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Contents
On the cover
Atrium Barista page 6 Titanic Belfast page 7 From Tinseltown to our town page 10
Corporate updates
Absence figures ..................................... 3 Making a Difference Awards .......... 4 Windows 7 ............................................... 5 Alexandra peace wall ......................... 9
Regulars
Meet our contributors ................... 4 Ask the expert ................................. 15 Welcome to ....................................... 18 Your big news .................................... 19
Contact intercom
Send your feedback, article suggestions, photos and letters to: Email: staffnews@belfastcity.gov.uk Call: 9032 0202 ext 6274 Post: intercom, Internal Communications, Room 204, City Hall, BT1 5GS.
Workforce matters
Absence update: quarter one 2011/12
In previous years we set a two year sickness absence target at department and service level and performance against target was closely monitored by our Corporate Management Team (CMT) and council. At the end of quarter one (April to June) sickness absence was 2.59 days per full time equivalent employee and is very nearly on target. However this figure is an increase of 0.31 days compared to 2.28 average days absence for the same period last year. The management of attendance in your department remains a top priority. The table below shows the actual absence levels within departments against the targets for quarter one. Average days absence per full time equivalent employee at quarter one 2011 2.59 2.56 2.68 2.90 3.13 2.15 Average days absence per full time equivalent employee at quarter one 2010 2.28 1.20 2.29 2.87 1.76 1.89
Target for 2011/12 Belfast City Council Chief Executive's Health and Environmental Services Parks and Leisure Development Property and Projects 10.30 8.28 10.26 12.37 8.89 9.08
Target for quarter one 2.58 2.07 2.57 3.09 2.22 2.27
response to employee feedback. Over the coming months our IIP Internal Reviewers will meet with a number of employees to find out what they think about the improvements weve made and what still needs to be addressed. HR and the IIP Internal Review team will continue to support departments and services to implement the IIP framework as we work towards gaining corporate IIP accreditation for the council as a whole in 2012.
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Ian Lawther
Ian is known to us all as the happy, helpful receptionist at the Learning and Development Centre. Outside of work Ian is a Ian a keen science fiction and fantasy fan; a hobby that he put to good use when organising Titancon, a new convention which brought cast and crew from The Game of Thrones to Belfast. Find out more on page 10.
Now that nominations have closed, the majority of us may not see or hear too much about the awards over the next month. But our new short listing panel line up will be hard at work looking for submissions with the X factor in each of our categories.
John Gallagher, Community Awareness Officer, Health and Environmental Services; Brian Kelly, Community Services Unit Manager, Development; Norman Neill, Principal HR/OD Advisor, Chief Executives Department; Emily Wilson, Policy and Performance Analyst, Property and Projects; Stephanie McCaig, Trade Union Co-ordinator; Claire Kelly, ISB Senior Consultant, Finance and Resources; and Mark McCashin, Leisure Centre Manager, Parks and Leisure. The short listing panel will then forward all nominations, along with their recommendations to the judging panel, made up of Chief Officers and the Head of Human Resources to make the final decisions. The Making a Difference Awards event will take place in City Hall on Thursday 10 November. Check out www.interlink/madawards for more information, including a list of all nominated individuals and teams later in the month.
Adele Keys
As well as working with the Belfast Health Development Unit, Adele is a keen fitness fan. Qualified as a Zumba instructor, Adele Adele takes classes in our leisure and community centres. One of her classes is especially popular with staff; turn to page 12 for more.
On the front-line
Windows 7 rollout
Its here! The rollout of Windows 7 has begun.
Frontline Development participants received their certificates from Assistant Chief Executive and Town Solicitor, Ciaran Quigley.
Congratulations to the most recent participants of our Frontline Development Programme who have received their certificates at an awards ceremony in the City Hall. The Frontline Development Programme is aimed at employees who work in a business support and administration role, as well as those who work in an
operational role. The programme looks at a number of areas that are relevant to these roles including; effective communication, customer care and the role of the team leader. If you are interested in participating in the programme, please contact your line manager or business support in your section or service.
Work is already underway in Members Support. This will be followed by all other services located in City Hall with work completing here during December. The rollout will then continue in our other city centre buildings throughout the winter and spring before moving to more outlying buildings such as our leisure and community centres next summer. Project manager, Stephen Morgan said: We piloted the Windows 7 upgrade in ISB over the summer and were confident that the rollout will be a success. This is a major project, involving every service and impacting on over 1500 PCs in approximately 100 locations. In total the rollout should take 14 months to compete. As the project progresses and your go live date approaches, the project team will liaise directly with your unit or section.
Equity award
As an organisation with NIACROs Equity Award, we also attend Meet the Employer events throughout the year to offer help and support to NIACRO service users.
Remember, each PC will be wiped clean of all data before upgrading to Windows 7. Any information saved on your C Drive or on your Desktop will be wiped once the upgrade is complete. Make sure you have saved all important, work related information in either a shared network drive or within My Documents.
Find out more about the upgrade programme, including details of the project plan, at www.interlink/windows7 5
I think its good value for money, and its really handy to have these coffees available in the Atrium as it saves you having to nip out.
Nikki Devlin City Events Officer
"It can be difficult to find a good quality cup of coffee but the quality of the coffee here really is excellent."
John Corkey Environmental Health Manager
www.interlink/atriumbarista
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As building work continues on Queens Island, Economic Developments Lisa McCartney (pictured above) has been working with a range of partner organisations and our own staff to set the foundations for a citywide community engagement plan that will connect local communities to all that the Titanic brand has to offer. We caught up with Lisa to find out more about our role in the ongoing development of Titanic Quarter. At the heart of this regeneration scheme lies Titanic Belfast, Northern Irelands largest ever tourist attraction, opening April 2012. Weve invested 10 million in the construction of Titanic Belfast but our commitment goes far and beyond our financial contribution. People from across Belfast worked on Titanics construction and served on the ship itself so its only fitting that the opportunities it will bring in relation to tourism, jobs and city development will benefit all of our citizens. For the first time weve entered into an agreement with the private developer of the former shipbuilding land to ensure all residents of the city can benefit from the development of the Quarter in an equitable way. Working groups have been set up across a number of priority areas work, tourism, housing, space, access and outreach. Our staff are working with government departments and the local community to ensure that the significant public and private investment
Ambassadors Nick Brennan (Project Management), John Gallagher (Cleansing Services), Jan Carson (City Events) and Anne Toner (Tourism, Culture and Arts) get a glimpse behind the scenes on a tour of Titanic Belfast.
Whos who?
A number of partners are working together to develop Titanic Belfast. Below is a quick round-up of who they are and their involvement: Titanic Quarter Ltd (TQL) is the company taking forward the development of the Titanic Quarter in a joint venture with the owners of the land, Belfast Harbour Commissioners.
Titanic Belfast will be owned by an independent charitable trust known as the Titanic Foundation Ltd (TFL). TFLs objectives are to educate everyone about Belfasts Titanic endeavours past, present and future. Harcourt Developments Ltd have been appointed operator of Titanic Belfast. Our former colleague Tim Husbands has been appointed as Chief Executive
of Titanic Belfast and will be responsible for the overall operation and management of Titanic Belfast. Titanic Belfast funders: Northern Ireland Executive Belfast City Council Belfast Harbour Titanic Quarter Ltd
For more information on Titanic Belfast go to www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanicquarter 7
The MTV EMAs are fast approaching and staff in Corporate Communications, City Events and Venues and Tourism, Culture and Arts are all working hard to ensure everything runs smoothly. Working alongside MTV, the local music and entertainment industry and the tourism trade, our staff will facilitate MTV coming to Belfast, showcase the city, promoting indigenous music and
culture and maximising the economic return for Belfast. Packed with unprecedented performances and appearances, MTVs biggest night of international glamour and unforgettable performances will be broadcast live from three venues around the city with the main awards being held at the Odyssey Arena on Sunday 6 November - and it will be the biggest music event
ever staged in Northern Ireland. Belfast Music Week 2011 will see 100 live music events in over 30 venues and runs from Sunday 30 October to Sunday 6 November. For more information on Belfast Music Week visit www.belfastmusic.org Keep an eye on www.mtvema.com for breaking news on hosts, performers, presenters, and nominees.
CHRISTMAS AT
www.malonehouse.co.uk
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Pictured at the opening of the peace gate in Alexandra Park are children from Nationalist and Unionist Schools along the interface. Shannon McAllister, Holy Family Primary School and Jenny Murray, Currie Primary School.
When the gates of the Alexandra Park peace wall opened last month it marked another significant step in our work towards becoming a shared city. Over the past three years weve worked in partnership with local residents and Groundwork NI in the area to regenerate the site.This was made possible with funding from PEACE III Reconciling Communities through Regeneration (RCTR), Alpha and Department of Justice. The regeneration work aimed to make the park a more inviting, safer place for
the local community to use and works have included: thinning out woodland; developing a nature trail; installing seating and interpretive panels on the history and wildlife within the park; and developing a picnic area. Following on from this work, Groundwork NI surveyed local residents and found that they were in favour of opening access through the peace wall. scooped the prestigious national APSE Award in the 'Best Environmental Initiative' category. The award was for the anti-litter campaign, 'Litter, it's not a good look' which was launched last year and included a vibrant pop art theme. Suzanne Wylie, Director of Health and Environmental Services said she was very proud of the Community Awareness Team for winning this award. This award recognises the diligent and innovative work of Cleansing Services in tackling littering issues in the city. The team delivers a varied and comprehensive awareness programme including
The wall is now open on a pilot basis between 9am and 3pm, Monday to Friday.The pilot will run until November and during this time our park ranger teams and community safety officers will work along with the PSNI to monitor any occurrences of antisocial behaviour.
To find out more about the project go to www.belfastcity.gov.uk/parks
Cleaning up at awards
Two of our departments reached the final of a UK wide competition for excellence in public service with one of them picking up the coveted award. The Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) Awards took place recently in Bristol. Competing against Local Authorities from across the UK, Parks and Leisures Improvement Plan was short-listed under Best Efficiency category while our Cleansing Services' Community Awareness Team
school and community workshops, competitions and communications campaigns which have shown actual measurable results in lowering littering levels in the city. Andrew Hassard, Director of Parks and Leisure commended his staff on being short-listed for the award: Our short-listing for the final of the APSE Awards is an outstanding achievement and is testimony to the hard work of staff in providing improved value for money services to local communities. Even though we didnt win, I would like to thank them for all their efforts.
Masterchef nearly!
Graphic Designer, Gary Brownlee was pipped to the post at a cookery competition at St Georges Market by none other than May McFettridge! Gary, partnered by chef Noel McMeel, cooked up an impressive dish of marbled rib eye steak with cabbage and smoked bacon and scallion champ. Better luck next time Gary.
CHRISTMAS AT
Celebrate Christmas in style with a variety of menus and room options Christmas party nights with entertainment from 30pp
Christmas tours with tea, coffee and mince pies on selected dates in December 3pp
Booking is essential - for more information visit our website or call 028 9077 6925
www.belfastcastle.co.uk
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Gary the gorilla is joined by zoo buddies (left to right): Carolyn Gribben, Linda Frew, Victoria Cleland and Gayle Turley.
Raymond
Finally, keepers have successfully hand reared Bluebell, the sitatunga, after she was rejected by her mother. Bluebell has now bonded with the rest of the herd and is doing well.
Go to www.belfastzoo.co.uk for all the latest at the zoo.
Staff at the zoo have been busy fundraising for the European Association of Zoos and Aquarias (EAZA) save the ape campaign. Gary the gorilla and his zoo buddies visited City Hall to raise awareness for the campaign. And the zoos commitment didnt end there; keeper Nick Simpson-Eyre braved a full body wax in the gorilla house to raise some extra funds! Nick wasnt the only brave one as keepers, Gayle Turley and Carolyn
Gribben spent half a day in an enclosure. Keepers, Linda Frew and Gayle Turley took part in our 'ape appetisers' challenge where they 'enjoyed' delicacies including giant roasted ants, morpani worms and scorpions; and zoo curator, Julie Mansell, had her hair dyed in tiger print! The fun doesn't stop there though, as Belfast Zoo keepers will be teaming up with Dublin Zoo keepers to cycle from Belfast Zoo to Dublin Zoo to raise
Zumba queens
A growing number of our staff are joining the party at Zumba fitness classes run in our facilities by our very own Senior Environmental Health Officer, Adele Keys. If you would like to give the classes a go you can take advantage of a staff discounted price of 3.50 at either of the community centre classes.
For more information contact Adele on ext 3607 or 077 1504 1612 or by emailing adele.keys@bhdu.org
Class details
Mondays at 6.30pm Duncairn Community Centre Thursdays at 6pm Donegall Pass Community Centre
Pictured above with members of her Thursday night class at Donegall Pass Community Centre, Adele also runs a Monday night class in Duncairn Community Centre and a number of classes in Ballysillan Leisure Centre.
Pictured left to right: Michael Largey, Stanton Martin, Ricky Rice, Stephen Stockman, Michael Culbert, Sharon McCloy and Patrick Smyth.
Be warm
Spread the cost of your home heating oil with our fuel saver stamps. Available at our leisure centres, Cecil Ward Building and The Bobbin.
For a full list of participating retailers and fuel providers go to www.belfastcity.gov.uk/bewarm
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Colin is pictured receiving his medal from Tim Walker, Head of Waste Management.
We're eager to seek your views and ideas about the ways we can work with people to support and grow local communities. And well use this information to help shape a new Community Development Strategy and Community Support Plan. Our Community Services section was specifically set up to deliver local programmes and activities via our directly managed community and play centres and to support local people and organisations to work to improve the quality of life within neighbourhoods. Our community development workers provide direct advice and assistance to citizens, helping particular sections of
their communities such as young people, travellers and those living in poverty. However, community development also plays an important role in many areas of our work in health, leisure, parks, community safety, tourism and culture, employability, recycling and waste education projects. Thats why we need your views - the deadline for feedback is Friday 11 November. Go to www.belfastcity.gov.uk/ communitydevelopment to complete a brief survey, email community@ belfastcity.gov.uk or call Claire Kerrin on 9027 0484 to register for one of our workshops.
Left to right: Emmanuel Millar, Centre Supervisor; Tommy O'Reilly, Community Development Officer and Anne Tracey, Assistant Supervisor.
area. Volunteers from the Suffolk Community Forum came to help local people here at Glen Community Centre build the raised beds and
shared their expertise and experiences in Suffolk. Its a great way to create shared space, build skills and friendships.
If youd like further information, please contact: Tommy OReilly on 9062 7189 or e-mail oreillyt@belfastcity.gov.uk
ask the
another in terms of potential heating and energy costs. The cost of an EPC for a domestic property will depend on the size of the property and is the responsibility of the owner or landlord - it should be provided free of charge to the buyer. You must show a copy of the EPC to anyone who is interested in buying or renting your property. If youre buying or renting and havent been shown a copy of the EPC please phone us and let us know.
alterations, insulating roof spaces and installing new heating or drainage. If work takes place without a building regulation application we consider it to be unauthorised or illegal work. But you can still make a regularisation application where we inspect the work and if it meets the appropriate regulations well issue a regularisation certificate. Youll need to make sure all of this paperwork is in order if youre planning to sell your home. If youre hoping to buy a property that has had any of the above work carried out make sure you receive either a completion certificate or regularisation certificate.
expert
Mike
Whether youre planning to sell, buy or improve your home, unfamiliar terms such as Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and building regulation applications can be confusing. But weve found the answer! Mike Christie from our Building Control Service can tell you what you need to know when it comes to bricks and mortar issues.
This ranges from building a new home or extension, to roof space or garage conversions, carrying out structural
Recycle at work
Go to www.interlink/recycle for full details
It is a legal requirement to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) before putting a property on the market
Shop around for competitive rates
Prices can vary
Use your desk side bin to For more details freephone recycle your cardboard, plastic bottles, waste paper and cans.
Energy Performance assessments must be carried out by an accredited energy assessor. For home energy assessors visit www.epbniregister.com and for non-dwelling energy assesso
Pictured left to right are: Kirsty Torney, Roisin McCartney, Judith Greene, John Gallagher and Jim Ferguson.
Colins lifeline
Colin Edgar a part-time leisure attendant at Ballysillan Leisure Centre has qualified as a Bronze Medallion Instructor and National Pool Lifeguard Trainer Assessor. Colin undertook the training in his own time and his commitment means that the centre is now able to deliver Bronze Medallion courses to the public. Colins skills have already been passed on as there has been a 100% pass rate on all courses hes offered to date!
From left to right: Kevin McDonald, John Macfarlane Parks Quality Manager, and David Patterson, CAFRE.
From left to right: Johnston Shaw, CAFRE lecturer; John Fay, CAFRE Director; Maurice Parkinson, Ballyrobert Cottage Garden and Nursery; Suzanne Patman and Alyson Campbell.
The 3 Rs brainteaser
Question: What knocks 72,000 times and walks 4,500 miles? Answer: 16 recycling advisors (of course!)
Our most recent initiative to get the people of Belfast disposing of their waste correctly took a team of recycling advisors out onto the streets of the city for 10 weeks. During this time they knocked on 72,000 doors to speak directly with the householder to ensure they knew what goes into each bin, take orders for recycling bins and kitchen caddies and explain the importance of recycling and composting. The campaign was a great success with orders for 1,500 blue bins, 500 brown bins and 1,250 kitchen caddies taken.
Our recycling advisors visited 72,000 homes as part of the door knocking campaign. If youve any queries about what you can recycle in Belfast check out www.belfastcity.gov.uk/waste
Paul McCartney Recreation Officer and Norman Stewart R.L.S.S trainer pictured with the newly qualified Rookie Lifeguards.
A real lifesaver
Lifeguard Norman Stewart ran a life saving course for children during the recent summer scheme at Avoniel Leisure Centre. Norman is a qualified Royal Life Saving Society (R.L.S.S) trainer and assessor and helped six children achieve their Rookie Lifeguard Stage 3 Bronze Certificate. Norman said This award is a great incentive for young kids who someday might want to become a lifeguard and teaches them how to initiate and carry out a successful rescue which is an invaluable skill to have.
For more information on upcoming Lifesaving courses email stewartn@belfastcity.gov.uk or call 9072 6326.
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Welcome to
Colin Booth Litter Warden Daiva Bruskyte Civic Attendant Nicola Coles Auditor Elizabeth Donaldson Assistant Community Development Officer (part time) Alan Davidson Dog Collection Officer Christopher Edmunds Cleaner (part time) David Ferris Community Safety Warden George Grimason Recycling Operative Pol Hamilton Community Safety Warden Martin Kift LGV Combined Driver Caillin Lynn Community Outreach Assistant Francis McCaffrey Assistant Manager Mechanical Building Services Engineer Denise McManus Community Centre Supervisor John Morris Cleaner (part time) Julie Mulrine Trainee Technical Officer Helen Patterson Assistant Community Development Officer (part time) Phillip Purdy Civic Chauffeur Matthew Stobie Cleaner (part time) Lyndsey Teggart Community Centre Supervisor (part time)
Adrian (second left) and Stuart (far right) along with their winning team mates at the RICS Matric 5 aside competition.
Stuart Wilson and Adrian ONeill from our Estates Unit lent their football expertise to a local five aside team for the 2011 Royal Institution of
Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Matrics 5 aside football competition. 12 teams took part but they were no match for our lads who won the final 3-0.
Top marks!
Congratulations to Andrew Johnston and Tommy Clulow from Cleansing Services on successfully gaining the ECDL qualification. Well done to Stephen McBride from Building Control on receiving his MSc in Construction Project Management from Queens University Belfast. Well done to Karen Russell, Norman Neill and Clare McKenna from our Human Resources Section on obtaining the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development qualification.
Congratulations to Geraldine McCusker from our Food Safety Unit who recently obtained the higher certificate in Food Premises Inspection from the University of Birmingham. Well done to Sam Millar from Cleansing Services who completed the CIPD qualification - Postgraduate Diploma in Personnel Management.
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ment and Waste Manage Brian Carr from his wife Jill. gement m Waste Mana Mary McGinn froCiaran. her husband and nagement from Waste Ma Naomi Palmer Paul. nd and her husba l Health m Environmenta Adele Keys fro Nick. r husband and he
Naomi
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BCC 4050
A personal styling session at Victoria Square lasts for: A 1 hour B 2 hours C 3 hours
Email your answer, along with your details, to Staff News. Or send it to: The Editor, intercom, Corporate Communications, 2nd floor, City Hall. The closing date for entries is Monday 31 October 2011. All correct entries will be entered into a prize draw and the winner will be notified by 12 noon on Tuesday 1 November.
For more information go to www.victoriasquare.com
Staff offers
Our current staff offers include: 10% off at Taylor Made Gardens and Homes
www.taylormadegardensandhomes.co.uk is an online store offering a large selection of home, garden and picnic ware. To claim your discount please enter discount code Q2261160BNC on the checkout page.
For details of all our staff offers go to www.interlink/staffofffers For more information, or to submit an offer, contact Internal Communications on 9032 0202 ext 6199.
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