Rob's Weekly Round Up

10 June 2022

Dear colleagues, 

I hope this email finds you well. 

This week has seen a very significant step forward for the Vale of Glamorgan Council. In my message on 20 May I said that following conversations with staff and at SLT I hoped we could move quickly to support those colleagues likely to be most impacted by the increasing cost of living. Yesterday at the first meeting of the new Cabinet it was agreed that the Council would increase pay for those staff on grades one and two to bring them in line with the Real Living Wage. Those on the first two grades of the Council’s scale will see their pay increase to £9.90 per hour from £9.60 and £9.79 respectively.

While I of course hope that this increase will be welcomed at a time of rising cost of living, this is first and foremost a step that has been taken to acknowledge the significant contribution of staff in roles that are often front line, part time, citizen facing and have been key to the Council’s response during the pandemic. The increase will apply to just over 650 of our colleagues, around 90% of whom are women and so the move will also help us further reduce the Council’s gender pay gap. Colleagues in HR are working to implement the increase as soon as possible and all those affected will be contacted directly with more information.

This was one of a number of steps agreed by Cabinet on Thursday to help our communities cope with the cost of living increase. Ahead of the next round of Cost of Living Support Payments beginning next week, a new discretionary scheme was agreed that will see a further £825,000 in grants issued to those who might not have benefited from the initial payments. This will include those receiving specific Council Tax exemptions, such as care leavers, individuals with severe mental impairment or disability and carers. It was also agreed that our existing Council Tax Discretionary Relief scheme will continue, meaning residents in the most exceptional circumstances through no fault of their own may be offered financial assistance to help with their bills.

At a time when many people are under real pressure I was delighted to receive an email this week with the subject line “Wonderful Member of Staff”. One of our residents had contacted me directly to highlight the work of “the wonderful Cath Klee” who she said has “been absolutely amazing in sorting out the query with my Mum's care charges”. Kath went the extra mile to help and I couldn’t agree more with the resident’s view that we are “very fortunate to have such a dedicated member of staff on your team.”

Another individual who has gone above and beyond to support those that rely on us is Neil Stokes in our Building Services team. After being taught elsewhere in the run-up to half term, Neil and many of his colleagues worked through the bank holiday weekend last week to ensure that pupils at Y Bontfaen school in Cowbridge could return to their familiar surroundings on Monday and well ahead of schedule. Great work all.

I’d also like to congratulate all those colleagues returning to work at Whitmore High School this week on the fantastic inspection report that was received just before the half term break. The Estyn report was glowing, saying “Whitmore High School’s philosophy is grounded firmly on the ‘four pillars’ that provide the basis for developing the whole child and which form ‘The Whitmore Values’. This philosophy is advocated by nearly all staff who work to ensure that pupils are valued and listened to, are treated as individuals, and receive consistently good teaching and extensive opportunities outside lessons.” In the section on ‘Well-being and attitudes to learning’, the report continues: “High School pupils develop successfully into responsible and caring citizens because of the strong ethos created by ‘the Whitmore Values’. Staff model these values consistently in their interactions with pupils and, as a consequence, there is a high level of mutual respect and trust between all members of the school community.”

All those at the school who have contributed to this should feel very proud of their achievements. 

As some of you may have seen on our social media feeds this week is Bike Week. Our Transport team have organised a range of activities and it was great to see Craig Hanley in our Enforcement team switching from four wheels to two to undertake his duties this week. The team have been out and about again today at Barry Island promoting active travel to our residents. Diolch to all who have made the week a success.  

Increasing opportunities for active travel is one of a number of ways in which we are working towards net zero as part of Project Zero. To help better track our work in this area and give elected members we have also recently added a new section to our committee report templates which will show the implications for climate change and the nature emergency. This will ensure that the Council considers what it can do differently in the development of projects and policies - from the materials we purchase, to the waste we create, and the energy we use – at every opportunity.

If you’d like to know more about Project Zero or anything else relating to the work of our new directorates of Place and Corporate Resources then there is still chance to register at the upcoming Question Time sessions with Tom Bowring and Marcus Goldsworthy taking place this month. 

I was very pleased to be contacted by Helen Picton earlier today – Helen is the Head of Shared Regulatory Services and she updated me on the success of Shared Regulatory services at the South Wales Police Award ceremony that was held last night (Thursday 06 June). I am delighted to say that our Shared Regulatory Services teams scooped two awards.  The Joint Enforcement Teams (JETs) that undertook COVID enforcement work from September 2020 onwards were recognised with the evening’s Special Recognition Award. The close working between local authority and Police colleagues throughout the Force area was commended and held up as a model for future partnership working. 

Secondly, the seizure of 240 horses (and subsequent prosecution and disqualification of the keeper under the Animal Welfare Act) was recognised in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Partnership Award (partnership working to conduct the seizures between SRS, South Wales Police, RSPCA, equine charities and South Wales Fire and Rescue Services. 

Helen said: "It was great to see the huge amount of work that sat behind each of these awards being celebrated, and both have resulted in excellent working relationships which will continue to deliver into the future". Very well said Helen, I couldn’t have put it better myself.  Llongyfarchiadau / Congratulations to all involved – well deserved recognition. 

Finally, there is also still chance for you to submit your nominations for this year’s Staff Awards. The deadline for entries, which was today, is being extended to allow another two weeks to submit your entries. The number has been steadily rising in the last few days and the total entries now exceed 100 but we want to make sure everyone gets an opportunity to make their submissions. Please get those nominations in and check Staffnet and Staffnet+ for updates over the next two weeks.   

Thanks as always for your work this week. Diolch yn fawr pawb.

Rob.