Double success for council at prestigious awards

The council had a remarkable double success at the Scottish Awards for Business Excellence 2017, organised by Quality Scotland.

The awards recognise commitment to organisational excellence, continuous improvement and quality.

We collected a prestigious Recognised for Excellence 4 star award. This is awarded between 3 and 5 stars and is based on a points system across a range of European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) ‘Concepts.’ It follows a visit to the council earlier this year by a team of assessors who spoke to employees in interviews and focus groups to find out more about our work. The council also submitted a detailed report with supporting evidence for assessment.

The council’s award reflects that we:

• Perform well and take change seriously
• Get things done and can demonstrate we have invested in practices that will lead to success
• Are going in the right direction

At the awards, it was said that the council “is committed to working with its partners and the people of the community it works within. The organisation is able to demonstrate a full understanding of its customer groups, existing and future, and uses a range of channels to anticipate changing needs. As a strategic focus they have set out four key priorities with the overarching aim to reduce inequalities.   A Transformation Programme is in place, the purpose of which is to move from improvement to excellence and there are lots of examples where staff are encouraged to become involved in improvement and innovation activity.”

We also received Quality Scotland’s Good Practice Award for the ‘Developing Organisational Capability’. The assessors highlighted that the council “clearly has a culture of working in partnership that is deployed right across the organisation,” with partners and staff encouraged “to look at how they can better work with others both inside and outside the organisation”.

The success of our six Area Partnerships was also highlighted, with the assessors remarking that they are “society driven and focus on the benefits to the community and towns that this organisation works in”.

Chief Executive Angela Leitch said:

“This double awards success is fantastic recognition for all of the hard work, collaboration and commitment to continuous improvement which is demonstrated across all East Lothian Council services, employees and our partners.

“The comments made at the awards’ ceremony are greatly encouraging for everyone in the council. It shows we are on the right track in progressing our plan to realise the vision of an even more prosperous, safe and sustainable East Lothian.

“Well done and thank you to all council colleagues who made this possible.”

Council Leader Willie Innes added:

“This is further confirmation that we are high-performing council with a clear plan in place to continue delivering excellent services to local residents. My thanks and congratulations to all council staff for this terrific achievement.”

Iain Clark, Chair of Musselburgh Area Partnership, said:

“It is great to see the council recognised for their collaborative working and the success of the six Area Partnerships. These Partnerships have been a key driver and enabler in East Lothian towards providing communities with greater influence. This structure provides community empowerment at a local level enabling communities to make real differences by delivering key projects in a local partnership working environment which aim to improve local communities and reduce inequalities. It is heartening to see that Area Partnerships and their volunteers have been seen as good practice as they continue to evolve and I congratulate the Council for receiving these awards.”

The EFQM Excellence Model (European Foundation for Quality Management) is the most widely use continuous improvement tool in the world. It can be used by any organisation regardless of size or sector.

The model allows organisation to evaluate their current performance to identify strengths and areas they would like to improve. It provides an overarching framework to guide continuous improvement projects or large transformation programmes and ensure they deliver tangible results.

Statement from Council Leader on return to Chamber

At the recent East Lothian Council meeting, Council Leader Willie Innes made the following statement:

"Provost, I realise that you have a full agenda before you today, but I would appreciate it, if you would allow me to say a few words to mark my return to council. When I took leave of absence I was overwhelmed, and frankly surprised by the kindness and support I received.

"I would like to thank Council Members of all parties for the best wishes they sent, particularly I would like to thank Councillor Hampshire for stepping into the breach and for his leadership over the last year, it must have been difficult having his own Cabinet responsibilities as well as the Leaders role to contend with.

"Council staff have also been very generous with their support and kind words and for that I am truly grateful.

"Provost, everyone in the Chamber is here to serve and or represent the public, to do our best to protect their interests, but sometimes it can feel at times a thankless task, so I can honestly say I was astounded by the level of support and kind wishes I received from members of the public right across East Lothian.

"Provost, we are so fortunate to have our NHS, like most of us I have always been proud of the NHS without fully realising why, I now know, the staff are magnificent, no other words do justice to their service to patients.

"Each and every one of them showed a level of professionalism and dedication that goes above and beyond, and really needs to be seen to be believed. During treatment I was cared for by staff from a host of different nationalities and all have been exceptional.

"One thing I was struck by, was the number of patients being treated, it seemed to be a never ending conveyor belt, many of them fighting battles far greater than my own, and doing it with far more courage, resilience and dignity than I, there are some inspirational people out there.

"Provost, you would not want anyone to suffer from cancer, but many will and if I could be so bold to offer some simple advice, I would say, take strength from your family and your friends, keep positive and trust in the professionals who care for you. I know I owe my family and friends a debt I can never repay.

"Finally I am delighted to be back and hope to play a part in serving our community."

'If I Were Provost' competition winners announced!

Ilma Ali and Louise Allan have been named as winners in East Lothian Council’s ‘If I Were Provost’ competition, as part of the Year of Young People.

The two winners, along with 16 shortlisted entrants, were announced at a prize giving ceremony in Haddington on Friday 22 June.

The council’s ‘If I Were Provost’ competition asked young people what they would do if they were ‘in charge’, how they would improve life for young people in the region, and what new policies they might introduce and why. Young people were invited to share their ideas in a creative way - for example, in a short story, letter, poem or graphic comic strip, and more than 200 entries across two age categories (8–13, and 14–18) were received.

Entries were judged anonymously by a judging panel comprising Callum Mark, General Manager at award winning Foxlake Adventures; triple Paralympic medallist Maria Lyle; and Celia Hodson, founder of social enterprise Hey Girls, along with Provost John McMillan and Councillor Shamin Akhtar, spokesperson for Education and Children’s Services.

Provost John McMillan said: “We were hugely impressed with the quality and range of entries we received, which ranged from drawings to poems, comic strips to letters. It was clear that everyone had really taken the challenge to heart, and had put a lot of thought and care into their entries.

“The judging panel really enjoyed the judging process, even though the task of choosing our winners was a difficult one. I want to thank each and every entrant for taking part and sharing with us your ideas – it’s clear that we can all play our part in improving life in East Lothian.”

Ilma and Louise were presented with a certificate and prizes from East Lothian attractions Foxlake Adventures, Scottish Seabird Centre, EnjoyLeisure and Musselburgh Racecourse. Young Ambassadors and Highly Commended entrants also received certificates and prizes.

Provost John McMillan explains: “Ilma’s entry, which included simple messages such as ‘Be kind to each other’, and ‘pick up litter because we need to save the environment’ really summed up what we can all do to make East Lothian – and life - better for everyone, not just for young people.

“Louise’s entry, which focused on education and teaching young people, used a really creative approach and asked us to think ‘outside the box’ – that we need to remember that everyone is unique and that we can all learn from each other.”

The two young winners will be invited to join Provost McMillan at selected events throughout the year to act as a young ambassador for the county.

The winning entries, along with entries shortlisted as ‘Young Ambassadors’, will be on display to the public at East Lothian libraries over July and August.

View the full list of winners on the council website.

Interested in using Skype?

Do you ever wish you could send colleagues a quick instant message or easily arrange conference calls or virtual meetings? Do you use Skype at home and wish you had something similar at work?

If the answer to any of these is yes then IT have a solution. Over the last two years we’ve been introducing Skype for Business across the council. This is the workplace version of Skype and it’s a powerful tool allowing more flexible ways to communicate both internally and externally.

Whether it’s checking people’s availability, sending a quick instant message to one or more people, holding a video conference call or arranging and running a meeting where some or all of those attending can’t make it to the venue Skype for Business could be for you.  It’s a powerful but easy to use communications tool that provides instant messaging, voice and video calls, presence management and Skype meetings.

The good news is that if you have suitable hardware IT will cover the set-up costs.       

For a quick overview check out this video

Please contact the IT Service Desk (itsd@eastlothian.gov.uk or call 01620 827205) to arrange a demo.

School Name Consultation - Haddington Infant School and King's Meadow Primary School

A consultation is now open regarding the name for the new primary school for Haddington and its associated catchment area.

Following the consultation that was undertaken in Spring 2018 to close Haddington Infant School and King’s Meadow Primary School and establish a new primary school and its associated catchment area for Haddington, we are now seeking suggestions for a new school name.

Suggestions for new names will be collected, along with explanations of why that name is suitable, before a shortlist of the most popular names is created. A vote for the most popular name will then be undertaken by pupils, parents and the wider community.

The consultation runs until Sunday 26 August 2018.

Suggestions can be submitted in the following ways:

• By visiting the East Lothian Council Consultation Hub
• By emailing educationconsultations@eastlothian.gov.uk
• By writing to School Name Consultation, East Lothian Council, John Muir House, Brewery Park, Haddington, EH41 3HA

Housing team scoops award for scrutiny work

The council's Tenants Scrutiny Group has scooped a top award at this year's Tenants Information Service’s awards.

The Tenants Information Service (TIS) National Excellence Awards: Inspire to Achieve, which took place on Saturday 9 June in Cumbernauld, saw housing organisations, tenants, residents, and community groups recognised for their outstanding work and commitment within the Scottish housing sector. 

East Lothian Council won the Scrutiny Excellence award, which recognises excellence in scrutiny practice by a housing organisation that others can learn from and that will inspire future tenant scrutiny in Scotland. It rewards exceptional tenant led scrutiny activities that create an outstanding improvement or change to individuals, the wider community, the housing organisation and housing service. 

TIS Chief Executive, Ilene Campbell, said: “The way that the council’s Scrutiny Group works to develop scrutiny is thorough and robust. East Lothian Council has made efforts to gain views from tenants about the value of being involved, and results indicate that tenants are clear they have an impact on improving services and gaining personal benefits. Their recent Scrutiny Approved Accreditation success shows that scrutiny is embedded within the organisational values.” 

The award follows last year’s recognition by TIS and Scotland’s Housing Network when the council was recognised with a Gold Standard award for its work involving tenants in the delivery of its housing services. The highest level of award was given following a review of the council’s tenant scrutiny framework which includes mystery shopping visits, auditing information that the council publishes on its Housing policies, and involving tenants in surveys, estate inspections and consultation events. 

Councillor Jim Goodfellow, Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing and Community Wellbeing at East Lothian Council, said: “This award is really fantastic news, and I pass on my congratulations to all of those who have been involved. This much deserved award recognises the commitment and dedication of our Housing staff, partners and tenant volunteers, all of whom work exceptionally hard to continually improve upon and deliver the excellent service that our tenants expect.”

Report gives positive insight into school leavers’ destinations

The number of school leavers in East Lothian who go on to further education, training or employment has increased for the second year in a row, and continues an overall improving trend since 2005. 

The ‘Positive School Leavers Destinations 2016/17’ report, presented at an Education committee of East Lothian Council, uses the ‘Increasing post school participation’ measure from Insight, which is considered to be a key benchmark for helping schools and local authorities understand their strengths and key areas for improvement in areas relating to post school participation and attainment. 

Positive destinations can be school leavers going into Higher or Further Education, training, and employment as well as apprenticeships, activity agreements or volunteering.

Councillor Shamin Akhtar, Cabinet Spokesperson for Education and Children’s Services, said: “It’s really great news that, once again, the number of young people in East Lothian who are leaving school and going on to a positive destination is at its highest ever level - and at 94%, this is almost all our young people. This is a fantastic achievement for all concerned."

Read the full story on our website.

Positive inspection report for Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School

Education Scotland has written to parents at Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School in Musselburgh to advise them of the positive outcome of their most recent inspection, which took place in September 2017.

Education Scotland noted the following key strengths:

• Strong relationships exist between staff and children across the school and nursery, which are based on shared values.
• In the nursery, children are motivated and confident and are able to make choices about their play, particularly outdoors. Across the primary stages, children are committed to and proud of being part of their school community.
• The committed staff team, led by the headteacher, work well together in their goal to secure positive outcomes for children. Wellbeing is central to the whole school community, and staff provide a nurturing learning environment where children receive effective support. 

Education Scotland – who also reported on Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School Nursery Class, which provides early learning and childcare for children aged three to five years old – has informed the authority that they plan to make no further inspections at the school. 

Fiona Robertson, Head of Education, said: “I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the school staff and pupils for their hard work in achieving positive outcomes for children and their families. I wish to thank Sarah Ogden in particular, our Head Teacher, for the strength of leadership and commitment that she has shown in recent months for the school to achieve this positive recognition.

“I am pleased to report that Education Scotland have advised us that no further inspections are planned at the school. I am also delighted to report that the school has made good progress with the areas for improvement identified within the report”

Local Housing Strategy agreed

Preventing homelessness and increasing the supply of housing across all tenures are among the key priorities of the new East Lothian Local Housing Strategy 2018-23.

New HR and payroll system – project team making progress

You may remember reading previously about our plans to introduce a new HR and Payroll system.

The aim of the system is to enable the delivery of more efficient processes for our employees, managers and core support services. Making it easier to book holidays, submit expense claims or overtime requests, access online pay slips, record training and enable remote access to your employee profile.

The council recently appointed Midland HR who will work closely with a project team to implement and host the new HR and Payroll system, iTrent.

“The appointment of Midland HR was the conclusion of an open tendering exercise and represents a significant milestone for the Council,” explains Jim Lamond, Head of Council Resources.

“When fully implemented, employees and managers will be able to access the system via a portal and find information in one place. This will save time for employees and is a smarter, more efficient way of doing things.”

Jim explained that the initial priority is to implement the payroll functionality before the end of March 2019. Looking ahead the features of the system, which will enable employees to move away from submitting manual forms, such as holiday cards or expense claims, is within the scope of the project.

To help everyone understand what changes are coming and when keep a look out for the project team’s communications.

In the meantime, if you have any questions please email hrpayrollsystem@eastlothian.gov.uk

Planning Committee refuses permission for holiday lodges at Humbie

The June Planning Committee discussed applications relating to holiday lodges at Humbie, coastal defences at North Berwick and amendments to planning conditions relating to housing development at Gullane.

 

Planning officials had recommended approval of an application for the construction of three holiday lodges, a micro-hydro plant and a solar panel array at Stobshiel Mains, near Humbie. After a debate, committee members voted six votes to five to refuse planning permission due to concerns about the potential impact on the working of the nearby farm and the impact of the development on the landscape. 

 

Planning permission was unanimously granted for the refurbishment of existing coastal defences at North Berwick Golf Club and the installation of new interventions such as the planting of marram grass, the refurbishment of a timber embankment and soft rock sandbags – to protect the current layout of the golf course and the associated dune paths.  

 

The final application was for the variation of conditions attached to existing planning permission for a new housing development at Fenton Gait East, Gullane. The application was unanimously approved so the developer no longer needs to provide a new footpath link through Muirfield Steading as there are already existing safe routes into Gullane. Landscaping details around the development were also altered slightly.

 

The relevant application numbers are: Gullane 18/00422/PM and 16/00587/PM, North Berwick 17/00767PM; and Humbie 16/00101/PP

 

Council response to Cockenzie Inchcape application

Council has recommended that Scottish Ministers refuse planning permission for an electricity substation on the former Cockenzie Power Station site.

 

The application for planning permission in principle, by Inch Cape Offshore Ltd, was initially registered by East Lothian Council as the planning authority in March 2018 but called in by Scottish Ministers in April before a decision could be taken by the council as it was deemed the application could be of national importance due to its connection to electricity generation.

 

At a full meeting of East Lothian Council on Tuesday 26 June the council’s official response to the application was agreed along with a recommendation that Ministers refuse the application on the grounds that the development would not make best use of the land available and could prejudice the future development of the site and the economic potential of the area.

 

The substation, cables and associated infrastructure is to export electricity from the Inch Cape Offshore Windfarm. The application site covers part of the Firth of Forth Special Protection Area and the Firth of Forth Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is also within the boundary of the Battle of Prestonpans site and incorporates part of the John Muir Way.

 

Environment spokesperson Councillor Norman Hampshire said: “I’m pleased that Council agreed to recommend refusal of this application by Scottish Ministers. The former Cockenzie Power Station site is key for us as a council in terms of the economic development of East Lothian and there are diverse views expressed by local residents and community groups which we would like to take into consideration when deciding the future of the site. Whilst recognising the importance of the application is respect of renewable energy, I believe the location and scale of this substation and associated works is wrong and would prevent us from making best use of the site.”

 

In the event that Scottish Ministers approve the application, Council also agreed to request conditions be attached to the approval, including:

• Council approval on the details of the buildings involved and the route of the adjusted coastal path, incorporating the John Muir Way

   

• Construction dust and noise management plans to be agreed by council

   

• A flood risk assessment to be approved by council and SEPA.