18 June, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well at the end of a warm and sunny week in the Vale. 

I’d like to start this message by congratulating all those who were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, which was published this week. Firstly, Melanie Haman, the South Wales Local Resilience Forum Coordinator, who is based in the Vale of Glamorgan, has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in recognition of her work across South Wales during the pandemic. 

Secondly, Linda Ruston (pictured right), who has now retired but previously worked as the New Horizons Day Centre Manager, has also been awarded a British Empire Medal for her services to social care. Linda has worked and volunteered to improve the lives of disabled people in Barry for 45 years! Linda’s colleagues have spoken of her devotion to her work, particularly during the pandemic. 

Finally, a Vale of Glamorgan Foster Carer, Sharon Thomas has been awarded an MBE for her services to Foster Care over the last 25 years, and in particular for her commitment during the pandemic. 

Congratulations to all of you – your recognition is very much deserved. Da iawn i chi gyd. 

On a similar note, Social Care Wales has launched the Care Stars Awards for 2021. They wish to recognise care workers that have gone above and beyond to make a difference to people’s lives over the last 15 months. There are four categories for nominations:

• Social care support for adults
• Social care support for older people
• Social care support for children
• Childcare, play and early years services.

You can see more information about what the judges are looking for on the Social Care Wales website. If you’d like to nominate someone for an award, please see the Staffnet+ guidance on how to do so. 

I’m pleased to also be able to confirm that many staff working in our Social Services directorate will next month receive an additional payment from Welsh Government. The payment is in recognition of what the Health Minister described, back in March, when the payment was announced, as “their extraordinary contribution” alongside NHS staff.

The extra payment is fully deserved. Everyone working for the Vale of Glamorgan have played their part in supporting residents since March 2020 and I remain immensely proud that as a Council, we were able to recognise the vitally important contribution of those working on the frontline with an extra payment of our own last year.  

However, I am clear that working in many roles within Social Care and seeing the impact of the pandemic first hand on some of our most vulnerable people will have been incredibly challenging and I am delighted to see the efforts and dedication of front line care staff and the wider Social Care profession being recognised at a national level. 

Our Director of Social Services, Lance Carver, made strong representations to Welsh Government that this payment should be offered to more of our colleagues. We were not able to influence the final decision as much as we would have liked but I would like to assure all staff that the Council will always work to ensure staff are fairly rewarded for their work. 

Another service area that has been working hard throughout the pandemic is our Creative Rural Communities team. They have recently launched a project to offer commuters coworking spaces that are more local to them. This is a really interesting project that has adapted due to the pandemic but is still proving to be a success. Da iawn to Rhys and all of the team involved in setting up this initiative.  

Looking ahead, next week we will be marking Armed Forces Week, which runs from 21 – 27 June every year in the UK. On Monday, the Mayor, Cllr Jayne Norman, will be leading an armed forces flag raising ceremony on the forecourt of the Civic Offices to mark the occasion. Unfortunately, due to restrictions, this is a closed event. However, for those who wish to observe, we will be live streaming the event on our Facebook page, please visit the page (facebook.com/valeofglamorgancouncil) at 10:00am on Monday to see the live stream.

The Council will also be involved in campaigns aimed at raising awareness of Windrush Day which takes place on Tuesday 22 June. The purpose of the day is to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants who have played a vital role in developing the concept of what it means to be British in today’s multi-cultural society. Look out for more information on this on StaffNet+ next week. 

Finally, the First Minister has today announced that the Welsh Government will not be easing restrictions further from the 21st June as had been anticipated, due to the rise in cases of the Delta variant of Coronavirus.  There will, instead be a pause on the further easing of restrictions and this situation will be reviewed again in 4 weeks. Although the rise in figures is from a very small base, the rises remain a concern particularly given that there has been an upward trend in cases across Wales for over a week. This should serve as a reminder to us all that the virus is still with us and it remains as important as ever to follow the public health guidance that is in place. 

The one change that will be implemented from next week is the number of guests allowed to attend weddings will now depend on the size of the venue. This means that at larger venues more than 30 guests will be allowed to attend ceremonies indoors. This change will, I’m sure, be welcomed by many who had been uncertain if their wedding would go ahead as planned this summer. Earlier this week I was delighted to read an email thanking one of our relief registrars, Rachael Williams, for conducting a ceremony in Welsh at Rosedew Farm in Llantwit Major over the recent bank holiday weekend. The happy couple wrote,

‘You put us both at ease with your warmth and kindness, it really made the day so special and we'll never forget it.’

Da iawn Rachael – it was great to read such glowing praise and  I hope we can continue to offer a unique and memorable service for couples who wish to tie the knot this year.

I hope you all have a restful weekend. Take care.

Diolch yn fawr,

Rob.