To consider any communications to be submitted by the Mayor or the Chief Executive.
Minutes:
(a) Investors in People Silver Award
The Chief Executive reported that she was extremely pleased and proud to announce that the Council had been awarded the Investors in People Silver Standard which was a wonderful achievement and demonstrated the commitment to realising the potential of the people it employed.
Investors in People was the UK’s leading accreditation for business improvement through people management and provided a wealth of resources for businesses to innovate, improve and grow, with a focus on good people making great business.
Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People nationally said ‘Achieving the Investors in People /Silver Standard is something that any organisation should be truly proud of. It is a sign of a company which is committed to good people management practice and we’d like to congratulate Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council on their achievement’.
Steve Burrows, Managing Director of Investors in People North of England said ‘this is a fantastic achievement for Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and I would like to congratulate them on their success. With their Silver accreditation, the Council is certainly working to realise their people potential’.
The Chief Executive asked to place on record her personal thanks and appreciation to all staff who, with their hearts and minds, had made this achievement and the success of the Council possible over the last few years.
Amanda Glue and Alex Longley from the Organisational Development Team who had put in a lot of hard work to enable the Council to achieve this Silver Award were present in the Council Chamber.
The Mayor and Members of the Council expressed, in the usual manner, their congratulations to all involved in this excellent achievement.
(b) Helen Jaggar – Chief Executive of the Year Award
The Chief Executive was delighted to inform Members of the Council that Helen Jaggar, Chief Executive of Berneslai Homes, had recently won the Chief Executive of the Year Award at the National 24 Housing Awards.
Under Helen’s leadership, Berneslai Homes had developed significantly to become a high performing leading Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO). Helen had many titles and roles both nationally and regionally and was a key partner for the Council here in Barnsley.
The Chief Executive was delighted Helen’s hard work and expertise had been recognised in achieving this award. It was great news of Berneslai Homes, for Barnsley but most importantly, for the tenants.
Helen Jaggar was present in the Council Chamber this morning.
The Mayor and Members of the Council expressed, in the usual manner, their congratulations to Helen for this excellent and outstanding achievement.
(c) Development Management and Building Control – Customer Service Excellence
The Chief Executive was pleased to announce that the Planning and Building Control Service had retained the Customers Service in Excellence Accreditation following an independent external assessment.
The assessor singled out how well the Unit understood its customer groups and responded to their varying needs. Customer focus was a really important element of the Future Council initiative so it was pleasing to hear that this Unit really understood its customers. This had resulted in the Service achieving a compliance plus assessment in that area which was a standard rarely awarded by the body.
The Chief Executive asked to formally acknowledge and thank all members of staff within the Planning and Control Unit for their continued commitment to customer services which was reflected by this award. Mark Caddick, who was unfortunately not able to be in the Chamber this morning, had been the main driving force behind this accreditation and he was thanked for his hard work and dedication to the Council.
The Mayor and Members of the Council expressed, in the usual manner, their congratulations to all involved in this excellent achievement.
(d) Elsecar Park and Local Nature Reserve
The Chief Executive reported that as part of the National Green Flag Campaign for quality parks and green spaces, people were encouraged to vote for their local park to help find the ‘Nation’s favourite’. Elsecar Park and Local Nature Reserve came 11th out of 1,500 entries making it the only park in Yorkshire in the top 20 to be recognised and putting it ahead of others in London, Scotland and across the midlands. This was a great achievement.
Along with the numerous Yorkshire in Bloom gold awards, it was great to know that the park was recognised nationally and showed that local people were hugely proud of the park and its facilities.
To celebrate this achievement a number of volunteers and others were in the Council Chamber this morning including Pat and Richard Sullivan, Janet Gillott, June Turner, Jillian Hansman , Janet Cartwright and from the Parks Service, Jo Birch, Mick Hall, Terry Woods and Russ Boland. This was a fantastic achievement and an example of the community and the Council working together to achieve so much.
The Mayor and Members of the Council expressed, in the usual manner, their congratulations to all involved in this excellent achievement.
(e) Archives Service Place of Deposit Status
The Chief Executive reported that Barnsley Archive Service had been appointed an approved place of deposit for public records under Section 4 of the Public Records Act 1958. Because of the nature of these records, they were required by Central Government to be held by Local Authority Archive Services that met certain standards with regard to security and access. They included the records of Barnsley Magistrates Court and its predecessors dating back to the 19th Century, as well as records relating to local healthcare which went back to the foundation of the Barnsley Beckett Hospital in the 1860’s.
This approval was a welcome addition to the many accolades that the Experience Barnsley Museum and Discovery Centre had received since opening in 2013 and recognition of Barnsley’s commitment to preserving and making available archives relating to the history and development of the Borough which was close to the hearts of all Members.
The Chief Executive congratulated the Archives Team, Paul Stebbing, David Blunden, Michael Hardy, Gill Nixon and Mark Levitt for all their hard work and their amazing achievement.
The Mayor and Members of the Council expressed, in the usual manner, their congratulations to all involved in this excellent achievement.
(f) Trans Pennine Trail
The Chief Executive was pleased to inform Members of the Council that the Trans Pennine Trail had recently won the Uk’s ‘favourite long distance route’ as voted for by the public.
Along the route, Barnsley had a good section linking many of the Borough’s key visitor attractions and beautiful countryside. Barnsley Council was also the home of the Strategic Team of the Trans Pennine Trail.
Thanks were extended to the Strategic Team and to Mandy Loach and Hannah Beaumont but also to Sarah Ford the Public Rights of Way Officer for all their hard work in continuing to promote and develop the Trans Pennine Trail.
The Mayor and Members of the Council expressed, in the usual manner, their congratulations to all involved in this excellent achievement.
Various members of the Council then asked to place on record their congratulations.
Councillor Howard, Cabinet Member without Portfolio expressed her particular thanks to those staff involved in achieving the IiP Silver Award. She commented on the ways in which the Authority invested in its staff, the training programmes that were available and the support provided. She also asked to congratulate through the work of the Member Development Working Party officers for the way in which they worked with Members to ensure that they too benefitted from the same support and training opportunities. The work of Amanda Glue and her Team was also very much appreciated who ensured that there was a thread that ran through the whole Council to provide the same support for Members and Officers alike.
Councillor Bruff, Cabinet Spokesperson for People (Safeguarding) in congratulating all involved expressed her particular thanks to the staff involved in achieving the IiP Award as she was aware of the very hard work which had had to be undertaken to get the Silver Award. This was a real accolade for the Council and for the Town.
Councillor Shepherd, Deputy Mayor, also expressed his congratulations but particularly to those involved at Elsecar Park and Local Nature Reserve. Whilst the Park had come 11th out of 1,500 entries, efforts were being made to improve on this position and to this end further developments were being undertaken to the Park, the Café, the Children’s Play area and to the entrance. In addition, Elsecar Park and Nature Reserve was now included as part of the Elsecar Heritage Centre and Conservation area. His thanks then went to the Friends of Elsecar Park who raised so much finance to assist in development and running of the Park and who worked so hard to ensure the long term success.
Councillor Sir Steve Houghton CBE, Leader of the Council was immensely proud at the successes achieved. He made particular reference to the hard work undertaken to achieve the IiP Silver Award status; the work of Helen Jaggar and Berneslai Homes in managing, on behalf of the Council, the housing stock which had resulted in Helen being awarded Chief Executive of the Year Award; and the hard work of everyone which had resulted in the successes as now reported.
He went on to comment that these successes were all the more remarkable considering the huge changes that the Council had gone through over recent years. It showed what could be achieved by working together. He made particularly reference to the dedication and hard work of the staff who had seen tremendous changes to their work place, in some cases, their terms and conditions and to the way in which the Council undertook its business. It had been shown that improvements could still be made and this was a testament to the commitment of all those involved. His congratulations went to each an every one of the award winners and also to all staff of the Authority because without them, there simply wouldn’t be a Council and the Borough would be a much poorer place.
Councillor Platts, Cabinet Spokesperson for Communities in congratulating all involved expressed particular thanks to the staff of the Parks Service and to all volunteers and Friends Groups who contributed so much to the work of the Service without whose help the Council would struggle to maintain such areas.
Councillor Miller, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place asked to place on record his thanks and appreciation to all those staff working within the Place Directorate for their hard work, dedication and commitment often, under extreme difficulties. He made particular reference to the staff of the Archives Service and to the development work that was currently being undertaken. He also drew Members attention to the Barnsley Calendar for 2016 which would go on sale in the Museum Shop from 1st December, 2015 priced £4.95.
Councillor Hand-Davis referred to the work of the staff involved with the Trans Pennine Trail which was a jewel in the crown for tourism in Barnsley and which was a testimony to the work of the late former Councillor Robin Norbury whose dream it had been to develop the Trail. The Trail was used by all manner of people each and every day and his thanks and appreciation for their hard work and dedication went to the Team and all staff involved.