30 July, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to start this message with a sincere thank you to Paula, for stepping in last week and sending a brilliant round-up of the week’s news to you all in my absence. I took a much-needed break from work and visited North Wales with my family. I would recommend a walk in the beautiful mountain scenery to anyone - it is particularly good for your wellbeing. I returned to a busy week of work feeling rested and refreshed.

One of the first things on the agenda for this week was a visit to our newly completed Court Road development. Eleven temporary bungalows, which have been purpose-built to help people take their first step towards a home of their own, will, from next week, welcome their first tenants.  

These high quality, eco-friendly bungalows use small, decked areas to create a community. They give residents their own lounge, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Most importantly they give those living in the most precarious of circumstances something priceless: dignity. We cannot and should not go back to the situation that existed pre-Covid for people who find themselves homeless. I really believe that if we can provide shelter for people at the height of a pandemic we can and should to do everything in our power to continue to do so.

I would like to congratulate all colleagues who have been involved in delivering this scheme at pace and at such high quality, and we are already looking at ways in which we can roll this out further so that we can provide more much needed temporary accommodation.

On Monday, at a full meeting of the Council we took three very important steps forward as an organisation. Firstly, the Project Zero climate change challenge plan was endorsed. This means that the work to deliver the actions outlined to help us reach our goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 will now get underway in earnest, building on our good track record of delivering environmental improvements. 

Secondly, members agreed to declare a nature emergency and take steps to protect wildlife and the biodiversity of our county. This will see the Council take action to ensure no net-loss of biodiversity in the Vale and will be an important part of our work alongside Project Zero.

And finally, as a Council we also signed a declaration to be a diverse Council which requires us to:

• Provide a clear, public commitment to improving diversity;
• Demonstrate an open and welcoming culture to all;
• Consider staggering Council meeting times and agreeing recess periods to support Councillors with other commitments; and
• Set out an action plan of activity ahead of the 2022 local elections.

I’m really proud of the work we are doing as an employer and of that of our LGBT+ and Ethnic Minority networks to support colleagues from different backgrounds to have a positive impact in the workplace, raise awareness of issues and provide a social and supportive environment for everyone. So, I think it really important that our elected members are also part of this work and are representative of the communities they serve.

Recognition of our staff is also very important to us as an organisation, so I’m pleased to be able to pay tribute to and thank a number of colleagues this week.

Our Customer Relations Team have been available to support our residents all through the pandemic. The team have kept the service going every single day and have shown flexibility and commitment in developing new services in response to the changing requirements of our residents. 

One member of the team is Sian Wingar and I was pleased to see feedback of her positive approach over the last week when she went above and beyond the call of duty to support an elderly resident who visited the Civic Offices reception. Sian grew concerned about this person’s wellbeing as they seemed faint and out of sorts. Sian offered for them to sit down and have a drink of water, which they politely declined. So, Sian then made sure that this person got home safely and checked in with a relative later on that day to make sure they were okay. According to Sian ‘this is all part of the job’, but I’m sure you’ll all agree that this is a heart-warming story and I’m thankful to Sian for being so kind and caring and for going above and beyond – diolch yn fawr Sian! 

In June we were invited to nominate colleagues who we thought had gone above and beyond during the pandemic to be recognised by Social Care Wales as Care Stars. I’m so pleased to be able to say that three members of staff, out of a total of 12 across Wales, have been awarded as Care Stars. Well done and congratulations to Joanne Jones, Julia Sky and Jane Carter. You’re all stars in my eyes! I know Julia has recently achieved her level 5 advanced playwork practitioner qualification as well – it looks like you’ve had a very busy but successful past 15 months – da iawn! You can read more about our care stars and their achievements on Staffnet+.

Finally, the Welsh Government have just announced that adults in Wales who are fully vaccinated will not need to self-isolate from 7 August. This will also apply to children under 18. This decision has been reached due to the pressure on public services. This will have important implications for many of our teams and you can find more information about what the decision means on the Welsh Government's website.  

I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend, and I hope this message has lived-up to the standard set by Paula last week! Don’t forget, if you’re looking for family-friendly activities check the summer activities and summer of fun programme on our website.

Take care, diolch yn fawr.

Rob