RUGBY Borough Council (RBC) has been shortlisted in two categories in this year’s Association of Public Sector Excellence awards.
The council’s parks and open spaces team has been shortlisted in the best Parks, Grounds and Horticultural team category, while the council’s environmental protection team has been shortlisted as part of a partnership including all of the councils in the county. Both entries highlighted the role the council played in supporting Rugby’s residents during the pandemic.
The council’s parks and open spaces team played a key role in providing food and welfare support to vulnerable residents who were shielding during lockdown, sorting and distributing more than 1,000 food parcels. With colleagues, they also ran the Rugby Foodbank during a time when local volunteers were unable to collect, sort and distribute more than 500 parcels to Rugby families in need.
The council’s environmental protection team has been part of a wider partnership working with businesses and organisations to help them keep their staff and customers safe, understand what was required of them, prepare for reopening, and access grant support. The team has also played a key part in identifying and working with communities to access Covid-19 testing and vaccines.
RBC leisure and wellbeing spokesman Coun Howard Roberts said: “Our parks and open spaces team is rightly known for its floral displays and for the care they take of our parks and open spaces, but in the last year they have gone above and beyond to make sure that our most vulnerable residents have had food when they needed it.
“While helping those who needed it at their time of greatest need, they also kept on top of the most important jobs in our parks and open spaces.
“The team’s attitude and commitment throughout the pandemic has been outstanding and being shortlisted in these awards is richly deserved.”
The council’s regulation and safety spokesman Coun Derek Poole added: “The council’s environmental protection team have been working incredibly hard throughout the pandemic, and forged new and valuable relationships with colleagues in public health and regulatory services teams across the county.
“This has truly been a partnership of equal partners and I am thrilled that they have been shortlisted for their collaborative working.
“Beyond the partnership work, the team continue to deliver as they work to increase Covid-19 testing and vaccination rates amongst communities who have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic.”
The awards will be presented to winners at an Association of Public Service Excellence seminar to be held on September 9.
