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Caerphilly County Borough Council’s catering team has won a national award for its free school meal provision during the coronavirus pandemic.

The catering team won the ‘Best Service Team: Catering Service’ award at the APSE Annual Service Awards, which were held in Birmingham on Thursday, September 9.

The council saw off competition from councils across the UK to clinch the honour.

The council has been providing meals to eligible children throughout the pandemic free of charge, with a number of council staff members being redeployed to deliver the meals at various times during the pandemic.

Free school meals were also delivered to children across the borough during the summer holidays this year and last year.

As of July this year, more than 1.3m meals had been delivered to children across the borough since the start of the pandemic, with 31,215 meals delivered each week, according to the council.

Councillor Ross Whiting, Cabinet Member for Learning and Leisure, said he was “thrilled” to see the catering team recognised.

He added: “The recognition of first place is well deserved and we at Caerphilly Council are so proud of all of our staff for their relentless work and determination throughout the pandemic, which has had such a positive impact on our children and young people receiving free school meals.”

The council’s Sports, Leisure and Cultural Service, as well as its Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Regulatory Service, were also nominated for awards.

Meanwhile, the council’s Chief Executive Christina Harrhy has been nominated for the Chief Executive of the Year award at the MJ Local Government Achievement Awards, which will be held in London on September 17. The council’s catering team has been nominated for the ‘Best Council Services Team’ category at the awards.

The council has also been nominated for the Council of the Year Award at the LGC Awards 2021, which will be held in November.