Tuesday 1st July 2008
(ref:
195/2008)
The work of twelve top council teams that have made a huge difference to local life has been celebrated at a special awards night.
Wigan Council’s annual team of the year ceremony showcases the dedicated hard work being done by hundreds of its employees across the borough.
To backroom staff and front line workers alike, the message was clear: you do a fabulous job that may not always get recognised but is making real improvements to the quality of services provided by the council.
The overall ‘team of the year’ was the Wigan in Bloom steering group. The team has been responsible for the glorious displays of flowers and shrubs across the borough, culminating in three regional North West in Bloom awards last year at the first time of trying.
The council launched the awards to celebrate the way local authority employees work together to provide high quality services for the residents of the borough.
Speaking at the ceremony held at Wigan’s Investment Centre, council chief executive Joyce Redfearn said:
“These awards demonstrate the huge amount of hard work being done by dedicated public servants who give their utmost to improve the quality of local life.
“Our teams have been active in so many ways: helping to tackle inequality, reshaping and improving services and making our borough a better place to live.
“Our winning team has won praise from all quarters for the way they have brightened up our grass verges and green spaces. But while we had a winner on the night, in a sense every team nominated was a winner. The judges were very impressed at the level of commitment shown by council staff across the board.”
Teams were nominated in four separate categories. Winners in the category of raising aspirations and creating opportunities were the Learning Agreement Pilot Team who have successfully introduced a scheme that has led to over 500 young people signing up for a recognised training qualification.
Also highly commended were the Information, Advice and Guidance Service, who have helped more than 1,850 people progress to learning and education, and the Street Scene team, which has been raising awareness about litter dropping in schools across the borough.
In the joining up services category, the winners were the Wigan Partnership for Older People’s Projects (POPP), which has helped the borough’s older residents to find out about the best services for them at the right time.
Commended were the Smokefree task group, a group of council and health employees who joined forces to ensure that traders were aware of the national smoking restrictions, and the Benefits Section who have found innovative and accessible ways of helping people claim benefits.
Overall winners in the climate change and sustainability category were the team that went on to win the top award, the Wigan in Bloom steering group. Also commended were the street lighting team, which has made real cuts in carbon emissions through the use of energy-efficient power, and the Extended Learning Team for its dedication to recycling.
In the category developing the organisation the environmental services helpline – better known to residents as 01942 404364 - scooped the top award for the helpful way it deals with literally thousands of queries from the public on everything from missed bins to dog fouling.
Commended were the Income Collection Team for having the best record in the whole of Greater Manchester on the length of time taken to collect income – twice as fast as the county average - and the Contract and Projects Team for implementing new ways of providing the vital home care service.
Council cabinet members presented the awards to the winning teams and commented on the excellent service provided. Council leader Peter Smith said:
“This is a real occasion for celebrating the hard work of our employees that doesn’t always get noticed but is really appreciated by councillors of all parties who are elected to serve the public.”
