City centre – Page 5

Staff survey offers largely encouraging feedback

November 18, 2016 by Martin Leave a Comment

Staff survey

We’ve just received the initial results from this year’s staff survey and I’m pleased to say most of the issues are moving in the right direction.

Here are some headlines:

The overall response rate was 2% higher than last year and it’s encouraging to see the number of hard copy responses had more than doubled from last year, hopefully indicating that staff working in remote sites had a greater input than ever before.

No area performed worse than last year and in many areas staff responses were much more positive. For instance, awareness of safeguarding has improved significantly since the last survey which is really good news. The results indicate there’s still work to be done in this area but that we’re heading in the right direction.

The experiences of bullying and harassment have dropped compared to last year, but almost 60% of those who had experienced it did not report it. We need to understand why this is the case and I’ll be asking for views on this.

The full results are available on Staffnet by following this link www.swansea.gov.uk/staffnet/staffsurvey and I‘ve asked for the survey to be sent to the Innovation Community for analysis and observations.

Its_all_about_you_2_logo I’m hoping we’ll be able to use these results at the It’s All About You 2 event at the Marriott Hotel next week which I hope many of you will be able to attend.

In the meantime, I’ve asked CMT members to consider the results relating to their service areas and develop plans to address those areas which need improving.

CMT away day

There was a full agenda for the CMT away day on Wednesday this week. We started with a presentation on city centre funding from Phil Holmes and Huw Mowbray which set out the proposals for the next decade. Securing the funding will be challenging but doing nothing is not an option and further reports will now be brought to Cabinet and Council to progress this corporate priority.

Also on the agenda was a 178-page report on the Leading Learners strategy for the education service presented by our Chief Education Officer, Lindsay Harvey. The strategy sets out in detail the aims, outcomes and work plan for the future and this was debated at some length, given that pupil attainment is another of our key corporate priorities. The strategic aims focus on three areas: empowering schools, transforming central education services and improving learning environments.

CMT members emphasised the need to have clear links to other corporate priorities, particularly poverty, the economy and safeguarding, and supported the report which will now be discussed with the Cabinet and hopefully be formally endorsed.

Thanks to Lindsay and his team in education for this mammoth piece of work.

Budget

Our budget discussions have all but drawn to a close for now with the recent challenge sessions going well. It’s meant we’ve been able to propose a series of budget reductions to go to Cabinet on December 12. Following that we’ll be launching a public consultation and holding staff roadshows to get feedback on the proposals. Then in February we’ll report back on the feedback and Cabinet and Council will discuss the 2017/18 budget proposals. These discussions are never easy so thank you to everyone involved so far.

Spike

IMG-20161118-WA0000 Next Friday will be the last working day for Mike Davies in Unison, better known to the rest of us as Spike. Spike began work with us in March 1979 as a clerical officer with the City Treasurer’s Officer (Swansea City Council). He held a variety of posts in the Treasurer’s department, reaching senior officer level rapidly through a series of promotions. In May 2001 he started his Unison duties one day per week and in June 2004 he was seconded to Unison on a full-time basis. This was originally intended for a year but it was extended annually and he has remained in the post of Branch Secretary up until his last day with us! Spike and I have had numerous meetings and discussions since he took up his Unison duties. These have often involved difficult and contentious workforce issues and on many occasions management and the trade union did not see eye to eye. Throughout these negotiations and discussions Spike conducted himself professionally and appropriately, representing his members passionately and with great integrity. He has become an institution in the council and will be sorely missed by me and many others. I will, however, inevitably bump into him in future given our common love of the Swans and the Brunswick Inn. I wish him all the best for the future. He will be having his leaving do at the Bay View from 5.30pm on November 25 and all are invited.

Safeguarding

This week has been National Safeguarding Week and teams across the council have been showing their support online and attending events aimed at improving practice and developing networks. More than half our staff have done the mandatory safeguarding training and, if you’ve not done yours, I’d urge you to participate soon.

Community spirit

Our libraries are at the heart of our communities. A great example of this recently saw a man come into Morriston Library with an old paper copy of his CV. We work in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions Communities for Work team and a staff member was on hand to help him update his CV on a computer. His CV was sent to employers and he’s now been offered a job. It just goes to show the support our libraries and partnerships provide.

Christmas cheer

Waterfront Winterland will return to Museum Park in the grounds of the National Waterfront Museum from this evening, so my thanks to staff in events and marketing for its organisation and promotion. The Admiral ice rink, a children’s ice rink, Santa’s grotto and a big wheel all again feature.

A Christmas Market on Oxford Street and Santa’s grotto on Portland Street will be running from Thursday (November 24) until December 21. Thanks to staff in our city centre team for their work in helping arrange these attractions.

City centre

Representatives from Swansea’s business community will be at an event at Meridian Quay on Monday, where they’ll be updated on progress of plans to redevelop the St David’s site. Consultation with businesses and residents will follow over coming weeks as Rivington Land, the company we’ve appointed to manage the regeneration of the site, head towards the submission of an outline planning application in March.

Finally, you may have recently read about US basketball superstar Steve Nash’s links with Swansea. Our tourism team are making the most of these links by sending Steve a basketball-themed info-graphic on Twitter, encouraging him to visit Swansea Bay in future. A great idea!

Bridging the budget gap

November 11, 2016 by Martin Leave a Comment

Directors and Cabinet have been locked in budget discussions this week as we look to bridge our £14m budget gap.

We’re trying to do it in a way that minimises disruption to services and protects jobs, but this is obviously going to be tricky given the size of the savings and previous budget reductions. By the end of today we should have a series of proposals which will form the basis of consultation with staff, councillors, trade unions and the public. Our budget proposals will reflect our corporate priorities, particularly education and social care. The discussions have been quite challenging and a huge amount of work has been done to generate savings ideas, many of which have come from individual employees. They also include ideas that are cross-cutting which shows we are moving away from the silo approach. The budget proposals are due to go to Cabinet on December 12 so the report will be published in early December. We have a series of staff roadshows planned and I’d encourage everyone to attend so that we can update you on the budget and Sustainable Swansea.

Big deal

Another big issue for me this week has been the City Deal. Yesterday the Leader and I went to Cardiff with colleagues from the City Region to make a pitch for the Swansea Bay City Deal to First Minister Carwyn Jones. He was joined by Cabinet colleagues Mark Drakeford (Finance and Local Government) and Ken Skates (Economy and Infrastructure). Our Leader, Rob Stewart, made the presentation, clearly and confidently setting out the reasons why the Welsh Government should support the bid, click here for details. This was followed by 90 minutes of in-depth challenge from the assembly members present. The purpose of the pitch was to explain the challenges and ambitions facing South West Wales and to seek Welsh Government support for the 11 regional projects over the next 20 years. The next step in the coming weeks will be a similar exercise with the UK government in London. Following that we’d hope for an announcement prior to Christmas. Financial support from both governments is essential.

Remembrance

Today at 11am we’ll be observing the two-minute silence to remember the sacrifices of our armed services down the years and in the present day. Please observe the occasion. My thanks also to the team organising Silence in the Square in Castle Square this morning.

Coming to the rescue

We often say our employees go the extra mile, but this week three members of staff performed heroics. Tim Orrell and Ellen Richards, who work in in the Nature Conservation Team, were on the second floor of the Civic Centre when they saw a lady in distress on the beach. She had a suspected broken ankle, having been knocked over by a dog. They realised she was getting cold so went and got a space blanket to try and keep her warm. The ambulance couldn’t reach the lady so they contacted their colleague Sean Hathaway, who had access to a 4×4 truck, and he took the lady from the beach to the ambulance. My thanks to Tim, Ellen and Sean for all their care and efforts.

Child care

We’ve been chosen as one of six trial areas for a new Welsh Government pilot initiative that aims to provide families with 30 hours of early years education and childcare a week. We’ve been chosen because of our impressive record of innovation in this area of practice which is already transforming education attainment opportunities among families in some of our city’s most deprived areas. This kind of recognition is great for our reputation as a forward-looking local authority and my thanks go to the teams involved and particularly to Sian Bingham who co-ordinated the bid.

Hillary is a Jack!

Hillary Clinton may not be heading to the White House but that hasn’t stopped our archives team tracing her Swansea family tree. Their research shows that her great-great grandfather, Edwin Howell, worked for a decade in the metal industries of South Wales in the 1870s – five years of which were spent in the Landore area of Swansea. One of Edwin’s sons, Benjamin Alfred Howell – Hillary’s great-great uncle – was born in Landore in 1872 in an area called Maesydd, according to his birth certificate, which archivists estimate to be the area around Mysydd Road in Swansea. At the moment there appears to be no Swansea connection with Mr Trump.

Regeneration latest

There’s been progress this week on our regeneration plans for the Civic Centre and St David’s development sites. We’ve now advertised for an indoor arena operator for the St David’s site, with an outline planning application for the overall scheme set for submission in March next year. We’re also in discussions with Swansea University and Trebor Developments, the company we’ve appointed to manage the regeneration of the Civic Centre site, about an interactive science gallery that could, along with a public aquarium, form part of the hydro hub planned for the site. This gallery would present examples of cutting-edge Swansea University research through hands-on exhibits. I’ll continue to keep you updated.

The Leader and Tracey McNulty, our head of cultural services, were at the restored and redeveloped Glynn Vivian Art Gallery yesterday for a Ministerial visit. Ken Skates, the Welsh Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Infrastructure, was hugely impressed with the attraction, which has welcomed more than 10,000 visitors since re-opening on October 15. Well done to everyone involved.

Give your vote

A fantastic community project that helps people with learning disabilities needs your help. Staff in our day services team have been raising money for the past 18 months for the Trewarren garden project. It now features in the Aviva Community Fund awards which provides money to those projects with the highest number of votes. To learn more about the project and to vote please follow this link

Nominations are now open for the Swansea Sports Awards 2016, being run by our sport and health team. Visit this link to get your nominations in to recognise outstanding sporting achievements made by both our local and high profile sportspeople this year.

City Deal has potential to transform our city

September 2, 2016 by Martin 2 Comments

A City Deal for Swansea?

We’re now at a crucial stage in our proposals for a City Deal with has the potential to transform Swansea.

I know the City Deal may not be a hot topic among staff at the moment, but it really is an important issue for us.

City Deals are basically agreements between government and a city that give the city control to take charge of decisions that affect their area, help businesses grow and create economic growth. They’ve been created in England, Scotland and more recently in Cardiff.

The Swansea proposal is being developed by our City Region partnership and championed by our Leader, Councillor Rob Stewart. Yesterday I met the Secretary of State for Wales with the other regional chief executives to bring him up to speed on progress. It was a very productive and challenging meeting and it will help to shape our thinking as the work proceeds.

The proposed Swansea Bay City Deal is titled “The Internet Coast” based on three themes; productivity, efficiency and infrastructure. We’re due to submit a bid to the UK Government seeking investment in our digital infrastructure, energy and health assets, which could create thousands of jobs. This will help to deliver our corporate priority to regenerate the economy and the city centre and support our work as a Unesco Learning City. Swansea Bay City Region Board meets on September 15 to review and endorse the proposals and the aim is to submit the final proposal to UK Government before the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. I will keep you updated on progress.

Budget update

Even though we’re relatively early into the financial year we’re projecting a year-end overspend across the council. So at Leadership Team yesterday Directors and Heads of Service agreed a series of measures which include reiterating the council-wide spending restrictions and HoS identifying the actions they can take in the services to reduce spending in this financial year.

Leadership Team also had a presentation on the new online appraisal system. It’s a simpler and quicker way of doing appraisals. Managers will be invited to workshops in the coming weeks to test out the system and we can then roll it out later this year.

High 5s

This afternoon I’ll be chairing the judging panel for this year’s High 5 Awards celebrating our young people who achieve against the odds. This will be a real challenge for the eight judges given that we have had nearly 130 nominations, all of which deserve recognition. The awards ceremony will be held on September 29 at the Liberty Stadium.

Success story

After A-Levels and record-breaking GCSE results comes yet more good news about education attainment in Swansea. The Welsh Government has just released annual all-Wales stats on reading and numeracy which show pupils in Swansea are the most-improved in both skills compared to their peers across the country. Our education team in collaboration with regional partners have put in a lot of extra work over the last few years to raise attainment in our schools and it’s good to see consistent evidence of continuing improvement. Thank you to everyone involved.

Events

I hope you all enjoyed the Bank Holiday weekend – the weather was a bit mixed but it ended on a high and there was certainly plenty going on from the Beer and Cider and Festival which attracted thousands in the Brangwyn Hall to the arrival of the EPIC structure at Rhossili as part of the Visit Wales Year of Adventure campaign. There was a lot of positive social media activity about both of these events and this certainly won’t harm our positive destination profile.

As if we haven’t already had a great summer of events, September’s set to be one of our busiest months yet with another great line up of events;

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at Singleton Park tonight, Sept 2
Olympic Fun Day at Brynmill Park, Sept 3 (12-6pm)
Gower Triathlon & Gower Fancy Dress Tri, Sept 3
The British Science Festival 2016, hosted by Swansea University, Sept 6-9, followed by a Family Weekend, Sept 10 & 11,
Luna Outdoor Cinema at Oystermouth Castle (Back to the Future, Sept 14) (Grease, Sept 15)
Admiral Swansea Bay 10K, Sept 18.
Club MTV in Singleton Park, Sept 24
Swansea Big Weekend, Sept 30

As always, pay a visit to www.enjoyswanseabay.com – our one stop shop for event information.

BraveShave Finally, well done to David White, who works in the Townhill team of Child and Family Services, for shaving his head to raise money for charity. Taking part in MacMillan Cancer Support’s Brave the Shave campaign, David and his colleagues are also contributing funds to the Swansea Palliative Care Team. So far, the team has raised over £500 through a number of activities.

EC come, EC go

June 23, 2016 by Martin Leave a Comment

Stop Press

Well now we know the outcome of the referendum and there will be a challenging road ahead. The U.K. will withdraw from the European Union.

Leaving the European Union is, however, far from a straightforward process. We still do not know the precise form that exit will take, but what we do know is that change is unlikely to be immediate for anyone. Full transition out of the EU is likely to take anywhere between two and ten years.

We are already seeing some of the political consequences of this decision with the announcement of the resignation of the Prime Minister, David Cameron.

Of course one thing is certain in the aftermath of the vote to leave: the vast bulk of delivery of public services will need to continue on a day to day basis in parallel with exit negotiations. My personal view is that this will add a degree of further uncertainty to continuing financial austerity in the public sector. I know that is not good news but we had best be prepared for it.

There are many questions to consider including the impact on funding sources and existing structural fund programmes, the future of procurement and commissioning outside of EU rules and the transfer of functions and powers back to the U.K. and the capacity and capability to exercise them, including trade and migration policies.

I would like to thank all the officers involved at the polling stations I visited who made me feel welcome during their busy day and to the Elections Team and all the staff at the count last night who did a magnificent job in completing the task well in advance of the estimated time. I don’t normally like to single people out as I am genuinely indebted to the whole team. But I am particularly grateful to Huw Evans and Alison O’Hara who have guided me through the process from the beginning. Unless you see first-hand what goes on behind the scenes in the run-up to the referendum and on polling day it is hard to imagine the amount of work that is involved.

Cefn Hengoed

On Tuesday I visited Cefn Hengoed Community School to meet with the head teacher, Sue Hollister and Carl Bale, the deputy head. I was made to feel very welcome by them and learned a lot during my visit. To say I was impressed is an understatement. The school has recently received an Excellent inspection from Estyn. It is rare for a school to receive 15 straight Excellent judgements from Estyn, but that is what Cefn Hengoed achieved. As well as that the school has been invited to be an Advisory School in the Schools Challenge Cymru 2015-16 project. I was inspired by what the children and staff have achieved together. They should all feel proud and Sue explained to me how they intend to keep the momentum of improvement going over the coming years.

The achievements of the school are even more extraordinary when you consider that it is located in one of the more deprived wards in the city and in Wales. It is an area I am quite familiar with having been the rent collector there when I was just out of short trousers. Whilst driving round I noticed that significant improvements have been made to the environment and housing in the Bonymaen area and credit must go to the officers and councillors for what has been achieved over the past few years.

On Tuesday I also met with Councillor Christine Richards to discuss a number of issues in her portfolio area, but principally to focus on safeguarding. As you will be aware Councillor Richards is our lead councillor on safeguarding; a key corporate priority for the Council. I will be saying more about this in a future blog but our discussion focussed on making sure that all officers and councillors are familiar with their responsibilities and that safeguarding genuinely becomes everyone’s business.

High 5s

Just a quick reminder that there is less than a month to go for entries to the High 5 awards. The link to the page is attached here.

Praise

Thanks to the Highways Team who responded rapidly to signalling problems on Fabian Way and at Quay Parade on Saturday morning. The potential for chaos was very high indeed. Given the bustle of activity created by the Jazz and Transport festivals this headed off possible criticism and attracted praise from a number of people.

On the subject of praise from the public compliments received are now being included in the Reputation Tracker that is presented to CMT each month. I would ask that all positive comments and compliments are sent on to Corporate Complaints in order that more balanced reports can be prepared in future about complaints and performance.

The concerts at the Liberty Stadium this year have drawn massive crowds and again underlined Swansea as a city of culture. The Manic Street Preachers and Super Furry Animals reminded us of the musical talent that Wales has in abundance. While Lionel Ritchie is not to be found in my collection, his show at the weekend reinforced the message after the Manics’ visit that Swansea knows how to successfully manage major events. Thanks is due here to the combined efforts of the Council and the Stadium Management Company in handling the logistics and making sure everything ran smoothly. I know that Peter Richards and the team in Building Control were praised for their role by Andrew Davies, manager at the Liberty Stadium, and I am also grateful to all the special events and other staff who played their part in ensuring that the fans enjoyed these events safely.

Armed Forces Day

It’ll be a busy Saturday in Castle Square. Not only is the Wales game in Euro 2016 being shown live on the Big Screen, but I’ll be attending the annual Armed Forces Day being held there too. The Armed Forces Day lasts from 10.30am to 4.30pm and it promises to be a colourful occasion. The match, by the way, starts at 5pm.

Well done to our staff in marketing, tourism and events for their work in developing an app for the Wales National Airshow. This is a great example of innovation and commercialism because the app was developed in-house. By purchasing the app, spectators will also be helping to sustain the airshow on an annual basis. Have a look here for more information.

Congratulations to Beth Evans from the commercial services team on completing a parachute jump for charity. Beth’s brave act has succeeded in raising £675 for mental health organisation POBL Cymru. Well done Beth!! There is no chance whatsoever that you will see a photograph of me doing that. If you want to add to Beth’s fundraising efforts you can still donate here.

Our best wishes go to Councillor Robert Francis Davies who was taken ill last week. It was good news to hear he is on the mend and we look forward to his return as soon as he is better.

On Sunday the JCP Half Marathon is back for its third year. It is one of the fastest-growing half marathons in the UK with 8,000 entrants this year; little wonder when you consider the route along our magnificent shoreline. The special events team have been working closely with colleagues across the Council and the organisers to ensure another great day for Swansea. There are a number of road closures so plan your trips carefully on Sunday.

Well that’s it for this week. Good luck once again to our national rugby and football teams as they look to make history (again) tomorrow. Wales in Europe next week? Let’s wait and see.

Regenerating Our City Centre

June 9, 2016 by Martin 4 Comments

Occasionally I’ll be using part of my blog to update everyone with progress against our Corporate Priorities. This week the focus is on the city centre.

In February, 1941, Swansea was targeted by the German air force in a series of bombing raids popularly known as the Three Night Blitz. The city centre was almost completely flattened; 230 people were killed and more than 7,000 were left homeless.

The following decades saw attempts to regenerate the core retail area. Some, for example The Quadrant, were successful while others, most notably the St David’s Shopping Centre, were not. Overall the city centre is failing to achieve its potential. It has too few residents and workers, dated public realm and limited, poor quality office provision. Unless this is addressed the retail and leisure offer in the city centre will not improve and the region will decline. In the modern economy cities are the engines of economic growth and so this is a priority for the Council and the whole of South West Wales through the Swansea Bay City Region Board.

The response of the Council in recent years has been to develop a plan in the form of the Swansea City Centre Strategic Framework and to encourage a programme of development on key sites. You will probably be aware that the team in Economic Regeneration and Planning are working closely with development partners, Rivington and Trebor, on the St David’s and Civic Centre sites (weblinks).

Over the coming months we’re likely to see significant activity in the city centre and I’ll try to keep you up to date on developments in my blog. This week saw the announcement that the Council is considering the future of Castle Square and, subject to the outcome of the public open space process, will draw up a development brief for consultation. I would encourage everyone to respond to this. Also, the new development at Mariner Street was approved at Planning Committee this week and this will generate activity and footfall in the High Street.

Corporate Management Team (formerly the Executive Board) this week considered the next Staff Survey following some interesting and valuable feedback from the Innovation Community. Of particular interest to me is the proposal to improve the survey process so that more people are likely to take part. Over the past two years the survey has provided an important insight into the reality and the perceptions of working for the Council and we’ve been able to act together to tackle some of the issues, for example through the Show Bullying the Red Light campaign. The survey will take place this autumn and will be available online with hard copies being made available via managers, at our main sites, in staff canteens and libraries. There will be more information about this in future blogs.

As part of the senior management review Council agreed in April that a new post of Chief Transformation Officer be established to drive forward the modernisation of the Council. The post will be advertised in the next few weeks but we need to increase the pace of this work immediately. On Tuesday Mike Hawes and I interviewed candidates to act up into this position until the longer term appointment is made. I am delighted to announce that Sarah Caulkin has been appointed and will take up the post immediately. The implementation of the new model for business support is the priority and this will impact upon us all over the coming weeks and months.

I was shocked and saddened to hear of the sudden death of Ian Thomas, Principal Officer for Health and Safety last Sunday. I have known Ian for many years and worked with him in Housing, Business Support and more recently in his role with Corporate Health and Safety. Ian was a respected and well liked officer who will be deeply missed. My thoughts go to his family, friends and colleagues at their loss.

The EU Referendum date is almost upon us and I visited the Elections team last week as they sent out the postal votes. I’m grateful for their hard work and look forward to seeing them again on the day of the Referendum. This is an important decision for Swansea, Wales and the UK and I hope as many of us as possible will exercise their right to vote on June 23.

On the subject of voting I’d like to take the opportunity to remind everyone that nominations for this year’s High 5 awards close on July 22. The High 5 Awards are open to any child or young person in three age ranges (up to 13, 14-19, and 20-25) or group and they have to either be a resident, educated in or receiving support in Swansea. They celebrate the inspirational achievements of children and young people, culminating in the Awards Ceremony at the Liberty Stadium in the autumn. Our former Chief Executive, Jack Straw, has agreed to be on the judging panel for the awards.

Good luck to our Scrutiny team and Members who’ll find out next week if they’ve won an MJ Award for ‘Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny’

And finally good luck to the Wales national football team in the first match of the European Championships against Slovakia on Saturday. The match kicks off at 5pm and will be shown live on the big screen in Castle Square – well done to our Events team. I know football isn’t everyone’s taste but it’s the first occasion in my lifetime that Wales have qualified for a major international football competition so it certainly is a reason for celebration. Come on Wales!