change lives for the better, so I’m looking forward to finding out more which I’ll cover in next week’s blog.

Congratulations this week to the parks and cleansing team, who are celebrating long service awards for nine members of their staff. Added together, their service to the people of Swansea amounts to more than 300 years. There’s also great news about James Horner and Lyn Hovvels of our building services team who have won the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) awards for Student of the Year at HND and HNC level respectively.

I want to thank the Cleansing Ward Operatives Team (CWOT) for their ongoing work deep-cleaning our neighbourhoods and clearing paths and streets of weeds and debris. Their efforts in the Landore ward in particular were praised by local Members.

These are the kind of great news stories about staff achievement and effort that make a real difference in the communities we serve that I want to include in future blogs. So, please get in touch with me about yours.   

Sorry this week’s blog is a bit longer than usual but I hope you can see there was a lot to pack in.