The APSE Awards are to recognise the best in public services and to share that best practice with all. In 2021 APSE received an overwhelming 320 submissions for the Awards, with each one demonstrating a clear commitment to the goals of continuous improvement and the delivery of excellence in public services. The APSE Awards are specific to frontline services provided by UK local authorities. The Awards are agreed by a panel of expert judges.

Caerphilly County Borough Council were shortlisted for the Award for Best Service Team: Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Regulatory Services, for their Contact Tracing Service.

The Councils Test, Trace and Protect team was created in unprecedented times to deliver community based contact tracing, employing local people to support the community during the pandemic.

The aim of the service was to work collaboratively to set up a Contact Tracing service to assist the social and economic recovery of our communities, in a way that is safe and protects our NHS and social care teams. Caerphilly started its service with a team of forty redeployed staff using a remote working model.

The team now operate a high performing, sophisticated contact tracing service, which is vital to our Covid response and offering comprehensive support and advice to our citizens to assist them in complying with self-isolation requirements to help to keep our communities safe.

The APSE Awards are to recognise the best in public services and to share that best practice with all. In 2021 APSE received an overwhelming 320 submissions for the Awards, with each one demonstrating a clear commitment to the goals of continuous improvement and the delivery of excellence in public services. The APSE Awards are specific to frontline services provided by UK local authorities. The Awards are agreed by a panel of expert judges.

Caerphilly County Borough Council won the award for Best Service Team: Catering Service, for the response to delivering free school meals during the pandemic.

In March 2020, the Welsh Government announced that all schools would close with immediate effect due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Caerphilly County Borough Council was faced with the challenge of how they would provide a service to over 6,243 Free School Meals pupils.

The local authority catering team showed true entrepreneurship, creativity and strong leadership skills by implementing a FSM home delivery service that involved partnership working with local suppliers and over 20 service areas within the authority.

The APSE Awards are to recognise the best in public services and to share that best practice with all. In 2021 APSE received an overwhelming 320 submissions for the Awards, with each one demonstrating a clear commitment to the goals of continuous improvement and the delivery of excellence in public services. The APSE Awards are specific to frontline services provided by UK local authorities. The Awards are agreed by a panel of expert judges.

Caerphilly County Borough Council were shortlisted for the award for Best Service Team: Sports, Leisure and Cultural Services, for the teams incredible attitude towards redeployment during the pandemic.

During a period of unprecedented challenge, the Sport & Leisure Services Team in Caerphilly did not only continue to deliver a broad and diverse range of outstanding sport and active recreation opportunities but have flexed and mobilised its resources to support the Councils’ response to Covid-19.

Caerphilly Council and Gwent Police have joined forces to launch an innovative joint leadership programme aimed at developing a new generation of bold and innovative leaders.

The initiative, called ‘MeUs’, was launched on Wednesday 7th July 2021 by Jane Hutt, Minister for Social Justice.

MeUs is the brainchild of Christina Harrhy (CCBC Chief Executive) and Pam Kelly (Chief Constable of Gwent Police) who share an aspiration to develop an ambitious leadership programme to ensure senior managers are equipped with the highest levels of skills and competencies.

Eight employees from across both organisations will form the first ever cohort to take part in the programme – four from Caerphilly council and four from Gwent Police. The 12 month leadership programme will be delivered by the University of South Wales and the initial consort will be instrumental in helping to shape the direction and content of the course for participants in future.

The Welsh Local Government Decarbonisation Planning Review on the current state of Decarbonisation Planning in Welsh Local Government analysed interventions listed in councils’ Decarbonisation plans were according to four priority areas including Buildings, Mobility and Transport, Procurement, and Land Use. These areas reflect the priority areas identified by Welsh Government Net Zero Carbon 2030 for public sector.  

Caerphilly County Borough Council has sought to develop a 20MW solar farm on previously privately owned land taken on by the council. The project is projected to cost £12 million over its estimated 35-year lifespan. The farm is expected to produce enough energy to power approximately 6,000 homes annually.

During the third week of March Caerphilly CBC wrote to all 70,000 plus households in the county borough offering support for people concerned about the UK Government advice to self-isolate if over 70, or with an underlying health condition, if they felt they would be unable to cope with daily shopping or picking up prescriptions. 1560 older and vulnerable adults rang the dedicated helpline asking for support. At the same time a call to action was issued to staff able to help as volunteers to provide an immediate response. Over 590 staff eventually ended up acting as Buddies being matched with up to 10 older and vulnerable adults/families each. As accessing cash was a difficulty, and no WCVA cash handling guidance existed at that time, corporate credit cards and petty cash access was set up at short notice to prevent allegations of financial abuse and fraud. Residents were invoiced at a later date for shopping bought on their behalf. At the same time the Council provided enhanced DBS checked drivers to local pharmacies to help with deliveries of medication as normal driver services were not operational. As the lockdown eased and shielding ended many staff have continued to maintain a befriending role with the people they have been supporting. The scheme is now working with the voluntary sector and local community groups to support the lesser number of people still requiring support through the Community Regeneration Team working with the local CVC. A jointly appointed Volunteer Coordinator is helping to manage the Buddy Scheme with a view to developing a more formal corporate volunteering scheme as a legacy. The Community Regeneration Team are working closely with local community COVID volunteer groups particularly in helping isolated people registered on the Buddy Scheme become more connected to their communities.

Llancaiach Fawr Manor is a tourist attraction located in Nelson, Caerphilly which portrays life in 1645 through live interpretation to approximately 60,000 visitors and school children each year. There are also conference rooms, an education centre, a café, restaurant and gift shop.

During the lockdown period, the majority of staff volunteered to be redeployed to the buddy scheme, to pick up prescriptions and shopping for the vulnerable residents of the county borough who were shielding. Others joined the Track and Trace Programme Team.

The education centre has been temporarily repurposed as a distribution hub. Donations are collected by staff and parcels created for delivery to food banks.

The bar and restaurant have been utilised for the provision of a childcare hub run in partnership with the Caerphilly County Borough Council Youth Service, School and Music service, Arts Development Team and Healthy Schools Service to ease childcare issues during the summer holidays for Blue Light Workers.

Preparations for the ‘new normal’ have included delivering workshops online and providing an outreach service to schools. The café has re-opened and the formal gardens and patio area furnished with outdoor seating. Take away meals and Sunday lunches have gone from strength to strength. 

Gwent Police were having a number of issues with young people not following lockdown rules and contacted Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Youth Services for their support in engaging with young people. It was agreed that police and the Council’s youth outreach staff would undertake joint patrols to engage young people about COVID–19 safety precautions. This also enabled youth services and police to check on their welfare and provide additional support if required. Youth Service staff have been out with police 2 – 3 times per week, working with different neighbourhood policing teams across the borough.  The patrols focused on areas where anti-social behaviour has been identified or where groups of young people have been seen. There were a few initial difficulties as some young people were not so keen to talk with talking to police, but this was overcome due to youth worker being with them and encouraging the young people to engage. There has been a reduced level of anti-social behaviour across the borough, and there have been less sightings of young people, which has led to the amount of support required by police being reduced.

“Great partnership work...supporting young people during this time...we must be proactive...and not just wait for issues to be raised...being visible will provide reassurance and encourage young people to reengage with us...” Chief Constable Pam Kelly, Gwent Police @GP_PamKelly