Annual Report 2006/07

Tameside Council has had an outstanding year. We were one of only ten councils in the country to achieve a rating of 4 stars with an ‘improving strongly' judgement from the Audit Commission, and have been awarded the highly prized Municipal Journal Best Achieving Council award for 2007. We have successfully negotiated our first Local Area Agreement, agreeing targets and priorities with Government and our key partners, to improve quality of life in Tameside.

There were a number of successfully completed projects during the year with a number of significant developments underway and planned for the future. Here the Citizen gives you some of the highlights and also a summary of the Council's accounts for 2006/07.The Council's financial position remains healthy whilst achieving one of the lowest council tax rises nationally.

The budget for 2006/07 of £155.8m showed a £16.3m underspend- mainly due to variations from budget in respect of savings in capital financing costs (£2.9m), slippage on the use of the equal pay provision (£5.6m) and the receipt of £3.6m from the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive Scheme.

The Council had general balances of £17.7m at 31st March 2007, which after allowing for monies earmarked to assist with future years budget's (£11m) are in the region approved by Council. Capital spend during 2006/07 was £70.4m which was slightly less than planned (£0.06m) although this will be carried forward and spent in 2007/08.
Here are some examples of the achievements that have made 2006/07 such a success for the borough :

A Safe Environment

• Tameside has never been safer. In 2006/07 overall crime in Tameside fell by 9% compared with last year.
• Crime in Tameside reduced in the following areas over 2006/07:
  - burglary reduced by 6.5%
  - criminal damage reduced by 7.1%
  - theft of vehicles reduced by 15.2%
  - woundings reduced by 16.3%
• In 2006/07 Tameside Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) outperformed all other CDRPs in Greater Manchester.
• Every ward in Tameside now has a dedicated ‘Police and Communities Together' (or PACT) team which works with councillors and local community groups to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
• PACT teams also report anti-social behaviour and ‘street scene' crime such as graffiti or vandalism to the local Enforcement Panel, who work with local services and communities to solve the problem.
• The number of uniformed officers in Tameside is at an all-time high - over 100 officers are dedicated to tackling lower level anti-social behaviour and reassuring local residents.
• 95% of respondents to the Citizens' Panel reported feeling safe in their local neighbourhood during the day in 2006; unchanged since 2005.
• Tameside has achieved the Local Public Service Agreement (Round 2) target of reducing domestic burglaries by 1200 over 2004/07.

A Prosperous Society

• Unemployment in Tameside was 3.5% at March 2007, and remains below the Greater Manchester figure of 4.1%. Unemployment in some of our most deprived areas has also fallen - bucking national trends.
• Tameside is now a pilot area running a City Strategy to tackle worklessness in Greater Manchester.
• Tameside's figure for average full-time adult weekly earnings (including overtime) increased by 6% to £370.60 in 2006/07.
• Six businesses relocated to Tameside's Economic Development Zone (EDZ) in 2006/07 and 750 jobs were created, of which 25% went to people living within the EDZ.
• A seven year £250m transformation programme is underway on the Hattersley and Mottram Estate. The development will include 800 new private homes, improved public realm, open spaces and transport infrastructure, a new district centre, and new business and community services.
• Offices are open at the St Petersfield business quarter and work is well under way towards the remaining office, retail and leisure spaces. Work has begun on the new Droylsden Marina development.
• Ashton Market is under restoration and European funding will finance new business enterprise units within the re-developed market.

A Learning Community

• Tameside's Key Stage 2 results for 2006 remained above the England average for both English and Maths:
  - 80% of Tameside young people achieved level 4 or above in English, compared with 79% across England
  - 77% achieved level 4 or above in Maths, compared to an England average of 76%
  - 91% of Tameside pupils achieved level 4 in ICT in 2006.
• Our Key Stage 3 results in 2006 were the best ever:
  - Tameside's figure for achievement of English level 5 or above at Key Stage 3 was just 1% below the national average
  - In Maths achievement improved by 3% over last year, and the gap with the national average remains just 2%
  - In science our results improved faster than the national average in 2006, improving by 4% on 2005.
  - 50% of pupils achieved 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C, achieving record results for the second year running. That's a 12% improvement over the last nine years.
• There are targets to improve GCSE attainment in targeted schools and amongst boys - narrowing the educational attainment gap remains a key focus.
• Tameside's Primary Schools Replacement project has resulted in new or rebuilt primary schools at Aldwyn/Hawthorns and Lyndhurst's on course for early 2008.

Borough Treasurer's Statement

The full Statement of Accounts is a statutory summary of the Council's financial affairs and is prepared in accordance with the requirements published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

The summary accounts shown below give a simplified view of the Council's financial position. This is the third year financial information has been published in this way and we are always interested to hear your views on whether you feel the information is useful and understandable together with any improvements you might like to see. Please contact me at the address below if you wish to comment.

Borough Treasurer, Tameside Council, Council Offices
Wellington Road, Ashton under Lyne, OL6 6DL
Telephone 0161 342 2694

Pam Williams
Borough Treasurer

A Healthy Population

• Both Hattersley and Ashton have seen millions of pounds invested in a range of indoor and outdoor facilities.
  Life expectancy continues to increase for both men and women in Tameside, and the gap with the national average has decreased since 2000.
• Infant mortality is lower in Tameside than both the North West and national averages. The number of infants dying before their first birthday has fallen by 1.6% since 2001, compared with a national decrease of 0.3%.
• The number of people killed or seriously injured on Tameside's roads has been declining for more than 20 years and is at its lowest ever level.
• At the end of 2006/07 the percentage of social housing reaching the national ‘decency' standard was 89.14%, an increase of 12.54% from the previous year. 97% of homes owned by Tameside's biggest social landlord, New Charter Housing, meet the decency standard.
• Tameside's PCT-led Connect 4 Life Programme is being rolled out across priority neighbourhoods, after a successful pilot. The programme provides health trainers giving healthy living support and advice to people at risk of coronary heart disease.
• Smoking has been banned within buildings belonging to Tameside Council, Tameside & Glossop PCT, Tameside General Hospital and Pennine Care (Mental Health) NHS Trust. 33 local businesses have invited the Stop Smoking team to help their employees give up smoking.
• Tameside has £100,000 funding from the Communities for Health programme of the Department for Health. The money will fund the work of a joint Health Improvement Team for the borough, led by the Council and Tameside & Glossop PCT, with involvement from voluntary and community sector organisations.
• Tameside's Joint Strategic Needs Assessment for health and well-being is underway. It will provide evidence of health inequalities to inform joint planning.
• Tameside has improved on the score achieved for the children social care part of of the overall Children and Young People Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA).

An Attractive Borough

• The environment is a ‘people's priority' for Tameside.
• Tameside is one of the best-performing councils in the country for the cleanliness of the local area: 93% of land now meets acceptable standards for cleanliness, compared with 77% in 2006.
• The 2006/07 Best Value General Survey recorded that 61% of residents were satisfied with the way the council keeps the borough clear of litter and refuse, an increase of 11% since 2003/04.
• £700k has helped transform Hyde Park and £500k has been invested in environmental improvements in Denton Town Centre.
• Blooming lovely! In Spring 2007 93% of Citizens' Panel members said that they had noticed the floral displays around the borough and 97% thought that they improved the appearance of the borough.
• Eight of Tameside's parks, including the recently renovated Hyde Park, have achieved prestigious Green Flag awards.
  The percentage of Tameside waste recycled was 24.28% in 2006/07, an increase of 6% from the previous year. The recycling rate in pilot areas for managed collections has reached over 50%.
• According to the 2006/07 Best Value General Survey, satisfaction with local waste recycling facilities across the borough has risen to 76% from 72% in 2003/04 - the best result across Greater Manchester.

Supportive Communities

• £1m of Partnerships for Older People Projects grant funding from the Department of Health is helping older people maintain independence at home.
• Over 1,400 people were registered homeless in 2004/5, but this figure has now fallen to 200. For the second year running no homeless people were placed in bed and breakfast accommodation in 2006/07.
• By March an additional 99 vulnerable households were living in decent private sector housing, meting targets to reduce non-decent standard housing.
• The Housing Options Centre in Ashton opened last year offering help and advice on a issues including domestic violence, specialist accommodation and re-housing options.
• The Community Garden project in St Peter's, Ashton is a social enterprise providing gardening services to local residents. The project trained local residents, providing a stepping-stone into employment.
• Re-building Staley House, a care home for people with learning difficulties, is underway. The project will replace the current building which is worn out and provides poor space. The scheme will provide independent living for 25 residents with one-bedroom apartments.
• Residents are recognising improvements in Tameside's most deprived areas. Tameside's first Priority Neighbourhoods Survey took place this year across Ashton, Hattersley, Smallshaw/Hurst and Denton South. The survey recorded that:
  - 68% of residents were satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live
  - 76 % of residents felt their quality of life is good
  - 35% of residents carry out more than 30 minutes' physical activity on at least
• The reduction in crime across Tameside is also seen within priority neighbourhoods:
  - Ashton over the past three years: reductions in burglary (23.7%), theft of vehicles (49.2%), serious woundings (20%), less serious woundings (13.2%), robbery (36.6%) and arson (7.7%).
  - Hattersley over the past three years: reductions above the Tameside average for burglary (59.5%), criminal damage to dwellings (23.9%), theft of vehicles (45.8%), serious woundings (80%) less serious woundings (14.7%), robbery (35.3%) and arson (10.5%).
  - Smallshaw/Hurst over the past two years: reductions in theft from vehicles (52.1%), arson (42.1%), serious wounding (40%) and damage to dwellings (29.3%).
  - Denton South over the past three years: reductions in excess of the Tameside average for burglary (47%), criminal damage to dwellings (51.9%), theft of vehicles (78.3%), woundings (40.6%) common assault (28.6%) and arson (64.7%).
• The council is working with the police and other partners to reduce the number of racial incidents in Tameside.
• The number of incidents recorded in 2006/07 is 77.53 per 100,000 which remains similar to 2005/06.
• The number of residents in priority areas receiving working age benefits, as a proportion of the total recipients of DWP working age benefits, was 34% at the end of 2006/07.

Summary of Accounts 2006/2007

Where the Council spent its revenue budget in 2006/07

The Council's assets and liabilities as at 31 March 2007

The Council has concurred with the Borough Treasurer's judgement that £6m is the minimum level of General Fund balances that should be held by the Council. The General Fund Balances figure of £17.7m includes £11m which will be used to balance the Council's budget in 2007/08 - 20010/11.

Did you know that:

• The Council has over 7000 full time equivalent employees.
• Tameside is the lead Council responsible for the Greater Manchester Pension Fund. The fund's aim is to provide secure pensions for all employees of the ten Greater Manchester Council's at a low stable cost. There are over 240,000 members of the scheme and the fund has net assets of £9.6bn making it the biggest local authority fund in the country.
• The Council is also responsible for the Greater Manchester Metropolitan Debt Administration Fund (former Greater Manchester County Council) on behalf of all Greater Manchester Metropolitan Authorities. The fund has debt outstanding of £217m at 31st March 2007 and the costs are shared between all Greater Manchester Authorities on a population basis.
• The Council has strong links with the business community in Tameside and works with them through the Tameside Strategic Partnership, which is the body that agrees and delivers the Community Strategy. The Strategic Partnership is a growing strength within the community, involving more than seventy organisations from the public, private and the community and voluntary sectors, to co-ordinate local services and make best use of collective resources.
• You can view the Council's accounts in full at www.tameside.gov.uk/budget/statementofaccounts.
• If you require an audio, large printed or different language version of this document you can ring Julie Hardman on 0161 342 2694.

Some key facts

• The net cost of providing day-to-day services in 2006/07 was £173m.
• Levies were made on the Council by the Passenger Transport Authority (£12.3m), the Waste Disposal Authority (£7.9m) and the Environment Agency (£0.094m).
• The Council spent £70m on capital investment during 2006/07.
• Council Tax at Band D in 2006/07 (£1,214.35) was one of the lowest in Greater Manchester and one of the lowest year on year increases.
• Payments were made to the police (£7.1m) and fire services (£3.0m) as the borough's contribution to funding those services in Greater Manchester.
• The Council managed to attract over £284m in external support during 2006/07.
• The sale of assets resulted in the receipt of £7.3m and this will be used to fund capital investment in the borough.
• In order to finance past capital expenditure the Council had outstanding loans of £167m and investments of £85m at 31st March 2007.