Formed to represent the interests of staff with disabilities, organiser Colin Davies, a member of our Learning and Skills team, and those that gathered at the Civic Offices are yet to decide on a name for the network.
But their purpose is clear – to give disabled colleagues and those who have experienced mental ill health a greater voice.
SLT colleagues and I are fully behind this venture, and I’d encourage anyone who is interested to drop Colin a line and join up.
The formation of this group follows the establishment of Glam, the Council’s network for LGBTQ+ staff and allies, and Diverse, which represents colleagues from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.
Having an input from people with disabilities and a broader neurodiversity can only help the organisation be more inclusive, which is what we are striving for.
I’d also like to flag an interview Megan Parry from our Children and Young People Services team conducted with one of our foster carers.
The piece provides a really good insight into the demands of fostering and just how rewarding it can be.
There is always a need for foster carers so I would urge anyone considering opening up their home to a child to have a read.
If after that you are still interested, maybe get in touch with Megan to find out more.
Speaking of worthwhile activities, I’d like to congratulate Holly Homer from the Council Tax Team, who has been running to raise money for Concern Cymru, a small local mental health charity.
Holly only took up running recently after being inspired by a colleague and it’s fair to say she’s really got the bug.
Her challenge involved running 200 kilometres in November and saw her raise an incredible £2,870.
Da iawn Holly, I know your team are really proud of you as are the rest of us.
On Wednesday, Director of Corporate Resources Tom Bowring will be holding a Question Time session at 12 noon on the Council’s Draft Annual Deliver Plan (ADP).
He’ll be Joining Lloyd Davies to talk about his role, the ADP’s relevance, critical challenges and how staff can influence the plan.
The session will be in two parts. For the first 40 minutes, Tom will be discussing the topics above before he turns his attention to staff questions.
These can be submitted anonymously ahead of the session, while staff are also invited to view the plan and share their thoughts on it.
The ADP sets out actions to achieve the Council’s wellbeing objectives and tackle three specific challenges:
- The cost-of-living crisis
- Project Zero – the Council’s plan to become carbon neutral by 2030
- Boosting organisational resilience
Tom has been very busy lately, having also chaired the Ystadau Cymru conference and awards event last week.
Regular readers will recall my mention of the Ogmore by Sea Community Centre picking up a well-deserved award at the event.
As always, Tom did a fantastic job, one that I know was greatly appreciated by the other organisers, who took the time to write in expressing their gratitude for his excellent chairing of the conference.
Wednesday was Welsh Language Rights Day, which aims to raise awareness of opportunities to use Welsh when dealing with public services.
It marks the date on which the Welsh Language Measure was passed by parliament, confirming that Welsh must not be treated less favourably than English.
A video was put together to outline the benefits of learning Welsh and I am grateful to all the staff who took time out to feature in it, provide assessment of their learning and promote the importance of the language.
I’d also like to thank Sarian Thomas-Jones, one of our Work Welsh Coordinators, who came up with the idea of developing a video to mark Welsh language Rights Day. Diolch yn fawr iawn Sarian.
As an employee, you have the right to use Welsh in the workplace and the Council strongly encourages staff to speak and learn the language.
Doing so not only benefits yourself, but also the organisation, customers, and the community.
Anyone interested in learning Welsh, or brushing up on their skills, can visit Work Welsh: Yr Hwb on Staffnet.
That contains information on upcoming events as well as courses available to learn Welsh free of charge.
Those of you who are keen cyclists, or eager to get involved in cycling as a sustainable form of travel, will be pleased to know that our Cycle to Work Scheme launches again on Monday and will run until the end of January.
It offers staff the opportunity to buy a bike through monthly deductions from their pay and gain tax and National Insurance benefits.
There are a range of bikes and accessories available through Cycle Solutions, who will be running pop-up shops at the Civic Offices and Alps Depot next week for employees to see the range of products on offer.
Information on how to sign up for the scheme is available on Staffnet+.
It is anticipated that Welsh Government will announce its draft budget on Wednesday, after which I hope to be in a position to update staff on what it will mean for the Council as our own budget planning continues.
I know this was a topic that figured heavily in the recent Learning Café Question Time session, and as soon as we have more information, it will be shared with colleagues.
Finally, I’d like to pass on my congratulations to the Council’s Social Services Team, who were shortlisted for a Medi Wales NHS Award in the category of Social Care Innovation through Collaboration.
They were recognised for work to update the Telecare system used by a large number of elderly and vulnerable residents after the old analogue platform was discontinued.
Telecare allows people to call for help in the event of an emergency and the project was delivered jointly with TEC Cymru, Enovation (the ARC supplier), Local Government Digital Office Scotland and FarrPoint (consultancy partner).
Well done to all involved.
Thank you once again for your efforts this week – they are greatly appreciated.
Diolch yn fawr iawn,
Rob.