I’d like to thank all those who completed the 2025-26 staff survey. We’ve now reviewed the feedback, and it gives us a clear view of how you are working and what matters most to you. It’s encouraging to see so many saying they have the tools they need, feel supported by their managers, and value the flexibility agile working policy. Team meetings remain important, and most people feel broadly informed about what’s happening across the council.
As always, your views have highlighted areas where we can continue to improve, including clearer communication, shorter updates and stronger follow-up when you give feedback. Some colleagues who are less ooffice-based or have limited access to devices say they occasionally miss important updates, so team-level communication remains vital. This is a key area I will be asking managers to ensure happens via the monthly team briefing. If you don’t have such a briefing with your manager, please raise it or speak to your trade union so we can ensure these happen across the whole council.
Heads of Service are now using the findings to develop local action plans, and managers will be talking these through with their teams in the coming weeks. Those conversations will help focus on what feels most relevant locally and ensure your feedback helps shape what we do in a meaningful way.
Work is also continuing at the Guildhall as our facilities team plans for the next moves from the Civic Centre. With customer-facing services now in Y Storfa, the Guildhall is becoming the main workplace for teams who don’t need a public-facing environment, and creating the right space is an important part of that shift. My thanks to Geoff Bacon, Becky Jones and the team for their work on this. In addition, our development partners Urban Splash have unveiled proposals for what comes next for the Civic Centre itself. Ideas are being shared at a public exhibition at Y Storfa on 28 and 29 January and a web page is being created for online feedback. I’d encourage staff and residents to take part in this consultation.
Yesterday, Cabinet agreed plans for the future direction of recycling and waste management. It’s well worth a read as it sets out a range of actions that will continue to transform our kerbside collection services and reinforce our continuing commitment to meeting Welsh Government targets. My thanks to Rachel Jowitt and her team for their work on this. This week I was also pleased to visit Pipehouse Wharf to meet with the waste collection teams and congratulate them personally for a brilliant effort to keep the service on track through the festive period and the recent extreme weather. It’s a challenging job and maintaining the service matters greatly to the people of Swansea. My thanks again to all involved. I’d also like to remind you that I am always interested in coming to meet teams and discuss what they do face-to-face. So please get in touch if you would like me to come and meet you and see the great work being done first-hand.
This week CMT’s meeting included a session on longer-term horizon scanning, considering the risks, pressures and issues that have the potential to affect what we do in the years ahead. It may not seem exciting, but it’s important and something all organisations like us need to do as it supports the resilience of our services and helps us plan effectively for the future. My thanks to Richard Rowlands and Lee Wenham for their work on this.
Also this week South Wales Police for the Swansea and Neath area held their annual awards and it was great to hear our teams and individuals featured prominently. Sue Potter and Gareth Pritchard from Housing and Rhys Harris and Chris Williams from Trading Standards all collected awards. So did our Neighbourhood Support Unit and the Area Housing Office for the Heol Emrys and Tudno Place. There was also recognition for housing officer Dave Thomas who retired last year and picked up an award for his sustained contribution to community safety. My thanks to all the individuals and teams involved, which reflects the continuing benefits for us and for residents of strong local partnerships.
Farewell to Adrian Ford from our waste management and recycling team, who retired last week after 40 years with us, 38 of them as an electrical and mechanical engineer at the baling plant. We all wish you well in your next chapter, Adrian. Also, while at Pipehouse this week, I spoke to Dino Lombardi, one of our waste collection operatives, who has clocked up over 30 years’ service with the team. It’s a great achievement.
I am keen to ensure that all staff who achieve long service or go the extra mile are recognised, so I’ll be picking this up with managers across the council in the coming weeks. However, if you know someone who deserves recognition for their work or for long service and would like me to mention in my blog, please let me know or nominate them in our reward and recognition initiative.
Finally, don’t forget that next week you can join our growing band of climate champions. Just pop along to the event at Guildhall on January 28 and sign-up. And there’s still time to have your say in our consultation on the 2026/27 council budget. The deadline is February 6.
Leave a Reply