Dear colleagues,

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda, Happy New Year and welcome back to you all. Whether it was for two weeks or two days I hope you all had a restful break over the Christmas holidays. 

The start of the new year always brings a lot to look forward to. For our Council 2022 looks likely to bring a lot more challenges but I know these will as always give us all the opportunity to test our skills by working in new ways. It is also a year that will see some long running pieces of work come to fruition. 

We will continue to build new schools that provide excellent working learning environments for our pupils. The roll-out of the recycling changes we've been working on will be completed in Penarth and surrounding areas. I'm proud that we will continue to build new Council homes for residents. We will continue to find new and innovative ways to support children and older people in need of our social services. We will also be progressing our Reshaping work, delivering on our Project Zero commitments and as always, our corporate services will be there to support our new ways of working.

As you will of course all be well-aware, our organisation, like much of the public sector, is currently under significant strain. This week the Strategic Leadership Team met as the Gold Command Group in line with our emergency planning protocols to discuss the current situation. On Wednesday I met with senior public sector leaders from across South Wales. Current indications are that Covid rates will hit a peak in the coming weeks. To help manage and respond to the challenges, not least staffing shortages, that this brings we are working closely with neighbouring councils, the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and South Wales Police. I am pleased to say these partnerships are stronger than ever and there is a renewed focus on making sure we are all there to support those that most need it.

New national guidance on testing and self-isolation came into effect yesterday (Thursday 06 January). If you get a positive rapid lateral flow test result, most people will no longer need to take a PCR test to confirm the result. You must instead self-isolate. . Updated frequently asked questions and answers are being prepared and will be shared with colleagues early next week when they are available.

For those of you whose role requires you to work from one of our buildings or work closely with colleagues or members of the public in any other setting you can order LFD test kits directly from the PPE Team. 

The First Minister has confirmed today that Wales remains at Alert Level 2. As has been our position since the Autumn everyone should work from home whenever possible. This is one of the most effective ways of minimising mixing and slowing the spread of the virus. It is a policy that is designed to keep you, your loved ones, and colleagues safe. You should also still be following the hands, face, space mantra which we now all know so well. 

Another public health issue that has attracted a lot of media attention this week is cervical screening, and changes to screening intervals in Wales. This has been widely discussed and may have caused concern. I wanted to use this message to share a link to a clear explanation of the changes which has been published subsequently and will hopefully provide some reassurance. An FAQ has also been published by Public Health Wales. 

Thanks as always for your work this week, and in advance for the great things I know we will achieve in 2022. Diolch yn fawr iawn. 

Rob.