Councillor Ann Holland

I have been an Elected Member representing the Droylsden West Ward for the last 22 years. For most of that time, I also worked part-time for a retail outlet as an Administrative Assistant. I have been married for 44 years and have two grown up children. I have fitted in, with difficulty at times, all my responsibilities as a working wife, mother and Labour Councillor into my life.

Participation at Council Panels

I am now a Cabinet Secretary for Personal Services of which I am very interested in dealing with adults with learning difficulties, homeless, disabled and the elderly.
I am also a member of the Technical and Environmental Services Scrutiny Panel. This Panel has the responsibility for considering all elements of Council policies in relation to the provision of engineering and transport services, environmental health and the environment in which we live and the economy and prosperity of Tameside.

Participation at District Assemblies

The Droylsden District Assembly constitutes a very important part of my council duties. We have six Labour councillors in Droylsden, who work as a good team. We work in the community, listening to people and consulting with the advisory group, to give the best service and “Best Value” we can when allocating where, and on what, we spend the budget in Droylsden.

This year I have continued to serve as Deputy Chair of the District Assembly. Each of the Councillors on the District Assembly is allocated specific areas of responsibility. I deal with the needs of young people, although I do get involved in all aspects of the Assembly’s work. The advisory group to the District Assembly are consulted, so we do work with, and take note of, our community advisory representative.

We have many meetings with the Town Manager, who has to consult with the Councillors and the advisory group regarding the needs of our town. We hold regular District Assembly meetings in most of our schools, so that we meet the people from all parts of our town. The police, officers from the Council, advisory group, Town Manager, young people’s representatives and, of course, the six Droylsden Councillors attend these public meetings. We have an open forum, where questions can be posed directly by members of the public to any of the groups listed above. The District Assemblies are a great success. They make us answerable to the people in our town.

Participation on Outside Bodies

I am a member of the following outside bodies:

• Board member, Water Adventure Centre
• Board member, Fair Share Trust Fund
• Chair, Fairfield Community Centre
• PACT Member – Droylsden West Ward
• Homewatch Co-ordinator representative

As a Councillor, I attend many public meetings with the police, tenants’ and residents’ associations and Homewatch groups. I have organised many seminars for the elderly in warden-controlled accommodation to inform them about crime, safety in the home, fire prevention and services available from Age Concern.

Participation on Governing Bodies

I am a governor at Manchester Road Primary School in Droylsden.

Achievements During the Year

I believe that we have achieved a great deal in Droylsden, providing services that the public wants.

Droylsden West PACT meetings are a great success. Working together with our local Police and community groups we have reduced crime and provided discos for the young people once a month where 200 attend. We have succeeded in starting PRIME Youth Club, we volunteers in partnership with Youth Services have now a great youth club Wednesday and Friday, 6.30pm until 9pm, averaging between 60 and 80 young people attending.

I am very pleased to report that new swimming pool at Medlock Sports Centre continues to thrive and provides a first-rate facility for the whole community to enjoy. A fantastic new children’s play area and a superb fitness centre have been added to the facilities provided here. We also have more play equipment on our smaller play areas.

Members’ Surgeries

I hold three surgeries each month in different venues in the Ward, so that members of the community can come along and see me with any problems. I also have a large caseload of enquiries that I receive via telephone calls to my home.

Training and Development Activities Undertaken

I have taken part in several of the training seminars offered to member this year through the Members’ Development Programme. I have also been on many training sessions regarding intermediate care strategy and dementia strategy.

For many of my years on the Council, I was on the Direct Services Committee, which covered grounds maintenance, building services, engineering, catering, cleaning, refuse collection, street cleansing and lighting in the Borough. This committee gave me the best training, as it dealt with many different services. You will find that we provided a very good service in-house under CCT regulations. I have also been on the Housing Services, Economic and Property Services, Personnel, Leisure, Education, Best Value and Debt Recovery committees. Serving on all these committees as a Councillor has given me a wealth of experience in dealing with the many services that the Council provides. Unfortunately, these committees no longer exist under the government’s modernisation of local government.

The Tory Government are now trying to force us to use more private sector companies but I will fight my hardest to keep our services in house as I believe we provide as a Council the best services without having to make a profit, where as Private Sector have to provide services and make their directors millionaires from the profits they will make from the Council Tax payers. TMBC has been a four star council for years and now the Tories are trying to change that.