2011 awards
Last updated | 20/06/2011
The 2011 Securing the Future Awards were presented at a ceremony
in Perth Concert Hall on 17 May by Chief Executive Bernadette
Malone, Councillor Ian Miller, Councillor George Hayton, Councillor
Alexander Stewart, Councillor Archie MacLellan, Gerry Marr Chief
Executive of NHS Tayside and Provost John Hulbert.
The 6 categories were:
Category 1 - Customer Focus
Category 2 - Working with Communities
Category 3 - Promoting sustainability
Category 4 - Equalities
Category 5 - Improving services through
partnership
Category 6 - Improving efficiency and quality
In addition the Provost chooses an entry to receive the Provosts Award, a discretionary award for
an exceptional submission in any of the categories.
Category 1 - Customer focus
This category reflects the Council's commitment to putting the
customer at the heart of what we do.
Projects in this category should show that customer-focused
changes have led to improved customer service. There should
be evidence of developing customer insight, understanding of the
user’s experience and measurement of service
satisfaction.
Gold Award Winner - Homeless Service
The Homeless Service has undergone major improvements and
re-design over the past two years. The improvements include the
service’s team plans being reviewed to align them with the
Corporate Plan, Housing & Community Care and the Business
Management Improvement Plan (BMIP).
Silver Award Winner - Ancestry Workshops
The ancestry workshops have given a basic introduction to family
history research and resources available through the library
service and the opportunity to use basic computing skills supported
by the Adult Learning Team.
Category 2 - Working with
communities
Citizens have a role to play in shaping their communities beyond
electing officials to make and implement decisions. Citizens
have the right (and responsibility) to be engaged in the process of
planning, developing and the managing of services.
This could be about a range of issues i.e. tackling the problems
and issues of a neighbourhood, such as crime, drug misuse or about
a lack of play facilities for children.
It is about involving service users in the re-design of services
and improving existing provision. It is around building
stronger safer communities by working with them to address their
needs.
Gold Award Winner - Safe and Sound Scheme (child safety around
dogs)
Perth and Kinross Council is the only UK local authority
educating five and six year-olds about keeping safe around dogs.
The Council’s Dog Control and Welfare Officers find working
with youngsters has a positive effect on other family members and
therefore the wider community.
Silver Award Winner - Residents' Academies
The Housing & Community Care Service is the first in
Scotland to offer ‘Residents’ Academies’. The
Academies give individuals the opportunity to learn about what
Council housing services should deliver and how to constructively
challenge existing practices.
Silver Award Winner - Warhol - Culture and Curriculum for
Excellence Project
An Andy Warhol exhibition was curated especially for Perth
Museum and Art Gallery to attract new audiences. The team worked to
ensure that Warhol’s art brought visitors to Perth and
attracted young people who had never visited the Museum and Gallery
before.
Category 3 - Promoting
sustainability
This category recognises projects that promote sustainable
development and sustainable communities, i.e. social, environmental
and economic benefits will all be demonstrable in the outcomes
being achieved.
Given sustainability’s key role in demonstrating Best
Value, projects may be part of or used for Best Value reviews.
Gold Award Winner - Opening Doors - The Rent Bond Guarantee
Scheme
The Rent Bond Guarantee Scheme is designed to help people
usually excluded from the private rented sector to access this
accommodation. Clients are usually homeless households, people
threatened with homelessness or those reliant on Housing Benefit.
By ensuring sustainable tenancies landlords and tenants
benefit.
Silver Award Winner - The Perth and Kinross Network of Charity
Shops and Reuse
Waste Services identified that a network of charity shops and
reuse projects could be created to share good practice and devise
new initiatives to raise awareness of the reuse sector and drive
down the waste sent to landfill through the reuse of items.
Silver Award Winner - Perth & Kinross Local Development
Plan SEA
The future use and development of land across the Perth and
Kinross is based on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
which enables the Council to realise its aspirations for the
promotion of sustainable development of the right quality and in
the right place
Silver Award Winner – The Earn Project
The Earn Project heralds a move towards a new vision of cost
effective, sustainable support for adults with autism and complex
needs. The project supports people in their own flats in their own
communities rather than providing institutionalised residential
care.
Category 4 - Equalities
Equality is about creating a fairer society where everyone can
participate and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
Perth & Kinross Council has stated its commitment to
equality of opportunity both as a service provider and as an
employer in its Corporate Equalities Policy.
Perth & Kinross Council values the diversity of our
community and works towards providing services that are inclusive
and accessible. The Council recognises that social inclusion
and promoting equality of opportunity and good relations between
different groups can only be achieved by embedding equalities into
the planning and implementation processes for all Council
Services.
Gold Award Winner - All-stars
All-Stars is a specialist educational provision that aims to
transform the lives of children affected by severe social,
emotional and behavioural difficulties resulting from attachment
disorders. The service helps disadvantaged youngsters to
divert their life paths towards positive outcomes.
Silver Award Winner - The Flamingo Club
ȁC;The Flamingo ClubȁD; was a music, film and
theatre performance which was part of the Perth 800 Carnival
Celebration. It was performed by service users with learning
disabilities from various Day Opportunities Centres and accompanied
by world class percussionist Nana Vasconcelos.
Silver Award Winner - The Support Manual - Towards Excellent
Support for Children and Young People
This on-line manual, written in consultation with practitioners
and managers from Perth & Kinross Council is based on best
practice in meeting additional support needs (ASN) in schools. Its
recognition by the Scottish Government and other Authorities
is testament to its worth.
Silver Award Winner - YouthGrow
YouthGrow is a project delivering Rural Skills 'in a classroom
without walls'. The project encourages equality of
opportunity for a range of children, young people and young adults
who are experiencing a range of complex social and/or physical
needs.
Category 5 - Improving services
through partnership
This category reflects the Council’s commitment to
partnership and joint working.
Partnerships can include a wide range of organisations or
individuals from the private, public, community and voluntary
sectors.
Projects in this category should show how they have brought
together the key players in the community to agree joint
objectives, local area agreements or community strategies, and have
brought about significant, measurable change and improvement in the
delivery of services.
Gold Award Winner - Tayside Pathways for short term
Prisoners
The Tayside Inter-Agency protocols were developed as part of a
strategic approach to meet the needs of prisoners at HMP Perth
serving up to four years. The protocols aim to create a seamless
transition between custody and community re-integration.
Silver Award Winner - Perth and Kinross Care Home Activity
Network (CHAN)
The Perth & Kinross Care Home Activity Network (CHAN) was
established to support Care Homes to drive up standards of care and
meet Care Commission inspection requirements to improve the quality
of life for care home residents.
Silver Award Winner - True Grit
The extreme winter conditions experienced in 2010 challenged the
Council’s service delivery and tested its resilience. Without
the dedication and professionalism of Council staff, the impact on
the area during this harsh time could have been severe.
Category 6 - Improving efficiency
and quality
This category reflects the Council’s commitment to
continuous improvement and best use of public resources.
Applications are sought from teams who have successfully changed
their processes or developed a new approach. This change will
have led to tangible service improvement or efficiencies and had a
positive impact on the target customers, whether internal or
external.
Gold Award Winner - Waste Services Procurement Programme
The Waste Services Procurement Programme has transformed the
Council’s management and processing of its waste. The
Programme continues to deliver substantial revenue budget savings
through the procurement of sustainable waste management
contracts.
Silver Award Winner - Care at Home Services
A number of Care at Home service changes have impacted
positively on reducing costs and improving efficiency. Measures
introduced include standardised charging and also a real time
monitoring system which allows the more effective scheduling of
care to meet clients’ needs.
Silver Award Winner - Fast Food Inspections
The Council’s statutory inspection of food businesses
requires the issuing of a report to the business. By moving from
office produced reports to hand written reports issued at time of
inspection, the time spent on administration has been greatly
reduced.
Silver Award Winner - Helping You Home
This project aims is to cut the time clients are delayed in Ward
3 Perth Royal Infirmary when they are ready for discharge. Measures
introduced to achieve this include earlier referrals. So far
the project has reduced delays by two thirds.
Provost’s
Award - True Grit
Across Perth & Kinross Council, the unprecedented cold
weather and extreme winter conditions experienced in November and
December 2010 both challenged our service delivery and tested the
Council’s resilience. Without the dedication, professionalism
and tenacity of our staff, the impact on our citizens and the
economy of Perth & Kinross during this harsh time could have
been severe. The interservice co-ordination and cross service
management effort put into tackling the fall and aftermath from
this weather event together with the physical efforts of staff
working out in atrocious conditions ensured that the citizens of
Perth and Kinross were kept informed, safe and able to access
services.
