The Public Service Awards’ panel of judges has met and deliberated, and the Guardian is delighted to announce the shortlisted projects, teams and individuals in each of the 11 judged categories of this year’s awards.
The finalists for public servant of the year, which is decided by public vote, have also been announced. Voting is now open and will close at 11.59am on 15 October 2019.
All the winners and runners-up, including the overall winner, will be announced at our awards ceremony on 26 November 2019 and a special supplement will be published online and in the paper on 27 November 2019.
The 2019 category finalists, in alphabetical order by organisation/individual surname, are:
Care
Hillingdon council: adolescents team
Independent Living Fund Scotland: transition fund
Mary Stevens Hospice, West Midlands: increasing care, compassion and kindness at the hospice and in the community
Climate champions
Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust: I’m back caring – clean the river
Norfolk county council: Norfolk assistance scheme
Nottingham city council: Nottingham – carbon neutral by 2028
Digital innovation
Turn2us: Connect SMS-based benefits support project
University hospitals Birmingham NHS foundation trust: – network of on-call referral services
WDP: Capital card project for people battling addiction
Housing
believe housing: new-build programme
Commonweal and Praxis Community Projects: NRPR project – no recourse to public funds housing service for destitute migrants
Settle charity: support programme for vulnerable young people moving into their first home
Leadership excellence
Kevin Coutinho, gender policy manager, University College London, and chair, Windsor Fellowship
Alexandra Johnson, deputy chief fire officer, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue
Penny McKissock, chief executive, Southside Family Project
Public health & wellbeing – sponsored by IFPMA
South west London and St George’s NHS trust: Merton Citizens
Sandwell metropolitan borough council: Sandwell blue light project
The 2025 Movement, North Wales: The 2025 Movement – addressing avoidable inequalities: working in the gaps
Recruitment & HR
Hackney council: Hackney apprenticeship programme
Kirklees council: In2Care Kirklees
Newlon Housing Trust: residents’ work placement programme
Transformation – sponsored by EY
Community Foundation Northern Ireland: Space & Place programme
East Ayrshire council housing asset services: Bellsbank project
University College London hospitals NHS foundation trust & partners: The Lighthouse integrated child sex abuse service
Workplace diversity
Touchstone (Leeds community development): Pink Pals, transgender awareness, recruitment
Tower Hamlets council: capital delivery team
West Midlands Fire Service: recruitment and positive action
Workplace learning & development
Cabinet Office: civil servant talent accelerated development schemes team
Coventry city council: social work academy
Housing Executive (Northern Ireland): asset management training programme
Workplace wellbeing
Basildon council: HR team
Insolvency Service: Break the stigma project
Waltham Forest council: premature baby policy
Overall winner
The creme de la creme of our awards, this celebrates the very best of the category winners, deemed by the judges to be the strongest of this year’s entries.
This team or individual will have demonstrated an exceptional level of application, innovation and achievement, and will have delivered substantial improvement in a public service that has made a real difference to people’s lives.
This award will be announced, with all the other winners, at the awards evening in November.