Robs Weekly Round Up

24 November 2023

Dear colleagues,  

I’d like to start this week by commending all those colleagues who have pledged their support for White Ribbon Day today either online or in person at the Civic Offices.  

White Ribbon Day exists to engage men and boys in ending violence against women and girls. This year’s #ChangeTheStory campaign is more frank than ever. This is not an easy subject for people to discuss but it is one that we must all confront in order for women and girls to live their lives free from the fear of violence. 

Christopher Nunn and Julie Grady have been taking part in conversations with colleagues and members of the public all day. Speaking to them earlier today really brought home to me the importance of never excusing or remaining silent if you have any concerns about the way people are being treated. Thanks both for today, and to all of those across our Housing, Social Services, and Safer Vale teams, who I know do so much day in and day out to support those residents of the Vale at risk of violence.  

If you weren’t able to make it to the Civic today but want to learn more about White Ribbon Day and how you can support then you can find out more via the links on StaffNet+ and our social media pages.  

This has been another significant week in funding news for our Council. On Wednesday the UK Chancellor made his Autumn Statement. Although our budget will be determined by the settlement the Council receives from Welsh Government any new funding announced in the House of Commons would have had an impact on funding to Wales. There was sadly no sign of new funding to support the acute pressures on social care and education. However, the decision to unfreeze Local Housing Allowance rates was certainly welcome and will I hope enable our Housing team to better support those at risk of homelessness.  

We did have some better funding news earlier in the week however. On Monday morning the Leader and I heard the news that the Council had been successful in bidding for £19.8m in Levelling Up Funding for the further regeneration of Barry. Alongside the Transforming Towns funding that was secured last month we are now in a position to make some significant improvements to infrastructure in the Vale’s largest town and help drive greater prosperity and improve prospects and the wellbeing of residents.  

Earlier today, along with the Leader, Deputy Leader and colleagues from our Place team, I met with Fay Jones MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Wales. We discussed in detail our plans for Barry at the Dock Office and took the short walk over to the site of the intended Waterfront Marina. Compiling and submitting our LUF bid was a genuine Team Vale effort with colleagues from Finance and Legal Services playing critical roles alongside the regeneration leads in our Place team. Everyone involved should be very proud of the work that has gone into securing this funding. The work it enables will undoubtedly have a long legacy in the Vale.  Securing the funding is only one small part of the journey and the hard work now begins, as we aim to transform our plans into reality.  This will need a focussed approach involving colleagues from across the organisation and our partners.   

No one plays a greater role in shaping the future of the Vale than those colleagues working in our schools. As a Council our ambitions to make this a more inclusive Vale for future generations is well documented and so it was fantastic to see several of our schools in attendance at the Diversity and Anti-Racist Professional Learning conference this week. The theme was ‘Creating an Anti-Racist Culture in Schools’. The Vale schools in attendance were explicit in how they are creating a more anti-racist culture in their schools. The Victoria Primary School headteacher, Samantha Daniels, and ALNCO, Charlotte Davies, delivered a presentation on the anti-racist action they have taken and how they’re increasing their staff and pupil’s level of racial literacy. Da iawn Victoria Primary, and da iawn to other Vale schools who are becoming experts in Anti-Racist Action Research. 

Our Learning Links Manager, Martine Booker-Southard, also delivered a presentation on the action research that has been carried out in the Vale, and delivered a response to the question “To what extent does professional learning for schools contribute to Wales becoming an anti-racist nation?” If you are interested in finding out more about this research, Martine will be exploring this topic at the upcoming Diverse meeting next Tuesday November 28, at Holton Road Primary School. 

Most staff will by now be aware of the significant and ongoing work to transfer various internal systems to newer, more effective platforms. While all of these projects will result in easier and more efficient ways of working, there is often a lot of work required behind the scenes to make the transition as smooth as possible. In this context it was great to hear this week not just about another successful migration but one that was done so smoothly it attracted praise from our auditors, not often the easiest people to please! The transfer of debtors accounts from the old Oracle system into Academy that took place in March 2023 saw the lowest level of unallocated payments the auditor in question had ever seen. This is high praise indeed for our Income Management and Accounts teams and very well deserved for their hard work. Diolch yn fawr pawb.  

Many of you will already seen our work this week to celebrate Carers Rights Day, which took place on Thursday. Every year, Carers UK raise awareness of carers rights. Unpaid carers play a huge role in our communities. I am proud that as an organisation we do so much to support them. This year James Livingston our Carer’s Support Officer has recorded a short video to help promote the support on offer. Thanks James, and the rest of our colleagues working in this area. If you know anyone who you think would qualify as an unpaid carer then please do pass the message on.  

Another group of people who provide invaluable support in our communities are our foster carers. As a Council we are always looking to recruit more foster carers. It can be a hugely rewarding role and if you’d like to know more about the different types of foster care, the journey to become a foster carer, the training and support provided or the rewards fostering can offer then you can meet the Foster Wales Vale of Glamorgan team at their online information session next week. The session takes place on Wednesday 29th November at 7 – 8pm. You can book a space now.  

I’ll end this week with some news that I am sure will be welcomed by everyone. This year’s pay awards for both Teachers and staff on NJC single status grades have been agreed with trade unions. Teachers will receive their new salary in Novembers pay, which will be backdated to 1st September 2023.  Staff on NJC single status grades will receive their new pay in their December payslips, together with backdated pay to 1st April 2023. As always thanks to our Payroll team in HR for working so quickly to ensure staff receive the backpay they are owed as quickly as possible.  

The pay increase will of course have an impact on colleagues pensions. While most people are understandably quick to check their pay and have a good understanding of this aspect of their renumeration, pensions are sometimes overlooked. Our pensions and the retirement they afford us all are still a significant benefit of a career in local government or education and you can find out more about yours by visiting either the Teachers Pensions  or the and Cardiff and Vale LGPS site.  Both sites have really useful information about pensions and don't forget if you are a member of the LGPS scheme you can boost your pension using the salary sacrifice scheme launched earlier this year. 

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

Rob