24 September, 2021

Dear Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well at the end of what has been a very busy week for many of us. 

I would like to start this week’s update by referencing the well documented pressures on the Domiciliary Care sector across Wales. The situation is under intense pressure and the situation here in the Vale of Glamorgan is just as challenging, and I start with a sincere thank you to all our Domiciliary Care team. 

Lance Carver, Director of Social Services, shared an email with me earlier this week that he had sent to his staff to thank them for their efforts in what has become a very challenging time for the service as demands are currently higher than we have capacity to deliver. In his email, Lance said,

‘Despite this, I am hearing really positive stories about the fabulous work that you are doing. I want you to know that your work isn’t lost on any of us and I am really grateful for your efforts and the miracles that you are achieving.’

Thank you Lance for sharing this and I’d like to echo your comments. Some of you may have seen the recent Channel 4 drama, Help, starring Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham. This is another stark example of the challenges faced by care workers being highlighted through the media. I just wanted our staff to know that we do see the importance of the work that they do and we really do appreciate it.

Secondly, I must also thank Amy Rudman in Democratic Services and Andrew Brain from ICT, and their wider teams, for their significant contribution and efforts in the Council’s ongoing project to develop and deliver a Hybrid Meeting Solution. Not only will this solution comply with new legislative requirements but it will also enable formal meetings of the Council to be held and broadcast in the future, allowing some remote participants as well as those in person. I’m aware that this project has brought more than a few challenges that have needed close working between both teams to tailor the solution to the needs of the Council. I’m very grateful for your input on this project and felt it was important that you be recognised, a view shared by your senior colleagues – Jeff Rees and Trevor Baker.  

This week, the staff Engagement and Innovation Forum met and one of the items on the agenda was the Culture Book. I was pleased to hear the encouraging number of people who have read and re-visited the Culture Book on Staffnet+. I was also pleased to conduct a live prize draw of the winner of the afternoon tea for two at the Big Fresh Café. During the meeting, one of the members of the Staff Engagement & innovation Forum, Nisha Shukla, selected, at random Helen Sweet as the lucky winner.  Congratulations to Helen and I hope you enjoy your treat! I would encourage anyone who hasn’t yet visited the Culture Book pages to please do so and submit your stories as well. Given that we have had so many entries into the prize draw, I’m also pleased to announce that another 20 entries will be selected at random to receive £5 vouchers for use at Big Fresh at the Pier Pavilion – look out for an announcement on the winners next week.  

Yesterday was Healthy Travel Day. As a keen cyclist myself, I was pleased to see so much support for this initiative. As an organisation we are responsible for providing active travel routes throughout the Vale of Glamorgan. We do a lot to promote these to our residents and now with the launch of our healthy travel StaffNet+ hub I hope we can convince some of you to think about a different type of commute in the future. Yesterday’s launch also gave me pause for thought on just how big an impact continuing to work from home has in terms of fewer vehicles on the roads and therefore lower carbon emissions. 

On a related theme, I have also been asked to share a call for help through this week’s message. The Llantwit Major Garden Volunteering Project are looking to build two greenhouses; one at the new Grange Gardens project and one at Crawshay House. This will allow volunteers to grow all sorts of vegetables and fruits that will be donated to the local community. The greenhouses will be made from 2 litre plastic bottles; therefore the group are appealing to you to ask that you put aside any empty 2 litre plastic bottles that you may have at home so they can be donated to the project. These can either be dropped to Llantwit Major Emergency Services Station on Llanmaes Road or collections for large donations can be arranged. Please contact Rhiannon.cummings@south-wales.pnn.police.uk if you would like to arrange a collection. 

Looking ahead, next week we will be supporting Inclusion Week. As one of the largest employers in the Vale of Glamorgan, it’s extremely important for us to be an inclusive employer and to make others aware that this is the case. We have the Diverse staff network and LGBT+ network, GLAM, and those groups work closely with our HR department to ensure our policies are inclusive. Reflecting the diversity of our community and being an inclusive organisation is one of my key priorities and I have found this autumn’s management development programme focusing on these issues to be really engaging, enlightening and has helped us take this agenda forward. Keep an eye out for more information on how we’ll be supporting inclusion week next week. 

The next woodland wellbeing session will also be taking place next Friday, 1st October. Colleagues are invited to meet wellbeing champions in the main car park (near the café) at 12pm to help with some clearing work in Porthkerry Country Park. 

Finally, I would like to end this message with a reminder to all staff that Coronavirus has not gone away and is unfortunately something we are still battling each day. The number of positive cases is increasing throughout Wales and I would encourage all staff to please remember to take the necessary precautions when going about their day to day lives. Remember to wear a face covering in indoor public places and public transport, and get tested and self-isolate if you have symptoms. 

Take care all. Diolch yn fawr,

Rob.