Frequently asked questions – Service Awards 2023

Where will the Service Awards Dinner take place?

The Service Awards will take place at the state of the art Titanic Belfast on Thursday 14 September. Click here to download directions to the venue.

 

Can I attend the Service Awards Dinner if I do not attend the APSE seminar?

Finalists can guarantee their seat at the Charity Awards Dinner, as well as hotel accommodation, by booking a place at the APSE Annual Seminar.

Dinner only places are available to finalists on a limited basis but hotel accommodation is not included. If you wish to be added to the reserve list for a dinner only place click here.

 

How will I know my dinner booking has been received safely?

You should receive an email within 10 working days, letting you know of the safe receipt of your booking request. 

If you do not hear from us within this time scale please contact the Service Awards Team on [email protected].

 

What time do the awards start/finish?

The dinner commences with pre-dinner drinks welcome at 7.00 PM. You will be asked to take your seats ready for dinner to be served at 7.30 prompt. The awards ceremony will take place at around 9.30 PM.

The awards ceremony will end at approximately 11.00 PM with the event closing at 12.00 AM.

 

What is the dress code?

The dress code is evening wear / lounge suits.  This is not a black tie event.

 

What if I have any dietary requirements?

If you have any special dietary requirements such as vegetarian, vegan, coeliac or any allergies please just note this on your booking form next to the guest’s name.

 

What if I have any access requirements?

If you or one of your guests has a accessibility requirements, please let us know in advance by highlighting within the special requirements box of the booking form. The venue is full disabled accessible but we would like to make your experience as pleasant as possible. For more information on the Titanic accessibility click here

 

Can we book accommodation through APSE to stay in Belfast?

Unfortunately we are unable to book rooms for those delegates only attending the Service Awards dinner. Those attending the full seminar will have the opportunity to book accommodation packages for two or three nights at the specified APSE hotels. Click here for seminar delegate booking information.

There is a vast array of hotels within the area to suit all budgets.  Some good websites to use are laterooms, booking.com and trivago.

 

What if a colleague is already attending the dinner as a seminar delegate or our submission is between one or more councils, can we sit together?

Yes of course. If you let us know the names of any colleagues that are already booked to attend on the booking form online we will make sure you are able to sit on the same table.

The same applies if you have submitted a joint submission with another authority. Please put a note of this on your booking form and we will do our best to seat you together.

 

What do we do if we have a name change for our dinner delegates?

If a colleague is unable to attend or you want to swap a delegate name please contact to the Service Awards Team on [email protected] with details about your name change and we will amend the table plan and our guest list. Please do not forget to tell us about any changes to dietary requirements. 

Please advise us of any changes no later than 5pm on Monday 4 September 2023.   

If you have a late change of delegate after this date it is still okay for them to attend on the night in place of the original delegate. Please just advise them to sit in the place allocated to the original delegate on the table / dinner plan.

     

Can we have a memento of our achievements?      

Yes! These awards are about celebrating our unsung heroes in local public services. Every finalist whether you win or not will have the opportunity to have your photograph taken with your finalists’ certificate with our event photographer and guest presenter.  This will be at the end of the awards ceremony and councils will be called out in alphabetical order on our big screen.  

The lucky winners will also be recorded on video receiving their award in stage. The award winners video file and images will be downloadable shortly after the event on the APSE website. Images of finalists will be available free of charge on request after the event. You are free to use any of the videos or photographs for your organisations use or for local media. You can contact Megan Butterworth [email protected] 

 

Will we know if we have won our award before the dinner?

No! This would spoil it wouldn’t it? The award finalists are all scheduled for review by an expert panel on the day of the awards. Winners will be announced on the stage at the Service Awards Dinner.

 

What happens if we win?  

When your category is announced at the dinner listen out for your council. If you are a winner you will be called to the stage to collect your winner’s trophy and certificate. We unfortunately do not allow acceptance speeches – even really good ones with Oscars-style tears! But you will be videoed and photographed so you can share your wonderful achievement.

 

Celebrating best practice

After the Service Awards we will share a synopsis of your winning submissions with APSE member councils. This will be a downloadable booklet on the APSE website.

 

What if my authority can not attend the Awards?

Please email the Service Awards Team at [email protected]. State your name, council, email address and category/categories. APSE will arrange for any certificates/trophies to be collected on your behalf and these will be posted on to you after the event.

 

What is APSE’s cancellation policy?

We understand that sometimes things come up and sometimes bookings need to be changed.  Please see the APSE cancellation policy below.

Cancellation and refund policy (Seminar Delegates):

Reservation is a contract. Substitution of delegates is acceptable any time in writing by email to Megan Butterworth on [email protected] Cancellations must be made in writing at least 10 working days before the event, and will incur a 20% administration fee. In the unlikely event of cancellation by the organisers, liability will be restricted to the refund of fees paid. The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the programme, speakers or venue should this become necessary.

Cancellation and refund policy Availability Dinner Only Bookings):

Reservation is a contract. Substitution of dinner-only places is acceptable any time in writing by email to the Service Awards Team on [email protected]. Cancellations must be made in writing at least 10 working days before the event, and will incur a 20% administration fee. In the unlikely event of cancellation by the organisers, liability will be restricted to the refund of fees paid. The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the programme, speakers or venue should this become necessary.

 

Social media / GDPR

When you book to attend the awards or the APSE seminar and awards dinner you will be asked to confirm your consent to APSE adding you to our database. This will allow APSE to contact you to process your booking. We also ask you to note that images from the event will be used on the APSE website and social media so if you do object to this please tell us in advance. We would love you to join in the conversation on the night so please do follow @apseevents and @apsenews and use the hashtag #APSEawards23