Alderman Tommy Nicholl MBE completes two-year term as Chair of the Association for Public Service and Excellence

Alderman Tommy Nicholl MBE has successfully completed a two-year term as Chairman of the Association for Public Service and Excellence (APSE) in Northern Ireland.

APSE is a not-for-profit local government body that works with more than 300 councils throughout the UK.

It promotes excellence in public services and is the foremost specialist in local authority frontline services, hosting a network for frontline service providers in areas such as waste and refuse collection, parks and environmental services, cemeteries and crematorium, environmental health, leisure, school meals, cleaning, housing and building maintenance.

At the APSE Annual General Meeting, Ald Nicholl told fellow Members it was a privilege to have served as Chair.

He said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to represent the interests of Mid and East Antrim at a national level. APSE is a superb organisation that contributes significantly to assisting Councils across the UK whist continuing to support Local Government through its policy, research and performance programmes. This position has given me the opportunity to represent not only the views of Mid and East Antrim but Northern Ireland and encourage best practice amongst those people I’ve had the pleasure of working with.”

During his two-year term, Alderman Nicholl was involved in a number of forums. He worked closely with his fellow members in 2017/18 to launch ten major pieces of research notably, governance and democracy; finance; renewable energy; housing; devolution; commercialisation of property portfolios; municipal entrepreneurship and neighbourhoods. A number of seminars and events was also held in Northern Ireland for APSE members with Ald Nicholl chairing the Community Planning and Economic Growth and Planning events.

Alderman Nicholl has been appointed vice chair of APSE for the next two-year term 2019-2021. In this role he is privileged to attend the UK APSE meetings on behalf of Northern Ireland.