To consider any communications to be submitted by the Mayor or the Chief Executive.
Minutes:
(a) Inspection Outcomes across Children’s Services
The Chief Executive announced that services operating within Barnsley Councils Children’s Services directorate had undergone a number of positive inspections this year, under regulatory bodies OFSTED and HMI Probation. This had included an inspection of Youth Justice Services, which received an overall good rating, and a full ILACS inspection, which was also rated overall as good. In addition, there had also been an Early Years Inspection of the Childcare on site at Thurnscoe Family Centre, which was assessed as outstanding and most recently an Ofsted Inspection of Newsome Avenue, a short break facility graded as good.
She added that staff operating within frontline services were often the first port of call for the most vulnerable children, young people and families, and the workforce worked tremendously hard to contain the increasing demand for children’s services, provide support at the earliest possible opportunity and support children, families and communities to develop resilience and skills to support each other as children grow and progress into adulthood. She said that children were our future citizens, and this was a tremendous achievement by all staff and partners involved in the inspection processes.
The Chief Executive gave recognition for the contributions made by the service and individual staff members who contributed towards the day-to-day work which was assessed to arrive at these good and outstanding judgements and worked hard on a daily basis to ensure that children and families receive the best possible services.
Thanks were given to the Thurnscoe Family Centre nursery staff, Youth Justice Service staff, Newsome Avenue Childrens Home Staff, Children’s Services staff, and wider stakeholders who contributed to this.
The Leader added his thanks to all staff involved in delivering the services mentioned, which were echoed by a number of Members.
(b) IRRV Revenues Team of the Year – Corporate Debt
Team – Operational Finance
The Chief Executive announced that the
Council’s Corporate Debt Team had been selected as finalists
in three categories at this year’s Institute of Rating
Revenue and Valuation National Awards and won the most prestigious
award of the evening ‘Revenues Team of the
Year’. This was an amazing
achievement.
The team evidenced how they achieved high levels of customer satisfaction, whilst delivering efficient and effective processes that protected the public purse and ensured value for money.
They had implemented the Financial Vulnerability Index that had revolutionised how the Council collected council tax, whilst protecting the most vulnerable; driven automations which allowed teams to focus on providing value to our customers, improving customer engagement whilst reducing statutory collections activity and the cost of collection.
She added that a mix of people and process and a strong culture of continuous improvement supported by clear performance created excellence, and this team was a shining example of this.
The Chief Executive gave recognition for the contributions made by the Service and individual staff members in winning this prestigious award. Thanks was given to the following staff present in the chamber:-
Lucie White, Gemma Pring, Steven Hirst, Donna Slater, Kimberley Dack, Katy Broadhead, Lisa Spurgeon, and Tilly Fieldhouse.
Councillor Frost, and the Leader added their thanks to those involved.
(c) Working together to help those affected by Storm Babet
The Chief Executive reminded members that on Friday 22 September, Storm Babet made its way to Barnsley, bringing with it memories of the catastrophic floods of 2019 and putting Barnsley’s emergency resilience to the test.
Sadly, the impact of the storms in some communities was devastating, with properties in Lundwood and the Ings Lane Caravan Site suffering internal flooding. However, the Council’s teams were a constant presence out in the community, offering reassurance and support to residents.
Over the days following, many of the council teams showed that strong Barnsley spirit that the borough was known for. She asked Members of the Council to join her in thanking Council staff, Berneslai Homes staff and partners for their quick response and hard work in keeping people safe.
Councillor Higginbottom added his thanks to all partners for their contribution and provided an update to Members with regards to how flood defences had improved the situation compared to previous years, noting that some properties had unfortunately been affected. He noted that plans were in place to continue to improve defences and mitigate against high rainfall volume in a number of areas.
A number of other Members praised the work of officers and volunteers involved in supporting the efforts in their communities.