First limousine licence issued

The first stretch limousine licence has been issued by the council following the introduction of new guidelines.

Acting in partnership with authorities across Greater Manchester, Tameside decided to bring in new regulations to control the recent rapid growth in demand for hiring of the specialist vehicles.
This led to concerns that the industry was able to operate unregulated which raised health and safety concerns.

To combat this Tameside pioneered the possibility of introducing licences to regulate the industry in a similar fashion as private hire vehicles.

And Beesknees in Ashton have the distinction of being awarded licence number one after completing all the requirements asked of them, including passing additional roadworthiness tests above and beyond an MOT. Under the new scheme drivers are also required to complete a training programme and the council also test the vehicles in the same way they do taxis and private hire.

The whole project was launched after Tameside's Technical, Economic and Environment Services Scrutiny Panel published a report last May highlighting concerns that limousine drivers and operators should be subject to the same rigorous checks as other public service vehicles.

Executive member for the environment, Cllr Catherine Piddington (pictured with Cllr Robinson, head of environmental enforcement Ian Saxon and a company driver) said: "Reputable limousine operators have nothing to fear from this initiative. The idea behind this licence has been drawn up with industry input and is only designed as a way of leading to demonstrable improvements to public safety."

Cllr Peter Robinson, chair of the environmental scrutiny panel added: "Our aim was always to ensure that as this business thrives, public safety would be kept at the forefront of the operators' thoughts. The introduction of this licence will now make sure that is always the case."

Disabled residents to have their say

The first ever annual conference on disability in Tameside will take place in September.

The council has been working with other organisations such as Tameside Third Sector Coalition, the health service, New Charter Housing, and Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive to make sure that disabled people in Tameside can have their voice heard.

The conference in September will involve bringing different groups of disabled people together to discuss what improvements can be made to local services. All of the organisations involved are committed to improving quality of life for disabled people.

Look out for more publicity about the conference during the summer. If anyone would like to be involved in the conference please contact the Council's Social Care and Health's User Involvement Team on 0161 370 1179.

Moorland fires

The fire service are using mountain bikes to raise awarness of a campaign warning of the dangers of grass and moorland fires.

The campaign will consist of banners and posters being displayed at prominent sites and fire fighters will be using mountain bikes to visit Tameside's green spaces to give advice to walkers.

Last year six firefighters were injured and over two hundred acres of habitat destroyed as a fire raged for weeks on the moors above Stalybridge.

Crews from Tameside have already attended two large fires following the dry weather in April. Despite the recent rain fire officers are concerned because the Met. Office have predicted an extremely dry year overall.

People should observe the countryside code which states:

• Extinguish cigarettes and camp fires properly.
• Do not leave bottles or glass lying around. Sunlight shining through glass can start large fires, always take them home or put them in a waste or recycling bin.
• Only use barbecues in suitable and safe areas and never leave them unattended.
• Avoid using open fires in the countryside.
• Keep young children and ball games away from barbecues.

Food investigation leaves a bad taste

Trading standards have completed an undercover investigation into the nutritional content of takeaway foods.

Samples of donner kebabs, fish and chips, curries and pizzas were bought at random from various takeaways within the borough and in most cases the amounts of fat, saturated fat and salt found were shocking.

The highest levels were found in donner kebabs. The levels were all high but one particular kebab purchased was found to contain 14.7 grams of salt, more than twice the guideline daily amount of 6g and 117.2 grams of fat, well over the guideline daily amount of 95g for men and 70g for woman.

Equally shocking were the results for fish and chips. In these cases the officer asked for salt and vinegar but left the server to decide how much to put on, before the meals were sent away for analysis.

In the worst case the meal contained 99.1g of fat, of which 48.9 were saturates and 7.8g of salt, again all above the guideline amounts.

Single portions of curries and pizzas were also taken from a number of takeaways and in these cases the results were better. The worst pizza contained 62.7g of fat of which 35g were saturates.

At present consumers are generally provided with nutritional information when buying pre-packed goods but they are less informed when buying takeaways.

Executive member for the environment, Cllr Catherine Piddington said: “Consumers are not being told what they can and can not eat but we are trying to provide them with the knowledge to allow them to make informed decisions on their eating habits.

Kiagware headteacher visit Mayor

The headteacher from the Kenyon village the council donated £20,000 to paid a visit to the borough to give special thanks for its generous help.

Charles Tineger came to Tameside for a two-week visit with his wife Margaret and son Obed and managed to take up the council's invite for them to meet the former mayor.

All three spent some time in the mayor's parlour before being taken on a tour of the council chamber in Ashton's town hall.

And as part of their visit Charles was handed, among other gifts, 10,000 much-needed pencils for the school children where he teaches back in Kiagware.

The £20,000 council donation was originally earmarked for building a new medical facility, but Charles revealed a change of plan at the gathering.

"We've decided that because the hot weather is on its way the money would be better spent on medical supplies and to go towards training medical staff who can then go out into the area treating people where they live rather than asking them to travel into a medical centre," he said.
"I can't thank Tameside enough for all the generous help then have given us; I don't know what we would have done without it."

Advice from the experts

There is always that piece of information you need that you cannot find anywhere.

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) website might be where you start www.adviceguide.org.uk this provides information and advice on problems on a variety of subjects. It also has facts sheets you can download.

For face to face contact about resolving your problem your local CAB is 9 George Street Ashton u Lyne OL6 6AQ. Details can be found on www.tamesidecab.org.uk, it tells you what we can provide and about our opening hours. Limited telephone contact is on 0161 330 6296.
Meanwhile here is a flavour of the range of CAB work and some of the changes made by recent legislation.

Q. I had an accident at work and have been thinking about contacting a claims management company. I'm a bit nervous in case I am not happy with the way they deal with my case – are these companies regulated and can I complain to anyone if things go wrong?

A. Claims Management companies act for people claiming compensation: approaching people offering them a “no win no fee” agreement. The government has recently passed the Compensation Act which covers compensation claims for personal injury, criminal injuries compensation, employment matters, housing disrepair, financial products and industrial injury disablement benefits.

From 1 April it became an offence to provide claims management service without authorisation. See www.claimsregulation.gov.uk to make sure your company is authorised.

Q. I am going on my first trip abroad and so need to apply for a new passport. A friend told me I need to go for an interview. Is this true?

A. From mid 2007 all first-time adult passport applicants will be called to a face to face interview. Applications can still be made by post, but all those aged 16 and over who have never held a passport before will be interviewed after preliminary checks have been completed.

Childminders celebrate good practice

Tameside childminders are doing a lot more for their young charges than simply babysitting.

More than 70 local childminders attended a conference at Dukinfield Town Hall, organised by Tameside Council's pioneering Early Years Quality Team, to celebrate and share their good practice.
The event gave delegates the chance to learn about new developments in childcare and early years education as well as try out a variety of workshops in subjects such as sharing books and exploring child development through music.

They were also be briefed on the Government's new Early Years Foundation Stage document, which will require all childminders to provide nursery education - providing more choice for parents and creating a level playing field for all children.

Early Years Officer Donna Devlin said: "Tameside has been applauded and described as "pioneers" by the National Childminding Association for our efforts to provide high quality early years care and education.

"The new guidelines are about relating everyday activities that our registered childminders are already doing to early learning goals. The conference is an opportunity for childminders to celebrate their good practice while sharing ideas and finding out more about what support and training is available."

Labour retains control of Tameside Council

Labour have retained control of Tameside Council, winning 16 of the 19 seats up for grabs in this year's local elections.

They gained the previously held Liberal Democrat seat of Audenshaw while the Conservative Party retained their seats in Hyde Werneth and Stalybridge South.

The Independent candidate in Mossley retained their seat also.

There were no other changes. Labour now hold 45 of the 57 seats available, the Conservatives eight, the Liberal Democrats one and the Independents in Mossley three.

View the full breakdown of results

Who's who in Tameside Council's Cabinet 2007/2008

Executive Leader

Councillor Roy Oldham (Longdendale) heads the team of 10 cabinet members. He has overall responsibility for the budget and key policy initiatives. He also chairs the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, the largest local authority pension fund in the country. He represents the council outside Tameside, in meetings with government ministers and MPs, and on various organisations including the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities and the North West Regional Assembly. He is also responsible for drawing up the council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions - the most important priorities for the council to tackle that year.

First Cabinet Deputy

Councillor Joe Kitchen (Hyde, Godley) is the deputy head of the cabinet and responsible for:

• monitoring of all programme and service budgets 
• systems and processes for business plans and programmes
• overseeing the corporate human resource strategy
• risk management
• legal services
• corporate governance
• civic matters via the Project Head (Heritage and Tourism)
• preparations for the single european currency
• liaison with employer organisations
• oversight of council's interest as shareholder of the Manchester Airport companies
• revenues and exchequer functions (including benefits)
• act as deputy head of cabinet
• customer services, including library In Touch centres
• market research
• the council's complaints procedure
• sport and recreational policy via the Project Head (Sport and Leisure)
• democratic processes

Cabinet Deputy for Children and Young People

Councillor Allison Gwynne (Denton North East) is responsible for:

• strategic oversight of services for children and young people
• local Safeguarding Children's Board
• Youth Service
• Youth Offending Team
• Children's Social Work Team
• looked after children
• children with disabilities
• Tameside Strategic Partnership and Community Strategy
• development of the local Connexions service

Cabinet Deputy for Co-ordination Services

Councillor Margaret Oldham (Hyde, Newton) has responsibility for:

• operation of the enforcement panel including Tameside patrollers
• e-tameside, e-government and IT services
• Beacon Council co-ordination
• Public Service Agreements
• equality in service access and delivery
• governance of older people via a Cabinet Secretary
• procurement and related services
• marketing and publicity strategy
• printing and design
• Police liaison and emergency services
• security of council buildings
• social exclusion policy and monitoring including health promotion
• Community Legal Services
• Councillor's training and development 
• Democratic and Cabinet support services
• welfare rights
• emergency planning
• the council's team of quality auditors

Cabinet Deputy for Economic Services

Councillor Kieran Quinn (Droylsden East) has responsibility for:

• regeneration strategy including industrial and commercial activities
• resource procurement – SRB, European and Lottery funding
• New Deal and other employment initiatives
• community enterprise services
• Economic Development Zones
• liaison with Manchester Enterprises
• representing Tameside on MIDAS, the Greater Manchester inward investment company
• credit union and co-operatives development
• industrial and commercial liaison activities
• development and monitoring of the council's assets registers via a Cabinet Secretary
• council land policy, usage, sales, valuations
• landlord role for all council buildings (including building works), subject to local management of schools' requirements
• markets and vending facilities management
• architectural and design services

Cabinet Deputy for Environmental Services

Councillor Catherine Piddington (Ashton, Waterloo) is responsible for:

• domestic and commercial waste services
• recycling strategy and issues
• environmental cleansing services not the responsibility of district assemblies
• bulk waste and clearance services
• pollution control and monitoring
• trading standards and related issues
• pest and vermin control
• food hygiene and related services
• cremation/burial services
• full establishment of street cleansing
• licensing

Cabinet Deputy for Personal and Community Services

Councillor John Taylor (Dukinfield) is responsible for: general social services policy and provision

• liaison with NHS Trusts and health authorities
• adult social care
• learning disability service
• home care services
• monitoring contract provision of social services
• development and delivery of joint care of services for older people
• public and private sector housing strategy and provision via a Cabinet Secretary
• liaison with community and voluntary sectors

Cabinet Deputy for Lifelong Learning

Councillor Ged Cooney (Droylsden West) is responsible for:

• general education services policy
• special education needs
• school organisation and inclusion
• Building Schools for the Future programme
• application and management of the school buildings register
• internal schools QA and advisory service
• libraries and lifelong learning
• cultural services via Project Head (Heritage and Tourism)

Cabinet Deputy for Technical Services

Councillor Alan Whitehead (Ashton, Hurst) is responsible for:

• all strategic planning and transportation matters, including local transportation plan and monitoring and review of Unitary Development Plan and development of supplementary planning guidance
• highways and engineering planning and development
• construction and maintenance of infrastructure
• application and management of the Highways Register
• street lighting, signals and traffic signs
• Public Transport Authority matters and public transport issues
• traffic management and road safety
• parking and town centre traffic management
• civil engineering and transport operations, including vehicle workshop
• highways, design and maintenance

Cabinet Deputy Without Portfolio

Councillor Jim Fitzpatrick (Hyde, Godley) has responsibility for:

• overseeing progress on the capital programme, ensuring relevant cabinet deputies are made aware of changes in terms of timescales and costs
• an overview of the council's property assets
• the promotion and marketing of the council's major conference facilities and allied establishments
• monitoring progress on major items of policy development, as determined by the Executive Leader and the Chief Executive
• ensuring appropriate and timely cabinet responses to Scrutiny Panel recommendations and to monitor the
• implementation of those responses
• overseeing the council's comprehensive performance assessment
• district assemblies, including the street force teams
• systems and processes for business planning
• maintenance and management of children's play area.