I Have Great News, But Should I Post It?

One of the things on my diary for this week was to review this very blog that you're reading. It seems amazing that it’s been six months since I was outlining what had happened in 2010 and setting out the aims and objectives for 2011. So far I’ve very much enjoyed writing the posts and getting feedback both here and on Twitter and I’d welcome any thoughts or feedback about the blog on its half anniversary. One issue that was raised is the issue of good news. From my point of view blogs work best when they showcase someone’s honest opinion on a subject. What they shouldn’t do is endlessly trumpet new initiatives and broadcast positive spin – after all, who wants to hear an endless list of someone saying how marvellous they are, we have Westminster for that.

Of course this leaves me in a dilemma when THT do something really impressive, such as the news that has been embargoed up until now of our success in the BITC Awards For Excellence, where (you can add your own drumroll) we were awarded a Big Tick Award in the Work Inclusion category for our Cleanstart programme. I’m not too conflicted about revealing this news though because the balance comes when if I’m not shy about blogging when things don’t go entirely to plan, then you’ll forgive the occasional lapse into rhapsody about the work that the team here do. The Big Tick award is a significant achievement, we are just one of six businesses in the North West to have achieved this and it puts us in the same category as previous award winners like Marks and Spencer.

Cleanstart is an initiative that I am very proud of. I’ve spoken before about the values that drive our work and it seems to me that Cleanstart exemplifies the fact that we are serious about actually doing something with those values, as opposed to just talking about them. We’ve made a commitment to be at the heart of our neighbourhoods and part of that is about creating communities that are safe and clean, which people choose to live in. That also means that we have to help the people in those neighbourhoods through employment opportunities when it’s possible and that includes the group of ex-offenders that Cleanstart is targeted at. It's especially important when you consider that according to the Social Exclusion Unit, stable employment reduces re-offending rates by between 30 and 50%.

The way the scheme works is that on release priority prolific offenders are referred to Cleanstart and employed on six month contracts. Cleanstart’s main service is to clear and clean empty properties so that new tenants can move in and properties don’t become a target for anti-social behaviour. Alongside that it also offers garden clearance and removal services. One of the major benefits is that participants have a bespoke training programme worked out for them at the beginning which gives them vocational skills and qualifications. At the end of the six month programme we then work with partners to get them into long-term employment.

Statistics never really tell the full picture but here’s three I’m particularly proud of to finish this week’s blog:

-    Cleanstart has enabled us to reduce our void clearance costs by £20,000.
-    Greater Manchester Police have calculated that it has saved the taxpayer £3 million in the costs of crime.
-    22 ex-offenders have completed the programme and to date – 54% of them have moved into permanent employment and only 2 of the 22 have re-offended.

Well done to all the Cleanstart participants and the team responsible for making it so successful. For my own part I promise there will be an embargo in this blog on any mention of awards, celebrations and victories for at least seven days, starting now…