Target April 2025 Edition

April 2025

Did you know we won a bronze award?

School Meals Bronze ProVeg School Plates Award As the launch of the brand-new primary school lunch menu 2025/2026 in April approaches, the Food and Nutrition Team are proud to announce that the menu has achieved the Bronze Award as part of ProVeg UK’s flagship programme, School Plates.

Tayside Contracts is committed to creating sustainable, healthy, balanced lunches for young people, and continuously strives to reduce the impact of school meals on the planet.

Find out more on page 4

Grapevine It's my great pleasure to introduce (sadly for the last time more on that later) another incredible edition of Target. The amazing work you do shines through every article and makes me proud to be part of this great group we have in Tayside Contracts.

I'm especially pleased that many colleagues’ hard work has been recognised, such as gaining national accreditations for Safety and Excellence (CHAS) and Cyber Essentials, and our success in the School Plates Awards. Individual recognitions are quite rightly - featured in this edition, with Carolyn Macgregor’s success in the Cook of the Year Competition, Gary Chmiel achieving Assist FM Scholarship qualification, and our own Roddy Ritchie being invited to attend the Royal Garden Party!

I also really enjoy reading about colleagues’ wider contribution to supporting others, particularly Susie's successful fund raising for breast cancer, and Angie's great work in her own time supporting one of our partners, Dundee Bairns. I’d like to remind colleagues that we have a volunteering policy - where employees give up a day of their own time (by taking annual or unpaid leave) to volunteer, they will be granted another day’s paid leave to volunteer.

I really want to thank all the contributors of these articles for bringing the work you do to life and sharing it with the rest of us. I know how busy everyone is, and for you to take time, to write such beautifully crafted articles for Target is deeply appreciated.

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I am genuinely sad to say that this will be my last Grapevine, as I will be stepping down at the end of May, after 42 years of public service with Angus Council, Perth and Kinross Council, and - for the last five years - Tayside Contracts.

The professionalism, and selfless commitment you have shown to serve our communities in Tayside, and support each other, has been so inspirational to witness over the last 5 years, and meeting many colleagues ‘out and about’, and reading about your great work through Target, has consistently brightened up my working day.

I wish each of you the very best for the future.

I leave knowing the organisation is in excellent hands with a highly capable Corporate Leadership Team. I’m especially pleased that Dougie McKay has been appointed as Managing Director, and I have every confidence that, by working together, you will take Tayside Contracts from strength to strength.

Thank you, sincerely, for everything you’ve done during my time with TC. I look forward to hearing about your continued successes in the months and years ahead.

Best wishes,

Keith

Announcement of New Managing Director Tayside Contracts is delighted to announce the appointment of its new Managing Director, following the retirement of the current postholder, Keith McNamara.

Following a rigorous selection process, Dougie McKay has been offered, and accepted the post, and will start in his new role at the start of June.

Dougie has been with Tayside Contracts for 23 years and is currently the Head of Operations, leading the large public facing services of Construction and Facilities. He has held several previous roles in the organisation as well as holding the role of Dundee Roads Maintenance Partnership Manager for 10 years.

Steven Rome, Convener of Tayside Contracts Joint Committee, and Chair of the selection panel said: We are delighted Dougie has accepted the post. He brings a wealth of experience into this role, and this came across clearly during the selection process, as did his passion for delivering services for communities. I am certain he will continue to drive Tayside Contracts forward as its new Managing Director.

Dougie said: “I’m proud and honoured to be given the opportunity to lead such a fantastic organisation and even more excited for us all to be working together to continue to make Tayside Contracts the success it has been for the last 28 years. I’m looking forward to working alongside our Council colleagues, to continue delivering our excellent services to the 420,000 residents in Tayside.”

By Ed Middleton, IT Manager

What is Cyber Essentials Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification scheme designed to help organizations of all sizes protect themselves against a wide range of cyber threats. By achieving this certification, we have demonstrated our dedication to implementing robust cybersecurity measures and safeguarding our data.

This certification process involved a thorough assessment of our IT infrastructure, including: Firewalls and Internet Gateways: Ensuring our network is protected against unauthorised access.

Secure Configuration: Maintaining secure settings for hardware and software.

Access Control: Implementing strict access

Our Commitment to Cybersecurity

controls to ensure only authorized personnel can access sensitive data.

We understand the critical importance of cybersecurity in today's digital landscape.

Achieving the Cyber Essentials certification is a testament to our proactive approach in ensuring the highest standards of security for our systems and data.

Malware Protection: Utilising advanced antimalware solutions to detect and prevent malicious software.

Patch Management: Keeping our systems upto-date with the latest security patches

Implementation of these five technical controls above, helps us reduce the cyber threat by up to 80% and having Cyber Essentials certification further enhances our reputation amongst our customers and partner organisations.

Looking Ahead While achieving the Cyber Essentials certification is a significant accomplishment, it is just one part of our broader cybersecurity strategy. We will continue to invest in advanced security technologies and practices to stay ahead of emerging threats and ensure the ongoing protection of our organisation.

We would like to thank our dedicated IT team for their hard work and commitment to achieving this certification and are excited to continue the journey towards excellence in cybersecurity.

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School Meals Bronze ProVeg School Plates Award As the launch of the brand-new primary school lunch menu 2025/2026 in April approaches, the Food and Nutrition Team are proud to announce that the menu has achieved the Bronze Award as part of ProVeg UK’s flagship programme, School Plates.

School Plates is an evidenced-based, tiered awards system that awards school caterers across the UK with Bronze, Silver and Gold accolades as a prestigious recognition of their commitment to healthy and sustainable school menus ProVeg works with schools to serve healthy, climate-friendly meals by increasing the quality, quantity, and uptake of plant-based food as well as promoting more plants and less meat on menus. ProVeg has recently been recognised and short listed for the world’s biggest environmental award, The Food Planet Prize.

In order to achieve the Bronze Award, a weekly Meat Free Day has been introduced to the primary lunch menu, incorporating a variety of pupil favourite vegetarian and vegan dishes. Dishes have been renamed to emphasize flavours and textures, moving away from the more traditional way of naming the dish around the meat content, or using the phrase ‘vegetarian’ to precede the dish name. This will encourage young people to select dishes based on their appeal irrespective of the type of protein, normalising the consumption of plant based foods.

A government campaign was launched in 2020 to reduce the amount of meat served in the public sector by 20%, which attracted widespread support from the industry, including the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA) and ASSIST FM which is an association promoting and improving service delivery for public sector organisations delivering FM services throughout Scotland. A recent study found that over 80% of public-sector caterers have committed to meat reduction, with 83% committing to increasing serving plant proteins by 20%.

Tayside Contracts is committed to creating sustainable, healthy, balanced lunches for young people, and continuously strives to reduce the impact of school meals on the planet.

Look out for this Bronze Award badge on the new primary lunch menu which will be launched in April!

by the Food and Nutrition Team

PUT YOUR BREAST FOOT FORWARD

By Susie Newton, Training and Development Adviser

So, I decided to set myself a challenge of “walk 100 miles in February” to raise monies for World Cancer Research Fund.

To make this more challenging I chose to do the walking out with my usual dog walks, so this would be additional to the miles that I clock up with my dog Roobs.

Also, at the same time a good friend of mine thought it would be a good idea to start a beginner running class to achieve “couch to 5k” in 8 weeks.

So, the challenge was set, Facebook pages and donation links sent out and out I walked and ran. I won’t lie it wasn’t easy working full time, walking the dog and then fitting in the challenge, but I am pleased to report that I achieved the 100 miles, and to top it all off on Wednesday 26 March I completed the run class 8-week programme and jogged the full 5k.

I’m pleased to let you all know that between kind donations from friends, family and work colleagues I raised £1091, and the campaign also raised an amazing total of £137,550.

Who knows maybe next article and challenge will be a half marathon or full one!!

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We are thrilled to announce that Tayside Contracts has officially achieved and retained its CHAS (Contractors Health and Safety Assessment Scheme) Accreditation! This prestigious certification is a major milestone in our ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards of health, safety, and compliance in our industry.

What is CHAS Accreditation?

CHAS Accreditation is a widely recognised certification that demonstrates our dedication to health and safety best practices. It assures clients, employees, and partner organisations that we meet essential health and safety requirements, reducing risks and ensuring a safer working environment for all.

The Journey to CHAS Accreditation Earning CHAS Accreditation was no small feat. It required a thorough assessment of our policies, procedures, and compliance measures. Our team worked diligently to align our operations with industry regulations, enhance safety protocols, and implement best practices that exceed the required standards. This achievement underscores our unwavering commitment to fostering a culture of safety and excellence.

Why This Matters Achieving CHAS Accreditation is not just about meeting industry requirements—it’s about instilling confidence in our clients and partner organisations. This certification affirms that we prioritise health and safety in every aspect of our operations.

A Thank You to Our Team This accomplishment would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our entire team.

From our leadership to every employee who upholds our safety standards daily, this achievement is a collective success. Your commitment and diligence have played a pivotal role in earning this recognition, and we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved together.

Looking Ahead

By Elaine Banks, Principal Health and Safety Adviser

While CHAS Accreditation is a significant achievement, it is just one step in our continuous journey towards excellence.

We remain committed to enhancing our health and safety practices, staying ahead of industry developments, and ensuring that safety remains at the core of everything we do.

Once again, thank you to everyone who contributed to this success. We look forward to building an even stronger, safer, and more compliant future together!

Within the Perth Roads Maintenance Partnership, our gully operatives in rural areas carry “frog ladders” with them in their gully tankers and install them in any gully pot where they discover evidence of frogs or other amphibians.

The “frog ladders” are manufactured in Tayside Contracts very own sign shop using waste sign making material (DIBOND) with chicken wire fixed to the surface to assist with traction.

Male Great Crested Newt

t a e Gr

ts w e N ed t s Cre

Female Great Crested Newt

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The Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus) is the UK’s rarest species of Newt and is an internationally important European protected species

Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.

Listed as a priority species under the UK Post 2010 Diversity Framework.

Listed as a European Protected Species under Anex IV of the European Habitats Directive.

They are the UK’s largest species of newt. Females can grow up to 16 cm (6.3 inches) long. Its back and sides are dark brown, while the belly is yellow to orange with dark blotches.

Males develop a conspicuous jagged crest on their back and tail during the breeding season.

Perthshire Wildlife, who are an environmental charity, have been monitoring a population of Great Crested Newts that they discovered near Pitlochry at Donavourd. Unfortunately, several of these newts became trapped in roadside gully pots. If they fall in, they are unable to climb out due to the smooth sides of the pot and they will ultimately die.

At their request, Tayside Contracts have fitted British Herpetological Society (BHS) Amphibian Gully Pot Ladders to 18 gully pots at this location in advance of the newts waking from hibernation. This will prevent them from being trapped in the future.

By Jon Hazelton, Project Manager

Tree Planting at Collace Quarry Collace Quarry was consented planning permission in January 2024 to extend the quarry to the North releasing a potential 3 million tonnes of aggregate and extending the life by an expected 30 years. A condition within this consent was to complete some ecological mitigation works and one form of this was undertaking compensatory tree planting. This was to offset the loss of woodland and boundary features impacted by the quarries development.

As the development progresses a small area of woodland will require to be felled. For every tree removed as part of the felling process, 3 new trees will be planted resulting in over 5,000 new trees being introduced to the surrounding landscape of Collace; this will cover an area of 2.2 hectares, the equivalent of 3 football pitches, and will be a mixture of native broadleaves and pine along with seeding of wildflower within the vicinity.

The picture highlights the woodland to be felled and the area we will cover with new trees. This compensatory planting will form visual and physical connections with the existing woodland to the north and west.

The aim of the compensatory planting within the landscape restoration plan is to integrate the restored quarry with the surrounding landscape alongside strengthening local flora and fauna specific to the local area. All planting operations shall comply with BS 4043:1989 and BS 4428:1989 ‘Code of Practice for General Landscape Operations (Excluding Hard Surfaces) and BS 3936 Part1:1992.

by Greg Campopiano, Quarry Manager Key: New Quarry extension boundary New trees to be planted Trees to be felled

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ASSIST FM Cleaning Scholarship SSIST Facilities Management launched its first FM scholarship programme in 2024, in association with BICSc and We are Extraordinary Training. The scholarship was designed for front-line managers who manage cleaning services and presented a fantastic opportunity to develop practical and leadership skills through collaborative learning.

Facilities Officer (prior to his appointment as Facilities Services Manager) took part in this three-month programme, along with other managers from Scottish Local Authorities, and was the first member of the group to successfully complete the Scholarship.

Gary’s dedication and hard work truly paid off, and this achievement is a testament to his commitment to excellence in the field.

The course content included theoretical and practical elements, and covered: Leadership skills focussing on Boosting Resilience and Learning to Lead Simple time calculations using compound room work rates Cleaning robotics - The technology available and associated considerations Budget considerations within cleaning operations The significant environmental impact of the cleaning industry and more sustainable alternative cleaning agents and equipment The science of cleaning chemical composition, the effects of PH and the effectiveness in various situations

The Closing Ceremony and Presentation was held on Tuesday 10th December 2024 at the Glen Pavillion in Dunfermline. Such was the success of this programme that ASSIST FM has committed to running it again next year and funding permitting, into the future.

Well done to Gary for completing this very worthwhile programme and gaining his certificate of achievement!

by Ibukubyn I bSutkruanc hStaranc, hSatnr,a Stteragtie

Investors in People Employee Survey

You Said, We Are Proposing

As part of our commitment to fostering a positive workplace culture, we're thrilled to introduce key elements from our Investors in People action plan in the article "You Said, We Are Proposing," where we have taken your valuable feedback and transformed it into actionable strategies and initiatives that focus on enhancing your working environment.

In this edition we focus on how we will improve our communication channels and make the organisation’s objectives clear, how we will encourage and motivate you to deliver against these objectives and help towards creating a more fulfilling and engaging workplace for everyone.

In our ever-evolving workplace, clear communication from our leaders and managers is paramount to ensuring that everyone understands our shared objectives. We are committed to not just articulating these objectives, but also inspiring and motivating each of you to reach them together.

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You Said, We Are Proposing Regular updates, engaging meetings, and open-door conversations to cultivate an environment of trust and collaboration.

The opportunity to feedback and contribute ideas to improve performance via team briefing, Tay Reviews, 2-way discussions and engagement groups.

An environment where people are clear about what is expected of them, receive regular feedback and where poor performance is addressed.

Managers take ownership of the Tay Review process, ensuring personal development plans are completed, good performance and contribution is recognised and performance issues are dealt with.

To reinstate quarterly team meetings/briefings, and managers will ensure these briefings are face to face where practicable and cascaded to all employees.

Senior leaders to visit sites and workplaces to talk directly to employees on an agreed frequency.

By Susie Newton, Training and Development Adviser

We are delighted that the live event is back on and we are looking forward to celebrating the excellent work that has been carried out over the last year by our employees. The live awards ceremony will take place in the Invercarse Hotel, Dundee on Friday 10th May. Judging was again carried out by the Convenor and Vice Convenors of the Tayside Contracts Joint Committee and Keith McNamara, Managing Director.

To be chosen as a finalist in an organisation that employees over 2,500 people it is a wonderful achievement and you should be immensely proud The finalists in our Unit awards, those nominated by supervisors and managers are:

Catering Excellence:

Cleaning Excellence

St. Andrews Primary School, Dundee Grange Primary School, Angus Perth High School

Forfar Depot Cleaning Team Tayview Primary School, Dundee Blairgowrie High School

Outstanding Performance from and office-based employee or team Pamela Grant, Financial Services Supervisor Food & Nutrition Team Suzanne Keay and Heather McKenzie, HR

Construction Excellence: Road Markers, Ruthvenfield Depot Surface Dressing, Angus/Stirling Blairgowrie Workshop

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FM Excellence: Stanley Primary School, P&K Baldragon Academy, Dundee Webster High School, Angus

The finalists in our Open to All awards, those nominated by colleagues and peers are:

Apprentice of the Year: Ailsa Bruce, Apprentice Sign Manufacturing Operative Callum Stewart, Apprentice Mechanic, Dundee Robbie Gibson, Apprentice Roadworker, Dundee

Environment Award Food & Nutrition Team Collace Quarry Waste Recycling Galin Zhivkov, Fleet Performance Manager

Excellence in Customer Service: Susan Wright, Catering Area Manager, P&K Dundee Bairns Volunteer Team Signshop, Blairgowrie

Outstanding Individual Contribution: Ailsa Bruce, Signmaking Apprentice, Blairgowrie Tracey Rennie, Fleet Administrator Pamela Grant, Financial Services Supervisor

Best Service Team: Auchterarder High School Catering Team CPU Bakery Team, Tay Cuisine Blairgowrie High School Cleaning Team

Active Travel DRMP Tayside Contracts is proud to be at the forefront of works that enhance the way people move across Dundee. In collaboration with our valued partners at Dundee City Council, we have been hard at work resurfacing footpaths across the city, ensuring they are fit for the future of Active Travel.

Active Travel, which promotes walking, cycling, and other sustainable modes of transport, is essential for building healthier, greener, and more connected communities. Dundee’s residents deserve safe, accessible, and enjoyable routes that encourage them to leave the car behind and embrace a more active lifestyle. Our resurfacing works are paving the way—quite literally—for this vision.

Across various locations in the city, Tayside Contracts teams have been diligently upgrading footpaths to a high standard. By focusing on materials that are durable and sustainable, we’re ensuring these pathways will serve the community for years to come.

The improvements not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the footpaths but also ensure they are safer and more accessible to all users, including those with mobility challenges.

This project highlights the strength of partnership working. By aligning our expertise in road and footpath maintenance with Dundee City Council Sustainable Transport’s strategic vision, we’re making strides in supporting the city’s Active Travel initiatives. Together, we are committed to reducing Dundee’s carbon footprint while improving the quality of life for its residents. The positive feedback we’ve already received from the community underscores the importance of this work.

Residents have expressed their appreciation for the improvements, noting how these upgraded footpaths make daily journeys—whether to school, work, or leisure destinations—more pleasant and efficient.

Tayside Contracts looks forward to continuing our collaboration with Dundee City Council Sustainable Transport as we deliver infrastructure improvements that benefit both people and the planet.

Let’s keep Dundee moving—one footpath at a time.

by Michael Colgan, RMP Manager

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Roddy Ritchie Honoured

We are thrilled to share some exciting news about our very own Roddy Ritchie, who has been a dedicated Facilities Assistant with us since 2004.

Roddy’s hard work, positive attitude, and commitment to keeping our schools running smoothly have not gone unnoticed.

In recognition of his outstanding service, staff members in his schools have nominated him for a truly special honour— an invitation to the Royal Garden Tea Party at Buckingham Palace!

This prestigious event is reserved for individuals who have made a significant impact in their communities, and Roddy’s dedication has certainly earned him this moment in the spotlight. Whether it's ensuring the buildings are in top condition, lending a helping hand to colleagues, or brightening everyone's day with his friendly demeanour, Roddy embodies the very best of our team.

Congratulations, and good luck Roddy! This recognition is well deserved, and we hope you enjoy every moment of this once-in-alifetime experience.

by Gary Chmiel, Facilities Services Manager

Congratulations, and good luck Roddy!

This recognition is well deserved, and we hope you enjoy every moment of this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I was recently invited to present at the above National event at Celtic Park, Glasgow.

The topic being: Highways delivery across Angus, Dundee and Perth & Kinross Councils Managing expectations with multiple stakeholders Benefits of scale and efficiency As everyone is aware despite limited resources and increasing demands, councils are continuing to develop their roads services for their local communities. The seminars aim was to show how local authorities are meeting these challenges by changing service delivery in innovative ways and using partners such as Tayside Contracts and community engagement to ensure more sustainable services can be delivered.

When asked, I was more than happy to share the benefits of what a shared service can look like, and the success achieved by Tayside Contracts in the roads service delivery over the last 28 years.

This was an opportunity to not just cover the benefits of service delivery for roads services as was the topic but to raise awareness of all the positive partnering and collaborative works Tayside Contracts undertake for our council partners.

It was a very informative day and something I’d encourage others to participate in either as a speaker or an attendee if asked.

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Over the festive period, we received several gifts from some of the suppliers that work with us, which is very kind, but presents a bit of a challenge to us as a public body.

Therefore, we donate these to charity, and this year we donated these to Dundee Bairns. Genna Millar who accepted the goodies was delighted to accept these and use them as prizes in their ongoing fundraising efforts.

Donation of Gifts Hosted by Dundee City Council, in partnership with Angus Council, Perth and Supplier Kinross Development and theProgramme.

Businesses of all sizes were invited to this free in- person Meet the Buyer event, on 4th March 2025, at the Innovation Hub at the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc Ltd (MSIP).

The event was so well attended we were both kept really busy all day engaging with local and national suppliers. An excellent venue and successful day for everyone.

Annemarie Hannaway, Procurement Manager

Meet the Buyer

As we know, an estimated one-third of all the food produced in the world goes to waste, and wasted food isn't just a social or humanitarian concern, it has a huge impact on the environment. When food is wasted, all the energy and resources it takes to grow, harvest, transport, package and prepare it is also wasted. Food waste produces methane, which is one of the biggest contributors to global warming.

Sometimes there can be a significant amount of food waste generated through school meals, which we aim to reduce in line with our climate change agenda. However, we cannot do this alone and need to work with young people to make them aware of the environmental benefits of reducing food waste, which will influence their behaviours in later life. In a bid to kickstart this reduction, we invited 4 schools in each of the council areas to work in partnership with us and take part in a Food Waste Pilot Project, from January to April 2025.

The pilot consisted of 3 phases each for the length of one 4 week menu cycle as follows: Phase 1 School meal food waste was isolated and weighed and recorded daily by Tayside Contracts catering teams

Phase 2 School engagement provided

by Tayside supported by teaching material Contracts The appointment of 2 'Waste Warriors' in each school to highlight the environmental impact of food waste and promote reducing school meal food waste by encouraging an empty plate policy within their school Waste Warriors worked in partnership with our catering teams to weigh and record the food waste at the end of service

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Phase 3 Waste warriors were no longer identified and school engagement ceased, to test the effect of the engagement School meal food waste to continue to be isolated and weighed to compare with the level of food waste before the school engagement

We have been inspired by some of the work carried out by the schools on this project and we are excited to see what the impact has been. If there has been a significant decrease in food waste after the phase 2 intervention, the plan is to roll this pilot out to further schools so watch this space! Caroline Cruickshanks, Catering Services Manager, Diane Wilson, Catering Area Manager for Dundee and Sheryl McKiddie Facilities Operations Manager went along to see the fantastic work that has been done at Craigowl primary school in Dundee during this pilot, and saw the brilliant Waste Warriors in action.

Well done to all involved!

by Sheryl McKiddie, Facilities Operations Manager

Over the Easter school holidays, Angie Dodds, our Equalities & Communications Manager was volunteering with Dundee Bairns, helping delivering healthy lunches for activity groups across Dundee.

She got the boot of her car stocked up at Coldside Campus and here is where she went and the numbers of lunches per day: Week 1 Mon - Baldragon Academy – 70 Tues - Ballumbie PS – 10 Wed – Fintry PS – 35 Wed - Ballumbie PS – 10 & Fintry Library – 35 Thurs – Dundee FC Community Trust – 25 & Boomerang Community Centre – 12 Week 2 Tues – St Pius X PS – 60 Thurs – Coldside/Maryfield Ward - 35

Total lunches

image: Dundee Bairns

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If you feel you need or would like some free accessible independent advocacy support or advice, here are contacts for organisations in each of the three local authority areas.

69 High Street, Arbroath, DD11 1AN 01241 434413 enquiries@angusindadvocacy.org

01382 205515 admin@diasdundee.org Dundee Independent Advisory Service

n i n G c M r e t e P Peter McGinn, Roadworker 5 at Blairgowrie Depot retired on 17/04/25, following a lifelong career spanning 46 years and 200 days. Peter started with Perth & Kinross Council at the Roads Depot in Blairgowrie, 7 days after his 17th birthday on 01/10/1978.

Peter is well-liked and respected and will be missed by all his colleagues, who wish him all the best in his well-earned retirement.

During his long career as a Roadworker Peter carried out just about every role you could mention. In particular he was always in the front line ensuring that the A93 up to Glenshee Ski Centre was kept clear of snow and ice. He’s pictured here at Blairgowrie Depot in front of a snow cutter with Dougie McKay, Head of Operations who presented Peter with a very substantial collection and cards from his work colleagues and also his certificate and gift from Tayside Contracts in recognition of his long service.

Tayside Contracts would like to thank Peter for his service and commitment and hope that he enjoys a long and fulfilled retirement.

by Jon Hazelton, Project Manager

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Graeme Allan, Depute RMP Manager

We within the Dundee Roads Maintenance Partnership (DRMP) are delighted to introduce our new Project Manager Craig Getty following his recent promotion from Senior Project Engineer.

Given Craigs journey from “new deal” to Project Manager, Craig can be considered a real internal success story within Tayside Contracts, and we look forward to seeing him settle in and develop within his new role.

Craig started with Tayside Contracts in 2003 on a ‘new deal’ basis and has worked his way through the operational ranks in Dundee from this essentially “apprentice” roadworker role, to a machine operator and progressing to the role as a Chargehand. Craig was then successful in gaining a promotion into an office based role as an Assistant Agent (now titled Assistant Engineer), based within our Angus operations in our Forfar Depot back in 2012. Craig held this role whilst at the same time as studying an HNC in Civil Engineering on a day release basis at Dundee & Angus College Craig then was then appointed as a Project Agent (now Project Engineer) within the Dundee Roads Maintenance Partnership (RMP) in April 2015 and held this role for 2 years. Craig then moved into the Senior Project Agent (Engineer) role in 2017 and went further with his education and completed his HND in Civil Engineering, again on a day release basis, at Dundee University.

Craig has played a pivotal role in the longterm successes of the RMP including mentoring our younger and less experienced Engineering team.

In his spare time, Craig likes to spend time with his wife Laurie and 4 daughters Cerys, Reece, Sienna & Naomi.

ASSIST Scottish Local Authorit Cook of the Year Competition

As we step into spring and return to the annual ASSIST conference in Glasgow with colleagues from around Scotland's local authorities in May, we are delighted to have been successful in achieving a place in the final of the Scottish Local Authority Cook of the Year Competition.

On Friday 21st March, Carolyn Macgregor, Cook in Charge at Webster’s High School in Angus, attended Braehead Cook School in Kilmarnock to prepare and present her menu for the competition.

Each entrant had to prepare a three-course meal within 4 hours (+ 1 hour of prep time), incorporating seasonal, local or Scottish produce, demonstrating their menu’s sustainability and economically responsible purchasing. Each course had to have the ability to be adapted to increase volume for a dining experience or large corporate event because the winning entries will be prepared and cooked by the award-winning chefs for the ASSIST FM conference dinner in May at the Crowne Plaza in Glasgow.

Carolyn’s Starter River Esk Salmon Kiev served with Salad Leaves and Dill Drizzle Main Angus Glens Venison with Honey Garlic Glaze, Fondant Potatoes and Local Vegetables Desser t Tangy Lemon Mousse served with Shortbread Crumb, Angus Raspberries and Heather Honey Flapjack

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Carolyn’s menu used local ingredients from Angus, with its rich agricultural environment which gave access to a fantastic larder of produce. Over the last few months Carolyn has worked hard to develop her menu and dishes for the competition, carrying out several run throughs, with her colleagues providing feedback.

The next step, saw Carolyn cook her full menu on Friday 21st March, competing against Cooks from seven local authorities for a chance to cook at the ASSIST FM Conference gala dinner.

Carolyn had a fantastic day, achieving first place for two out of three courses! Her starter and dessert will be served at the ASSIST gala dinner, with the overall winner to be announced at the ASSIST FM awards ceremony. Huge congratulations to Carolyn for her hard work and dedication to the competition, and we wish her all the best in the final stages.

by Caroline Cruickshanks, Catering Services Manager

On Saturday 19th April, the Scottish Fire and Rescue, (SFR) Macalpine Station, Dundee held a free open day for the local community. They applied to the Tayside Contracts Community Fund for assistance with the food on the day and they were delighted that their application was successful.

James Hay from SFR stated, It was a highly successful day, allowing SFRS and partners to engage with the local communities we serve.

The food provided by Tayside Contracts enhanced the day and was extremely popular. All the food was distributed to the public, with the soup being a favourite.

Pictured below is Councillor Lynne Short serving up the soup. Cllr Short stated: The soup went down a storm on Saturday at the Fire Brigade Open Day. I actually served all 5 terrines of soup

🍲

I pointed out to folk that Tayside Contracts donated it and bairns will never be able to complain about school soup again as it was so well received.

Thank you so much for this it was really appreciated on a fantastic day.

A big thank you goes to Tay Cuisine for making the very popular soup and to Shelly Ewan at Baldragon Academy kitchen for providing 200 filled rolls and crips on a Saturday!

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