09 April 2021

Dear colleagues,

I hope you all had an enjoyable long Easter weekend and were able to spend some time away from work with family or friends.

The break gave me some time to reflect on everything that has happened since the start of the year and as always it was a pleasure to look back on what our colleagues have achieved.

The return of all pupils to school on Monday and the reopening of many more shops and other face to face businesses feels like another key point in our collective recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, and one that we have reached in large part thanks to the efforts of many of our staff and those working for some of our public sector partners.

I know that in recent weeks our colleagues in the regional Test, Trace, Protect service have been working closely with schools and childcare providers to help make sure they have Covid-safe measures in place to prevent transmission of the virus between children and young people. Our social care teams both in residential homes and within the community have been continuing to follow the PPE guidance stringently to keep residents and their families safe. Alongside this, our colleagues in the regional Joint Enforcement Team have been out at popular resorts to ensure those visiting them are permitted to do so and behaving sensibly.

The work to support our partners in the Health Board on the vaccination programme has continued over the Easter break, with all those aged 50 and over (and those with underlying health conditions) having been offered the first dose of a vaccination. The progress on the vaccination programme is nothing short of extraordinary and you can keep up to date with the latest information on the roll-out and how the next age groups will be called.

These are only a few examples and I know many more members of Team Vale are doing vital work. Combined with the efforts of the general public this work has helped bring Covid rates in the Vale down to some of the lowest in the country.

To help keep rates low  as lockdown is lifted, Covid-19 tests are now available for Cardiff and Vale residents who are experiencing a wider range of symptoms such as fatigue, myalgia (muscle ache or pain), a sore throat, a headache, a runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea. Tests can be booked online in the usual way. Anyone who takes a test due to having one of the extended list of symptoms is not required to isolate while they await their test result, only if their test comes back as positive.

Looking at other areas of our work I know this is a very busy time for our Electoral Registration Team. Nominations for candidates in the combined Senedd and Police and Crime Commissioner Election that will take place on 06 May closed on Thursday. The team have been working incredibly hard not only to plan the logistics of the election and make sure that residents are registered and able to vote, but also to ensure all of this is done in a Covid-safe manner. When you consider the number of voters and polling stations in the Vale and the need to hold the count over three days rather than one and in a new venue you appreciate it really is a herculean effort. It is also another example of colleagues from across many teams and departments - ICT, Property, Legal Services, Communications and many more - pulling together as one to get the job done. Thank you to everyone involved.

As always voters have a range of options for casting their ballot – in person, by post or by appointing someone they trust to vote in their place, as a proxy. For anyone considering voting differently this year the deadline to apply for a postal vote is 20 April, and for a proxy vote 27 April.

I’d like to remind anyone who has an interest in the future of Penarth Pier Pavilion that there is still time to have your say on how it will be used in the future via the public consultation which closes next week.

And finally, I’d like to say Ramadan Mubarak to those colleagues who will be enjoying time with their families while observing the Islamic holy month which starts on Monday.

Thanks as always to all staff for their efforts. And to those of you who are reading this on Monday morning after a well-deserved break: welcome back!

Rob.