The head of one of Scotland’s largest providers of housing, care and support services is encouraging staff and customers to help create a new five-year plan that will allow it to continue its fantastic success as it turns 50 years old.

Speaking at the Bield AGM, chief executive Brian Logan praised the huge success of the last five years, which has seen over 100 change and improvement projects delivered, while day to day services remained at its renowned high level.

Now, with the organisation approaching its 50th year in 2021, Brian is asking the staff and customers who helped deliver that success to contribute their input in creating a new 2016-2021 five-year plan, helping the organisation to deliver an even better, more efficient service during a difficult period of government cutbacks and rising costs.

He said: “Our operating environment is not going to get any easier. We face the double whammy of funding cuts and rising costs.

“But over the next five years we will be more efficient than ever before, we will lobby the government for more money and we will continue with our strategy of trying to reduce our reliance on government money.

“We know there are big changes ahead and there are some tough decisions before us, but with our committed and skilled staff team and volunteers, with tenants and customers with such amazing spirit and stories to inspire us and with our shared passion for improving older peoples’ lives, I am hugely optimistic about the future.

“Jackie Billie, the Labour MSP for Dumbarton, recently described Bield as ‘the gold standard for the forever young’ and I am convinced that we can continue to develop to maintain this impressive reputation.”

Over the next five years Bield will be putting customers and staff at the heart of everything they do by involving them more in their decision making process.

With a diverse customer base of tenants, owners, residents and other service users their input is essential.

Bield will continue to invest and develop their staff team, building confidence skills and making them feel valued.

Brian added: “Over the next few months, we will be consulting with tenants, customers and staff finding out what they think and how they would like the organisation to progress.

“For me this is the exciting bit. Setting the vision, the direction for the next five years, listening to people’s views, trying to pull them all together into a coherent plan that we can all rally behind.”

Bield’s vision is for a Scotland where people of all ages are respected, can make their own choices and are able to live independent and fulfilling lives - with the aim of their next five year business strategy being to encourage others to invest in this vision as well.

Bield is a registered charity that came from humble beginnings, starting out with just one development in Bo’ness to become a major of a wide range of housing and services for around 20,000 older people across 23 local authority areas.

@BieldScotland