Shakespeare Country

"To hear good counsel - Oh what learning is!" Romeo & Juliet

I confess to a tincture of envy. My colleague, our inestimable locum solicitor, has been living it up in the land of the Bard this week with the rest of the pink ribboned brigade. Two nights in the Stratford on Avon Holiday Inn can do wonders for a jaded official. I hope he remembered to pack his speedos. This very day I confidently expect he will be knocking his legal colleagues into a cocked hat with expert illuminations at the teatime workshop, which is catchily entitled: "TUPE, Secondment, Two-Tier and Pension issues arising in Strategic Partnership/Outsourcing contracts". £380 of public money well spent if you ask me, even if the hotel bills are extra. What Meic doesn't know about the law isn't worth knowing. And here in Somerset we have a rich crop of barely visible small print with which to tie each other in knots.

To all Users

-----Original Message-----
From: Roger Kershaw
Sent: 21 November 2008 14:34
To: All Users
Subject: Council information

I am reminding you that we all have responsibilities concerning Council information including data which is confidential and personal. There can be very serious consequences if we do not comply with these responsibilities. All staff must ensure they are aware of, and comply with, the Council's policies and protocols when accessing or handling Council information (for example, Data Protection, Standards of Conduct, ICT Usage Policy). The policies and protocols are available on the Intranet and you may also seek guidance from your manager if you are unclear. Should you feel you are being pressurised to access or divulge Council information to others that would render you to breach these responsibilities, you must inform a senior manager. Staff are also being reminded of the need to be vigilant and to follow the Council's policies (which are available on the Internet) with regard to information that could be considered to be inappropriate, including that which is of a discriminative nature. There can be very serious consequences if we do not comply with these requirements.

Roger Kershaw
Resources - Director
Translation follows:

Data protection and security are vital and with SouthWest One now handling confidential information, a lot of your attention is required. Some very sensitive information about vulnerable people in Somerset will be held in Warwick by IBM and not in County Hall. The information will be minded by strangers, rather than SCC staff.

Actually we’ve had no corporate data protection or security awareness training programmes for years. Three previous staff carrying out data protection duties have left and were never replaced.

There is now a single Officer to cover data protection & security (set that against nine press officers!)

So do your best. Its beyond me. This e-mail is simply to cover my back.

Inhuman Resources

Bully for Him from Alan Jones on Vimeo.

Challenging Times

As if my intray wasn't already groaning, the Chief has now come up with a fresh initiative to bind us all together. It is more than my job is worth not to urge you all to participate. They insist it is going to be "fun".

I like a laugh

A load of bankers

It is very easy in this fast moving arena to make an arithmetical error. That is why we always employ expensive experts to advise us of potential financial risks. And how was I to know it would all go belly up? Ok so Cornwall has only lost £5 million. And we locked £25 million away. But what am I expected to do about it?

Tonight's Extended Management Team Event

I wasn't invited. I am still just a humble County Council employee (at Corporate Director level). But tomorrow morning I have no doubt my confidantes will fill me in on the 'hard' work done at Ashton Court by the Extended Management Team of SouthWest One - all 150 of them (that's 75 complete rubber chickens if they end up with one leg each)! There are other, closer, venues. But this is the place to be seen. SouthWest One is a whole year old - plus just a couple of days. And, my oh my, what a year. We have had to revise some of our plans - that was inevitable. Perhaps we will save £50 million less than we thought we would. So what. HBOS got the sums wrong too. And Bradford & Bingley. And Ashton Court Manor does not come cheap. Tonight I will raise a glass to the superhuman efforts of the whole SouthWest One workforce and peruse the timetable of what must have been an awe-inspiring event. Aspirins at dawn, gentlemen (and ladies)!

Extended Management Team Meeting
2nd October 2008
Ashton Court Manor, Bristol

Running Times and Agenda

12:30 Bus leaves Taunton

13:00 Bus leaves Portishead (to be confirmed based on numbers)

13:15 Registration opens

13.45 Elective Session 1
· SAP – Finance and Procurement
· SAP – HR and Payroll
· People Excellence Model
· Organisation Design

14:15 Break – Transfer between Elective sessions

14:30 Elective Session 2
· SAP – Finance and Procurement
· SAP – HR and Payroll
· People Excellence Model
· Organisation Design

15.00 Pre-meeting tea/coffee

15.30 Main Meeting Agenda
· Introduction and SWO progress to date Paul Lyons 15 mins
· Market perspective Peter Radford 15 mins
· Transformation update Alan Thurlow 15 mins
· ICT service update Jon McElhill 15 mins
· Councils Business Services update Brian James 15 mins
· Police Business Services update John Adby 15 mins
· Client Perspective tbd 15 mins
· Open Forum and Q&A 15 mins

17.30 Pre-dinner drinks

18.30 Dinner (set tables with places allocated)

20.15 Dinner ends

20:30 Event ends - Buses leave