The Council is both large and complex. Just think, we manage every single service you see in the community: children have to go to school; your neighbour may be elderly, or have special needs; there’s litter to be collected; roads to be maintained; elections to be organised; building plans to be approved; shopkeepers to be licensed and grass to be cut. So it follows that the Council is a complex network of linked departments and divisions, each with their own specific responsibilities.

This is an overview, designed to give you an idea of just how diverse we are as an employer.

Chief Executive & Corporate Resources

While everyone else within the Council is focused on the external community, we concentrate mainly on the internal needs of the Council. That means things like the IT system, personnel, legal matters, property and budgets (the finance division is particularly important within a council, where making the best use of limited resources is essential). We are responsible for some direct services to residents.

We organise elections, collect council tax and pay housing benefit. In addition, this is also the base from where we promote equality and inclusiveness, help councillors and managers make strong, effective decisions and build partnerships with other council departments, agencies and the community.

Community Care and Housing Department

This is one of the largest departments in the Council, which reflects the investment and commitment that goes into promoting the health and wellbeing of people within the South Gloucestershire region and the delivery of high quality housing services that meet their needs. We're proud of what we’ve achieved here and this is a reflection of all the passion, hard work and dedication that we put into making our services the best they can be. Look deeper into the Community Care and Housing department and you will discover a large, diverse and complex collection of specialist staff and divisions. We have teams which address the whole range of needs of younger and older adults with a mental illness, physical and learning disabilities, and support to carers, homeless people and private tenants – to name just a few.

Some of the services we provide include community and hospital social work, occupational therapy, domiciliary care (when services are delivered at the client’s home), day care, and residential care.

Our aims are to promote and maintain independence for older and disabled people; to develop seamless or integrated services with partner organisations (particularly those in the health and housing sector) and support those in the community who care for others. We are conscious of the pressures faced by Social Care staff and offer structured management support to enable staff to work both safely and effectively.

On average, our Social Workers and Care Managers will only be managing around 25 to 30 cases at any one time, and as each case is unique, we take an individual rather than procedural approach. We are developing and investing in community based services such as extra care housing, intermediate care and additional home care. We are promoting the use of Direct Payments to allow people the opportunity to arrange and manage how their care services are provided.

Our work in supporting our social care workforce has already been acknowledged through the Investors In People award. The Department has have been accredited through the Beacon Council Scheme and we are one of only 3 councils in the country awarded this status for the specific theme of Supporting the Social Care workforce. We offer regular supervision and actively support continued professional development for all our workforce.

Following the transfer of the Councils housing stock to Merlin Housing Society we have retained a strong strategic housing role. We provide a wide range of services to tenants, leaseholders, homeowners, landlords, and people who are looking for a home in South Gloucestershire. We offer advice and support to help people find a home that suits their needs whether renting from a housing association or private landlord, owning their home.

Community Services

There are three main themes to this Department.

• The first is about strengthening and developing communities through engaging with, and encouraging cohesive communities and promoting community identity. This is undertaken through Community Sport and Active Lifestyles, Libraries, Arts Development, Community Learning, Community Development and Economic Development.

• The second theme is Street Care. This includes Community Spaces (parks, playing fields, allotments, cemeteries, trees, flower displays), Street Cleansing and Highway Maintenance.

• The third theme is Environmental Services which ensures a clean, safe and healthy environment. This involves Animal Health and Welfare, Environmental Protection, Food Safety, Health and Safety, Health Promotion, Licensing, Trading Standards, Rubbish Waste and Recycling.

This is how the department works towards reducing disadvantage, providing a cleaner, safer and greener environment, and creating healthier communities.

Department for Children and Young People

On 1 April 2005 the Children Social Services, Education Service and the Youth Service came together to create the Department for Children and Young People. This rearrangement of Council departments is about working together to improve outcomes for all children, young people and their families in South Gloucestershire. The aim is to join together all services with the responsibility of delivering the Council contribution to the South Gloucestershire Charter for Children and Young People.

All services within the new department will focus on ensuring that all children and young people have a right to a life in which they:

Enjoy the best possible physical and mental health and live a healthy lifestyle.
Have equality of opportunity.
Are given encouragement and opportunities to learn, develop, enjoy and achieve, both in and outside school.
Are protected from harm and neglect and feel safe both at and outside of home and school.
Are supported by their parents and carers, and their peers.
Are encouraged to play a full part in their communities and behave in a socially responsible manner.

The overall aim is to improve outcomes for all children, young people and families and deliver on our objectives such as improved prevention and earlier intervention promoted through integrated front line working practices. The long term vision is to move towards establishing three locality centres that will enable the relevant professionals such as education psychologists, welfare officers and social workers to work together in one place, which is accessible to children, young people and their families.

Direct Services

 We carry out services on behalf of other council departments, directly to the public or to external organisations. Working with us you could be part of a large team responsible for keeping the highways, buildings and open spaces of South Gloucestershire well maintained, clean and tidy. You could also be involved with making sure that for the young, elderly or disabled residents of South Gloucestershire, their journey to school or their local day centre is enjoyable and in vehicles that are safe and well maintained.

For many of these services we’re also on hand out of hours to make sure that we’re responding to emergencies as and when they may arise.

Planning, Transportation and Strategic Environment

Need planning permission? This is where you’d come. From promoting public access to the countryside, to protecting areas of archaeological importance to landscape design, we aim to provide an efficient, customer focused planning, transportation, highway maintenance, building control and environment and conservation service.