Aberdeen City Council impresses APSE award judges

21 July 2017

Aberdeen City Council has been named as a finalist in seven individual categories in the prestigious APSE Annual Service Awards after impressing judges across a range of disciplines.

Run by the Association for Public Service Excellence, the awards are open to local authorities throughout Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The focus is on recognising excellence in local government frontline services and this year there are 22 categories.

Aberdeen City Council has been selected by judges as a finalist in seven of the service award sections and is also in the running to be crowned as the overall Council of the Year.

Cllr Jenny Laing, Leader of Aberdeen City Council, said: “The APSE Annual Service Awards are recognised in local government as a benchmark for excellence and to be selected as a finalist in so many different and varied categories is a fantastic achievement.

“The common theme running through the projects which have made the shortlist is innovation – which is at the heart of our Council’s work on a daily basis.

“We are committed to improving the experience for all those we serve and it is always encouraging when independent bodies such as APSE recognise the hard work that is being done and the creative approach to service delivery being taken.

“Just as importantly, the APSE awards give recognition to the teams on the frontline who are delivering these services on behalf of Aberdeen City Council and I thank all those who play such a valuable role in so many different aspects of our services.”

Aberdeen City Council has been chosen as a finalist in the following categories: Best Public Private Partnership (Friends of Seaton Park partnership); Best Collaborative Working Initiative (Syrian New Scots Partner Group); Best Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship Initiative (Aberdeen Hydrogen Bus Project); Best Innovation or Demand Management Initiative (Accord Card team, MyChoice meal system); Best Service Team of the Year: Facilities Management and Building Cleaning Services (Cleaning service, commercial awareness); Best Service Team of the Year in Parks, Grounds and Horticultural Service (Environmental Services team); Best Service Team of the Year in Sports, Leisure and Cultural Service (Creative Learning team).

The winners will be announced on 7 September at the APSE annual seminar in Oxford, with Aberdeen facing competition from local authorities as far afield as Antrim and Newtonabbey, Argyll and Bute, Powys and Southend on Sea in the categories the Council has been shortlisted in.