Cascade November 2013 Monthly briefing to keep you up to date with news from across the council

In this issue Public holiday dates in 2014 Christmas closure Giving blood – information about time off Keeping in touch with Learning and Development Business Gateway – helping businesses grow

Public Holiday Dates 2014

The public holiday dates for 2014 are: Wednesday 1 st January Thursday 2 nd January Friday 18 th April Monday 21 st April Monday 5 th May Monday 29 th September Thursday 25 th December Friday 26 th December Public Holiday Dates 2014

Christmas office closure

Argyll and Bute Council will be closed for the three working days between Christmas and New Year (Friday 27 th December, Monday 30 th December and Tuesday 31 st December) and only holders of essential posts will be required to work during this period. You will have been notified if your post is classed as essential. On the last working days before Christmas or New Year, all employees will have to work their normal hours/working day, taking into account shift patterns in operation – there will be no early closure at 2pm. Christmas office closure

Giving blood – information about having time off

When the mobile blood donation service visits local areas, staff can be given a reasonable period of paid time off in order to give blood. Staff should arrange this in advance with their line manager and leave will only be approved subject to service needs. Giving blood – information about having time off

It’s never too late to learn… …and our Learning and Development Team now has new pages on The Hub to help you.

Learning and Development on the Hub Visit our new pages on the Hub where you will find information about: PRD (Performance Review and Development) to help you plan your learning and development training courses to develop your skills, knowledge and the way you work details about SVQs in Health and Social Care and registration with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) professional qualifications Argyll and Bute Manager Learn-in-Bytes (E-Learning) and much more …

Learning and Development - contact us You can contact any of the team by ing Find out more herehere

Helping businesses to grow Argyll and Bute Council has recently secured European funding which will help to support growing businesses. Find out more…

Helping businesses to grow Argyll and Bute Council has recently secured European funding towards a £120,000 programme of assistance to support growing businesses. The Business Gateway Plus programme is now live and offers grants, specialist advice and workshops to help businesses right across Argyll and Bute realise their growth potential. The project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the Structural Funds Programmes and can provide financial support for up to 26 businesses and advisory support for over 80. “This is good news for local businesses looking for help to grow,” explains Councillor Duncan MacIntyre, Argyll and Bute Council Policy Lead for European Affairs, Sustainable Economic Growth and Strategic Transportation. “Securing European funding support for this project means that council funds can go further and more businesses can be supported.”

Helping businesses to grow The Business Gateway Plus growth grant can provide discretionary grant funding to growing small and medium sized businesses based in Argyll and Bute. The grant can be used to buy capital equipment, towards marketing costs or other costs directly supporting business growth. Statutory costs, wage subsidies, training, property development and the purchase of stock or vehicles are excluded. The grant can provide 50 per cent of project costs up to a maximum of £3,000. To be eligible for support, existing businesses (over six months old) must be actively trading with a turnover above £70,000 and be projecting turnover growth within the next three years.

Helping businesses to grow Start-up businesses can apply for support only where they have been actively trading for at least three months and are able to demonstrate clear potential to achieve an annual turnover of at least £70,000 within their first 18 months of trading and further growth beyond. Anyone looking to apply should contact the local Business Gateway team in the first instance to confirm their eligibility and request an application form which also contains the terms and conditions. Business Gateway has a team of local business advisers on hand to answer questions and to help interested parties progress their application. A restriction applied with the European funding means that retail businesses are not eligible for support.

Helping businesses to grow The Business Gateway Plus programme can also help businesses access specialist advice to help their growth plans, particularly around marketing, IT, HR or e- Commerce issues. In addition, the programme will also provide a range of workshops that will be launched early next year. The programme will close in March 2015 or sooner if funds are fully allocated. Anyone looking for support should contact the local Business Gateway team to find out more on or visit gateway-plus to download an application form. gateway-plus

Communications Team The Communication Team now has a full compliment of staff who are happy to help you promote council services, successes and news. If you have anything you would like people to know about, want advice on producing leaflets or posters or would like a chat about how to get information out to the public the Comms Team are here to help. They are: Jane Jarvie – Communications Manager Aileen McNicol – Communications Officer Fiona Wallace – Communications Officer – Mark Calder – Communications Officer – Jan Brown – Communications Assistant – In case of an emergency the Team can be contacted on

Got something for Cascade? Cascade is normally issued to managers first and is published on the Hub one week later. It is published on a four to six-weekly basis. If you have anything for future issues of Cascade please send it to the communications team at: or contact Aileen McNicol on Cascade depends on your contributions, and we’re happy to help with layout, content and presentation if you wish. The next Cascade is due for issue in late December. If you have anything you’d like included, please send it by Friday 13 th December. We can help with formatting and creating slides – don’t hesitate to call if you would like some assistance with this or any other communications issue.