Participation At Council Panels And Committees

I hold the position of Cabinet Deputy for Services for Children and Young People. This is a challenging role which is wide ranging and which commits a considerable amount of my time. I also Chair the Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership.

• I have the privilege of being on the Children's Panel.
• I have attended as many Full Council meetings as I was able.
• I have attended all Scrutiny Panel meetings that I have been requested to attend and have been invited to committees and panels that my position requires.
• I have attended most pre-Council Labour Group meetings.

Participation At District Assemblies

I am a member of the Denton and Audenshaw District Assembly. I have attended most of the meetings held.

 I have also attended most of the pre-District Assembly Labour Group meetings.

Participation On Outside Bodies

At present I am on no outside bodies.

Participation On School Governing Bodies

For the past ten years I have been a Local Education Authority governor at St Anne's Primary School, Denton . I have also been Chair of Governors at St Anne's for nine years.

I have never missed a meeting at St Anne's.

I am a Governor on the Shadow Governing Body of the new Denton School and have been elected Chair.

Constituency Work

I have attended numerous residents' meetings, public meetings and community events, including:

• The Mayor's Civic Service;
• The Annual Denton and Audenshaw Carnival;
• The Denton and Audenshaw Carnival Committee;
• St Anne's Church Garden Party.

I have responded promptly to all casework given to me. I receive enquiries from constituents over the phone, at surgeries and in person by residents stopping me in the street. The casework is varied, ranging from simple requests - for a blue bin for example - to complex problem solving. In most cases I have to either liaise with officers within the council, New Charter Housing Trust or other outside agencies to resolve the problem.

Achievements During The Year

I was re-elected for 4 years in May 2007 and the support and guidance of my colleagues, Vincent Ricci and Martin Wareing, has been invaluable and I am proud to be able to contribute to the successful Labour team in Denton North East.
In my role of Cabinet Deputy I am honoured to have the opportunity to be able to make changes to improve life for children and young people in the Borough.

I am pleased to have supported the regeneration of Denton and am involved in the on-going developments in the town centre, including the new developmemts on the Oldham Batteries site.

Members Surgeries

I am committed to being an accessible councillor and feel that it is important to hold regular advice surgeries. We have held surgeries at Denton Labour Club on the first Monday of the month and every Wednesday evening at Denton Town Hall. All of the surgeries are well attended by local residents. I also take casework over the telephone and have an answer phone, on which messages are responded to the same day if possible. Email requests for assistance are also increasing and I have facilities to respond to these.

Training And Development Activities Undertaken

As an eighth year Councillor, I have attended fewer training sessions this year, as I had already attended many of them in my first year. I have attended several sessions organised over the last year refreshing and keeping up with new developments are key areas for my development.