Y Storfa, the new city centre home for many of our frontline services is throwing open its doors to the public on December 1. This flagship project brings new life to a key location, supporting local businesses and making the city centre a more welcoming destination for everyone. I’m proud of what we have achieved together, and I want to thank the many staff from across the council – whether you’ve been involved in planning, moving, or preparing services – for getting this critically important project over the line.
Our public-facing services that’ll call Y Storfa home include the Central Library and the West Glamorgan Archives Service. Also there will be teams from the Contact Centre, Client Services, Revenues and Benefits, Employability, Housing Options, Housing Support and Lifelong Learning. It’s a great pre-Christmas gift to the people of Swansea which will be appreciated for years to come increasing footfall and viability for the wider city centre.
Congratulations to our adult social services teams for all their hard work ensuring that our region has hit ambitious Welsh Government’s ambitious targets for reducing the length of stay of patients in local hospitals. The issue is popularly known as ‘bed-blocking’ and hitting the targets is good news for patients who don’t have to wait too long to leave hospital when they’re well enough to go home. It’s also great for our local Health Board because it frees-up beds for those who do need them. Our health and care services will of course continue to be under extraordinary pressure during the winter. But I hugely appreciate your commitment, resilience and hard work. You should be very proud.
This year’s staff survey closed last Friday and I want to thank everyone who took the time to have their say and for the managers who helped facilitate team sessions in the workplace. Together with heads of service and directors we will be assessing what you’ve said, discussing the issues you’ve raised and taking action in response. I’ll keep you updated over the coming weeks and is a further step to try and improve our communication with staff across all parts of the council.
On Wednesday 78 members of staff were celebrating their success at Gower College Swansea’s annual Higher Education Graduation Ceremony. Their achievements are a personal career milestone, and I congratulate all them on a great set of results. By investing in learning and development, we are building a workforce with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to deliver excellent services for our communities. Higher Education qualifications empower our staff to innovate, lead, and adapt, ensuring we continue to thrive in a changing world.
Wednesday was #WorldChildrensDay which we marked with a fantastic event at the National Waterfront Museum celebrating the voices, rights and achievements of our communities’ children. It was a colourful and vibrant occasion and my thanks to our teams for making it such a success.
Well done to our staff at The Western Bay Adoption Service (WBAS) for an excellent Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) inspection. Inspectors noted how our teams consistently put children’s needs first with thorough assessments, robust safeguarding, and a trauma-informed approach at every stage. This achievement reflects our team’s dedication and professionalism, and I thank them for their continued commitment.
Praise this week is also due to Phil Morcom of our market team who rescued an elderly couple’s shopping lost at Swansea Market. When they learned Phil had found it, the grateful couple described him as a ray of light in a dark world. I can’t say well done better than that.
Don’t forget today is your last chance to have a say in our public survey about the future of the many parks and open spaces that we look after every day. If you want to help shape what they’ll look like for future generations, please act now.
And finally, it’s that time of year when the festive season really kicks off with tonight’s opening of Waterfront Winterland, the weekend’s city centre Victorian Fayre and Sunday’s Christmas Parade. All of that and free bus travel in Swansea for the weekend too. A big thank you to the many staff who are making it memorable for tens of thousands of visitors and their families.
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