Johnson's lack of leadership has created a policy vacuum

The final judging to decide the winners of the LGC Awards 2022 has begun, with shortlisted entrants presenting their work to our expert panels of judges.

Each entrant was asked to write a short summary of their entry, and why they thought it should win. These submissions, published below, demonstrate the breadth of diversity, innovation and success across local government, and are a tribute to the work of the sector in serving local communities across the country.

This year has seen a record number of entries, with the winners set to be revealed at a ceremony at Grosvenor House in London on 20 July.

Five councils will compete for the coveted Council of the Year award, sponsored by Zurich Municipal: Great Yarmouth BC, Manchester City Council, North Kesteven DC, Staffordshire CC and Telford & Wrekin Council

These councils will receive site visits from a panel of experienced judges, before live judging for this category takes place on the day of the awards ceremony.

For information about attending the awards evening please call Jae on 020 3953 2117 or email Jae.Taylor@emap.com

Council of the Year – sponsored by Zurich Municipal

Our strong sense of identity and shared vision, combined with mature evidence-based strategies and plans puts us in a unique position to deliver a place-shaping agenda, steeped in our culture and heritage whilst being innovative and community-led.

With over £240m of public sector investment now attracting globally-renowned companies, our collaborative partnership approach really has put Great Yarmouth on the map.

We are already seeing tangible results from this investment reversing decades of deprivation, low education and low health outcomes. We have improved our relative deprivation and lifted the borough out of the bottom 20 most deprived authorities.

Manchester is a city built on ambition and innovation, with a strong leadership that has a vision to create a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable city where zero carbon is central to our future.

However, the city has had to overcome major challenges in recent years (the Manchester Arena bombing, austerity, pandemic), and our staff have shown an incredible resilience to ensure Manchester remains a place of success that delivers for our residents.

Being named Council of the Year would mean the world to our teams across the authority who give their all every day for our city.

Acknowledgement as ‘a strong council’, ‘providing good place leadership’ and contributing ‘effective positive relationships’ is hard-won much-deserved praise.

Recent external reviews into our culture, performance and ambition have singled out North Kesteven District Council as a high-performing authority, an excellent partner and a great place to work.

It’s also got one of the clearest, most comprehensive climate action plans that sets out ‘excellent ambitions for tackling climate change’ and clearly-defined priorities contributing to fulfilment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Having this complete jigsaw in place gives clarity, purpose and structure and enables us to drive forward with momentum.

Low funded, low spending but high impact: in 2021 Staffordshire County Council was an exemplar of innovation, perspiration and achievement. We supported residents during the pandemic and got business back on the move through an array of partnerships, funding schemes and community projects. Major infrastructure projects were delivered, promising more jobs and opportunities. And across the council, our approach on issues ranging from home care to libraries, business support to childcare, continues to lead the way regionally and nationally. Well run, financially stable and with big ambitions, Staffordshire County Council will continue to punch far above its weight.

We’ve spent the best part of a decade building what has to be one of local government’s biggest success stories.

Telford & Wrekin has outstanding children’s services, our adult social care is regarded as exceptional and we’re leading by example on the climate change agenda by dramatically reducing the council’s carbon emissions.

The pandemic brought to the fore our strong bonds with communities and partners as we supported the borough’s most vulnerable residents.

At the same time, we’ve worked to create the conditions for inclusive economic growth and brought forward pioneering regeneration schemes that will transform the borough.

Cleaner Barking and Dagenham (B&D) Campaign

Environmental issues like litter, untidy gardens and fly-tipping have recently plagued London boroughs and other parts of the country.

With one of the highest household waste rates in London alongside one of the lowest recycling rates, and ongoing enviro-crime, addressing these issues would be undoubtedly challenging for a place like Barking and Dagenham.

Through its success, the Cleaner B&D campaign has become the cornerstone of a new reciprocal relationship we’re developing with our residents, where everyone has a part to play and by working together, we can achieve great things for our borough.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

Don’t park **it there

We’re cleaning **it up

Our bold Sort **it Out campaign was designed around a specific audience to tackle defined anti-social behaviours in August 2021.

Out of home content in key locations, use of social media channels most used by our audiences and a combination of fun artwork, strong messaging and consequential content combined to deliver a high-impact campaign that resonated with our primary audience and those who influence them.

We took a calculated risk and it paid off, with evidence all negative behaviours reducing significantly during campaign implementation.

"Closer to home" Breaking the Stigma around homelessness: A Media Campaign

Central Bedfordshire Council ran a campaign called ‘Closer to Home’ to reduce stigma around homelessness and encourage residents worried about homelessness or experiencing homelessness to seek help as early as possible to prevent homelessness and avoid crisis intervention.

Dorset Council’s ‘Promise to Love Dorset’ campaign

Dorset has unique nature and habitats which help make it such a special place. At the height of the pandemic, we experienced some negative impacts from high numbers of uncaring visitors: littering, wildfires, illegal parking and anti-social behaviour.

Our aim for summer 2021 was to maximise positive opportunities and minimise negative impacts of visitors to Dorset by changing their behaviour. Our campaign was delivered with partner agencies using robust data and behavioural insights for maximum effect.

All objectives were met, on time and within budget and the aspiration to create a positive legacy was achieved.

In 2020 Liverpool saw an increase in deaths by suicide – potentially associated with the impact of Covid-19, and the resulting anxiety from lockdowns, social isolation and job and financial insecurity.

The prevention of suicide has not been adequately addressed due to a lack of awareness of suicide as a major public health problem and the taboo in society to openly discuss it – something which prevents people reaching out.

Co-created with people who have attempted or been bereaved by suicide Liverpool City Council produced a hard-hitting campaign to break these taboos.

Theo's story is an emotive and engaging multi-media campaign that delivered measurable results for one of Somerset County Council's key priorities, the recruitment of new foster carers, throughout the challenging and uncertain times of the coronavirus pandemic.

Save Our Summer - successfully influencing the behaviour of under 25s

Spring 2021: Covid messaging was gaining diminishing returns, and data was telling us the local resilience forum partnership had a limited ability to reach 18-24 year-olds through its existing channels. The aim was simple – get people to modify their behaviour to reduce the transmission of Covid-19. But the intended audience, combined with the subject matter, meant we needed a simple, credible message that would have a meaningful behavioural impact. The epidemiological clock was ticking. By the end of a six-week campaign, nearly 11,000 additional 18-24 year-olds in Hertfordshire were regularly testing at home before going out.

Love is not abuse – Wigan Council and partners

The Love is Not Abuse campaign is an innovative marketing campaign co-produced with victims of domestic abuse to widen public awareness on what constitutes abuse and highlight early warning signs to prevent any abuse escalating. Its central message is to highlight how domestic abuse, particularly psychological forms of abuse, can be confused by victims with forms of love. It was produced entirely by Wigan Council's in-house marketing and communications team in partnership with local victims of domestic abuse. It has resulted in 72% increase in calls to the council's new hotline.

Children’s Services – sponsored by Attenti Consulting

The Youth at Risk Matrix: Outreach and engagement to prevent criminality and exploitation

The Youth at Risk Matrix (YARM) is a unique service operating on the edge of youth offending, picking up high risk cases before they would have reached the youth offending service. It is therefore critical to the borough’s early help and intervention strategy. A 30% decrease in first-time entrants to the youth justice system between 2019 and 2020 is evidence of the YARM’s impact. Its success lies in the creative methods it uses to connect with vulnerable young people, and its ability to find, through gathering and sharing intelligence, those at risk of criminality and exploitation before it’s too late.

Cheshire West & Chester Council

Our Ways of Working - Cheshire West

Cheshire West Children’s Trust has a pioneering vision for working with children and families across the multi-agency partnership.

Enabling our vision is a transformational culture change programme in becoming the first multi-agency partnership embedding trauma informed practice, a shared language and understanding of need and risk. Training over 2,000 members of the multi-agency workforce, we are working with children and families in a way that ensures sustainable solutions, improves emotional health and wellbeing, recovery from trauma and develops resilience. The impact of Our Way of Working (OWOW) has been recognised in our recent Ofsted focus visit.

Hertfordshire County Council's virtual school's achievements in supporting children in care into higher hducation

Children and young people come into our care at any age with varying needs and aspirations and often with many emotional barriers to educational success.

Given this, Hertfordshire CC is tremendously proud of the success its all-through virtual school is having in supporting children in our care into higher education.

Employing an innovative and flexible approach of accelerating progress and addressing emerging needs as they arise, we have seen increasing numbers attending university and sustaining their courses. Despite the pandemic, a record 28 care leavers took up their place at university in autumn 2021.

Islington LBC and Camden LBC

Islington and Camden Modern Slavery Project

We nominate our child modern slavery project delivered in partnership with the London Borough of Camden for its innovative and ground-breaking response to child safeguarding, decision-making and improving outcomes for child exploitation victims. This project has not only gone above and beyond to identify and refer suspected child victims of modern slavery and provide timely 45 day decisions to determine if they are a victim under the national referral mechanism framework, but has also developed a strong, localised and multi-agency strategic approach to identifying child victims, sharing intelligence and working towards disrupting trafficking networks exploiting children locally.

Reconnect: Kent Children and Young People

Reconnect Kent is a unique, community focused partnership working in innovative ways to reconnect children and young people to things they missed during the pandemic. It is a universal programme, acknowledging that all children and young people have missed out over the past two years, but targeted support is provided to those who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. With focuses on education, mental health and wellbeing, families and communities, sports and activities, and economic wellbeing, Reconnect is striving to improve all aspects of children's lives and provide them with new and exciting opportunities.

In just four years, children’s services in Telford & Wrekin have gone from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘outstanding’. Our story is of transformational change that’s created an environment where staff are empowered, interventions are evidence-led and families receive intensive support.

It has led to dramatic improvement in outcomes for children and young people. The council’s team – described as ‘national trailblazers’ for the way they support care leavers – is now a Department for Education sector-led improvement partner, advising fellow professionals at local authorities across the country on a number of aspects of children’s social care.

A tale of transforming Wakefield from Inadequate to Good in three years

From considerable workforce capacity issues and practice deficits, plus delays in meeting children’s needs, to an integrated, ambitious, and child-focused service – that’s the story of Wakefield’s children and young people’s services.

No surprise then that having been rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted in 2018, in 2021 it was rated ‘good’ with ‘outstanding’ leadership – an incredible transformation.

Regular consultation and a systematic approach were a feature of the transformation and remain critical to continued improvement. Significant investment in more staff, relationships with partners, and a new learning academy contribute to what Ofsted called an “unstinting focus” on improvement.

City of Wolverhampton Council – Transformation of Children’s Services

The way children and young people are supported in Wolverhampton has changed beyond recognition in the five years since we launched our transformation programme.

From the way we work with partners to the level of involvement children and young people now have in shaping services, our city is a very different place to grow up in.

We’ve launched a range of successful projects that are getting to heart of deep-seated issues, breaking down barriers and delivering far better outcomes for young people.

We’re still on our journey, but through an embedded commitment to continuous learning we’ll keep driving improvement.

Climate Response – sponsored by Liberty Charge

Blackpool Council: Responding to the Climate Emergency

As a compact urban area with good public transport, low car ownership and limited large-scale manufacturing businesses, Blackpool is a relatively low emitter of carbon dioxide; and yet the coastal location makes us most vulnerable to its effects. The council declared a climate emergency in June 2019, committing us to net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and working towards similar across the town. As the most deprived local authority in England, we recognized from the outset that achieving a “just” transition requires strong stakeholder leadership and extensive public involvement.

Bradford Clean Air Plan - Leadership in responding to the Climate Emergency

The Bradford Clean Air Plan was successful in the Climate Response category in 2021 for the city’s clean air plan to reduce emissions. This entry demonstrates how far Bradford has come in delivering the plan and the tangible results that have been realised in one year. The infrastructure has been built, there have been huge changes in the city’s fleet and there has been extensive work on communications and in communities and schools. Future projects are being developed which will further reduce emissions.

Derby City Council and Derbyshire CC

The DE-Carbonise project directly supports local business to reduce CO2 emissions using an accessible, straightforward approach. A free site audit identifies opportunities for each business to reduce their CO2 e.g., by generating renewable energy, replacing lighting, heating, equipment, improving controllability and insulation and switching to electric vehicles as well as by changing behaviour to embed the low carbon agenda into their business practice. Businesses can receive match-funded grants of up to £20,000 to implement capital carbon reduction measures and the project is on track to deliver annual savings of over 2,000 tonnes carbon and £758,000 on SME energy bills.

Delivering Green Homes, Regenerating Communities

Delivering green homes; regenerating communities. A whole-area approach to delivering sustainable low carbon communities, Durham’s local authority delivery programme brings together internal and external partners, using funding from Department of Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), to tackle thermally-inefficient homes and fuel poverty. So far 650 properties have been improved in villages and Gypsy and Roma traveller sites across the county, saving 25,000 tonnes of carbon and achieving annual fuel bill savings for local residents of £160,000.

Rebuilding a greener Hackney: the UK's biggest programme of low traffic neighbourhoods and School Streets

In the past 18 months, Hackney Council has implemented one of the most ambitious active travel programmes in the country in our effort to rebuild a greener borough and tackle transport emissions.

We have introduced 19 new low traffic areas, known as low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) and 40 new School Streets, which close roads outside schools at opening and closing times. We now have more School Streets and LTNs than any other council nationwide.

This has seen traffic reductions, emissions reductions and air quality improvements across the borough, increases in our walking and cycling rates and improvements in road safety.

Lewisham Net Zero Schools Programme

Lewisham's Net Zero Carbon Schools programme aims to bring investment into the 84 schools across the borough and empower young people to care about, and take action against, climate change. Through a series of interactive, educational workshops, including a pupil-led audit of energy performance, the actions needed to cut onsite emissions in schools across the borough were identified, and the processes for reducing schools to net zero were initiated.

The outcome of this programme has not just been reducing the carbon emissions of schools, but engaging a generation of pupils with the importance of tackling climate change.

Manchester City Council Climate Change Action Plan 2020-25

Since declaring the Climate Emergency, MCC has set about transforming the way it works to put climate change at the heart of the organisation, our partners, residents, and young people. Our corporate priorities and the ‘Our Manchester Strategy’ reflect the city’s zero carbon ambition.

Our ambitious Climate Change Action Plan has been adopted across MCC and changes to policies, planning, and infrastructure, with funding being put in place. A refresh of the plan will ensure it remains current and agile, ensuring Manchester’s communities, residents and visitors reap the benefits of a resilient, healthy, and sustainable city.

West Dunbartonshire Council – Queens Quay Energy Centre & District Heating Network.

The Queens Quay Heat Pump scheme is the largest of its kind in the UK and takes heat from the River Clyde and currently uses it to heat a range of nearby buildings. As it is extended, it will also heat local homes and businesses across Clydebank. The project is particularly exciting as it demonstrates the viability of large-scale heat pump projects in the UK. The water source for the Queens Quay project is a tidal, saltwater river (River Clyde) which is under the protection of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

West Oxfordshire, Cotswold and Forest of Dean DC with Publica Group

Net Zero Carbon Toolkit - Publica Group on behalf of West Oxfordshire, Cotswold and Forest of Dean District Councils

The Net Zero Carbon Toolkit is a go-to guide providing the latest expertise on net zero housing design and retrofit, targeting a critical knowledge gap for local authorities, developers and building professionals. Realised through a partnership between three district councils and industry experts, the toolkit was published under a creative commons licence to maximise its reach and use. It has received national media recognition, including among key industry stakeholders, and has been taken up by councils across the UK to influence guidance for developers on future housing standards.

Community involvement - sponsored by Norse Group

Becontree Forever: 30,000+ residents mark century of world’s biggest council estate and start to reimagine its future

Becontree Forever is a radical, new programme of art, architecture and infrastructure engaging with over 30,000 residents, 59 schools and 75 arts and community organisations on the world’s biggest council housing estate, the Becontree Estate.

Becontree Forever launched in 2021, the centenary of the estate’s construction, to celebrate a ground-breaking past and, crucially, creates the platform, networks and community participation necessary to reimagine the estate’s future – through major investment in housing, retrofitting, transport and infrastructure. The diversity of programming, levels of participation through social/cultural engagement, and the important legacy the programme builds make it a standout community involvement project.

Barnet LBC with Barnet Borough Partnership

The Barnet Community Innovation Fund is the flagship community investment fund administered by Barnet LBC on behalf of the Barnet Borough Partnership. Funding partners included the Barnet Directorate of NCL Clinical Commissioning Group and local community and acute healthcare provider, Central London Community Healthcare and the Royal Free London. The Community Innovation Fund is a real success story that exemplifies the partnership’s priorities in:

• building a resilient voluntary care sector

• connecting with our communities and residents

Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) Programme

Bradford HAF summer programme’s success is a direct result of collaborating with the voluntary and community sector, schools and council departments including sport and leisure, public health, neighbourhoods, youth service and children’s services.

109 community providers working with 93 partner organisations delivered 2,062 sessions for 34,964 children district-wide.

Sport and leisure delivered 42 days of park sessions for 14,000 children, more than any other council sports service.

Our innovative use of community data mapping tool allows a ward-level view of provision. Data led decisions with communities at the core (https://youtu.be/QgaV7naSLTA). This has been showcased with Department for Education representative ChildCare works. Bradford is leading the way.

“It’s been heart-warming to have had such great support from the community” and “we're overwhelmed with the support from the community and Cotswold DC” was just two of the great pieces of feedback we received in response to introducing a more accessible and transparent approach to community-giving.

Crowdfund Cotswold, our online crowdfunding platform, has raised an amazing £296,891 of funding from 1,288 backers, supporting 19 community-led projects – and that is just in year one.

Projects from £40k for youth wellbeing, to under £2k to create a wildflower area have all gained local support and premium funding for taking council priorities.

Haringey LBC with Beam Up

A community-powered approach to tackling homelessness

Haringey LBC has partnered with Beam, the world's first crowdfunding platform for homeless people, to take a community-focused approach to homelessness in the borough. Beam’s platform brings together council housing officers, charities, members of the public, training providers and local employers to provide a long-term solution to homelessness. Now in its second year, Haringey’s partnership with Beam is providing the homeless community with a vital support network and the resources needed to regain true independence. Since December 2020, Beam and Haringey’s partnership has supported 22 homeless residents into work, with a work sustainment rate of 91%.

Pearson Park, Hull City Council

Pearson Park is Hull’s ‘People’s Park’ – the first public park to be developed in the city, completed in 1862. Over a century later, the park was in major need of restoration work to safeguard its heritage into and beyond the 21st century, and in 2017 Hull City Council were successful recipients of a multimillion-pound lottery grant. At the heart of this restoration process are the people who live in the diverse communities surrounding Pearson Park. Hull City Council involved the community throughout the restoration works – providing apprenticeships, workshops, heritage talks, an array of community events and school visits.

Shaped by People: We make our places what they are

We’ve worked with citizens to co-create Shaped by People, a new strategic outcome for active citizenship, which will influence everything we do. This is a whole-organisation commitment for Kirklees Metropolitan Council to become an enabler of active citizens in all our distinct local places. At its heart is a shared goal, written in citizens’ own words, describing the future that people want to see. Alongside this, our new approach to citizen engagement (conversations not consultations) has enabled over 8,600 citizens to have a stake in their local place. We’re engaging young citizens from all communities through our Democracy Friendly Schools programme.

Norfolk CC with Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service

Sector-defining community involvement project with seldom-heard communities (170+ diverse voices)

Our community involvement project of 170 diverse voices drawn from 35 seldom-heard communities is an extraordinary collaboration between Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service and local residents.

The objective was to understand barriers to recruitment in fire and rescue roles faced by seldom-heard communities.

We are the only fire and rescue service in the country to have completed such an ambitious community involvement project. The findings are so significant that we have invited central government to work with us to develop a response, and we are seeing increases in the diversity of our workforce.

Portsmouth City Council with Karakusevic Carson Architects

Horatia and Leamington Houses Community Programme

The Horatia and Leamington Houses community programme is an ambitious and innovative initiative by Portsmouth City Council that is guiding the renewal of Horatia and Leamington Houses Estate, a residential neighbourhood located in Somerstown, just south of the city centre. Through an extensive and bespoke outreach and engagement programme, the council have placed the community at the centre of the design and decision-making process to create a new part of the city that reflects the different needs and aspirations of local people.

Digital Impact – sponsored by Agilisys

Camden LBC, Enfield LBC, Haringey LBC, Islington LBC, Luton BC, Slough BC, Sutton LBC, Tower Hamlets LBC, Westminster City Council with Policy in Practice

Policy in Practice helps councils allocate £18.5m in household support funds

At Policy in Practice we know that delivering Covid-19 support funds has been a particular challenge for local authorities over the past two years. Ensuring that this much-needed discretionary support reaches the people who need it most has called for innovative approaches to identifying need and targeting support.

The low income family tracker (LIFT) platform has been instrumental in helping many local authorities accurately target their household support funds using their administrative data. In this way over £18.5m in financial support has been successfully allocated to vulnerable households.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council with Humber Coast and Vale ICS

Digital Record Enabling and Management Support (DREaMS) team is making over 20,000 care providers’ and residents’ dreams come true. Millions of pounds are made available annually to care providers to adopt technology to change lives… but if they don’t know how, no one will benefit. The DREaMS team is working on a one-to-one basis with over 860 care providers to become more digitally enabled by providing tailored support with a game-changing digital maturity tool which has revolutionised the way the health and care system works with care homes – already recognised in less than six months as best practice nationally.

Kent county and district councils share data insights to tackle poverty

In a first for local government, Kent CC and district councils are collaborating by sharing data insights which are helping them to tackle poverty across the county.

The information revealed by the council’s data is now driving nearly 50 poverty prevention campaigns and early indications are very encouraging. So far, five district councils have worked on a number of different poverty prevention campaigns which have achieved an extra £546,127 in extra income for residents across Kent. These results suggest that a potential extra income of over £6m can be secured for Kent’s residents by March 2022.

This encompasses a wide-ranging piece of digital transformation work across our public realm environmental services. Our aim was to balance our climate declaration responsibilities alongside modernising the delivery of key activities within our services to provide efficient and effective ways of working.

Having started with one project goal to optimise our waste collections, our mindset and culture have changed in terms of how we use data, and we see this as just the beginning of a much wider approach in our operations and delivering the best possible service to our residents.

As technology and the internet continually advance, it is becoming more difficult to successfully navigate daily life without at least a basic grasp of how to use it. A unique collaborative approach between Middlesbrough Council’s Staying Put Agency and Age UK Teesside supports disadvantaged and disabled people to improve their ability to access the internet to support their health, wealth and happiness; and in reducing loneliness and social isolation.

The Rekindle programme provides relevant, creative, digital solutions to upskill and empower Middlesbrough residents, to get online and confidently use digital tools to enhance their lives.

South Gloucestershire Council with Toshiba Europe

UMBRELLA - Creating a state-of-the-art platform that enables collaboration between local authorities, academia, SMEs, corporates and public bodies for developing skills and capabilities required in the Internet of Things economy.

The UMBRELLA Project is one of the largest world-leading programmable Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) network within South Gloucestershire that connects five innovation hubs and provides a toolkit of state-of-the art technologies and real-world locations all on a single platform. It has placed South Gloucestershire on the innovation roadmap, creating an open and collaborative environment where local authorities, academia, start-ups, SMEs and corporates can work together to address key societal challenges like climate change, achieving net zero, and future skills development through through faster adoption of integrated IoT solutions.

Role of data in digital transformation

Data is key to our digital transformation. We are proud of our innovative use of this key asset to support our digital ambitions and build a data driven culture to transform services with better outcomes for residents. Whether it’s introducing innovative, cross-organisation data-sharing paired with open-source technologies, making the most of dashboards with actionable insights, or publishing data via our open portal and mapping solution, we put data at the core of everything we do. A key part of our Borough Plan priority to be a radically digital borough, data is helping us meet the challenges facing local government.

Data Saves Lives - a data and intelligence led response to the pandemic in Suffolk, Suffolk CC and the Suffolk Office for Data & Analytics (SODA)

Suffolk CC and SODA have an ambitious vision where linked data and shared intelligence improve services and outcomes. Our data-led response to the pandemic saved lives and kept people safe across Suffolk.

Key innovations included a vulnerable persons dataset which enabled over 10,000 proactive calls supporting residents; the automation of dataflows and creation of sophisticated epidemiological dashboards which drove the public health response; creating a virtual locality school roll which enabled staff to ensure our most vulnerable children were supported and safe in school; and a data-led risk assessment for all adult social care customers, enabling a risk-informed response.

The world has seen a considerable shift in the use of digital information. Therefore, digital inclusion has never been so important and workforce skills should meet this need.

SCULPT is a whole organisation approach and model to train and upskill the workforce to promote accessibility awareness and basic digital skills, so everybody across the workforce, no matter what level of IT skills, can apply the very basic principles of digital accessibility into all documents and content they produce.

At Worcestershire CC we firmly believe that inclusive digital practice is the responsibility of everyone, not just the web team.

Diversity and Inclusion – sponsored by Penna

Diversity and inclusion go beyond buzz words. Bradford Council’s Stronger Communities Team turns words into action, working with people, businesses and local organisations to improve opportunity, participation and engagement. We involve communities in decision making, design and delivery. We make meaningful change systemically through policy and practice. Our simple motto:

Following the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent global Black Lives Matter movement, the council met with 72 black community leaders and key representatives in Brent. This open conversation led to the development of the Black Community Action Plan which set out the council’s commitment to eradicating inequality.

The plan is the council’s commitment to give a platform to, and be led by the black community, to build resilience, skills and celebrate culture. It sets out actions that will be addressed collaboratively with the community, whilst focusing efforts internally on the areas that are within our control to change.

“Raw, unfiltered, honest” are some of the words used by stakeholders to reference the conversations which have taken place since the launch of our Challenging Inequality programme 18 months ago. Challenging structural, institutional racism is a lifetime endeavour. To make progress we were adamant that our approach needed to be bold and unapologetically disruptive. We wanted to provoke people to think and behave differently. We were certain that if conversations felt too comfortable, we weren’t asking the right questions. As a result, we’ve galvanised staff, partners and our community and delivered a range of initiatives to bring about change.

Increasing diversity and representation within Lambeth Council

Lambeth Council has had a sustained and coordinated programme to increase diversity and representation with its staff throughout 2021.

Much of this work is based on putting into action an independent review carried out by Professor Patrick Vernon OBE.

His recommendations have been embedded into the organisation as part of a determined and coordinated commitment to the diversity and inclusion agenda at Lambeth Council.

Building a fairer Luton for all

The last year has seen far-reaching work to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of the council’s vision to make Luton ‘a town built on fairness’ with strong progress and impact within education, skills, business and community sectors.

A significant increase in the number of council staff from ethnic minority backgrounds, targeted engagement initiatives to involve communities in key-decision making and tailored help for black learners and business owners are just some of the achievements to have been made following the council’s Black Lives Matter and Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Workforce were adopted in early January 2021.

The horrific murder of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked global unrest and brought into focus the inequalities, racism and discrimination that still exist. In response, we set up Southwark Stands Together - our call to unity and action. It aims to tackle ingrained, structural inequality and bring about positive change in Southwark.

The Architecture Design Services Framework was the first initiative which shone a light on systemic, socio-economic elitism within the profession. We saw an opportunity to open our supply chain to local people who represent and understand our communities and can change the built environment to reflect that

Building a diverse and inclusive workforce

Our People Strategy, is based on three pillars, “Everyone has talent,” “Everyone is a leader,” and “Everyone is valued”. We believe that our staff deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, be listed to, represented and have fair and equal access to opportunities.

We want our workforce to be representative of the communities we serve and have embedded diversity and inclusion into the way we work; from how we attract, reward and develop our staff, critical analysis on diversity data and we are committed to closing our gender and ethnicity pay gaps

Wiltshire Council: Creating an inclusive workplace

We started 2021 by launching our new Inclusion Strategy with multiple commitments by our senior leadership team to further embed inclusion within our organisation.

We launched a women’s staff network (in addition to BME, LGBT+ and carers and disability) and grew our network membership to over 200.

Our world-renowned Black History Month event, courses and reverse mentoring programme were among dozens of initiatives which helped educate staff (including managers), partners and the public on matters of inclusion and diversity, leading to increased engagement, braver conversations and positive change.

We ended the year having been verified as an includability committed employer!

Diversity & Inclusion - City of Wolverhampton Council

City of Wolverhampton Council has transformed the way it approaches equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). By integrating staff equality forums into the way it forms policy and makes decisions, the council is increasingly bringing an EDI lens to all areas of its work. Under-representation of black, Asian and other ethnic minority groups and female staff at a senior level is being addressed with a comprehensive range of professional development initiatives.

But equally important, the entire workforce is now being involved in making the council a safe and welcoming place where everyone can be themselves.

Brent residents and businesses faced acute hardship due to the pandemic, especially compared to the rest of London and the UK. As a council, we have done our utmost to ensure that businesses and residents receive the support they need to enable effective economic recovery. In particular, we have focused on local high street recovery, helping businesses to re-open and incentivising residents to buy local. In addition, we have supported our most vulnerable residents, ensuring they do not go without during the economic downturn, and helping them secure employment.

Creating inclusive growth alongside business opportunities

Faced with a declining, low-wage local economy, the council set aside large sites for commercial development in its new local plan, and marketed these to growth industries. Development of five major sites is now underway and will deliver at least 8,000 jobs over the next five years, and 120 apprenticeships negotiated by the council. The council is co-developing one site to provide much needed office accommodation and leisure facilities. The council runs a centre providing easy-terms accommodation for small businesses and is building another equipped for data-intensive businesses. Business training and advice programmes included digital marketing training during the pandemic.

Markham Vale: regeneration at its best

Markham Vale, a former colliery site in north-east Derbyshire, is an outstanding example of successful regeneration which has put the local community, environmental impact and a sense of place at its heart.

To date the project has delivered more than 2,200 jobs, 70 businesses, over 800 acres of regenerated land, a community art project, a new motorway junction and new cycle paths in a deprived area of the country. Extra support has been provided to businesses during the pandemic and the next steps will see the creation of a waterside development, more space for businesses and more recreation space.

Milton Keynes Economic Recovery Plan

The Milton Keynes Economic Recovery Plan is a £3.1m programme of investment to support the Milton Keynes economy in recovery from Covid-19. The council worked in partnership with its business community in designing and delivering a programme of support specifically tailored for the city’s needs and including specific programmes of support for young people and women. We are proud this partnership approach meaning our economic recovery plan has provided practical support, in addition to grant funding, to over 840 businesses and 2,350 residents. Much like Milton Keynes itself and its economy, our plan is creative, innovative and different by design.

Standing Together With Our Diverse Local Businesses to Build a Stronger Southwark

Southwark LBC stands proudly together with the borough’s diverse businesses. We set up an innovative emergency grant fund of £2m, targeted at small businesses, before any other. We ploughed £15m additional restriction grant to help local business survive and thrive – the top performing council in London, supporting over 2,000 local organisations. Our Southwark Works employment service helped 5,500 residents into work in less than four years. The majority of those from a black, Asian or minority ethnic background. And all achieved against a Covid economic shock that together we will heal from as one community with pride.

Pride in Our High Streets

While the regeneration of its new town often takes the spotlight, Telford & Wrekin Council is also gaining attention for the way it supports smaller towns across the borough.

Pride in Our High Streets is fast becoming a blueprint for high street regeneration thanks to its comprehensive, intelligence-led range of support and initiatives.

From providing grants to local businesses and renovating shop frontages to launching an app to encourage residents to ‘shop local’ and inspiring young people to play their part in the future of high streets, this ever-evolving programme is having a tangible impact on the local economy.

Wirral is at a major turning point in its economic history, with a unique and unprecedented opportunity for positive change. During a time of extraordinary emergency economic support, Wirral BC’s regeneration service has worked tirelessly with businesses, local and national government, residents and stakeholders to develop and steer a programme of recovery, growth and investment of a scale, pace and significance not seen in a lifetime. Our ambitious plans draw together economy, environment and people in a truly integrated regeneration programme with local communities and businesses firmly at its heart.

This is our Decade of Delivery.

Supporting York's Economy: Short and Medium-term Actions for a Prosperous and Inclusive Future

2021 was a tough year for York’s economy with a significant proportion of businesses and workers operating in disrupted sectors. Working alongside public and private sector partners, we administered over 25,000 grants worth £114m, applied all business rates support and invested £1m in additional local support. Within this, we established the business growth voucher scheme, which allowed local businesses to access up to £1,000 of support from other local businesses. Concurrently, we have acted on medium to long-term aspirations by securing inward investment, strengthening mental health awareness and encouraging take-up of ethical business principles through the good business charter.

Environmental Services – sponsored by Repic

Bath & North East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council, Somerset CC, Somerset West and Taunton Council and South Somerset DC

Recycle More - Somerset Waste Partnership

Somerset Waste Partnership is rolling-out its new collection service, Recycle More, to 260,000 homes. The service is an innovative way to meet public need and required considerable creativity and flexibility to launch successfully in the face of the pandemic and driver shortage. It is on target to meet or exceed environmental and financial goals – delivering hundreds of tonnes of extra recycling each week and set to save more than £2m annually. And, this potentially sensitive change (which includes three-weekly rubbish collections) has landed remarkably well with the residents, with 86% of those surveyed preferring it to what went before.

Cleaner, greener streets matter to everyone – wherever they live. In Birmingham, with its mix of socially deprived, high-density inner-city areas and affluent suburbs, we know this better than anyone. Our focus on reducing flytipping through our mobile waste recycling centres is delivering a better environment for all our residents and prove the benefits of working with our communities and elected members using targeted and innovative approaches that make a visible difference to neighbourhoods – especially in the places that need it most.

Increasing recycling; a new food waste collection

Bracknell Forest BC introduced a new food recycling service and changed the refuse collection to three weekly (from fortnightly) on 1 March 2021. The aim was to divert waste from landfill, increase recycling and reduce impact on climate change.

The end result has been incredible, since implementation we have averaged 2.75kg per household per week of food, reduced refuse by 25% and are on track to achieve a 55% recycling rate.

Delivering an improved textile and small WEEE service, London Borough of Hillingdon

Hillingdon had an antiquated method of collecting their textiles costing the council high gate fees due to contamination within their dry mixed recycling stream.

The service was also not available to all residents, particularly flatted developments.

Hillingdon recognised the need for change and worked in partnership with TRAID to create a new, improved service to all our residents. This was not only at zero cost to the council, but as a direct result of introducing this new service the council saved significant costs in gate fees on our dry mixed recycling service.

Middlesbrough BC’s environmental flying squad is a new approach to tackling environmental crime. The team is made up of specialist environmental officers and area care waste operatives and supported by a neighbourhood safety officer. We investigate and clear fly tipped waste in one pass. We have created a "sort it not report it" team who specialise not only in fly-tipping investigations but all environmental matters, such as littering, public space protection order enforcement, untaxed vehicles and commercial waste issues. We have introduced new technology called All on Mobile using an app to investigate offences.

Monmouthshire CC - Nature Isn't Neat

Monmouthshire CC thrives on being bold and forward-thinking. Through our innovative Nature Isn’t Neat approach to caring for our open spaces, we have led the way in becoming pollinator friendly and successfully engaged communities in a programme of re-wilding. We have elevated our sustainability credentials, reduced our cost base, mainstreamed our work whilst forming new, rich and deep partnerships. This approach has inspired others and led discussions on how we can collectively adapt to our ever-changing landscape and concerns around climate change. Most importantly, our approach has made an everlasting impact, boosting wildlife and community well-being.

Lichfield District Nature Recovery – more, bigger, better and connected habitats

Lichfield DC is combining a determination to conserve habitats and species with ecology expertise to develop innovative and interlinked solutions balancing the needs of local development with priorities for connecting and protecting important habits and making significant contributions to environmental protection. The unique Lichfield model sets a mandatory net gain biodiversity percentages for development. Building on this platform, the council continues to strengthen its biodiversity approach including creation of a nature recovery network outlining locations where habitats may be created or enhanced, and Lichfield district land search – assessing and highlighting where land is, or potentially, available for biodiversity.

Nottingham City Council - Fleet Electrification Challenges and Strategy

Nottingham City Council is taking a leading role in the switch to zero emission vehicles. As well as converting 215 vehicles (45% of its fleet) to electric, the council is also making it easier for others to make the switch. Projects include trials for local businesses, a public facing ultra-low emission vehicle-only garage staffed by experts and a procurement framework and real-world fleet reviews for other organisations. Nottingham City Council has been a pioneer in the field and is working hard to share this knowledge to increase the pace of adoption across the UK.

Don’t Trash Oldham is back-to-basics. Every council-maintained road and open space is being cleaned. Budget austerity and extra waste during Covid demanded a service redesign and different approaches to target waste, fly-tipping, and litter. Using ‘detailed data’ analytics we are working with resident groups, schools and stakeholders and it’s making a difference – locals are telling us. We are removing tons of extra rubbish across hundreds of streets and alleys, energising community litter picks and with targeted extra cleaning and enforcement officers, making sure we get the job done. With additional environment marshals recruited we’re ‘locking in’ real change

Future Places – sponsored by Connected Places Catapult

Barnsley MBC has pioneered a fundamental change to the way high streets can adapt and embrace digital to become successful urban centres of the future. By removing the physical boundaries of the urban centres and taking a seamless online approach, Barnsley’s urban centres will once again become the centres of trade around which town centres historically formed. This investment in transforming retail has delivered good growth, secured jobs, increased business sales and locked in local spend. Daytime footfall has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, evening and night-time footfall has increased and business occupancy remains constant, with growth in the independent sector.

Coventry As a Future Place

In 2021, Coventry has built on its tradition of innovation and technology development to enhance its status as a sustainable future city. Whilst proactively responding to climate change, we have led development of new industries to deliver sustained economic and social recovery post-pandemic. We have delivered pioneering work with local public and private sector partners in three principal areas: investment in digital infrastructure (especially fibre broadband and 5G to enable innovation); smart mobility (electric vehicles, very light rail, urban air) to develop new jobs and supply chains; and in smart renewable energy supply to power future growth and innovation.

5G RuralDorset is a ground-breaking Dorset Council-led research and development project aimed at understanding how 5G connectivity can help people lead safer and more prosperous lives in rural communities. The project contributes to the understanding of how 5G can be used to address some specific challenges – public safety, economic growth, food production and environmental – as well as create new opportunities in Dorset and rural communities across the UK.

Essex CC Climate Focus Area

Achieving net-zero for the whole of Essex is challenging but achievable. We are developing a climate focus area, as a demonstration site for best practice in sustainability. Targeting a designated area within the county allows for more focused, ambitious and intensive action within shorter time frames, where learning and acquired knowledge of positive impacts can be disseminated across the county. We have chosen a representative area of Essex, the catchments of the Blackwater and Colne rivers, where focused efforts can be made to combat climate change and lead the way for the rest of Essex.

MK A Future city now

Milton Keynes, one of the most successful new towns and now a mature unitary authority is leading the way with delivering the revolution happening in mobility. Using advanced technology and collaboration with world class businesses the city is actively deploying new mobility services designed to help achieve the cities ambitious plans to grow and be a leader within the UK future/smart city community. Our entry highlights our progress and celebrate the successes we have achieved in the area of future mobility.

Pioneering 5G in Sherwood Forest

"We are using the technology of the future to help look after the present and remember our past".

A robot forest ranger dog and an interactive Robin Hood experience - how Sherwood Forest is set to change. The 5G Connected Forest project is built on Nottinghamshire’s unrivalled digital achievements and shows our county’s ability to deliver the latest technologies to support the lives of our residents, businesses and visitors to stimulate our creative and digital industries. This project is a unique opportunity for Nottinghamshire to become a world-leader by exploiting the technological innovation that 5G can offer.

South Glouchestershire Council with Toshiba Europe

UMBRELLA - Creating a state-of-the-art platform that enables collaboration between local authorities, academia, SMEs, corporates and public bodies for developing skills and capabilities required in the Internet of Things economy.

There was a global need for advanced, future-looking digital testbeds that are accessible to academia, local authorities and businesses of all sizes, creating a bridge between lab development and commercial deployment. UMBRELLA provides a collaborative platform that enables technical and application developers from across society to develop and de-risk Internet of Things solutions in a real-world testbed. It has created an innovative three-tier air quality network that collects data to back council policy on combatting climate change and meet its net zero carbon goals. It has placed South Gloucestershire on the innovation map in the UK and beyond.

Health and Social Care – sponsored by Attenti Consulting

Birmingham City Council - Neighbourhood Network Schemes: Delivering the Vision for Adult Social Care.

Birmingham City Council’s neighbourhood network schemes (NNS) prove the powerful impact of voluntary and statutory agencies working together to deliver change.

They support thousands of people to lead healthier, happier lives and are influencing the council’s move to a future operating model that shifts from crisis to prevention.

Increasingly recognised as an exemplar of collaboration with the voluntary and community sector, NNS are a striking example of how Europe’s largest council, serving a diverse city of 1.2 million people, can find local solutions that deliver both savings and better outcomes for people.

Carmarthenshire CC with Llesiant Delta Wellbeing

Working alongside key partners within health and social care from across west Wales, Carmarthenshire CC has designed and implemented an innovative and large-scale programme focused on supporting prevention and wellbeing through a technological and digital approach called Delta CONNECT. The initiative seeks to transform the way social care is delivered, implementing a new model of self-help and pro-active care utilising technology enabled care, which is at the heart of the project, to improve wellbeing helping people to stay independent for longer and reduce demands on long-term or acute care.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council with HCV ICS

Digital Record Enabling and Management Support (DREaMS) team making over 20,000 care providers and residents dreams come true. Millions of pounds are available annually to care providers for technology to change lives… but if they don’t know how, no-one will benefit. The East Riding of Yorkshire Council DREaMS team works one-to-one with over 860 care providers to become more digitally-enabled, providing tailored support with a game-changing digital maturity tool. It has revolutionised how the system works with care homes – already recognised in less than six months as best practice nationally.

Stepping Home is a novel, innovative partnership focusing on housing and the impact it has on health, particularly in relation to those in hospital awaiting discharge or at risk of admission. It is delivered by East Suffolk Council, but is a partnership covering the five Suffolk local council areas and both West Suffolk and Ipswich & East Suffolk clinical commissioning groups. It was launched in 2018 as a pilot service but has proved invaluable and has become established as a permanent service supporting all agencies and service users.

Connect - Transforming health and care services in Essex

The connect programme has sought to join-up health and care across Essex so older adults get the best ongoing care in the best setting; our ways of working are better for staff, and we make the best use of our resources.

It was jointly designed, led, and governed by the whole the health and care system. This involved multiple organisations forming single design teams, delivery teams and leadership teams aligned on a common goal.

By being better connected, 2,200 people a year are now getting better, more independent outcomes and we are seeing £26m in annual financial benefit.

Home Recover Hospital Discharge Scheme

Lancashire CC (LCC), the NHS and the voluntary sector have worked together to implement an innovative way to support people and reduce pressures on health and care services. The hospital discharge home recovery (HDHR) scheme, the first of its kind, was developed by LCC, NHS England, and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay to understand the ‘art of the possible’ around timely hospital discharge by enabling family care and tackling identified practical barriers. The scheme has influenced national NHS discharge policy and other regions have sought practical guidance to utilise the opportunity set out within the national policy.

Adult social care in Manchester is deployed into Manchester Local Care Organisation (MLCO) – a pioneering public sector organisation providing adult social care and NHS community health services in Manchester. The MLCO also works closely with mental health services and primary care to improve the health of local people in the city, working as one team across organisation boundaries.

Better Outcomes, Better Lives is our ambitious, three transformation programme which is building a sustainable social care system within MLCO that starts from people's strengths and puts in place support earlier, so that people can lead more independent lives for longer.

Regeneration and Health Care in the Heart of our Rural Communities

Paul’s Moss Health and Care Hub Project in North Shropshire. The building provides specialist housing, modern health care facilities, community cafe and state of the art assistive technologies. There is demand for older people’s accommodation. The project is a collaboration across partner organisations who have worked relentlessly to overcome traditional organisational barriers.

Barnet LBC and Barnet Homes homelessness reduction scheme

As the most populous borough in London with reducing affordable housing options and increasing homelessness demand, in 2019 Barnet instigated strategic plans aimed at tackling the situation head on. These plans acknowledged that a multifaceted approach was the only way to effectively address the challenges. Through successful early intervention and prevention services, market leading private rented sector procurement and innovative approaches to adding new affordable social housing supply, the Barnet team have managed to reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation to the lowest level in over a decade, when London boroughs have on average seen a 70% increase.

Building a better future in Brent

Brent LBC’s ambitious approach to meeting housing demand has led it to become one of the biggest council house builders in London, as recognised by the Greater London Authority. By March 2022 it is projected that 660 new affordable rented homes will have been completed since 2019 and 398 affordable rented homes handed over in 2021-22 alone. The council has accelerated the delivery of new affordable homes in the borough through strong partnerships and direct delivery whilst also committing to providing key worker accommodation and independent living homes to ensure that the specific housing and associated needs of Brent residents are met

Derby City Council with Derby Homes

Safe Space Derby - Rough sleeper and multi-agency hub

Derby City Council's ‘Safe Space’ provides 24/7 support to rough sleepers and also functions as a multi-agency hub for homeless services in the city.

A financial value review estimated the venue to be currently returning at least three times the investment value each year in measurable cost savings for the city, with estimated, aggregated system savings to be at least £1,350,966 a year across policing, probation and prison services and related housing and health services.

Of 116 individuals using the venue in the first six months, 85% are now in settled accommodation and none remain rough sleeping.

County Durham Lettings Agency helps people excluded from the housing market. Established during the pandemic, the service grew rapidly to help vulnerable individuals with nowhere to call home.

The agency is now heading towards a portfolio of 85 pathway properties, all secured during a time of huge market change.

90% go to former rough sleepers who are engaging well with support. Several clients have moved into social housing after only six months. For others, CDLA is the longest they have held a tenancy, paving the way for them to live more independently and eventually secure their own homes.

Enfield LBC and 'Everyone In'

Enfield accommodated 500 rough sleepers in emergency accommodation in response to the government’s Everyone In policy. Faced with a significant move-on challenge and emergency pandemic funding being time limited, Enfield secured £10.5m funding, worked with partners to develop accommodation and support schemes and moved on these rough sleepers into settled accommodation with appropriate support. Today, these schemes provide an effective rough sleeping pathway for rough sleepers with varying degrees of support needs, from the streets, through to settled accommodation putting residents on the path to employment, improved health outcomes and connections to the community sustaining their exit from homelessness.

De Wint Court is Lincoln’s first council owned and operated affordable extra care to meet the increasing shortfall of affordable housing with care for the ageing population. Providing independent living and on-site car so people can live in their own home, for longer.

Lincoln City Council has worked with Lincolnshire CC to help alleviate pressures on the adult social care system and the NHS by having affordable and supported alternative accommodation to a care home or hospital.

The project has received capital investment from Lincolnshire CC and grant funding from Homes England.

Reading BC: Modular homes for rough sleepers

Reading BC successfully launched a unique solution to rough sleeping in December 2021. 40 rough sleepers are now accommodated in a town centre gated community of 40 modular homes, offering privacy, comfort and warmth along with vital intensive support round the clock through the council’s partnership with homeless charity St Mungo’s. Residents have their own individual modular homes equipped with beds, kitchens and bathrooms behind their own front door, with a shared laundry room. They can also access on site case workers available 24/7 providing wraparound intensive support on any issues that may be troubling residents day or night.

City of York Council Housing Delivery Programme (HDP)

York is delivering “the most ambitious council-led housing programme in a generation” (The Guardian); the only UK centre recognised as an international centre of excellence on high performing buildings by the UN. Projects within the programme are used as best practice by Friends of the Earth, and the Local Government Association.

The programme improves health and wellbeing, reduces fuel poverty, tackles the climate emergency and supports healthy physical activity and sustainable transport choices.

Delivering over 600 new homes in York, it has supported 65 families onto the second-hand property ladder so far, and upskilled 20 local contractors (over 60 workers), growing much-needed sector capacity.

Innovation – sponsored by Tile Hill

Wellbeing Automated Call Services (WACS)

With over 50,000 vulnerable people shielding at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, Hampshire’s adult services urgently needed to understand their support needs. In just four days a digital prototype to achieve this was ready for community testing. By the end of the week the wellbeing automated call service had been launched, dramatically enhancing the council’s capacity to provide support.

Compelling results – 200,000 calls in total, made 47 times faster and 75% cheaper than compared with the manual call out process – have also encouraged a culture of innovation, with the solution now being tailored to the statutory review process.

Defining Children’s & Family Services for the Future

In 2021 we implemented an innovative programme to fundamentally reshape how we deliver outcomes for children across Leicestershire. This transformed not only the processes but also the culture within children’s services, and was delivered in partnership with young people and with colleagues council-wide. Innovation was at the heart of the programme, from bespoke digital tools, to a new service model and an innovative, targeted service intervention. The programme continues to achieve better outcomes for children across the county, has resulted in £16m of annualised savings and has led to a wider cultural shift in our service and the transformation unit.

Early Deterioration in Home Care Project

This is a partnership initiative between social care providers, health, adult social care and education. Eighteen months on, it has delivered innovation in information sharing to intervene early in people’s wellbeing and improved the capacity of staff and professionals, increased skills in the workforce and most importantly enabled people to live well at home.

Innovation is demonstrated through a strong focus on the role of care workers; spotting early signs of deterioration in people’s health; up-skilling care workers to support clinicians in understanding and monitoring people’s health and improving information sharing between care workers and health through a bespoke digital format.

Implementation of a GDPR compliant real-time Pupil Transport Analytics Management solution

In just four months, Powys CC’s passenger transport team worked with Kodergarten to design, test and implement a track, trace and protect solution so that learners using transport between home and school can be notified if they have travelled with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 and adhere to government guidelines. The solution is a GDPR compliant real-time pupil transport activity monitoring analytics tool. Its successful implementation has not only been crucial to the challenges of Covid-19, but also to efficient service improvement.

In 2021, the Shropshire Alliance, a collaboration of Shropshire Council, Kier and WSP was formed to take on the challenge of delivering an innovative and cost-effective solution to repair a growing backlog of potholes.

Like many large rural counties Shropshire is faced with limited budgets for highway maintenance, so the solution needed to be cost effective and implemented quickly and efficiently. Engaging a new local supply chain partner with an innovative approach was critical to success, as the existing potholing repair crews were overwhelmed with the number of defects on a deteriorating highway network.

Our project, the new Codsall Community Hub has allowed the council and its 25 partners across public, private, community and NHS sectors to integrate into a modern, energy-efficient working environment.

The council building was in dire need of refurbishment with a looming £4m bill.

Taking a commercial approach, the project is cost-neutral to the taxpayer with new revenue income offsetting the £10m construction cost. The hub is now a building the community is proud of, creating a hive of activity – from the café to library, nursery, GP surgery plus a plethora of voluntary sector organisations and businesses.

Innovative improvements – The key to Wakefield’s transformation from Inadequate to Good

From ‘inadequate’ in 2018 to ‘good’ with ‘outstanding’ leadership in 2021 – that’s the story of Wakefield Council’s children’s and young people’s service. Only innovation makes transformation of that magnitude possible.

A new co-funded mental health and wellbeing support model, with health and council teams working together, provides support to children in care within 28 days. Smaller children’s homes create a home-from-home environment for even the most traumatised children, resulting in improved outcomes, engagement with education, and stability. Embedded partnership working supports early intervention and quality.

It all adds up to vastly improved outcomes and prospects for children and young people in Wakefield.

West Berkshire Council's Community Municipal Investment

West Berkshire Council launched the UK's first community municipal investment in order to finance green projects within the district as part of its environment strategy, which was launched following the declaration of a climate emergency in 2019. An added benefit was that local people could invest in the bond and receive a return. The £1m bond was launched and subsequently achieved its target before closure, which was a great success. This project represents an excellent example of social value in procurement and finance and is being adopted as a model by other authorities across the country: a true win/win.

Creatively transforming our Children's Social Care workforce

Hear about our incredible story of how we’ve recruited 50 new and experienced social workers to Wigan and reduced turnover by 55% by working with our staff and teams and being creative, forward thinking and truly innovate. This has all been achieved in the middle of the pandemic and our approach is leading the way nationally.

Large Team of the Year

Barnsley 0-19 Public Health Nursing Service

In October 2016 we transferred the public health nursing service in house from the NHS to Barnsley MBC. It was a controversial and contested decision at the time; people were worried about an NHS service being delivered by local government; we were one of the few local councils to deliver the service in house. In October 2021 we had our first Care Quality Commission inspection and achieved an ‘outstanding’ rating which we are immensely proud of. The service leads the delivery of the healthy child programme to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for children, young people and families.

Bradford Health & Care System – Act as One Discharge from hospital operations 2021

Our Act as One Discharge from hospital model focuses on ‘home first’ which means enabling people to leave hospital as soon as they no longer need acute healthcare by supporting them to recover and regain independence in their own homes or care settings. During the pandemic, along with our partners the NHS, VCS and care providers, our team drew on data to underpin a review of the service that meant we were able to build on the district’s top quartile performance on lengths of stays in our two acute hospitals, ensuring the best possible outcomes for over 65s leaving hospital.

Coventry City Council Housing & Homelessness Service

The housing & homelessness service has been transformed in little more than two years. Gone are the days of high cost and delivery of poor outcomes; now the team is efficient and thriving.

The significant cost reduction has been achieved by re-negotiating costs, providing alternatives to expensive B&B provision, increasing successful homelessness preventions, whilst delivering an excellent service to some of the city’s most vulnerable people.

The service has only managed to deliver these outcomes by working collaboratively across internal departments, with external partners and by listening, learning and implementing ideas generated by our customers.

Street Cleansing Team (Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council) - 72 Team Members.

Dudley’s street cleansing team delivers the authority’s key priorities, a “cleaner, greener, safer place to live”. Throughout the Covid pandemic this has never been more important.

Throughout lockdown, time to enjoy outdoors was precious. Street cleansing never faltered in keeping streets, towns and recreation areas free of litter and waste, despite the unprecedented demand these periods placed upon them. They supported increasing numbers of community volunteers wanting to help in the fight against litter.

When lockdown ended and local businesses reopened, they supported the Welcome Back initiative, with increased sweeping regimes and additional litter bins in local shopping precincts.

A short stay, Hampshire CC service for frail, elderly clients (age 65+) who are unable to return home immediately following a hospital stay

An innovative and high performing large team running a short stay service that has transformed the lives of frail, elderly patients who previously would have been ‘written off’ in hospital and moved to a residential care or nursing setting as their new forever home. This team enables daily discharges from the most pressurised acute hospital in Hampshire, if not the south-east, enabling better and more timely flow in and out of the hospital. The operation has helped contribute to a near 70% reduction in lost bed days, reduced pressure on the emergency department and ambulance holds.

Achieving Result During the Pandemic

The Kirklees school catering service has continued to deliver a high-quality provision throughout the pandemic despite significant challenges. Thanks to the team’s ethos and commitment, all schools have continued to receive a hot meal provision and every school kitchen remained open throughout ensuring those most vulnerable in society were cared for.

The team continued to develop the service through this time, driving key investment projects to ensure continued service enhancements. Despite overall uptake within primary schools dropping to 58% at the height of the pandemic, we are now well onto meeting our target of 68%, with levels currently at 63%.

The Local Integrated Partnerships (LIPs); 160+ team members

As the country went into lockdown at the start of the pandemic, Kirklees Metropolitan Council established the ‘local integrated partnerships’ (LIPs), an amalgamation of three existing council departments: community plus, Kirklees libraries, and the Kirklees wellness service. This submission is based on the response of LIPs and the challenges faced by communities, mutual aid groups, third sector partners, volunteers and community groups, facilitated by the council. This was a response to the needs of the community in the unchartered territory of a pandemic, and how the council’s aspiration of “working with, not doing to” communities was central to that response.

Norfolk CC – Intensive and Specialist Support Service - Norfolk’s multi-disciplinary call in service

Norfolk children’s services has developed the innovative ‘team around the practitioner’ model to enable children’s social workers to call in specialist intervention to help keep children in their family networks and make their caseloads more manageable. The intensive and specialist support service is the central part of this model and Norfolk’s new ways of working. It has proved its impact within the first 12 months by improving outcomes for vulnerable children in the county. The service provides integrated intervention which focuses on individual needs of children and families offering a personalised service which leaves families feeling empowered and outcomes improved.

The growth and development team at Tower Hamlets LBC has been able to use its programmes and structure to optimise its response to the challenges thrown up by the pandemic in 2021, building on the local authority’s renewal goals by supporting business, providing pathways to work and offering support for those struggling financially. Through the innovative incorporation of the tackling poverty unit alongside employment programmes and business support, the team has been optimally placed to help residents as well as firms recover from the impacts of the pandemic quickly and effectively.

Most Improved Council – sponsored by Odgers Interim

‘Struggling’ is a difficult term to acknowledge.

But have we experienced ‘struggles’? In some, particularly high-profile areas in the past, yes undoubtedly. Facing challenges with investigations into senior officers, governance arrangements, interim leadership and disengaged staff – we certainly experienced our fair share of ‘struggles’.

With authentic leadership, an ambitious transformation model, endorsement from our regulators, sector-leading investment programmes, a bold vision and engaged colleagues and communities we are a financially stable, innovative and forward-thinking council which has definitely ‘bounced back’. We continue on that journey of self-improvement, yet have already come so, so far.

Six years ago the council was adrift – propped up by external help and without permanent leadership.

Today, our strong sense of identity and shared vision, combined with mature evidence-based strategies, puts us in a unique position to deliver a place-shaping agenda, that is steeped in heritage, innovative and community-led.

With over £240m of public sector investment attracting globally renowned companies, our collaborative partnership approach really has put Great Yarmouth on the map.

We are seeing tangible results, reversing decades of deprivation, low education and low health outcomes, and lifting the borough out of the bottom 20 most deprived authorities.

Lancashire CC has made notable improvements in what have been challenging recent years, particularly with partnership working, upskilling staff members and most importantly improving services for those who live in, work in and visit Lancashire. The pandemic has changed and improved the way we work, and we are proud to have such a resilient and dedicated workforce, without whom we wouldn't have kept vital services running and local people well informed throughout the pandemic. Our commitment to learning is what drives us to do better, and we are looking forward to demonstrating our children's services improvements to Ofsted later this year.

The scale of the improvement in Rotherham has been extensive since intervention and the whole organisation, alongside partners, has worked tirelessly to achieve the best outcomes for local people.

The organisational culture, governance and processes have been radically transformed and the progress made is a testament to the commitment, determination, and collaborative approach adopted.

The council is honest and transparent regarding its challenges, puts communities at the heart of everything it does and is building on its strengths to make positive changes.

St Helens MBC - Most Improved Council

Described in a highly critical LGA peer challenge report in 2019 as “traditional and resistant to change”, St Helens MBC has been on a journey of rapid transformation.

It has tackled shortcomings head on through strong political and officer leadership, it has dealt with a ‘strategic deficit’, set out a clear path to improvement and empowered its workforce.

The council is now at the forefront of the shift to hybrid working; it has embraced digital transformation to deliver better outcomes for residents, and is now regarded as an innovative and effective ally by the business community and other key partners

Sunderland City Council has earned a national reputation for its pioneering, innovative approach to delivering services and developing its social and economic fabric.

Built around an ambitious plan that sets out the authority’s aims to 2030, Sunderland City Council is on track to steer the city to become the vibrant, healthy, dynamic smart place leaders aspire to create.

And it is delivering – Sunderland is increasingly recognised as a pioneering local authority that is leading the way through innovation and ingenuity.

Tower Hamlets is a place like no other. Diversity of ethnicity, living standards and high demand of people wanting to live, work and visit create a unique mix of challenges and opportunities. Six years ago, the council began rebuilding itself and its reputation. Three years ago, we embarked on a partnership approach to service delivery with outcomes and digital at its core. In 2020-21, we realised the benefits of that work. These two years have brought innovation, greater partnership funding and better services. We became the trusted convening power for the Covid response and recovery, achieving amazing results together.

Zoinul Abidin is known within the council and across the borough for his leadership, endless perseverance and creativity in achieving improved outcomes for the borough, its residents and his staff. Recently, he has used these skills to make invaluable contributions to the council’s Covid-19 testing and vaccination programme, through identifying and negotiating the use of sites, recruiting and training volunteers, and thinking outside the box to support partners. He did this whilst maintaining and adapting essential and universal services for residents, supporting his staff and driving new initiatives. Zoinul rose to the unprecedented challenge and made a truly outstanding contribution.

Nicole Rickard is East Suffolk Council's head of communities, with a difference. On top of managing a very busy communities team of 26 staff, she is also part-employed and funded by the two clinical commissioning groups covering East Suffolk. There is something special about Nicole. It is hard to define this exactly, but having line managed Nicole for several years I think it comes down to two simple but very important traits. She is a genuinely caring person, whilst also possessing a steely determination to deliver. I hope the examples in this submission demonstrate that Nicole is indeed outstanding.

Helen Christmas thoroughly deserves the LGC Outstanding Individual Contribution after a truly exceptional year. Leading on public health within children’s services in one of the country’s most deprived cities during a global pandemic she has excelled by providing calm, practical advice and support throughout. Helen has been on call day and night to support schools, children’s homes, early years provisions and staff to ensure that our children and families continue to stay healthy and have the best outcomes. Her work has been tireless and she has been a key adviser for so many within the city during the pandemic.

Joe is a communication and engagement officer at Hull City Council. He has only been in post for a year but within this time he has been instrumental in improving our communication and engagement with adult social care providers. Senior managers value the inspiring and positive work Joe has undertaken with care providers and corporate colleagues as he has established a strong connection on which to develop strategic plans. What Joe has helped adult social care achieve in such a short space of time has moved us on years in relation to respectful and sustained partnerships within our care market.

Liverpool City Council with Liverpool Streetscene Services

LSSL's street cleansing and grounds maintenance service manager Stephen McCoy has demonstrated an outstanding resilience and ability to take on multiple additional responsibilities during the challenging period that has been Covid-19. At a time when we most needed someone with all-round qualities and the ability to lead, to solve problems, to get things done, to be innovative and to provide support and companionship to his colleagues, Stephen stepped up the challenge and in doing so, demonstrated an unparalleled commitment, pride and passion in his public service and for the city and people of Liverpool.

It is a distinct pleasure to nominate Ceren Clulow for the Outstanding Individual Contribution award. The depth and breadth of Ceren’s service to Nottinghamshire CC is extraordinary. Her outstanding leadership qualities demonstrated through her contributions will truly see Nottinghamshire at the heart of the digital industry and at the centre of the regional, national and international tourism map.

A private sector partnership Ceren has worked with contacted us independently and recommended she be put forward for this award which is a reflection of the great working relationships she has formed. We are proud to have Ceren has part of our team.

Over the past year, through sheer generosity, passion and hard work, Pauline Campbell has inspired real progression within Waltham Forest LBC. She has gone way beyond the duties and hours of a senior litigation lawyer in order to promote racial equality for her colleagues across the organisation, give them a voice, spread hope and inspire accountability in all for change. On top of this she has volunteered her legal expertise to support victims of the Windrush scandal, published her own inspirational biography and curated a programme of events for staff during Black History Month. Outstanding contributions don't get much better.

Sarah Clarke is an extraordinary local government officer. During a career spanning almost 25 years she has dedicated herself to serving our district with unparalleled levels of commitment. This past year has seen personal challenges for Sarah as well as professional ones relating to the pandemic, the political situation, major incidents and humanitarian work. Throughout, Sarah has performed her role remarkably showing a kindness, generosity and resilience that is an example to us all. She is also a champion of diversity, inclusivity and ensuring that the needs and experience of the customer are at the heart of her work.

Bradford MDC and Tower Hamlets LBC

ActEarly: a City Collaboratory approach to improve environments that influence health and life chances for children living in deprived areas

ActEarly City Collaboratories in Bradford and Tower Hamlets provide an innovative approach to helping local authorities choose, use and generate research to support local decisions and make the best use of limited resources. They are uniting research expertise with local government, local partners and communities to co-produce, implement and evaluate upstream prevention solutions to improve local environments and give young people a healthier and fairer future. So far, over 50 interventions are being implemented and evaluated, our data infrastructure is transforming our understanding of upstream influences on local health, and our early successes are already driving service redesign and investment.

County Durham Together: our workplace health before Covid-19, during a pandemic, and living with Covid-19

Good employment is crucial to good health, and this is key strategic priority in County Durham, which has a workforce of around 168,000 people working in around 14,500 organisations. Our evidence-based, universal countywide workplace health programme is the result of a collaboration between key cross-sector organisations that places the workplace firmly in a whole systems approach to improving health and wellbeing. Through equitable access to good quality advice, guidance and services, organisations are empowered to develop healthy approaches that will maximise staff health, wellbeing and productivity – making County Durham a happy and healthy place to work.

Increasing access to healthier food and support services through food pantries

Enfield’s long-term vision for reducing health inequalities focuses on making the healthy choice the first choice for everyone. The need to increase access to affordable nutritious food for those on the lowest incomes led to the implementation of the food pantry model in Enfield in 2021. Most importantly, the food pantry model does not just focus on food alone but seeks to provide those experiencing food poverty with effective support and easy access to a wide range of services that aim to address the underlying causes of food poverty and health inequalities.

Our council rapidly developed a volunteer scheme known as the Community Champions so residents could trusted information on Covid-19.

The programme also acts as a platform for improving services for the long-term.

By creating a network of 88 champions, understanding language needs, and holding doorstep, virtual and community event conversations, we saw an increase in vaccinations more than four times higher than in similarly deprived areas in Norfolk.

The approach was so successful it is being replicated by the NHS across Norfolk.

It has also informed lasting changes to how we approach diversity, inclusion and accessibility.

Understanding Harrow children and young people's health and wellbeing in times of Covid

Harrow’s student health and wellbeing survey, HAY (How Are You) Harrow, had responses from a quarter of our young people. It was a fantastic collaborate effort involving young people, schools/colleges and statutory and voluntary sector partners.

We wanted young people’s voice to come through loud and clear when Covid and Black Lives Matter had highlighted a painful absence of their opportunities for expression.

What they said made us glad, sad, surprised and motivated us all to do more – starting with more listening. It has spawned a whole programme of activities for all partners in the borough.

BumpClub Medway - an innovative approach to promoting optimal weight in pregnancy

We think it’s really important in pregnancy that you look after yourself and your baby by eating healthily and staying active. Although you will be putting on weight as your baby grows, limiting the amount of extra weight gain with improve your health, and your baby’s, both now and in the future.

We are really excited to share a new online course called BumpClub Medway. BumpClub Medway is here to give you the tools you need to lead a healthy pregnancy. It has 12 sessions across six weeks and is all online. It couldn't be easier, so join us!

Well Newham: 50 Steps to a Healthier Borough

50 Steps to a Healthier Newham is a health and wellbeing strategy with a difference. Over the past year it has placed public health and health inequalities at the centre of our civic conversation and action, beyond the challenges of Covid-19, galvanising commitment and action across the determinants of health from council and partners, and involvement from our wider communities and civil society. Despite the challenges of Covid, the strategy’s first year has seen wide ranging action on diverse issues from food security, to digital inclusion and social welfare and many new collaborations with Newham’s diverse communities.

Nottinghamshire Early Year Food Environment Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Project

The Nottinghamshire Childhood Obesity Trailblazer project aims to improve the food environment in the early years, focusing on areas with higher childhood obesity prevalence. Public health, early years and school meals practitioners have worked with charities and the early years sector to deliver four objectives whilst adapting and innovating to align with the local Covid humanitarian response to address emerging food insecurity issues.

Key deliverables include development of food clubs providing fresh food to low-income families, increase in uptake of healthy start, improving food provision in nurseries, training of early years staff and developing a community of practice.

North Somerset's Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy: partnerships, communities and engagement in action

North Somerset’s health inequalities are stark. We worked in partnership with residents and organisations drawing out our values and aims for making North Somerset healthier and fairer. We developed a health and wellbeing strategy and action plan to tackle inequalities, improving outcomes and experiences for local people. We used the population intervention triangle tool to help us establish and evidence our priorities, recognising the effectiveness of place-based approaches that takes account of the structures and facilitators we have in our communities. We have brought partners with us, secured funding and have a truly locally driven and endorsed way forward.

Betty the Vaccination Bus - Tackling Inequalities

Telford & Wrekin Council has come up with a novel and highly effective solution to low vaccination take-up in some of its most vulnerable communities: Betty the Vaccination Bus.

Working with a range of partners, the council has delivered the Covid vaccine to local people across the borough.

Using a combination of data and insight – backed up by a comprehensive and imaginative communications campaign that includes tailored text messages – Betty the Bus has significantly increased vaccinations among target groups.

Crucially, it’s been done rapidly in response to the fast-spreading omicron variant.

Good Food Barnsley is a broad coalition between the private, public and third sectors. It is a joined-up movement and partnership of fantastic minds and resources that work towards a shared vision of building a better Barnsley where everyone has the right to the food they need to thrive. We work in genuine partnerships to promote healthy sustainable food, tackle food insecurity and diet related ill health, educate, and build community food knowledge, skills, and resources and to demonstrate the positive impact this is having on increasing citizen independence in our communities.

Waste Services Online Report and Self-Service Green Garden Waste Account Portal

Over the past 10 years, Bromley LBC and SocietyWorks have forged an exceptionally strong working partnership that has delivered efficient, sustainable and user needs-focused digital transformation, while also improving our communication with residents. Following the success we’ve seen working together on our street scene and greenspace services. Throughout 2021 we collaborated on building a new digital waste service portal to meet resident expectations for self-service access and to allow us to improve the customer experience at a time when, due to the pandemic, waste services have never been more important or under such immense pressure.

The Junction partnership in High Wycombe radically re-thinks the use of public library spaces to deliver the best possible services for local young people.

This innovative co-location of library and youth engagement services engaged with over 500 young people in its first four months and produced a fourfold increase in young people joining the library.

The Junction’s varied programme of activities, alongside invaluable counselling and mentoring, receives excellent feedback from participants.

The partnership maximises value for money from public assets, delivers improved outcomes and opportunities for young people and helps drive a modern, relevant and sustainable model for public libraries.

Cardiff Living Wage City Partnership

In the last 10 years real wages have fallen across the UK and the cost-of-living crisis has compounded hardship for many working families. In response, Cardiff Council has led a city-wide partnership that achieved living wage city status for Cardiff in 2019; the only UK capital city to have done so. The Cardiff Living Wage City Partnership is committed to increasing the number of jobs paid the real living wage and encouraging employers to become accredited living wage employers. Over 64,000 people now work for 163 accredited living wage employers in Cardiff, putting an additional £39m into the local economy.

Essex CC with Talent Cloud Solutions

Talent Clouds and Essex CC Onboarding Programme

Talent Clouds and Essex CC began their partnership in 2020 with the aim of reducing the logistical and financial burden of the pre-employment vetting, onboarding and workforce management processes of the council. The digitisation and customisation enabled by Talent Clouds’ cloud-based platform, coupled with the council’s customer service personnel and expertise, has led to significant cost and manual labour savings, enabling the council and other public sector bodies within Essex to manage safeguarding processes in high-compliance industries and reduce the average time-to-onboard at a time of substantial staff shortages across the public sector.

Haringey LBC with Beam Up

How Haringey’s partnership with innovative crowdfunding platform Beam is tackling homelessness in the borough

Haringey LBC has partnered with Beam, the world's first crowdfunding platform for homeless people, to take a community-focused approach to homelessness in the borough. Beam’s platform brings together council housing officers, charities, members of the public, training providers and local employers to provide a long-term solution to homelessness. Now in its second year, Haringey’s partnership with Beam is providing the homeless community with a vital support network and the resources needed to regain true independence. Since December 2020, Beam and Haringey’s partnership has supported 22 homeless residents into work, with a work sustainment rate of 91%.

Kirklees Integrated Support Service delivered by Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership

Kirklees Metropolitan Council has re-commissioned housing-related floating support services as a social outcomes contract, with the aim of creating closer collaboration and partnership working to deliver better outcomes for clients. We commissioned a social investment partner to co-develop and fund an outcome-based programme through a social impact bond to support people with vulnerabilities, disabilities, lifestyle issues and support needs that may impact on their ability to live independently. This is delivered through Kirklees Better Outcomes Partnership, a social prime who subcontract voluntary and community sector organisations, bringing together the expertise of multiple organisations to ensure outcomes are achieved and sustained.

Leeds was an early adopter of Families First (Troubled Families) and the city has experienced considerable success, becoming known as a national exemplar of good practice and achieving earned autonomy status which has allowed for investment in our early help offer. The Families First approach has been collaborative from the outset, using the investment to bolster existing local partnerships, particularly with the third sector, and establishing a strong infrastructure of support for children, young people and families. This investment in partnership has been invaluable during the pandemic, allowing the city to respond effectively to increased need and vulnerability.

North Northamptonshire Council and West Northamptonshire Council

Virgin Media Park and Charge: Delivering future-proof infrastructure to encourage green transportation in Northamptonshire

In response to increasing demand for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Liberty Charge’s Virgin Media Park and Charge project deploys on-street charging sockets in UK urban areas. Levels of EVCP provision, per EV, are very low in Northamptonshire. West Northamptonshire Council and North Northamptonshire Council partnered with Liberty Charge to deliver over 50 EV charging points, with more planned for installation and further sites under-consideration. The partnership ensures residents without off-street parking can charge EVs on-street.

West Berkshire Council's Community Municipal Investment

West Berkshire Council launched the UK’s first community municipal investment in order to finance green projects within the district as part of its environment strategy, which was launched following the declaration of a climate emergency in 2019. An added benefit was that local people could invest in the bond and receive a return. The £1m bond was launched and subsequently achieved its target before closure, which was a great success. This project represents an excellent example of social value in procurement and finance and is being adopted as a model by other authorities across the country: a true win/win.

Changing fates: Preventing school exclusions through partnership approaches

The system fails when a young person is excluded from school and put on a fast-track to poor outcomes. This shared view across partners in Barking and Dagenham, that exclusion is the absolute last resort, led to child-centred, partnership-wide ‘Inclusion in Action’ approach which uses (among many interventions) vulnerable pupil hot clinics to act early, together and decisively to prevent exclusion; and sparking purpose to give young people a second chance to change their fates. Our partnership work has positive feedback from Ofsted and was recognised by the Royal Society of Arts as an effective model of school inclusion support.

Inspiring Communities is our £1m programme to develop a partnership approach to the prevention of vulnerability. We have looked beyond our own organisational boundaries, to support those who need help the most, in a truly collaborative, innovative and unique way.

The Pan Bedfordshire Family Drug and Alcohol Court – a unique partnership that is keeping families together safely

The Pan Bedfordshire Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) has been in operation since November 2019. This multi-agency consortium is succeeding in helping parents with drug and alcohol problems address their issues so that they can safely resume care of their children. The multi-agency consortium that funds and provides governance to the FDAC is robust and its unique features are proving to be a model nationally. The Centre for Justice Innovation described the Pan Bedfordshire FDAC as a “shining example of best practice” and we are delighted to be providing guidance to the setup of FDACs nationally.

Essex CC, Hertfordshire CC, Broxbourne BC, East Herts DC, Epping Forest DC, Harlow Council and Uttlesford DC

Essex + Herts Digital Innovation Zone (DIZ)

DIZ is the prime example of an alliance of public sector investors in digital coming together to lead, champion and coordinate infrastructure plans and applications that can be jointly deployed. Whilst it significantly involves other sectors, including the private and voluntary and community sectors, it is primarily owned and led by five district councils and two county councils. Its focus on being the best-connected place of its type in the country has encompassed innovative healthcare projects with the NHS plus greater collaboration, knowledge uplift and future-proofing the place’s prosperity. DIZ is recognised as being unique and award-winning for these reasons.

Luton BC with Commercial Services Group

Connect2Luton - Delivering for Better Outcomes in Luton

Established in August 2020 by Luton BC and Commercial Services Kent Ltd (wholly owned by Kent CC) Connect2Luton is a jointly (50:50) owned company based in the borough of Luton.

Operating as an employment business, the joint venture attracts and retains high quality workers, delivering enhanced retention within hard to fill roles such as children’s social care and planning.

In addition to the core service, the partnership also delivers significant social value to local residents, through employability schemes investment in the local economy.

All surpluses generated are returned to the public sector for reinvestment in front-line services.

Newham Whole School Asthma Approach

The Whole School Asthma Approach is a new approach to asthma care in schools designed by Newham’s children’s health 0-19 service with the East London Foundation Trust. Every child and young person who has asthma should have a personal asthma action plan but many don’t, leaving them at risk of hospitalisation. The partners have designed an easier ‘whole school’ approach that supports all pupils with asthma. 92% of our schools have signed up to adopt this approach, which is seen as an exemplar across London. No other north-east London borough has as many schools with asthma friendly status.

South Gloucestershire Council with Toshiba Europe

UMBRELLA - Creating a state-of-the-art platform that enables collaboration between local authorities, academia, SMEs, corporates and public bodies for developing skills and capabilities required in the Internet of Things economy.

South Gloucestershire Council developed a UK and global first open, programmable, smart city and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) testbed helping to drive innovation in the field of IoT and develop the relevant skills needed to support the IoT economy. This was achieved through a fruitful collaboration between partners from across the organisational spectrum, involving Toshiba BRIL, the University of West England, Bristol Robotics Lab, Select Electrical, and Enviro Technology Services. This collaboration continues strongly with the project being expanded upon to deliver more value for the residents of South Gloucestershire and extended further in the west of England.

South Holland DC, East Lindsey DC and Boston BC

South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership

On 1 October 2021 (Lincolnshire Day), three councils in Lincolnshire launched an historic new partnership with the aim of delivering growth and regeneration to 300,000 of its residents.

The South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership (S&ELCP) - made up of South Holland and East Lindsey DCs and Boston BC - seek greater access to central government funding and will be in a better position to identify and secure investment for growth and regeneration in strategic infrastructure. Despite working as a partnership, each council will continue to hold individual democratic sovereignty and be accountable to their local areas.

Wirral MBC with Champs Public Health

Champs Public Health Collaborative – working together to improve health and wellbeing in Cheshire and Merseyside

The Champs Public Health Collaborative is a formal partnership of the public health teams in Cheshire and Merseyside’s nine local authorities. It was established in 2009 and is led jointly by the subregion’s directors of public health (DsPH). By working together on priority areas, the collaborative pools resources, shares expertise, communicates with one voice, and enables a consistent approach across a large geography.

Martin Russell is unique in local government, and as such he is a highly valued asset to Barking and Dagenham. His passion for the role of the arts and culture as a vehicle to inspire and improve outcomes for the most vulnerable young people is unrivalled, as is his understanding of their lived experience. Creating pathways for children and young people into the creative industries and building aspirations is a golden thread throughout Martin’s work. Above all, Martin’s inclusive approach and desire to amplify the voices of young people are what make him a Rising Star.

Chief executive Carolyn Downs writes: “I have known Che now for about four years since she first came to work with the council. I have never failed to be impressed with how she has conducted herself in some very challenging circumstances. She is a role model for the wider community and for young people in Brent… she has resilience and she has achieved. I am proud of her, find her inspiring and also think she is excellent in her role. I cannot think of a more worthy nominee.”

The City of Edinburgh Council

Ruth is a qualified town planner and urban designer. After starting her career in the private sector, she joined the council in 2013 with a desire to make a positive difference to people’s lives and to help make places in the city work well for everyone. During this time, Ruth has been instrumental in leading numerous pioneering and contentious projects – using her empathetic nature, communication skills, creativity, tenacity, leadership skills and drive to bring about positive change.

Russell Jones has worked tirelessly and effectively across Islington’s adult social care and public health services, consistently demonstrating the qualities needed to be an outstanding future leader.

Leading key aspects of the local response to the pandemic, he was integral to supporting care homes, keeping residents safe as possible and driving an efficient, effective local vaccine rollout.

He was central in driving the council’s ambitions for adult social care, securing additional extra care units in a new development, enabling more residents to live independently.

Russell is passionate about addressing inequalities, working with care homes to drive inclusive, culturally sensitive practice.

Hannah Thomas is Shropshire's Rising Star. The pandemic has allowed Shropshire Council and partners to see her enormous ability and emerging strengths as a leader. No task has been too great or small, no adversity or change to practice unsurmountable. Hannah’s leadership and ability to develop positive relationships across all levels has been at the forefront of our impressive action to reduce the effect of Covid on our communities. She has developed a strong team and new partnerships with communities, community groups, many Shropshire Council teams, the NHS, town and parish councils and with Shropshire Council’s elected members.

Holly Rae is phenomenal council officer and undoubtedly a council chief executive of the future. She is making a huge difference to people and communities through her through her work in strategy, design, digital and community development.

Innovative – driving digital, agile, and human centred design across the council.

Strategic - developing the One Stockport borough plan

Inclusive – leading an award-winning digital inclusion programme

Collaborative – building relationships with all partners to drive real change

Inspiring – empowering all around her

Positive – bringing energy and passion to every situation

Resilient – at the forefront of Stockport’s pandemic response.

Becky’s dedication, passion and natural aptitude make her not only a rising star of her local authority, but a future star of the children’s social care sector. Her desire to make a difference led her to social work.

Whilst she could have moved to a better performing authority, Becky is motivated by wanting make things better for our children. She is an integral part of our improvement journey.

Rising to the challenge of becoming our head of service in regulated services, Becky’s dedication, understanding and infectious authenticity ensures that our children are central to everything we do – naturally inspiring.

Rebecca is the service lead for quality assurance and safeguarding in children’s services at Wigan MBC. In this role, she is also the principal social worker. Rebecca is a dynamic and motivated individual, having a passion for improving children’s services through quality assurance, and this informing service delivery and planning in Wigan. Rebecca is innovative and thinks outside the box, she is a bedrock in the management team, building trust and loyalty with colleagues from all areas and very much adds value to the organisation.

Small Team of the Year

The Hendon Cemetery and Crematorium team - Barnet LBC & Capita

Throughout 2021, the small team at Hendon Cemetery and Crematorium experienced the highest increase in demand for cremations compared with every other crematorium across London. Despite this, the team at all times professionally and compassionately supported people and families of all faiths and went above and beyond to ensure that all were able to say goodbye with love, dignity and care. In addition to this, the team thought outside the box and launched many initiatives in 2021 to support the local community and environment, supporting mental and physical health, biodiversity and public safety.

Devon CC in-house provider services: Learning Disabilities Respite Unit

Residential respite units provide overnight accommodation for families of younger adults with learning disabilities, giving them essential breaks so they can maintain their caring role.

The pandemic has challenged us like never before and the response of this team has been outstanding, putting themselves at risk of infection through caring for others. Working from home has not been an option

As hard as the pandemic has been, they have grown and developed, supporting older people and people in their final hours. They have learnt to support families through bereavement, and their support for one another has never been more important.

Ealing LBC with West London Alliance

Ealing LBC, West London Alliance – health and employment team – four members

The employability team within West London Alliance has designed, commissioned and worked in partnership with a network of stakeholders to create employment and skills solutions for 30,000 residents of west London.

Working with the NHS, the team supported the recruitment of 1,300 residents as vaccinators and administrators to deliver the hugely successful mass vaccination programme.

The team’s dynamic and outcome focused style ensures that innovation, partnership working and integration remain at the forefront of everything they do. This team of four is hugely effective, completing the work of teams three times their number.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council

The East Riding Domestic Violence and Abuse Partnership (31 members of staff)

The East Riding Domestic Violence and Abuse Partnership is a passionate, supportive and preventative service provided by the council to respond to domestic violence and abuse. The team have worked under unprecedented pressure and conditions during the pandemic and have shown resilience and immense commitment to their work in order to ensure the safety of our clients throughout this time and beyond, as we move into a ‘new normal’ and look to further embed our strategic objectives for the benefit of East Riding residents.

Building public trust though ‘out of this world’ pandemic communications

Milton Keynes Council’s communications team built public trust throughout the Covid-19 pandemic with out of this world public health communications, running campaigns that grabbed headlines and made a direct impact on the health of local people. Local astronaut ‘Commander Neil Armslength’ asked everyone to ‘make space’, giant outdoor materials caught local imagination, and personalised digital messages prompted 32,000 residents to be tested that otherwise may have spread the virus unwittingly.

Norfolk CC’s Innovation Unit

Norfolk CC’s innovation unit is a small team using innovation to deliver better outcomes for the people of Norfolk. In just two years, the team has demonstrated the value of innovation and a structured approach to it and delivered positive impact against some of the organisation’s top priorities. In doing so, we’ve improved the council’s understanding and maturity in the innovation space and made the case for a more enduring commitment.

Our employee-led transformation, completed in 2021, was designed to create a healthier, happier and more efficient team. The fact that it has done so successfully is reflected in a series of spectacular results, including a new record for non-statutory fee income for Rochdale, a hugely accelerated validation process for basic planning applications and involvement in a string of successful major projects. We achieved all this in 2021 despite the pressures of Covid and increased demand. We are doing more with the same resources, and playing a crucial role in the supporting the council’s ambitious regeneration strategy.

20pmh Default Speed Limit Across Scottish Borders

This small team have been at the vanguard of improving road safety for residents of the Scottish Borders with the successful trial of the bold and ambitious programme to introduce a default speed limit of 20mph across all streets in all 97 settlements as a UK first.

Due to the success of the trial and significant resultant speed reductions in December 2021 the council decided to make the 20mph permanent and instructed the traffic and road safety team to embark on the legal process to default all speed limits in the built up areas to 20mph, with extremely limited exceptions.

OneView use across ComSol to drive change and innovation in service delivery

Barking & Dagenham LBC’s OneView project has transformed outcomes for residents. The council proactively identified and supported over 1,000 households with multiple debts to increase their income and prevent wider escalating needs, and reduced the number of households in temporary accommodation, enabling £500,000+ annual savings. The community solutions directorate pioneered a new data and insight-led approach to service delivery by designing and implementing OneView which empowers over 300 staff to improve residents’ lives. OneView is helping the council tackle some of its biggest challenges, including a funding gap of c£70m, increasing demand for services and high levels of social deprivation in the borough.

Cheshire East Covid-19 Case Management System

Cheshire East has adopted an agile approach to the development of an MS Dynamics Contact Tracing Management System enabling the rapid development, testing and deployment of an innovative technological solution that has delivered an effective approach to Covid-19 contact tracing and self-isolation support – for which the team have received national acclaim – and live intelligence provision, accelerating a ‘real-time’ outbreak management response that would not have been possible using national data. This system is more than a case management tool and includes a prioritisation tool, a field-based door knocking mobile app and a bespoke SMS communication targeting tool.

Bridging the care workforce gap with cobots

To help mitigate the impact of the care workforce shortage, Hampshire’s adults health & care is implementing a programme around wearable collaborative robots (Cobots). This programme and the cobots will support our care workforce to deliver more effective care, support the wellbeing of carers and assist the council in using resources more effectively by impacting directly on ‘double-up’ care. Hampshire now has 30 cobots in use and almost 100 more in the pipeline. Each cobot can be deployed multiple times a day. The lightweight, waist-worn device takes seconds to put on and can be worn comfortably for hours.

Middlesbrough Council's Transformational Voicescape Trial

In 2020, Middlesbrough Council faced a mounting challenge of council tax arrears, exacerbated by Covid-19, forcing the temporary closure of the court system and subsequent negative impact on its debt recovery process. The council embarked on a six-month pilot of the Voicescape Collections solution between November 2020 and April 2021 to prove the viability of the technology when applied to collecting council tax arrears. The outcomes of the pilot have been transformational – increasing revenue, reducing costs and improving the wellbeing of staff and residents, and will form a major part of the council’s future recovery process.

Refuse/Recycling Collections - In-Cab system

Middlesbrough Council provides refuse and recycling services to over 62,000 households across the town. The aim of the project was the transformation of refuse and recycling services to move to a more modern and digitalised service, enabling customers to be able to access information for their refuse and recycling collections online and live.

NottAlone.org.uk - Local mental health advice and help for young people in Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire, all in one place.

NottAlone.org.uk is an online directory sharing local mental health advice and help for young people in Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire, all in one place. The website provides curated self-help information, advice and local services for young people, parents, carers and professionals who support young people’s mental health. Funded by the Department for Education Wellbeing for Education Return Project, NottAlone was an innovative partnership project, involving 21 different organisations including young people, parents, carers and professionals from Nottinghamshire CC and Nottingham City Council and the local clinical commissioning group, as well as local mental health charities.

At Redbridge we want to provide the best opportunities for people to have a safer home and accommodation that meets their needs. Our aim is to improve poor-quality homes and our teams monitor and asses all types of properties through the landlord licensing standards. It is these standards that help us ensure our residents are living safely in Redbridge.

By turning to a digital solution to protect the accommodation standards of our residents, we have put our digital and customer experience strategy and learning into meaningful action, to deliver a transformed outcome for local people.

South Gloucestershire Council with Toshiba Europe

UMBRELLA - Creating a state-of-the-art platform that enables collaboration between local authorities, academia, SMEs, corporates and public bodies for developing skills and capabilities required in the Internet of Things economy.

There was a global need for advanced, future-looking digital testbeds that are accessible to academia, local authorities and businesses of all sizes, creating a bridge between lab development and commercial deployment. UMBRELLA provides a collaborative platform that enables technical and application developers from across society to develop and de-risk Internet of Things solutions in a real world testbed. It has created an innovative three-tier air quality network that collects data to back council policy on combatting climate change and meet its net zero carbon goals. It has placed South Gloucestershire on the innovation map in the UK and beyond.

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