Council Leader congratulates Donna Martin

Councillor Richard Farnell, the leader of Rochdale Borough Council

Congratulations to Donna Martin

Congratulations to Donna Martin following her appointment on 10 July 2017 as the new Deputy Leader.

Here is a statement issued following the Group Meeting:

Councillor Donna Martin (Cabinet Member for Children and Families) is the new Deputy Leader to serve alongside Councillor Allen Brett.

Council Leader Richard Farnell said: "Councillor Jacqui Beswick has informed me she was stepping down because of the increased demands of her major new Health Portfolio role, both in Rochdale and also overseeing the £6 billion Greater Manchester health devolution deal.

"Councillor Martin was unanimously selected last night by the Group as the new Deputy Leader. She is one of the most experienced and able councillors in the borough who has led the transformation of children's services and the continued improvement of GCSE and A Level results."

I would like to place on record my heartfelt thanks to Jacqui for her support and contribution as Deputy Leader.

Flying High

Manchester Airport has announced its final dividend for 2016/17. Rochdale's share is an impressive £4.5 million. It is very much in line with what we were expecting and has been largely earmarked for use to lessen the impact of central government cuts.

One major change is that we will be using a large chunk of future airport dividends to fund youth projects. This was announced at the annual budget meeting in March 2017.

We'll be talking to the borough's Youth Parliament to find out their priorities for new projects.

Barriers smashed

Almost 800 unemployed residents with barriers to employment were helped by the council into work in the past year.

Welcome Neil

The Council Cabinet has appointed a new Director of Resources to replace Pauline Kane.

He is Neil Thornton, currently Director of Finance and Corporate Resources at Salford City Council. It's a real coup for Rochdale to recruit such an experienced senior executive who is extremely well regarded throughout local government and Greater Manchester.

Neil will be taking up his post in the early autumn.

On the right track

With the announcement of the new operator for Metrolink, comes the news of an immediate increase of 24 travelsafe staff to improve safety and security on the trams. They are backed up with an extra 50 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) and five extra police officers. Good news for passengers and staff.

Don't tar us all with your dodgy brush Javid

I was appalled to hear Communities secretary Sajid Javid use a recent speech to warn council leaders that local government faces "a crisis of trust" in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Surely he meant to say the national government and the leadership at Kensington and Chelsea Council; it's these two who have been hammered by the public and press alike for their disdainful attitude towards the victims and their families.

I would like to think that if anything similar was to happen here, we would be much better placed to support our residents through the crisis.

I don't think anyone was fooled. This is all about blame-shifting. Government know they've failed to address: the previous failings in building regulations; their decade of cuts to local authorities and fire services and their attempts to run down and sell off social housing have all contributed to this crisis.

If you have any concerns following Grenfell

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has set up a housing taskforce in a direct response to the concerns of residents who live in similar tower blocks.

The taskforce includes landlords of tower blocks across the city region in both private and public ownership, as well as representatives from every local authority in Greater Manchester and other specialist officers who can offer support to ensure every high rise is safe and receives the right fire safety advice.

If you have any issues about the safety of your high rise building you can email the fire brigade with your problem at: highrise@manchesterfire.gov.uk or call: 0800 555815.

Ello, ello, ello...

Great to see the Old Police Station in Heywood celebrating 10 successful years as a Business Centre. It has supported 85 companies thrive and expand during this time.

Switched on to digital

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has held a Digital and Tech summit.

Andy has given me the brief to provide the political support for the project which aims to turn the region into a national digital hub.

The launch attracted tech high flyers from across the region; in fact there was a waiting list of those who wanted to be there.

If that's the level of interest in the launch, the project promises to be popular and is bound to be a success.

Money well spent

More than £14 million has been spent repairing potholes by Rochdale Borough Council in the past five years.

Recycling rates rocket

Those who know me well will know I am forever going on about the borough's recycling rates. They're improving all the time, making us greener than ever and saving the public a ton of money.

We're now so successful in getting our residents to recycling at home that we have no more need to provide community recycling facilities as well.

They were popular when introduced in the 1980s but have only served as a magnet for flytipping in recent years.

If you have any queries on recycling contact the council's environmental management team at: environmental.management@rochdale.gov.uk or 0300 303 8884.

Lest we forget

Number One Riverside played host to an historic moment when political leaders from across Greater Manchester renewed their commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.

The signing was poignantly marked by buglers, with representatives from the Ministry of Defence top brass and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham also in attendance.

I'm proud Rochdale was one of the first councils to sign the covenant and we have always led the way in providing help and support to members of the Armed Forces community.

Long may this continue.

On your marks...

Get your running shoes on for this year's Williams BMW Rochdale Half Marathon, 10K and Fun Run.

I know running can hardly be described as fun for most of you, but the event headed by Councillor Janet Emsley has been designed to get people of all ages and abilities active.

Councillor Richard Farnell
Leader
Rochdale Borough Council