AiB Times - September 2019

AIB TIMES

In this edition:
��Richard’s blog
��News from across the Scottish Government
��What’s going on around AiB
��Meet our ‘Pet of the Month’
��And much more……

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THE DOCTOR IS IN

This is the new Titanic And quite a lot from the US that might prove very
helpful if we end up having to design a new route
Museum in Belfast. into bankruptcy for entrepreneurs (if you didn’t
know we might have to do that, ask anyone in
John, Alex, Carol and I the policy team).

were there for the IAIR The World Bank, IMF and INSOL all came along
to talk about what they are currently working on,
Annual Conference last India talked about setting up a new insolvency
regime from scratch (2000+ IPs in the first 3
week, and I went to the
years), and Chile talked
museum to fill the gap about using risk
modelling to work out
between the Conference end and my flight to where to focus their
monitoring and oversight
Germany to collect Benedict and Christina. It’s resources.

a fascinating building, pretty much on the spot Whilst we have most to
learn from the “usual
where the Titanic was suspects” – the US,
Australia, Canada and
built – but if you have New Zealand – almost
everyone has some
seen a 30-minute TV experience or part of their
system we can draw from.
documentary on the
And unlike the IAIR’s usual practice, we had the
ship, you can save informal dinner in a local pub so we could all have
a “proper” pint of Guinness….
yourself the £19

admission fee….

Still, it has been

mobbed since

opening.

There are some
obvious parallels
between the Titanic
story and bankruptcy which I will leave to you to
think about – AiB as RMS Carpathia perhaps?
Carpathia’s story is also a fascinating one – their
preparations for the rescue included having oil
ready to pour down the lavatories to calm the
water on the sides of the ship should the sea
become rough! And then she herself was sunk
in WW1…

IAIR itself was really thought-provoking.
You’ve already heard me talk about the
presentation from New Zealand around the
impact of the Christchurch shootings – which
were only this March.

There were also fascinating talks on what to do
if you recover crypto-currency – apparently
almost the worst thing you can do is take it to one
of the crypto-currency exchanges, which might
have been my first thought – and from our
colleagues south of the border both on European
developments and on their many unanswered
questions around their attempts to copy DAS and
our moratorium.

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1 Pennyburn Road

All the Facilities Management news from
around the building

��The fire alarm call point at the top of the stairs failed at the last test and will be repaired
by Mitie Fire and Security

��The vending operator has been contacted and has resolved the pricing difference issue
with the can selection. A request has been made to put milk into the machine.

��Staff are reminded to keep their car registration details up to date, changes should be
sent to FM.

��Mitie have checked the roof for nests and will continue to monitor it on a regular basis.
��Mitie cleaning have cleaned all the internal glazing partitions

To report building and/ or facilities related issue then please add this on to the Facilities
Management Tracker.
If the matter is urgent, or an emergency, please contact Front of House or Paul McCallum
on 62792.

On 7 June The Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 were laid
before the Scottish Parliament. The regulations follow the consultation of the Accountant in
Bankruptcy, Building a Better Debt Arrangement Scheme and have a number of intended effects
based on the responses of stakeholders to the consultation.
The aims of the regulations are to improve the scheme, increase accessibility of the scheme to a
greater number of debtors, to increase the number of organisations able to offer the DAS and to
make the scheme more flexible.
The regulations passed committee stage on Tuesday 17 September. This followed two other
committee sessions on the 3 and 10 September where evidence was given on the regulations by
stakeholders and AiB respectively. The regulations were successfully approved in the Scottish
Parliament on 25 September 2019 and they will come into force on 4 November 2019.
This is the result of months of hard work of the DAS Team, Policy Development team, the Chief
Executive and the Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills.

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Senior Management Team

Key messages & staff suggestions

Thank you from SMT to all those who were involved with the
Developing Young Workforce initiative over the summer

The proposed conference room upgrades have
been given the green light, with further
planning to be considered for the FFN quiet
room and ground floor interview rooms.

s

To allow staff to use the visitor spaces in the car
park – agreement to trial staff being able to use 2 of
the 4 spaces, with the caveat that, if required, staff
will need to move their car should there be
unexpected visitors.

Staff awareness of safety protocols in the building
Paul McCallum happy to arrange a time for a demo
of the doors in the public areas. This has also
prompted further security considerations which will
include the public reception area.

Staff photography competition to be
launched in October’s AiB Times.

Got a suggestion for SMT – email the staff suggestions mailbox
Deadline for next month is Friday 18 October.

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Your Mental Health
World Suicide Prevention Day, 10 September 2019

Suicide rates in the UK have risen for the first time since 2013 with men and women in their late
teens especially at risk. There is also real concern about the increasing number of young people
taking their own lives.
World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September highlighted the need for suicide prevention and
there was an important reminder that everyone can make a difference to others who have reached
the point of wanting to end their lives.
WAIT – how can you help? Remembering the following acronym is one good way to
remember how you can support someone who may be suicidal.

Don't forget to look after your own wellbeing after having a difficult conversation. You can call
Samaritans for free, at any time (24/7) on 116 123. They are there to listen to you.
You can also email jo@samaritans.org

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Ask SMT

On Tuesday 24 September AiB personnel filled AiB and helps in our drive towards becoming a
the conference rooms and seized the opportunity carbon neutral agency.
to quiz the Agency’s senior management team
about the business. Wedding bells were ringing as romance hit the air.
To rapturous applause Richard announced that
The hour-long session was to bring staff up to he and Christina had recently got married. This
speed on the high level of political activity, was partly driven by the potential impacts of Brexit
particularly around Brexit and the DAS and led nicely to discussion on this major issue.
Regulations, along with the many other work Staff discussed the impact that Brexit could have
streams currently keeping us busy. on AiB and whether this could trigger another
independence referendum. If this was to happen
Chief Executive Richard Dennis opened by then AiB would likely become responsible for
highlighting this as the ‘International week of Scottish Corporate Insolvency and large scale
happiness’. Richard strongly advocates a happy insolvencies e.g. Carillion and Rangers Football
workforce and encouraged all managers to listen Club.
to what staff needed.
Alex Reid updated staff on the DAS Regulations
Richard said that AiB’s 2018-19 annual report and and the success of the committee voting these
accounts published last week supported how last through. Prior to the regulations being laid, there
year was a very good year for the business with was a lot of stakeholder engagement including
good progress made with CMS and policy consultations with others in the industry including
development, achievement of key performance insolvency practitioners and money advice
targets and working within budge. services.
He explained that there was a 90% positive
He promoted the work AiB staff undertake with consultation response versus political response.
stakeholders as invaluable and encouraged all Our Minister Jamie Hepburn fought the corner for
staff to continue building positive working AiB and went over and above his brief to ensure
relationships with stakeholders by getting out and they passed committee stage, showing a
about and building our knowledge and fundamental desire to help the debtor. The
understanding of the key issues impacting our regulations have since been passed by the
work. Scottish Parliament and will come in to force on 4
November.
Richard said that since stopping taking paper
applications for bankruptcy that there had been John Cook that numbers were up across all
no complaints, although as Vicky pointed out, we products, but mainly driven by high protected trust
still receive the occasional form but these are deed volumes and again discussed the move
returned. The move to electronic speeds up life at towards more electronic services and PTDs going
paperless from November.

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He said a survey of service users was largely challenge should a large payments distributor
positive that they highlighted how well AiB staff collapse and AiB need to take over the caseload.
treated customers.
John thanked staff for their work and effort. Staff questions led to general discussion on
eligibility criteria for Modern Apprentices, mainly
John went on to say that the eDEN launch was around working hours. Richard acknowledged
not as smooth as we would have liked and the frustrations but unfortunately this was a
acknowledged the impact on the DAS team and matter beyond AiB’s remit.
service users. He gave assurance that along with
new payments distribution responsibilities Another staff question asked if AiB grows, where
expected, eDEN will bring improvements and put would it grow to? The fact that Social Security is
AiB in a better place.
planning various locations
Amanda Dowse informed around Scotland was raised
staff that AiB are and that there was no reason
currently negotiating our services couldn’t do the
terms of the building same – of course with a
lease which is currently Kilwinning base.
until 2025. A team are
working alongside an Recent vulnerability training
estates professional to
try and get the best deal. raised an issue around
Amanda emphasized
there is no intention to vulnerable customers
leave the Kilwinning
office. discussed – specifically around

Amanda also discussed new tech to upgrade the the AiB honours board. The
conference and meeting room facilities. Utilising
feedback from a survey of staff needs, this will trainer felt it could appear
make AiB a smarter workplace and enable more
conference options for staff and stakeholders, threatening to debtors in
and will make the office more attractive to other
users and SG hot deskers. reception, but AiB staff argued
Amanda informed that there is a 4 year spending
review and that AiB have asked for a flat budget this shows the level of skill and professionalism
over that period.
Richard updated staff on the International within the office.
Association of Insolvency Regulators (IAIR)
conference he, John, Alex and Carol attended John asked staff to let SMT know how staff could
last week. He discussed the New Zealand be rewarded for good work. The reality was that
insolvency service and the security issues raised we are unable to offer financial incentive. Staff
by the Christchurch shootings. Security at AiB highlighted lots of other forms of staff reward
was discussed and the openness of the front already being received like HWL activities, team
desk / reception area for members of the public. building trips, all staff events at St Andrews and
Richard invited staff to think about this and Bingo.
feedback.
Alex Reid emphasised the excellent charity work
John talked about the in-house case volume and within AiB. Staff were asked to say if we should
the potential for that work to increase, but that have an employee of the month or a team of the
the providers would absorb this increase. month and was the AiB Times the vehicle for
Likewise should AiB take on payments this? Let us know.The final question was around
distribution responsibilities then it is expected the building insulation and it was agreed this could
current team will be able to absorb the work – be looked at as part of the lease negotiation work.
eDEN is designed to free up process time across
all grades. He recognised this may be a different Overall thanks were given to staff by Richard and
the rest of the senior management team for their
work over the last year, staff’s patience and
customer service in dealing with the spate of
scam phone calls, and their continued drive for
continuous improvement in the Agency.

AiB’s SMT are there to answer questions at any
time. Staff are always encouraged to raise
questions and concerns through their teams,
SMT or through staff suggestions.

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Due to the Scottish weather putting a dampener on the last Goatfell trip
in August, even more colleagues have signed up to attempt the climb on
Sunday 6 October.
The invitation remains open if anyone else wants to don their hiking boots
and give it a go – second time lucky!

World Porridge Day is an initiative set up by Scottish charity, Mary’s Meals. This year, on Thursday
10 October, HWL will be providing bowls of porridge and other oat based breakfasts. This will be
served to staff in the ground floor kitchen area. Pop the date in your calendar and look out for an
email from HWL mailbox nearer the time. Mary’s meals are also running a backpack campaign to
provide children with basic essentials and learning tools. More information can be found on the
next page.

Staff will get the opportunity to sample some homemade vegetarian ‘winter warmer’ style food.
The idea behind this is to raise staff awareness of the benefits of a vegetarian diet.
A vegetarian diet comes in many forms, but it mainly means that a person has eliminated meat
and fish from their diet and reduced the dependence on protein from animals. Here are just a few:
Mood – Research has found that by increasing vegetable and fruit intake could have a positive
effect on your mood
Fighting Disease – Vegetarian diets are naturally low in saturated fats and cholesterol which
can reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and diet related cancers. This could be
attributed to higher intake in fibre and antioxidants.
Leaner Figure – By switching to a vegetarian diet could help you to lose some weight. It could
help you to increase your fruit and vegetable intake, help you stay fuller for longer without eating
too many calories.
Better for the environment – Animal farming creates a lot of harmful greenhouse gases.
Eliminating meat from your diet could lower your carbon footprint.
Tastings will take place on Wednesday 23 October, keep an eye on your emails for further
information about what’s on offer and more benefits nearer the time!

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You may have noticed the posters up and around the building, but don’t worry if you’ve not yet
donated. You have until Friday 11 October to hand in any items listed below to the reception staff.
Or why not do it as a team and fill a back pack between you all?

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The Operational Delivery Profession has recently set up a working group where all different
approaches in areas like leadership, use of data, improvement science and customer service are
discussed.
An action from this working group was to create a newsletter to share and promote the work that
different areas of the Scottish Government were doing.
Areas covered in the first newsletter are:

● Welcome to ODP
● Webcasting
● Coaching
● Recruitment
● Mentoring
● Leadership
● Social Security Scotland

The newsletter is due to be published on Saltire
soon, but click on the image above for a sneaky

peek in advance!

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Increasing access to affordable credit

More people will have greater access to affordable credit and savings plans through a new £10
million fund.
Announced as part of the Programme for Government, the Credit Union Investment Fund will
support credit unions to increase financial inclusion and help them to grow.

New funeral payment launches

A new benefit to help low income families meet the costs of a funeral is open for applications.
The payment - which is being delivered by Social Security Scotland - will help towards the cost of
a funeral. It replaces the Funeral Expenses Payment previously operated by the Department of
Work and Pensions (DWP) for people living in Scotland.

Scottish public sector employment

Public Sector Employment Statistics for Scotland released by Scotland’s Chief Statistician, show
that there were 558,700 people employed in the public sector in Scotland in June 2019.

New jobs benefit to launch next Spring

A new benefit to support young people starting a new job after a period of unemployment will be
introduced next Spring.
The Job Start Payment is a new payment to help young people with the cost of starting a new job.

Keep up to date with all the latest news across the
Scottish Government here

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GNORMAN ON HIS TRAVELS
BY MARYJANE CONNELLY

Gnorman went with me to Venlo, a city in the
province of Limburg in the South of the
Netherlands, which borders Germany.
It’s a very lovely traditional Dutch city, and
Gnorman visited the De Klep café bar where
he sampled their own locally brewed beer.
He then bravely staggered onwards to the
Stadhuis (City Hall) which was built in the late
16th century.

Considering that Venlo was heavily occupied
by the Germans during WWII and many of
the buildings were destroyed, this building
is lucky to still be standing.
During the local Vastelaovend Carnival a
"farmers wedding" takes place on the steps
of the Stadhuis.
A "bride and groom" are selected, drawn
through the streets in traditional Dutch
farmers clothes, all of the locals turn up
wearing traditional black, and the "bride and
groom" are "married" on the steps of the
Stadhius.

To book Gnorman or Gnaomi for your next trip, please email AiB Web Editors

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AiB will be hosting their annual coffee morning, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support on
Wednesday 2 October.
Donna Lindsay is organising the event for us, which will be replicated up and down the country
for what is known as the ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.’
All monies raised will be going directly to Macmillan, who provide support to those who have
been or those that know someone who has been diagnosed with cancer.
Donna and her team are welcoming donations – whether they are hand made with love or shop
bought- to be sold to colleagues that morning.
There will also be a raffle taking place during the course of the morning, and again any raffle
prize donations would be greatly received.
If you can help out in any way, please let Donna know.
Raffle tickets will go on sale to colleagues the week before.
The coffee morning starts at 10:00 on Wednesday 2 October and will be held in the ground floor
kitchen area.

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Around AiB

Autumn Step Count Challenge

We are still looking for more volunteers to sign up to the ‘Paths for All’
autumn challenge.
We currently have enough willing participants to make up one team so
another 5 volunteers could spark up some healthy AiB rivalry.
It starts on Monday 28 October and runs for four weeks so still plenty
of time to put your name down.

If you want to be a part then simply send your name to Paul McCallum.

Each team of 5 will then pick a team name, which will be registered on
the Step Count Challenge website.

The entry fee will be funded by Healthy Working Lives.

Your AiB First aiders are now:

Amanda Dowse Finance FFN
Katherine Morrison Contract Management Team FFN
Allison Miller Chief Executive Office FFN
Steven Taylor E&T FFS
Graeme Perry OPC GFS
Fiona Henry Policy Development GFS

If you have a first aid emergency, you can call 62644 and this will be picked by one of our
first aiders named above. The first aid room number is 62647.

Familiarise yourself with the details which have been updated on the noticeboards displayed
throughout the building.

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Zip slide across the Clyde!

Shelley Thomson and her sister, Genna, recently completed their charity zip slide in aid of St
Vincent’s Hospice on Saturday 7 September. Here is Shelley’s account of her experience.

“We all donned our red St Vincent’s t-shirts and it was time for us to go. Getting set up and
putting on the harness was the easy part. It was the walk along the Clyde to the other side I
started to feel like my legs weren’t my own. Watching other people doing the zip slide it
doesn’t feel like they are up high or going fast however, when you are doing it yourself it’s a
different story.
It became apparent, very quickly, that I was the most nervous maybe the colour of my face
and the fact that I had stopped talking was a big clue. So the group agreed I got to choose
when I wanted to jump. I chose third place. Not wanting to go first but certainly not last
either. After, watching an 82 year old retired RAF pilot jump it was my turn. So my
instructions were to stand at the edge of the carriage and hold on to the rope then push
myself away. All sounding very simple.
I have to admit I thought about changing my mind. However, I just couldn’t with all my family
watching and all the sponsors - there was no alternative.
Everyone said once you jump you will enjoy it. Well I can safely say I wouldn’t know
because I didn’t even open my eyes. All I remember hearing was the noise of the metal
against the rope as I made my way across. Once at the other end, with my legs back on
solid ground, I could hear all my family cheering and the kids shouting mum which made it
all worth it.
Many people have asked me since would I do it again? I can honestly say NEVER AGAIN. I
can’t thank my friends and colleagues enough at AiB for the support on our Just Giving
page, we reached our target and beyond by raising a total of £673.00. All for a good cause
and in memory of our dad.”

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A warm welcome to Stephen Nicolson, our new legal secondee from Harper Macleod.

How long have you been at AiB?
One week and half a day at time of writing.
What do you most enjoy about working at AiB?
The sweepstakes and the high volume of baked goods.
If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
Armando Iannucci or Henrik Larsson.
What’s your favourite book to read?
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby or Normal People by Sally Rooney.
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Chicken wings, as long as no one had to witness it.
What five words would friends use to describe you?
Laidback, competitive, opinionated, chatty, caffeinated.
What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?
Reading, playing football, watching football, cooking, going to the cinema, listening to music.
Shouting pointlessly at the 6 o’clock news.
What is your proudest achievement?
Doing two stints of long distance with my better half with no lasting trauma (so far so good!)

Does your team have a new member of staff?
Let us know at AiB Web Editors

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Keep on running…

Ken O’Neill, our AiB statistician, is completing not one but two half marathons in the space of seven
days!
Ken explains the reason why he’s running over 26 miles at the end of September:

“Dementia in any of its many forms is a horrible disease. Most of you will know someone
affected by this disease, and some of you may have experienced its immense impact
first-hand - like I have recently, following my Gran‘s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. It has had
detrimental impact on my family.
In order to raise awareness of this terrible disease and raise funds for Alzheimer’s
Scotland so that they can support people and research, I have decided to run two half
marathon races this September 2019. Two races only a week apart:

● Scottish Half Marathon Run (Sunday 22 September)
● Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run (Sunday 29 September).
It will be tricky to fully recover in time for the second run, but… challenge accepted!”
To read more about Ken’s build up to the events and to make a donation, you can visit his Just
Giving page.

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Name: Esme

Owner: Steven Mahood
Age: 5 months
Breed: Mini Lop

Favourite food: Any leafy greens! He loves his food.
Favourite toy: His bright green tunnel. He could run through it all day and never get bored!
Hobbies: Marshmallow is a house bunny so just loves being a part of everything that’s going

on. He’s so nosey. He loves chasing the dogs’ tails though!
What makes your pet special? He’s my first rabbit and I never knew how much personality
and character they actually have! He makes me laugh with how cheeky he is and I love having

him curled up on me while we binge watch Netflix.

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Congratulations to Zoey Timpany,
whose amazing New York inspired
cake was featured in August’s edition
of Cake Decoration & Sugarcraft
magazine.
Zoey is one talented lady, and more of
her cakes can be found on her Facebook
page, Zoey’s Cake Creations.

Well done to Amanda Dowse who recently completed her three day first aid
course and joins the group of other first aid-ers in the building.

In other news…

Welcome to Danielle Murdoch who joins the Front of
House reception team on a temporary contract.

To be a part of next month’s AiB Times –
Please email AiB Web Editors with your stories (work or non-

work related) any milestones coming up, team updates and
photos of your pets

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