Martin is public servant of the year
28 November 2007
Nottingham City Council manager and Changing Places consortium member Martin Jackaman has been named as the nation’s top public servant.
The prestigious Guardian Public Services Awards announced Martin as the Public Servant of the Year winner at a ceremony in London last night, winning by twice as many votes as the next contender.
Martin was shortlisted for developing the Changing Places toilets in Nottingham and for his work nationally representing the Nottingham City Council on the Changing Places Consortium.
Martin said today: "I am proud of this achievement, because although I have been the figurehead and it has been a mission of mine, it has been a team effort and demonstrates the ambition of the Council as a whole. This is a first – we have other plans in the pipeline to help make the city more accessible to families and their carers. At the end of the day, that’s what I am most proud of – those people who now say they can come into the city and enjoy it in a way they didn’t used to be able to”.
Beverley Dawkins, Chair of the Changing Places consortium said: “Martin truly deserves this award for his dedication and hard-work championing the Changing Places campaign, both in Nottingham and throughout the UK. The difference Changing Places toilets can make to the lives of disabled people and their families is beginning to be recognised, and we hope this award will inspire others to follow Martin’s lead”.
