 We’ve received an incredible number of Be Brilliant ‘thank you’ nominations so far and we’d like you to help us to continue to celebrate our fantastic workforce!
As part of the Be Brilliant campaign, we are launching case studies which celebrate both brilliant work and best practice in the Council.
We don’t want to lose the brilliant way we do things and want to harness our collective knowledge and experiences so they can be used to help inform and shape service planning for the new councils.
Each Monday, we will be shining a spotlight on either a colleague or team that highlights their brilliant work.
And what’s a more appropriate way to kick things off than to showcase the hard work of one of our teams.
Team of the week: The ICT Team
As you will all be aware, we have recently been experiencing disruption to a number of our ICT Systems including emails, the service centre telephony, council website, intranet (InTouch) and a number of internal applications.
Our ICT Team have been working tirelessly since Friday morning and over the weekend to resolve the issue, working closely with colleagues that run our front line 24/7 services, the Service Centre, Digital, Payroll, Communications and others, to help better understand the extent of the outage, liaise with the external supplier to identify solutions, test the restored applications and ensure staff, members and the public are kept regularly updated.
When so much of the work we do relies on technology, it is understandably frustrating to not be able to access systems, but our colleagues continue to work hard and determinedly to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
Thanks to good collaborative working when faced with a cross-organisational issue, the vast majority of Council systems, intranet and external website are now back up and running.
ICT engineers are doing all they can to restore email to the remainder of colleagues (about 11% of the Council) affected by email disruption.
A big thank you from me for your efforts so far.
If you have any examples of brilliant work and best practice you would like to put forward, let us know by filling in the 'Be Brilliant' case study form, emailing BeBrilliant@cumbria.gov.uk or you can send your colleague a special ‘Be Brilliant’ thank you message.
John Metcalfe – Chief Executive
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Westmorland and Furness Council have announced that it has appointed Pam Duke as its new Director of Resources (S151 Officer).
This is subject to Council approval on the 28th September and will be the second permanent appointment for the new Council. Pam will start her new role on 31 December 2022.
Pam is presently the Director of Finance for Cumbria County Council and has been in that role for the last 15 months. Prior to that she was the Assistant Director responsible for Cumbria Care. She is an experienced and inspirational senior leader with significant experience of strategic and operational leadership and management across varied disciplines. She is a very experienced finance professional and has a strong track record in delivering transformational change including building an effective organisational culture and developing high performing teams.
In her new role she will have the statutory financial stewardship and advisor role (including Internal Audit) alongside responsibility for managing the Councils finances, assets (including fleet) and capital programme, commissioning and procurement responsibilities, risk and the Cumbria Local Government Pension Scheme.
As part of the overall LGR programme she will continue to support the Finance and Commercial elements of the programme and discussions are ongoing to review the approach for suitable interim arrangements for the County Council Director of Finance role from 1 January 2023 – 31 March 2023.
The appointment of the Director of Resources including S151 role is a Member decision, via the Councils Chief Officer Committee
Commenting on her appointment, Pam Duke said
"I’m really pleased to have been offered the Director of Resources (S151) role for Westmorland and Furness Council. It is a fantastic opportunity to influence and help shape our collective future. It is also a unique opportunity to work with the new leadership team and elected members to bring together existing teams to develop a successful organisation with all the complexity and challenges that will bring but also the enthusiasm and appetite for change. It feels good to be able to see the LGR process through into delivery.
"I feel really proud to have been the Director of Finance for Cumbria County Council working with a brilliant team both within my service area and the wider leadership teams. Add to that working with partner organisations and supporting all of our elected members means it has been a real privilege to be in the role working with fantastic colleagues".
Image description: Head and shoulders image of Pam Duke
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At a meeting of the Council’s Cabinet last week, Members spoke about how exceptionally grateful they are to all staff for continuing to deliver outstanding services for the people of Cumbria despite the pressures of LGR. They recognise and appreciate that many people will be feeling uncertain and anxious about the future and wanted to pass on their heartfelt thanks for all that you are doing to prepare for the new councils coming into effect on 1 April 2023.
Cllr Patricia Bell also wanted to give particular thanks to colleagues within Adult Social Care who worked to TUPE transfer staff from a failed domiciliary care provider to ensure continuity of service to vulnerable adults.
Members were also updated on the council’s performance over the last 12 months which showcases some brilliant examples of work that have been completed linked to our Council Plan priorities.
Some areas that were highlighted and congratulated within the corporate performance report are:
Improvements to our highways reporting system. Following extensive engagement with the public, parish and town councils and Members, colleagues have made various improvements to the way that people can get in touch to report issues and defects and then be kept up to date on the status of their report. The improved Highways Information Management System has been well received by those that use it with our customers rating the service 3.9 stars out of 5.
Thanks to proactive community safety work by Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, the number of accidental dwelling fires has reduced over the last 12 months. There is continually ongoing work to reduce the instances of accidental primary dwelling fires in Cumbria such as supporting local and national campaigns, the introduction of the Service’s online home fire safety check and spreading the word about fire safety in the home to a range of communities.
The Council received top level funding from the Department for Transport which means that we have received 100% of the available ‘incentive fund’ from government and therefore have the same level of funding as we had in 2021/22 which is £36m a year. The Department for Transport awards incentive funding annually based on the performance of our highways service in five key areas. These include:
- asset management policy and strategy
- communications
- performance management and maintenance
- asset data management
- lifecycle planning
The scheme rewards councils that demonstrate that they are following an asset management approach and adopting best value and efficient practices to help manage its highway infrastructure.
If you’ve been involved in these or any other project or programme listed in the report, well done!
Image description: Cumbria County Council logo.
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Join John Metcalfe, Chief Executive on Monday 10 October at 12pm for his next 'Chat with John' session, held on MS Teams.
These sessions provide all council staff with an opportunity to talk directly to John about the things that are important to you. You can ask questions, or just listen in.
How to join:
Please keep the time free in your diary, email chatwithjohn@cumbria.gov.uk and you’ll be sent a MS Teams link. We'll have to limit the number of attendees so if you ask to join but there isn't space you'll be invited to the next one.
Image description: Head and shoulders image of John Metcalfe
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Chairman, Cllr Andy Connell, is running a prize draw for staff in September, with three brilliant prizes up for grabs:
- A bed and breakfast stay for two people at North Lakes Hotel & Spa (kindly donated by North Lakes – valid until 31/03/2023)
- Two ‘GoApe Forest Segway Experience’ vouchers (valid until 26/08/2023)
- A £30 ‘LOVE2SHOP’ gift voucher
You can enter the prize draw for £3 per entry, with all proceeds raised going to the Chairman’s chosen charity, Oaklea Trust.
Oaklea Trust is a great local charity which does a wonderful job across our county helping people with learning and physical disabilities discover their potential and lead fulfilling, independent lives.
If you’d like to enter the prize draw, please email joely.ewbank@cumbria.gov.uk with the number of entries that you wish to purchase; you will then be sent a payment link.
Winners will be randomly selected this coming Friday (30 September) and contacted the same day.
Thank you for your support and good luck!
Image description: The word 'winner' in gold balloons alongside wording that reads: Chairman's prize draw, fantastic prizes up for grabs, £3 per entry, in aid of Oaklea Trust
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The admission process for pupils due to enter year 7, reception or transfer to junior school in September 2023 is now open.
If you work with families with school-age children, please be aware of the upcoming deadlines and how to apply.
School admission application deadlines:
- For secondary applications – 31 October 2022
- For starting primary school or transfer to junior school (Y3) – 15 January 2023
The school admissions application process and guidance can be found on the Cumbria County Council website
Image description: School children in a classroom with their hands up.
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Cumbria County Council staff will be able to receive their annual FREE flu vaccine from their nearest community pharmacy.
All you have to do is visit your nearest community pharmacy in Cumbria with your county council photo ID and you’ll be able to receive your free flu jab.
If you don’t have your county council photo ID, you’ll need to provide other proof of your place of employment.
Participating pharmacies will ask whether you’re eligible for a free NHS influenza vaccine. If you are, you will be treated as an NHS patient and documented accordingly.
The pharmacist will seek your consent to receive the flu vaccine, and for the details of the vaccination to be shared with your employer and, if appropriate, your GP practice.
Image description: A vial of flu vaccine.
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The national campaign, organised by The Climate Coalition, is an opportunity to celebrate what actions are being taken to tackle climate change and protect nature, explore what more we can do, and encourage others to get involved.
All this week, events and activities will be taking place across Cumbria including repair cafes, bulb planting, reading groups, film screenings, litter picks and workshops.
Find one happening near you by visiting the Cumbria Action for Sustainability website.
Image description: Illustration shows groups of people taking part in climate action. Text reads: The Great Big Green Week is here!
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Over 50 Years Old? It’s time to avoid retirement regret!
Our partners AVC Wise are running a NEW webinar to help you understand the importance of planning for your retirement, including how our Shared Cost AVC Benefit could help you make valuable savings
Webinar dates:
- 27 September at 14.30
- 3 October at 10.30
- 4 October at 17.30
More dates and times are available!
Visit the AVC Wise website for more information and to book a place on one of the webinar sessions.
Image description: Yellow alarm clock with a hand reaching down towards it.
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Did your child (or someone you work with) take part in Cumbria's Holiday Activity and Food Programme? If so, we want to hear from you!
Even if they didn't, you can help by telling us your thoughts on the programme.
Complete our 5-minute survey for the chance to win a £50 Argos voucher. Not only will you be in with a chance of winning a £50 voucher, your feedback will help to shape Cumbria's Holiday Activity and Food Programme to ensure its success.
Take the survey today!
Image description: A child kicking a football. Another football can be seen in the foreground and children can be seen in the background lining up on the back wall watching the child kicking the ball.
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Frontline health and care workers, immunosuppressed people, and people aged over 65 are being invited to book their autumn booster for the first ever variant-targeted vaccine on the NHS.
The Autumn booster can be booked now through the National Booking Service.
For more information, visit the NHS website.
Image description: NHS COVID booster graphic. Graphic contains the HM Government logo along with the NHS logo. Graphic reads: Boost your immunity with the Flu vaccine + COVID-19 booster. People Aged 75 (now 65) and over can now book their autumn COVID-19 booster.
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Covid infections are rising again - don't be a spreader
Covid-19 infections are on the rise again in Cumbria. We can all do our bit to prevent infection spreading and the disruption this causes.
- Wash your hands regularly
- If you are in a busy or crowded space, consider wearing a face mask
- Give people space
- Let fresh air in
And remember - if you have Covid-19 symptoms do not come into council offices until your symptoms have ended.
When deciding whether something you are working on should be included in the Weekly News ebulletin, consider whether everyone that works for Cumbria County Council needs to know the information you want to share.
There are other communication channels that may be more appropriate (e.g. Yammer, Directors' blogs); speak to the Communications Team for advice.
Requirements for Weekly News items:
- Maximum word count is 150 words per item.
- All items should be with the Communications Team by midday on Friday, to be included in Monday's bulletin.
To submit an item for Weekly News or for further advice please contact the Communications Team at corporate.messages@cumbria.gov.uk
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