12 March 2021

Dear Colleagues,

I’m pleased to be able to write to you today, following the news of the First Minister’s announcement of a short term roadmap out of lockdown for Wales.

Restrictions will be gradually eased and I sincerely hope this will be for the last time. From tomorrow 'stay at home’ becomes ‘stay local’. This will be under the same rules as June 2020 with travel allowed generally within 5 miles. Four people from two households will be allowed to meet outdoors, including in private gardens and spaces. Children under 11 do not count within that number so this should allow extended families to meet again, something I know many will welcome. Outdoor sports courts will also re-open and indoor care home visits can resume in all settings, albeit with some restrictions on their nature.   

From next week all pupils will be able to return to school (again with differing approaches for different age groups) and those of us who’ve been reluctant to allow our better halves to cut our hair will now have the option of visiting the hairdressers. This will be the first reopening of retail and close contact services. Garden centres are due to follow shortly and supermarkets will be allowed to sell a wider range of goods in the coming weeks too.  

These changes will bring welcome opportunities for people to socialise and we all hope the next review will enable some of the further easings that Mark Drakeford has said could be possible for Easter.  At the moment, it appears likely that the stay local measure will give way to allow wider travel to correspond with the opening up of self contained holiday accommodation over the Easter school holidays, although this will very much depend on transmission rates continuing to be favourable.   

The lifting of restrictions is possible because of the huge collective effort to bring down rates of Covid-19 in Wales. The national level is now 43 cases per 100,000 – a far cry from where we were only a few months ago. To help continue to drive down levels locally the Cardiff and Vale Test, Trace, Protect Service is now advising residents to book a coronavirus test if they have any one of a wider range of symptoms. The change will help identify cases of new variants of COVID-19 and identify people who may be at risk of passing on the disease to others without knowing. 

As well as the three most common symptoms of Covid-19 - a fever, a new continuous cough or a loss/change of taste and smell - people are now able to get a test if they have any of a new list of other symptoms too. These are fatigue, myalgia (muscle ache or pain), a sore throat, a headache, sneezing, a runny nose, a loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhoea. 
In line with the recent Welsh Government announcement, the service will also be offering all close contacts of those who have tested positive a test, rather than asking them to wait until they develop symptoms. The service is also offering tests to anyone who has had a change in their symptoms following a previous negative test result. 

In other news, an updated Community Impact Assessment was presented to Cabinet on Monday 8 March. This is a report that considers the wider impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on our communities in the Vale of Glamorgan, including workforce changes, changes to income, economic support, education, mental health, homelessness, the environmental impact and digital exclusion.  

This assessment will also inform how we undertake Equality Impact Assessments in future, to consider the wider impact of our policy decisions on our communities.  

The information and analysis included in the Community Impact Assessment, along with feedback from a public consultation, has been used to develop the Annual Delivery Plan (ADP) for 2021-22 and related Service Plans. The Plan details the activities that will be undertaken in 2021-22 to deliver the Council’s 4 Well-being Objectives within the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic and the Council’s Recovery Strategy. These are:  

• To work with and for our communities 
• To support learning, employment and sustainable economic growth 
• To support people at home and in their community  
• To respect, enhance and enjoy our environment 

The commitments within the Annual Delivery Plan will be reflected in annual Service Plans together with service improvement targets which will detail how different Council services will contribute to the delivery of our four Well-being Objectives. The Annual Delivery Plan was approved by Cabinet on Monday and will be considered by full Council in a few weeks. This shows the route map for us as an organisation in taking forward our really important work in supporting those people who need us most, something I am very proud of, especially in the past year. 

Our work makes an incredible difference to the lives of people in our communities. This week, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Vale Youth Service for their work during a challenging year.  I have said before through this message that I regularly receive feedback from colleagues and service users of the good work that has been undertaken.  This week I was very pleased to receive glowing praise for  Marc Webber and his colleagues working on the Youth Engagement Programme, for their fantastic work. A family member of one of the young people involved in the programme has taken the time to write to Marc to express their thanks for his work. The email stated,

‘It has changed him, and for the better, and I can only hope that you can continue with the valuable work you do with these young people who, despite all, have so much potential and deserve a chance.’ 

Paula Ham, Director of Learning and Skills has also written to Marc to express her thanks upon reading the email, saying:

‘Making a difference to the life chances of children and young people is what we are all about. Hearing about the impact you have had is uplifting and motivating. Well done!’  

I was also delighted to be copied into feedback from a young person on our Inspire 2 Work programme, who said of our learning coach, Annette Harrison,

'I am a different man, with a better life.  I could not have done it without this project'. 

This is clear demonstration to the value of our work, particularly during what have been extremely difficult times for many of our residents and communities.  Well done to Annette for receiving such wonderful feedback and to Peter Williams and his Inspire 2 Work team who are responsible for leading on the programme.  

I am also pleased to be able to tell you that this week the Council has made two big commitments to people with autism, to coincide with the launch of the Can you see me? campaign.  

Internally, all of our senior managers will receive training during April to achieve Autism Aware certification. This will ensure we take the needs of those with autism into account not only in our recruitment but with decisions on how we deliver our services too. Externally, the Council’s cabinet has this week approved extra support for secondary school students with autism at Whitmore High School in Barry. Pupils with autism spectrum condition will be able to use a new specialist resource base. This is just one aspect of the Council’s plans to improve special education across the Vale. 

Next week, the Strategic Leadership Team will again meet to discuss the next steps for the Council in responding to the latest changes annouced today. I will write to you again next week with a further update on what easing restrictions will mean for some of our services over the coming weeks.  

I hope you all have a good weekend. Stay safe, stay local. 

Diolch yn fawr, 

Rob