British Cleaning Council (BCC) member the Association of Building Cleaning DSPs (ABCD) recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a special celebratory event at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London.
The event was also used by the ABCD to announce the 2019 winners of its Cleaning Teams of the Year awards, and to hold its 2019 Annual General Meeting.
Jim Fitzpatrick – MP for Poplar and Limehouse – was the ABCD’s host for the day and led an entertaining, insightful tour of the House of Commons before joining ABCD members, award finalists, judges and sponsors for lunch.
Mr Fitzpatrick also took the opportunity to speak about the value of public cleaning and the important role which the ABCD plays, before helping to present the two ABCD annual awards.
First was the ‘ABCD 30th Anniversary Award for Innovations to deal with Austerity in Local Authorities’, sponsored by the BCC, which went to Telford and Wrekin Council. Rotherham and Shropshire Councils were highly commended.
The second award was for the ‘ABCD Cleaning Team of the Year’, sponsored by Denis Rawlins Ltd. This was won by Nottinghamshire County Council’s mobile cleaning unit, with Shropshire County Council and St Helen’s Council both highly commended.
ABCD’s Kim Phillips said: “The standard of entries this year were once again of the highest quality and demonstrate how the public sector teams often go the extra mile when it comes to cleaning our shared spaces and our public realm. All the winners and highly commended entrants should feel very proud.
“I would also like to thank our judges and sponsors for their time and support, and Jim Fitzpatrick for being a wonderful host for the day and for being a true champion for what we stand for as an organisation.”
The BCC’s Simon Hollingbery added: “The BCC was very happy to sponsor the ABCD’s Innovation Award as it is new ideas and fresh approaches to tackling the challenges of modern public sector cleaning, competitive procurement frameworks and deepening council cuts which drive improvements and raise standards.
“It’s also fantastic to have Jim Fitzpatrick so closely involved with the commercial cleaning industry. He is a passionate supporter of the sector and has regularly spoken out on key topics such as litter and waste, the Living Wage and the importance of training and skills, which are all vitally important to the BCC and its members.”
