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CascadeAugust 2014
Keeping you informed with news from across the council
In this issue•New ways of keeping in touch
•Argyll and Bute’s Baton Relay success
•Are you ready to recycle? Introducing co-mingled waste
•Referendum – guidance for staff
•Excellence Awards – update
•Managing parking in our communities
•Benefits team’s innovation nationally recognised
•Keeping our systems secure – email classification system
•Planning for the future – housing needs research
New ways of keeping in touch
• It’s important to find new ways of keeping in touch with people – both those who live in our communities and the people who we work with.
• Over the past few months the Web team and Communications team have been working on finding different methods for people to do business with the council, make contact with us or find out more about what we do.
• As well as the different tools on the council’s website like ‘Request It’ and ‘Report It’, we now produce a weekly council email news round-up. This highlights the services we offer across the area as well as providing news about the council.
• If you haven’t already signed up for the news round-up, you can do so at https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/user/register - bringing the council’s news directly to your inbox.
New ways of keeping in touch
‘A truly exciting day’
Sharing in the Commonwealth Games excitement with the
Queen’s Baton Relay
In the words of Argyll and Bute Council’s Provost, Councillor Len Scoullar, Sunday 13th July was ‘a truly exciting day’ – the day that the Queen’s Baton Relay visited communities across the area.
Argyll and Bute – Queen’s Baton Relay
The final baton bearer, athlete Pippa Handley, carries the baton into Dunoon stadium.
The Queen’s Baton Relay, heralding the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games which start on 23rd July, travelled 174 miles across Argyll and Bute, starting from Appin and travelling through numerous communities along the way before taking centre stage at a special celebratory grand finale in Dunoon stadium.For months before the relay, council staff worked with local communities to promote the relay and support the events happening along the way. Their hard work – much of it out of hours – contributed significantly to its success.Several Argyll and Bute Council employees were among those selected to carry the baton – chosen as a result of their remarkable sporting achievements or work in their local community.
Communities along the baton route pulled out all the stops to bring a little bit of Commonwealth excitement to Argyll and Bute, with ceilidhs, come-and-try sports sessions and all sorts of fun and games on offer.
Argyll and Bute – Queen’s Baton Relay
They lined the baton route to wave flags, balloons and banners and, of course, to cheer on the baton-bearers themselves.
At the end of the baton’s 174-mile journey was the grand finale community event in Dunoon stadium – where one of the Commonwealth favourites, mascot Clyde, was a huge hit with spectators, baton-bearers and council staff alike!
Commonwealth favourite Clyde.
At Dunoon stadium, Provost Scoullar thanked the council staff who had worked tirelessly alongside local volunteers, Queen’s Baton Relay and Commonwealth Games teams to make sure that Argyll and Bute’s relay day was a huge success.
Argyll and Bute – Queen’s Baton Relay
Speaking at Dunoon stadium, he said: “What an exciting day this has been! The Queen’s Baton Relay is all about celebrating community and honouring the baton bearers chosen to carry the baton. “It has highlighted what a beautiful place this is and has also recognised the welcoming communities and inspiring individuals that make this such a great place to live. “Congratulations to everyone who has played a part in making today such an enjoyable and unique event.”
The baton-bearers’ final task was to release balloons at the end of the relay.
Are you ready to recycle?
Introducing co-mingled waste
Are you ready to recycle?Introducing co-mingled waste
• We are introducing a new refuse collection which will make it easier for everyone to recycle more at the kerbside.
• The new service is due to start on 27th October 2014 and is being co-ordinated by colleagues in the Waste, Fleet and Infrastructure team.
• People will keep their existing green bins and blue bins. However, they can now recycle more in their blue bins – paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, plastic food tubs, pots, trays, cans and drink cartons (eg TetraPak).
• Anyone who doesn’t have a blue bin at the moment will receive one before the new service starts.
• Green and blue bins will be uplifted on alternative weeks – one week you put out your green bin, and the next week your blue bin.
• Information packs will be delivered to all affected households in September and there will be more information on our website soon.
Scottish Independence Referendum
Guidance for staff
Referendum – guidance for staff
•The Scottish Independence Referendum takes place on Thursday 18th September 2014. •In the run-up to the referendum, it’s important that staff have the information they need – both as council employees and as local residents taking part.
• Members of the public may ask staff questions about the referendum and there is guidance available on The Hub about how to deal with certain enquiries.
• By law, council staff must act in a politically neutral way at all times and, as the referendum approaches, particular care must be taken in this regard. The Hub guidance provides more detail.
• Before any election or referendum, there is an official period where there are additional restrictions placed on local authorities. The pre-referendum period begins on 21st August 2014. There is more information about this on the Hub page above.
Key facts:•Referendum date is 18th September•The deadline for registering to vote is 2nd September•16 and 17-year-olds can vote but they must be registered
Referendum – guidance for staff
• Please take time to read the guidance provided for employees. • If you’re not sure about whether something you’ve been asked to do could be
affected by the referendum guidance, please check with your line manager, head of service or director.
• Everyone who wants to take part in the referendum must be registered to vote. • You can check if you are registered to vote at www.dab-vjb.gov.uk • If you’re not registered, you need to do this by 2nd September 2014 so that you can
vote in the referendum.• You can get a registration form from the website above or by calling the Electoral
Registration Office on 0800 9800 470.• Polling cards will be sent out to households for registered voters. • There are different ways to vote – in person at a polling station on the day
between 7am and 10pm; by post; by proxy. • You can find more information about the referendum, including a list of polling
stations in Argyll and Bute, here.
Argyll and Bute CouncilExcellence Awards update
EXCELLENCEAWARDS
2014
Argyll and Bute Council Excellence Awards 2014
•Thank you to all the teams who submitted entries for the Argyll and Bute Council Excellence Awards 2014. The standard is extremely high and judges have had a very difficult task in deciding where the bronze, silver and gold awards should go. •The award ceremony planned for 12th August has had to be postponed and arrangements are in hand for a new date.•In the meantime, well done to all the teams across the council who are constantly striving for excellence every day. •We will provide more details about the arrangements for the award ceremony soon.
Managing parking in our communities
Managing parking in our communities• The council’s Decriminalised Parking
Enforcement Policy came into effect on 12th May 2014.
• The policy is designed to manage parking, and traffic, effectively in our communities.
• This has various benefits including support for the local economy by ensuring a turnover of available parking.
• Local enforcement also protects access for Blue Badge holders, deliveries and emergency vehicles as well as promoting road safety.
• Leaflets about the policy are available in our offices and there is more information here.
Innovative approach to empty homes gets national recognition
Congratulations to colleagues from Revenue/Benefits and Housing who are in the
running for a national award
National recognition for empty homes approachThe team delivering Argyll and Bute’s Empty Homes policy is in the running for a national innovation award. Colleagues from Housing, Revenue and Benefits have been working together on bringing empty homes back into use through a number of ways. Council tax initiatives, refurbishment grants and a dedicated empty homes officer combined are all contributing to boosting the affordable housing stock available. The team have been shortlisted for an IRRV award, up against three London borough councils in October after vying for the best Scottish submission title in September. Congratulations to the team and we wish them all the best at the Scottish and national award ceremonies later this year.
L-R: Moira MacVicar, Bill Halliday, Margaret Thomson, Ken Wong, Kelly Ferns and Fergus Walker, who are preparing for the Scottish and national IRRV awards in September and October.
New courier contract information
New courier contract information• The council has recently signed up to the Government Procurement Service (GPS)
Courier Services Contract. The regional contractor for same day and next day deliveries in Scotland is Eagle Couriers.
• Bookings can be made by phone or email – call 0845 123 1230; email
[email protected] • Any department can make a booking and at the time of booking the courier will
supply a quote and reference number to enable you to raise a purchase order number for the job.
• All purchase orders should be raised via PECOS.
New courier contract informationEagle Couriers’ operators will ask for the information below at each new booking: · Account Number (GPS 6486)· Purchase Order (if available)· Name, department and telephone number (of caller)· Collection Address· Delivery Address· What the shipment is and if there are any special requirements The above is for standard courier requirements within Scotland. If you have any queries about the above, if you have requirements for outwith Scotland or for delivery of dangerous or secure goods, please contact Samantha Torrie, 01546 604145, [email protected] or [email protected].
Keeping our systems secure – our email classification system
Keeping our systems secureWe are introducing a range of methods and technologies to improve the way in which information is defined and managed. As part of this improvement programme and in response to mandatory Public Service Network (PSN) security requirements, we have adopted a standard protective marking scheme – the TITUS Email Classification System. The TITUS system has been under trial within ICT and with a number of designated individuals in departments across the council. Protective marking is a mandatory PSN security requirement and all email communications with other public sector bodies in the UK will require to be marked. Unmarked communications will soon be rejected by the PSN. The initial trial was based upon the Government Protective Marking Scheme (GPMS). However, a new scheme - Government Security Classifications (GSC) - has now replaced GPMS.
Keeping our systems secureIf you have received an email from ICT over recent weeks you may have noticed a new colour coded header included in the body of the email that depicts a classification description (NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED, PROTECTED or RESTRICTED). These are now changing to NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED, OFFICIAL or OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE following the adoption of the new GSC scheme. As we roll out TITUS to all staff over the next few months, you will notice a change in your Microsoft Outlook client when sending an email. This email attempts to explain the reasons why the new scheme is being introduced and offers some guidance on how best to classify your emails. If you are due to receive a replacement laptop or PC from December 2013 onwards, TITUS will already be installed.
Keeping our systems secureThe email classification solution will help us ensure that we process and transmit information in a manner appropriate to the sensitivity of the content. There are some key benefits associated with implementing a classification scheme including: · Awareness – staff will be encouraged more to think about the sensitivity of the information (at source) within an email or associated attachment;· Compliance – we are adopting the Government Protective Marking Scheme for emails which is a mandatory requirement for PSN compliance. Standard classification schemes aid information exchange between organisations and can help to ensure better and more secure information handling internally. Better understanding of the sensitivity of information assists with our compliance with data protection and FOI legislation;· Automation – if we are able to identify information that needs to be handled in a particular way, we can start to establish the policies and tools to help enforce those rules ensuring greater security of information and a level of assurance that reduces risk for the council and individuals.
Keeping our systems secureGuidance will soon be available on the Hub. The classification scheme is based on the GSC but, in line with most local authorities, we will only use the lowest three sensitivity levels as follows:
•Not Protectively Marked•Official•Official - Sensitive The Official - Sensitive classification has been further sub-divided to distinguish between emails that do not contain personal or commercial information (Official – Sensitive) and those that do contain personal (Official - Sensitive – Personal) or commercial (Official - Sensitive – Commercial) sensitive information. The software is fully integrated with MS Outlook and, on saving or sending an email you will be prompted to select a classification based on the descriptions below. This will automatically insert the classification selected in the header and body of the email. The classification description is coloured (traffic light system to indicate classification level). The Titus system will eventually be deployed to restrict the onward distribution and handling of protectively marked emails and attachments in accordance with emerging council policy.
Keeping our systems secureHere are examples of how to use the protective marking system:
•Not protectively marked: non-public sector business, for example personal emails•Official: all routine public sector business should be treated as official, for example internal directories, handbooks, presentations, agendas, discussion papers, meeting notes, training materials, routine budgetary details, business cases, responses to Scottish Government for parliamentary questions. •Official-Sensitive: there are different categories here –
Official-Sensitive – information classed as sensitive which is neither covered by the Data Protection Act nor commercially confidential. This would be shared on a need-to-know named basis. Unauthorised disclosure, including within the organisation, could cause harm to the interests of the council or other parties by virtue of loss of opportunity or reputation, or embarrassment. Examples include tender documents prior to issue, budget or policy plans prior to approval, complaints which are not personal, operationally sensitive issues including presentations or discussion papers, draft committee papers, all press andpublic exempt papers, papers for SMT and internal boards.
Keeping our systems secure
Official-Sensitive-Personal – information deemed sensitive under the Data Protection Act; similar to ‘Sensitive’ but relating to personal data or which could identify an individual. Inappropriate access could have damaging consequences – for example, relating to investigations, vulnerable people, personal or medical records of staff, clients or others, job applications, interview records, complaints about people (staff or citizens).
Official-Sensitive-Commercial: sensitive information where unauthorised disclosure could cause financial loss to the council or others. Includes commercially confidential information about suppliers, planning and resource allocation prior to decisions, commercial or market-sensitive information subject to statutory or regulatory obligations which could be damaging to the council or others.
If you need more guidance on data protection issues, contact the Risk Management team on [email protected] who will be happy to help. The council offers courses on data protection – find out more on the Hub here.
Planning for the future:Housing team looking at older
people’s needs
Research into the housing and support needs of older people in Argyll and Bute
Our Housing Services team, in conjunction with Health and Social care colleagues, have commissioned independent consultants North Star to carry out research into the housing and support needs of older people in Argyll and Bute.
The research will profile current circumstances and assess potential future needs for accommodation and support services for older people living in the area.
This will include an extensive survey of current local residents in all types of housing, to identify households with one or more people of pensionable age who would be willing to take part in structured interviews. These interviews, mainly done by telephone, will take place during September and October.
Research into the housing and support needs of older people in Argyll and Bute
Taking part is completely voluntary and all responses will be treated in the strictest confidence. Any data published will be made anonymous and it will not be possible to identify any individuals.
For queries about this research, please contact:
Allan Brandie – 01369 708679 – [email protected]
Moira MacVicar – 01631 572184 – [email protected]
Got something for Cascade?Cascade is normally issued to managers first and is published on the Hub one week later. It is usually published on a four to six-weekly basis. Managers are encouraged to share the information in Cascade with their teams – thank you.
If you have anything for future issues of Cascade please send it to the communications team at:
or contact the Communications Team on 01546 604171. Cascade depends on your contributions, and we’re happy to help with layout, content and presentation if you wish.
If you have anything you’d like included in the next issue, please send it by Friday 19th September. We can help with formatting and creating slides – don’t hesitate to call if you would like some assistance with this or any other communications issue.
