Cleaning team hope to shine at awards

Cleaning staff at Caerphilly county borough council have been shortlisted for a prestigious national award.

The authority's Building Cleaning Service has been named 'best in class' having reached the finals of the Association for Public Service Excellence awards 2009. Caerphilly's team are shortlisted in the category of 'Best Service Team - Building / Facilities Cleaning'.

The prestigious awards attracted 400 entries from authorities throughout the UK. Finalists impressed a panel of judges, made up of industry experts and professionals, who ranked entrants on how the local authority teams have performed on public service improvements and delivered tangible benefits to local communities.

Cllr Lyn Ackerman, CCBC cabinet member for the environment said, "The authority is delighted to be recognised in this way and we feel this nomination reflects our efforts to deliver excellence in everything we do. Our frontline services work hard to improve local communities and the work done by teams such as this often goes unrecognised, even though they help make a big difference. I would like to congratulate all the staff involved for their dedication and wish them the best of luck at the award ceremony."

Congratulating the short listed local authorities, APSE Chief Executive Paul O'Brien said, "A place in the finals is well deserved for those councils that have committed to excellence in public service delivery. The last twelve months has proved difficult for councils facing a recessionary environment but the progressive approach to public service delivery, found within the finalists, will help ensure councils continue to improve the front line services that really matter to the public"

The winners of the APSE Service Awards will be announced at Cardiff International Arena on the 10 September 2009 at the rise of the APSE Annual Seminar 2009.