To consider any communications to be submitted by the Mayor or the Chief Executive.
Minutes:
(a) Council IT Systems
Members were reminded of the serious IT incident the Council suffered on the 5th September, 2018. As an organisation, the issue was dealt with exceptionally well with services reverting seamlessly to their business continuity plans and issues were communicated using a mixture of technology and by colleagues talking to one another.
Thanks were given to several people in the IT team who worked outside their normal remit and hours to deal with the serious problems, and a particular team of individuals who went over and above what would normally be expected of them. The officers worked throughout the night, not leaving the data centre until 5am in a couple of instances, and helped ensure that IT systems were ready for services to start using again the morning after. Thanks were given to Mark Wade, Rob Walker, Steve Furniss, Bryan McDonald, John Mitchell and Glynn Shore for their dedication and commitment.
The Mayor and Members of the Council expressed their congratulations to all concerned in the usual manner.
(b) Yorkshire In Bloom – Barnsley Results 2018
260 communities participated in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Yorkshire in Bloom regional competition this summer.
Barnsley welcomed 6 new groups, taking the In Bloom family to a staggering 28 entries. New entries were submitted this year into the categories of Parks & Open Spaces, Young Peoples Award & It’s Your Neighbourhood.
All the entries were judged on community participation, environmental awareness and horticultural quality, and at the Yorkshire in Bloom event in York, Barnsley received 31 awards. These included three Platinum and 11 Gold Awards and three Discretionary awards given by the Yorkshire in Bloom Executive.
The three outstanding awards were:-
Team Green Moor gained Gold and was category winner for Small village, Best Overall Village, and Joint Best New Entry;
Carlton Marsh Nature Reserve received Platinum award and Best Conservation Project; and
Oxspring Primary School was Gold and Category Winner out of 23 schools in Yorkshire.
It was recognised that groups in Barnsley continue to work tirelessly year after year and the awards showed the commitment to improving local areas for the benefit of everyone. A huge thanks was given to the Parks Team for the invaluable support to our community groups, with Janet Sutton and Paul Marsh specifically mentioned.
The Mayor and Members of the Council expressed their thanks to all involved in the usual manner.