Success and Innovation

Tameside - An Excellent Council

Located to the east of Greater Manchester,Tameside Council provides services for 220,000 people and 6,000 businesses within nine towns: Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Longdendale, Mossley and Stalybridge.

Rated as "excellent" in the Audit Commission's 2003 performance assessment,Tameside Council is successful in tackling the challenges facing local government today. We use a range of practical and innovative solutions and have been praised for our ability to deliver results.

The Audit Commission's inspectors singled out for comment the importance we place on consulting local people and working with partner organisations, stating that:

• "the council is ambitious for the community and has a good understanding of what matters to local people"
• "it has made good use of consultation and partnership working to help identify its priorities"
• "the capacity and skills of councillors and officers are of a high quality"
• "the community will have noticed real achievements in the last 12 months"
• "the District Assemblies provide opportunities for local communities to give feedback."

The inspectors also commented on our sound financial strategy, robust financial planning processes and good budgetary control which enabled us to promise a limit on council tax rises of 10% over three years from 2002 to 2005.

North West Centre for Procurement Excellence

Tameside Council is hosting the North West Centre for Procurement Excellence in partnership with the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities and Liverpool Council.

The aim is to save money and improve services by collaborating on the procurement of goods, services and construction and by collaborating on the delivery of services.

This collaboration is not just to be with other councils but is expected to extend to other public bodies and to partnerships with private business and with the voluntary and community sector.

North West Councils, every year, spend around £5 billion pounds externally. If the Procurement Centre can help save even 5%, that would produce an annual saving of £250 million pounds.

There are currently significant variations between councils in what they pay for things - paper, computers, day care, telephones etc., and in the cost of services - payroll, council tax collection etc. This shows we can make savings by using the best of what we have now. But there are bigger gains to be had from the use of technology - e-auctions have produced savings of over 20% on the tender prices and e-procurement is cutting administrative costs in half. There are further efficiencies to be had from economies of scale in back office services such as payroll processing and council tax.

The Government has established nine Regional Centres of Procurement Excellence in response to Sir Ian Byatt’s report"Delivering Better Services to Citizens". There is a clear expectation that better quality services and better value for money will result and that all Councils will participate as part of the implementation of the National Procurement Strategy for Local Government in England, October 2003.

Awarding Winning Pension Fund

We also manage the award-winning Greater Manchester Pension Fund, the biggest local authority pension fund in the country. Providing security for local pensioners who have retired from their council, the fund has significantly outperformed the UK stock market.

In the two years from March 2002, its value has risen by 3% while the stock market dropped by 17% during the same period. A prudent investment strategy and hands-on management have helped the fund to stay ahead - and win numerous awards - while looking after its 69,000 pensioners and investing successfully in the local economy.

People's Priorities

Tameside's single aim is to make life better for the people and businesses in the borough - so we listen to what people tell us and focus on delivering our four People’s Priorities.

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