The City of Edinburgh Council has scooped a prestigious national award for one of its key frontline services.

'Promises Into Action' (PIA) triumphed against five other shortlisted UK local authorities to win the 'Pay & Workforce' gong at a glittering ceremony for the 2008 MJ Achievement Awards held at the London Hilton in Park Lane, London on June 26.

PIA was undertaken by the Edinburgh Building Services (EBS) unit. EBS is a large, multi-skilled, in-house building organisation, providing comprehensive repair, maintenance, servicing and improvement works to 23,000 Council homes.

The PIA project focused on improving communications and teamwork and on recognising good performance and customer care. It has directly contributed to creating an organisation with an inclusive, open and trusting environment.


Following the introduction of PIA, turnover per operative increased by 31% during the period from 2005 to 2007, with the number of completed jobs also rising by 11% over the same period.

In March 2007 the project scooped a COSLA Excellence Award in the 'Securing a Workforce for the Future' category.

Councillor Paul Edie, Housing Convener, congratulated EBS on their victory at the awards. He said: "Winning this award is a great tribute to the considerable turnaround we've seen in Edinburgh Building Services. A lot of work has gone into ensuring we give our tenants the level of service they expect and deserve. Promises into Action has transformed the service by focusing on engaging with employees to empower them and boost morale and job satisfaction."

Andrea McHugh, Head of Environment, added: "On behalf of EBS, I am absolutely thrilled that we've been given such a prestigious public commendation for Promises into Action. I would like to congratulate everyone involved in delivering this project for all their hard work, dedication and teamwork to bring about a real change to this service."

(GK/JM)