21 May 2021

Dear colleagues,

I’d like to start this week’s message to you all with a thanks to all of those in our Shared Regulatory Services, Neighbourhood Services, and Regeneration teams and those from other departments who have helped support the reopening of indoor hospitality services, many leisure services, and the return of even more organised events. I hope many of you will also have had the opportunity to get back to doing something you enjoy as we continue to work through the easing of restrictions. 

If you are planning a day out during this weekend then you might be interested to know that May is National Walking Month, and with a week of the month remaining it is perfect time to get active.

A brisk daily walk is recommended as an easy, free way to improve your health and as part of the Move More Eat Well programme the Council is working with the University Health Board and others to encourage people to make a pledge to #WalkThisMay and to stay active in safe way. You can find lots of tips and walking inspiration by following Move More Eat Well on Twitter and test these out on one of the specially created wellbeing walks, including walks by the coast, augmented reality and nature walks available on our website.

I’m sure that many of you will already be aware that a very significant milestone was passed this week with the announcement by Cardiff and the Vale University Health Board that every adult in the region has now been offered an appointment for their first vaccination and those who have accepted will have received their first dose by the end of May. This is a phenomenal achievement and I am proud that the Council has played a vital role in supporting this vaccination rollout.

The vaccines approved for use in the UK have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness and can help stop you getting seriously ill or dying from COVID-19. If you have been missed, or did not take up your vaccination when first offered, you can complete the Leave Nobody Behind form or call the booking line on 02921 841234 to get another appointment.

The rapid progress of the vaccination programme is perhaps the best indicator of how quickly we are moving towards what I hope will be life after the pandemic. As you will all be aware at the current alert level 2 the guidance in Wales is still to work from home wherever possible and this remains the Council’s position.

While we are still, I believe, some way off a move away from this position I am currently working with the Council’s Senior Leadership Team to carefully consider how any potential return to office working, or shift to a blend of home and office working, would work in practice.

I know many of you are anxious to know what the future will hold. At this point I think it is fair to say that the way in which our services are delivered has changed considerably over the past year. Many may never return to operating as they did previously and the same may be true of how we all work to deliver these services. In moving forward we will need to consider many things, and at the forefront of our minds will be the needs of our customers.  In addition, and from the feedback you have given as part of the wellbeing surveys, I know many colleagues want a blend of home and office working in the future and the significant investment that has been. made in digital connectivity and devices certainly makes this possible. I hope to be able to finalise initial proposals for future ways of working over the coming weeks and will share with you all the detail of these as soon as possible. As always, if you have any concerns or questions, please discuss these with your manager.

I’d like to end the message with another shout out, this time to a team that have returned to their pre-pandemic workplace. Staff at Rondel House reopened the centre’s doors to service users last month and as this is Dementia Awareness Week I wanted to public recognise their work.

The team offer support to service users and their families, many of whom will have struggled over the last year with carer stress, social isolation and loneliness, as well as sadly for some a deterioration in their dementia, mental and physical abilities.

Their roles I know are not easy. 52% of us know someone living with dementia and supporting those who live with it is a huge area of work for our Adult Services team. Thank you to everyone working in this area for the huge contribution you make.

And thank you as always to all of you reading this message. Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Rob.