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Football legend collects hometown honour

Premiership football star and BBC sports personality for 2009, Ryan Giggs, was honoured with the freedom of his adopted home city of Salford.

The Wales international and Manchester United winger, from Worsley, joins Nelson Mandela, LS Lowry and David Lloyd George as a previous recipient of the city’s highest honour.

The award was presented to Ryan by the Mayor of Salford, Cllr Roger Lightup, at a civic ceremony at The Lowry, Salford Quays. 

Ryan said: “To be given the freedom of Salford, my adopted city, has to rank amongst the greatest honours I have ever received.

“I feel hugely proud and privileged to be recognised in this way and would like to place on record my gratitude to the city fathers for bestowing on me this wonderful tribute.

“I am a proud Welshman and native of Cardiff, but I have for many years looked on Salford as home and to be given this honour means the world to me.

“I’m not sure what the benefits a freeman of the city are, but I do know that it is an accolade I shall always cherish!”

Nominating him, Salford City Council’s lead member of children’s services, Cllr John Warmisham, said: “It’s with great pleasure that I move Ryan Giggs to be awarded the honour of the freedom of the city of Salford.

“Many people only know Ryan Giggs the footballer, but there is so much more to the man than that.

“Ryan adopted Salford as his home city and has become a great ambassador for the city. He also goes quietly about doing charitable work in the city with youth clubs and hospitals and in 2006 he became a UK ambassador for UNICEF.

“He is an ideal role model for young people, a unique sportsman and someone with an awareness of his own good fortune and a desire to use it to help others.”

The nomination was seconded by Cllr Derek Antrobus.

He said: “Ryan was brought up in Salford and he has been part of the local community in Swinton all of his life.

“He attended local schools and played for the local youth team, Deans FC and captained Salford Schoolboys.

“It is the contribution to the local community that makes Ryan Giggs a suitable candidate for the honour of freedom of the city.

“He is an inspiration to local people and his national and international achievements have lifted the aspirations of young people in Salford. He is a role model not simply in terms of being a high achiever but also in behaviour.”

Mayor of Salford Cllr Roger Lightup added: “Ryan is not only a world class footballer but a Salford resident and I’m delighted we’re able to honour someone of his stature who is proud of their home town.

“Freedom of the city recognises people who have made an exceptional contribution to our community and Ryan has devoted a tremendous amount of his time to work with charities and children over a number of years.”

Services back on track as city works through snow

Headteachers, parents and governors were praised for their hard work to help reopen Salford’s schools after snow disrupted services across the city.

Staff, parents and communities donned their wellies and picked up their shovels over the January cold snap to clear school grounds in a show of Salford spirit.

The council’s snow plough worked through the wintry weekend to clear many playgrounds at the worst affected schools and staff mucked in to shovel snow from car parks.

Schools shared grit supplies and some brought in diggers to battle through the snow.

Elsewhere in the city the partnership spirit continued to get services affected by the wintry weather back up and running.

Council employees gave up time during their weekend to staff the phones at a call centre set up to contact older people who may need extra help during the cold snap.

Along with housing partners Salix Homes and City West Housing Trust, they made more than 4,000 calls to residents and went out in communities to knock on doors and visit people in their homes.

Further calls were then made to again check on people in need of assistance.

Phone calls continued the following week to contact another 1300 older and disabled residents who might have been experiencing difficulties.

As well as home visits from council staff, officers from the police, the fire service and NHS Salford helped to respond to people’s needs by collecting emergency food shopping, picking up prescriptions and medications, and giving advice on keeping warm and safe during the winter months.

On the roads, a team of 40 people spread some 2,500 tons of grit over 15,000km of primary routes through the city since the start of December.

A full service for domestic waste collections resumed on Tuesday 12 January after the weather prompted a temporary suspension and then a limited service.

Most bins were collected but some were missed due to access difficulties. Residents are asked to leave bins out on their usual collection days for collections to be completed as soon as it is safe.

The city council’s website has played a big part in keeping people informed on service disruptions and emergency school closures during the snowy conditions.

During the snowy week of January there were over 620,000 hits on the site, almost three times the number in the same period last year.

Dedicated council staff continued to work through the snow at home to provide vital services to the city with over 14,000 visits to the authority’s remote email service for employees via the website.

Salford City Council leader Cllr John Merry said: “I have been so impressed by the way the city has responded to this.

“Our residents have been very patient and understanding for the most part and I’d like to thank them for that.

“Staff have really pulled out all of the stops to keep essential services going and have dedicated their spare time to ensure people who may not be able to leave their homes during the bad weather are safe and well.

“I’d like to commend them for their dedication and to school staff and residents who’ve worked together to help schools reopen as soon as possible.

“People’s willingness to help is admirable and I feel very proud that we’re a city that pulls together during a challenge to maintain vital services.”

Plans approved to put the heart back into the old City of Salford

The biggest-ever planning application for the City of Salford got the green light by Salford City Council on Thursday 21January in a unanimous decision.

The application, submitted by English Cities Fund (ECf) with the support of Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company was larger than that submitted for the first phase of MediaCityUK and will link key sites such as the University of Salford and The Crescent, Chapel Street and the region’s business district - Spinningfields. 

Covering an area of 17.744ha – equivalent to 21 international football pitches – it follows more than two years of consultation with the community and stakeholders and aims to deliver the holistic regeneration of this important part of Salford for the benefit of existing and potential residents, businesses and visitors.

Sir Michael Lyons, non-executive Chairman of the English Cities Fund, said:

“I am delighted that Salford City Council has today resolved to grant planning permission for this English Cities Fund development. The decision is a significant landmark and lays the foundations for the much needed regeneration of this area.  There remains a considerable amount of work to do before development commences however, with the continued support of its partners and the local community, I am confident that ECf will produce a development that Salford can be proud of.”

The approved plans will create the conditions to assist the successful regeneration of the area, which includes a number of distinct districts including: Salford Central Station, Chapel Street, Adelphi and the Historic Core, which features the Adelphi and Bexley Square Conservation Area and listed buildings such as St Philips Church and Salford Cathedral.

The Chapel Street area occupies a key location and is the western gateway, which links the rest of Salford, including MediaCityUK, through to Manchester city centre.  The plans would see Chapel Street restored, improving the setting of its historic buildings and putting the heart back into Salford.

The proposed development is centred on creating sustainable communities with the correct balance of uses.  New offices, commercial, retail and leisure uses will be complemented by family housing and apartments linked by high-quality public realm and civic spaces. 

A new square, St Johns Place, is planned to maximise the view of the newly renovated Salford Cathedral.  A new Commercial Quarter will make the most of Salford’s strategic location next to Spinningfields and the corporate heart of Manchester.

Chris Farrow, Chief Executive of Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company, said: “Today’s decision marks a critical milestone in the regeneration of this key area of the City. Over the last 2 years Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company, in close partnership with our public and private sector partners, local businesses and communities, has worked tirelessly on the planning, design and consultation for the Chapel Street area. 

“We can now look forward to driving forward the regeneration of the Chapel Street area to create a vibrant, urban centre and a more beautiful setting for its many historical and natural assets.” 

The floor space for the proposed development includes: 849 new homes, 390 hotel rooms, 24,000 square metres of retail, food and drink and entertainment space and 197,000 square metres of office space.

Salford’s youngest graduates aim higher for MediaCityUK

Schoolchildren from across Salford ‘graduated’ in style at a ceremony to celebrate the successful end of the first MediaCityUK Higher Futures 4 U programme.

Over 200 Year 5 children put on their caps and gowns to collect their certificates at The Lowry after completing the programme which aims to raise pupils’ aspirations and inspire them to aim for a wide range of careers and higher education choices.

This year the Higher Futures 4 U programme was on offer to all Salford schools thanks to funding by MediaCityUK Public Sector Partners (PSP), a partnership of Salford City Council, Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company and the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

The 2009/2010 programme especially focuses on the opportunities that will be available when MediaCityUK opens at Salford Quays from 2011.

The children completed thee classroom workshops and also visited programme partners and future MediaCityUK residents, The University of Salford and the BBC, to get an insight into the ‘world of education’ and the ‘world of work’.

So far over 680 children from schools across the city have signed up to take part in the programme and will be celebrating their own graduations throughout 2010.

Councillor John Merry, leader, Salford City Council said: “Children and young people are key to the successful future of our city and programmes like Higher Futures 4 U are vital in making sure our young people are already excited about the opportunities and careers that will be open to them with the arrival of MediaCityUK in Salford.

As well as highlighting the benefits that MediaCityUK can bring to local communities, this programme is the first step in ensuring Salford has a ready-made skilled and enthusiastic workforce for years to come.”

Ana Hurst, Higher Futures 4 U co-ordinator commented: “This is a fabulous opportunity for the primary school children in Salford to not only celebrate their community but also to highlight the wealth of opportunities they have on their own doorstep.

“The Higher Futures 4U MediaCityUK project aims to raise aspirations by increasing the children’s awareness of their own choices both in education and also in future employment. I am delighted with the way the project is working in Salford.”

Dedicated Salford women honoured by City’s Mayor

Two Salford women who have dedicated their lives to people in their community were honoured by the Mayor and Mayoress of Salford.

Jenny Thomas from Monton and Bernadette Conlon of East Salford have been chosen as joint winners of the latest Mayor’s Citizen Award for Adults.

Jenny has worked tirelessly for the past four years to bridge the gap between non-Asian and Asian communities and has set up a group called DesiSisters which aims to bring together women of all races.

Kiri Hyde nominated Jenny for the award. She said: “Jenny has completely changed my outlook on the Asian community in Britain, and is working tirelessly to change other people’s perceptions of this culture within our city.

“Jenny believes in this cause passionately and is making a huge difference to the lives of everyone she meets, showing us that even though we are born in different places, eat different food and speak different languages we are really not that different after all.”

Jenny said: “I’m truly honoured to receive this award but I’m not sure I deserve it.

“I’ve had so much support from the Asian community, and to be honest, being involved in this group has been an absolute pleasure.”

Bernadette Conlon set up the Start in Salford arts project in 1993 working from the boot of her car and delivering art sessions in the homes of people whom were suffering from Mental Health problems.

Eleven years ago Start secured funding for a rented studio space. Bernadette’s commitment to raising the aspirations and confidence of those suffering from or at risk of suffering from mental health issues lead to the £1.2 million renovation of Brunswick House, now the home of Starts Arts Studio & Workshop Complex. The project currently supports 500 service users, 50 volunteers, and 15 members of staff.

Michelle Dennett, who nominated Bernadette for the award, said: “Bernadette’s passion is still very much the driving force within the charity and her life is dedicated to helping the people of Salford.”

Bernadette said: ‘I am extremely honoured to have been nominated for this award and to be one of the joint winners who accepts this on behalf of everybody at Start.

“Start in Salford is a flagship organisation which is dedicated to the improvement and enhancement of the lives of those people in Salford with mental health issues. I am dedicated to tackling the stigma surrounding mental health.”

No rise proposed for council tax rates

Salford residents will not be asked to pay more for their council services this year if a zero per cent rise in council tax is approved by councillors.

The no-rise rate for the council’s element of the bill will not impact on frontline services paid for by the authority’s £220 million budget, say finance chiefs.

In 2008, the council announced a major efficiency drive aimed at saving £20 million in three years. This is on course to save more than £30 million, with £16 million annual savings after that.

Savings were identified by removing duplication, using better economies of scale and making more use of technology.

As well as lower costs in its daily delivery of service, better efficiency enables the council to operate with fewer people. Voluntary redundancies, early retirements and natural turnover have already meant the council is more than halfway to its reduction target of 380 posts.

In December, the Audit Commission said the city council was “performing well” and was a good manager of taxpayers’ money.

The commission scored the council three out of four for performance and financial management, one step short of an overall “excellent” rating.

Councillor Bill Hinds, who is responsible for the council’s finances, said: “The council is much more efficient today than it was even two years ago and this is why we are able to pass on the savings to residents. On top of our efficiency drive we have improved our council tax collection rate which gives our residents much better value for their money.

“Despite the challenge of a global recession we have avoided dipping in to our reserves as much as we feared and will balance the books again this financial year with more than £9 million in hand.

“I can reassure residents that frontline services or the overall quality of services will not be affected by the savings we are making.”

Leader of the council, Cllr John Merry added: “Residents will have faced a tough few months with the recession and I have always said the council would do what it could to offer real assistance.

“Not asking for more council tax than we have to has always been our starting point when we draw up our budget proposals. This year we are in a position where we can share with residents the savings we’ve made and I’m sure every little helps.”

Over the past 11 years Salford has seen the 18th lowest cumulative council tax rise nationally. The city has one of the lowest average council tax bills in the country, 280th out of 326 authorities in England.

Final council tax bills will include precepts set by the police and fire authorities.

Salford pupils shine in GCSEs

Salford students yet again performed better than this year’s improved national average for GCSE results, passing even more exams with better grades.

The number of pupils in the city’s high schools achieving five or more GCSEs with A* to C grades has risen to 73 per cent.

This is six per cent higher than the city’s results for 2008 and three per cent above the national average of 70.

The new figures for pupils achieving five or more A* to C grades with English and maths are a near six per cent rise on Salford’s results last year - more than twice the country’s average.

This put the city’s rate of improvement at the highest its ever been ranking it the most improved local authority in Greater Manchester for 2009 GCSE results and the second most improved in the north west.

In addition, the rate of progress made by pupils from when they start at the city’s high schools to when they finish is above the national score of 1000.

This year’s highest achieving secondary schools in this category are St Patrick’s RC with a score of 1053.6, The Swinton High School with 1044.3 and Buile Hill High School with 1036.4.

Councillor John Warmisham, Salford City Council’s lead member for children’s services said: “Salford’s GCSE results for this year were our best ever, and well deserved by our young people.

“The city’s academic achievement is improving significantly each year and we’re narrowing the gap between the national average for exam results including English and maths.

“The fact that more of our young people than ever are leaving school with even better qualifications is a great achievement.”

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The corporate management team have again been in dialogue with all services throughout the day and held a long conference late morning to understand where we are currently and to again plan for services.  I have used the email I sent to you yesterday with today’s update shown in purple.  This will make it easier for you to see where things have changed.

Gritting

We currently have enough grit left to continue cautiously gritting the primary routes. We are working with both our own services and those of partners (police, hospital etc) to prioritise gritting, use of the snow plough and also helping with the manual clearance of snow.

If the situation does not worsen we are aiming to get staff out again tomorrow to manually to  remove snow from vulnerable places such as outside the care homes. The staff and unions are supportive of this approach

Gritting - Update (Wednesday)

More grit has been received overnight and during today.  On that basis and again by prioritising gritting, use of the snow plough and by the manual clearing of snow we can continue to maintain primary routes.  

The snow plough is being used on the main strategic routes and giving support to the Health Authority and to the provision of key council services.  Overnight we have had extremely positive feedback from the hospital who were very complementary about the support they got from the gritters and the plough yesterday.  They said it had made a big difference. 

Gritting - Update (Thursday)  

Through AGMA we have been advised that more grit is available to us but we need to make arrangements to collect this ourselves.  Urban Vision and their contractors will provide the vehicles we need to collect the grit.  On that basis and again by prioritising our gritting activity we expect to have enough grit for the next four days.

Urban Vision are working closely with us to manually clear snow and carry out hand gritting.  The footways through the three main shopping precincts have been cleared and work is ongoing at Salford Royal Hospital.  Other priority areas are urgently being identified for treatment.

Overnight the Environment Directorate cleared areas in Clifton which were without gas.  This enabled British gas to complete repairs. 

Tonight the snow plough will be used to clear a number of our car parks allowing access for our key staff and services.  

Gritting - Update (Friday)

We have collected further supplies of grit.  Again by prioritising gritting, we can continue to maintain primary routes until the end of Monday.  The Department of Transport via Government Office for the North West now have the responsibility for the prioritisation of grit supplies in the region.

Refuse collection

We were virtually up to date following Christmas and New Year, however, there have been no collections today.

We are not planning at this stage for any collections to take place tomorrow. If there is a ‘window’ in the weather and vehicles are able to access the routes we will begin collections. Until then we will take a day by day view.

Refuse Collection - Update (Wednesday) 

It is now highly unlikely that there will be any bin collections this week.  Understandably the effect of this week will mean that it will take some time to clear the backlog.  We are advising residents not to put their bins out as this could prove hazardous on icy footpaths.  We will also make it clear that we will take away all excess rubbish so long as it is bagged properly when we next do the next collection. 

Refuse Collection - Update (Thursday)

Bin collections are still suspended.  However, due to possible fire risk every effort is being made to undertake collections in high rise buildings today. 

Refuse Collection - Update (Friday)

Bin collections are still suspended.  We did managed to carry out a number of collections yesterday from our low/high rise buildings.  This will continue over the weekend and it is hoped that by the end of Monday we will have made refuse collections from all of our high / low rise buildings.

A number of 4×4 vehicles are today collecting excess bags which have been left out on the street.  This is initially being undertaken in the Langworthy and Broughton areas as we understand that it is in these areas the situation is at its worse.  Other areas will follow.   

The Environment Directorate is now focusing on a recovery plan. 

Bereavement Services

In terms of Bereavement, we are continuing to provide a service (there have been two cremations today), but we are leaving it to families, and Funeral Directors, if they wish to cancel and rearrange, which we will accommodate.

Bereavement Services - Update (Wednesday)

This service is continuing to operate as normal.  The City Council has provided a 4×4 taxi service which has enabled cremation operators to carry our their duties.  Both cemeteries have been cleared of snow.   

Bereavement Services - Update (Thursday)

This service is continuing to operate as normal. 

Bereavement Services - Update (Friday)

This service is continuing to operate as normal. 

Adult and Children’s Social Care

We have today assessed all vulnerable adults who normally access services and they have been contacted personally. The 8 people who needed meals on wheels, have been provided with them and domiciliary care is being provided to those most in need.  We have checked all the 50 residential homes and are supporting the two that have staffing problems with suggested ways to deal with this.

For tomorrow we are currently assessing levels of individual vulnerability and continue to hope that the most vulnerable will get what they need 

(To note – we understand that Salford Royal Hospital was closed to admissions yesterday, and the A&E department is running on  a very skeleton staff. )

The Children’s Duty and Investigation team have moved to work from Emergency Duty Team, running a skeleton service. We have agreed with the police that any Section 47 referrals will go straight to the Police who will risk assess each case individually. All families due a social work visit today have been contacted - bar one.

Overnight and tomorrow both the adults and children’s teams will combine and work from the Emergency Duty Team office to provide better, more co-ordinated cover.

Our residential staff have been very supportive and are currently working double and treble shifts to cover where there are proper facilities to do so. Both directorates are now assessing where new staff can be brought in to provide cover and the Environment Directorate are looking at ways of providing transport for staff to get to and from the homes and Barton Moss where access is difficult.

Adult and Children’s Social Care - Update (Wednesday)

There have been no social care emergencies overnight.

The Meals on Wheels service is now operating normally.  All eight of our older people’s teams were operating along with our supported tenancies and Care on Call.  Mental Health services are limited but all efforts are being placed on dealing with all statutory responsibilities and this is being achieved.   

There are basic services in place in both our Rapid Response and Intermediate Care Services.  The Domicillary Care Service, although under pressure, is managing to maintain a service.  

The only adult services not provided today were transport, day services and equipment provision.  However it is intended that all services will be operational by tomorrow.

You may be interested to know that office based staff have been manually clearing snow from the car parks to ensure social workers can access them safely.

The Children’s Duty and Investigation Team have today moved back to Sutherland House, but are still running a skeleton service.  Overnight they will again combine and work from the Emergency Duty Team office to provide better, more co-ordinated cover.  

All residential children’s homes are covered.  This has only been possible through our residential staff currently working up to four shifts to cover where there are proper facilities to do so.  The Environment Directorate are continuing to provide transport for staff to get to and from the homes.

The courts service are closed which again will mean it will take sometime to clear the backlog once they do open.

To note

49 out of 57 GP practices across the city are operating today which is a big improvement on yesterday. 

Salford  Royal Hospital’s Accident and Emergency is operating.  It is hoped that Outpatients will be back to normal tomorrow.  Day services are aiming to get back to normal tomorrow.  The Council is working closely with the hospital on finding suitable accommodation in our residential care homes for those patients who are awaiting discharge and will need this support.    

Adult & Children’s Social Care - Update (Thursday)

Those Adult services that operated yesterday are operational again today.  In addition, we have also been able to provide transport and day services today, although limited.

Unfortunately we have still not been able to get the equipment provision operational but are looking at ways to enable us to do this as soon as possible.

We are continuing to work with health colleagues to assist the Hospital with those patients who are awaiting discharge.

A coordinated peice of work has begun to identify the most vulnerable in our communities so we can concentrate efforts on making contact with them.  A number of our services have already begun to make contact.         

With regards to Children’s services, most localities for children’s social care are now operational, with the exception of the central locality.  We are currently working to see how we can move people around to get staff into the central locality team in order for them to be operational tomorrow. 

Children’s Centres are open in Swinton, Mossfield and Lower Kersal.  Higher Broughton is expected to work for part of the day and the nursery will open tomorrow.

All residential children’s homes are covered but again this has only been possible through our residential staff who are currently working back to back shifts to cover them.   The Environment  Directorate are continuing to provide transport for staff to get to and from the homes.  Barton Moss is operational and the car park and access road will again be cleared as a priority.

Adult and Children’s Social Care - Update (Friday)

Adult services are continuing to improve.  Overnight work has continued on identifying the most vulnerable in our communities and this has continued today.  Staff from across Directorates are now coming together to provide support and every effort is being made on making contact with those who have been identified as vulnerable.  This will continue over the weekend.

With regards to Children’s services, all localities are now operational.  

All Children’s Centres with the exception of two are open.  However, it is hoped that all will be open by the end of the day.

The position with Residential children’s homes remains the same.       

Schools 

All  have been closed today bar one which opened until lunchtime.  This was primarily because of an acute lack of staff to open and run the school throughout the day as well as the difficulties parents had in accessing the trip to school.

Having considered this very hard the CMT’s advice is to plan now to keep the schools closed tomorrow. Roads and therefore access for pupils and staff will continue to be a risk and we believe it is easier for parents to plan for closure tomorrow with neighbours and family support.

Schools - Update (Wednesday)

Following a strategic discussion between the City Council with a number of Head Teachers including the President of the Secondary Heads our advice is that all schools will shut tomorrow.  There is a likelihood that schools will remain closed on Friday but a further update will be given tomorrow.  This has been done to ensure that parents and carers are able to make the necessary arrangements.  We have already received a number of positive messages from Head Teachers that the early clarity of advice and strategic view is very much welcomed by parents and heads alike.

Schools - Update (Thursday) 

Following discussions overnight and today with colleagues in schools and a number of Head Teachers our advice is that all schools should remain closed tomorrow.  Colleagues in Children’s Services are now working with head teachers to look at the operational viability of all our schools and see what support we can give to get them operational. 

Schools - Update (Friday)

We have and will continue to work with schools over the weekend to see how we can support them so they are in a position to open as usual on Monday.  The focus here has been on ensuring that the school is in a position to provide a safe and suitable environment.  All of our school have been asked to carry out a risk assessment, which includes an assessment of school grounds and buildings, will identify how many of its staff are able to get into school, look at how they can ensure adequate supervision during lunchtimes and play/break times and whether they are able to provide a school meal.

On this basis, all Salford schools are being advised to prepare to open as usual on Monday.  The advice is based on the forecast that there will not be a further heavy snowfall for Salford this weekend.

 Customer Services 

The Gateway Centres were operating today with minimum staff levels and the

Call Centre had 20 staff in who have been focusing on emergency calls.

Tomorrow we will focus all customer service staff on the Gateway Centres and the Call Centre, hopefully providing a better level of cover. We will ensure that the call centre and the front line staff have as much access as possible to all information about services. The call centre managers will have direct access to all CMT members to break through any communication barriers.

Sue Lightup and John Tanner are working with the PCT to try and understand what services they may still be providing.

Customer Services - Update (Wednesday)

The contact centre is operational with 42 people managing to get into work.  All services are now up and running although with a reduced input.  Corporate messaging is in place giving people as much information as possible on the disruption to services.  Directorates are currently identifying additional services that they could provide to the call centre to help once normality is resumed as it is expected that the demands on the contact centre will peak at that time. 

The Gateway Centres are open and operational and currently providing council services until 4pm.  We are working closely with Health colleagues to provide evening resources to support the clinical GP services until their usual close of business.

There are 80 people working on council tax and housing benefits claims.  Whilst this is a reduced service it is a huge improvement on yesterday.  Payments are being prioritised for the most vulnerable residents. 

Customer Services - Update (Thursday)

There have been more enhancements to customer services.  Corporate messaging is in place and is being updated regularly to give people as much information as possible.  

Customer Services - Update (Friday)

There continues to be more enhancements to customer services and we have received a number of positive messages from the public about our corporate messaging. 

The Gateway Centres continue to operate.  Yesterday we had 390 members of the public visit the Eccles site, 418 at Walkden, 603 at Pendleton and 128 at the Town Hall/Unity House.  Health colleagues are working hard to get back to business as usual with regards to clinical GP services. 

Over the weekend there will be a daytime service provided by the call centre which will operate until 4.30pm on both Saturday and Sunday.  This will support our Emergency Out of Hours Service.

Housing

We put in place a number of Emergency Housing Support Services Cover today for Care on Call, Belmont Homeless Families Unit ,Petrie Court and the Housing Advice Service.

City West have closed today and are only doing emergency repairs

These services will continue tomorrow and we are currently liaising with Salix to include information on their services for tomorrow on our website.

Housing - Update (Wednesday)

This is a much improved service from yesterday.  All of our services are now operating to some degree.    

City West have managed to work from area offices today until 3.30pm.  Emergency repairs are continuing.  

Salix are trying to provide most of their services but are ensuring that emergency repairs and gas repairs are given priority. 

Housing - Update (Thursday)

Again services are continuing to improve.

City West now have 75%-80% of their staff working .

Salix will stay open today until 4.30 pm.

Housing - Update (Friday)

Again services are continuing to improve.

Registrars

The Registrars service has been open today.

The  service will open again tomorrow and we will accommodate as many people as possible – especially where the registration of deaths is concerned.  We will also reschedule any appointments already made or planned. We will put a reminder of the necessary registration timescales on the website.

I’m unsure at the moment when the next wedding is – but no doubt it will be ‘all hands to the pump’ if it’s very soon ! 

Registrars - Update (Wednesday)

The Registrars service is today running on a basic service for urgent registrations of deaths but we are hoping for an increased service tomorrow.   Appointments are being made for later in the week.

Registrars - Update ( Thursday)

The Registrars service is again running on a basic service.      

Registrars - Update (Friday)

The Registrars service is operating from two sites, which now includes the Walkden Gateway.  It is again running a basic service.

Community Services 

Community centres and leisure services have not been not operating today Although a number of library staff did manage to get into work it was not safe to open the libraries.

Community centres and individual libraries will not be open tomorrow. Library services will be focussed on those libraries in the Gateway centres.

SCL are going to try and open a few centres tomorrow as they have local staff that can get in and support them. They will post the open centres on the web tomorrow.

Community Services - Update (Wednesday)

Community Centres have remained closed today. 

Because of additional staff numbers, the effect on libraries has been much more positive.  Only Clifton, Hope, Boothstown and Worsley have remained closed.  

Again unexpectedly SCL managed to open all Fit City Centres with the exception of the pool at Clarendon and Sports Village.   

Community Services - Update ( Thursday)

The position remains the same. 

Community Services - Update (Friday)

Community Centres are open and available but usage, understandably is very low.   

All libraries bar one are now open.  The library that is closed is Charlestown and Lower Kersal which is located in the Albion High School.

Youth Services

These have been stood down today and we are intending to do the same tomorrow.

Youth Services - Update (Wednesday) 

The Service has been stood down again today.

Youth Services - Update (Thursday)

The service has been stood down again today.  Every effort is being made to get the service operational tomorrow evening.  

Youth Services - Update (Friday)

A service, although limited, will be in place tonight.

Staff and Offices tomorrow

The public focus for service provision tomorrow will be the Gateways, the Contact Centre and the Registrars service at the Town Hall.

The Town Hall, Unity House and Crompton House will remain open and we are currently assessing whether it will be possible to close Minerva House if access is only needed by a fraction of staff as was the case today.

Strategic Directors will take a view on individual small offices locations based on the services being provided and whether staff are better clustered into a smaller number of buildings.  

Non essential staff will be encouraged to work from home where they can do so. Those who work in the essential services will be asked to liaise with their managers if they can get into work to see where they may be best placed (and where they may be able to access!).

Where staff cannot access work or work from home they will be allowed to stay at home and work back time via flexi system in the next 4 - 6 weeks.

Staff and Offices tomorrow - Update (Wednesday)

The Town Hall, Crompton House, Minerva House and Unity House have all been open today.  Importantly a larger number of staff than expected managed to get into work.  Importantly nearly a 1000 staff have been able to log onto Council systems and work from home.    

Like today, those staff who work in essential services will be asked to liaise with their managers if they can get into work to see where they may be best placed (and where they may be able to access!)  If other staff can make their way to work they should do, where staff cannot access work or work from home they will be allowed to stay at home and work back time over the next 4 - 6 weeks. 

Staff and Offices tomorrow - Update (Thursday)

The Town Hall, Crompton House, Minerva House and Unity House have all been open today.  Increasing numbers of staff are now managing to get into work.  Nearly 3200 staff have logged onto Council systems.  The staff position remains the same.

Staff and Offices tomorrow - Update (Friday) 

The position is as above, with the exception of staff logging onto Council systems.  This figure has increased to 4600 . 

The full analysis of services is continually being updated and is posted on the website and left on as many answer phones as possible.

The Corporate Management Team will all be in contact over the weekend and a conference call has been arranged for both Saturday and Sunday

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Councillor Mullen has been liaising with City West to identify local vulnerable people in the Barton area as not all people have internet connections and may not be able to access information on the websites. Most basic services have resumed and you can find advice and information here: http://www.citywesthousingtrust.org.uk/home

The contact number for emergency heating / repairs is:0300 123 5522. If you are in Barton and just need something from the shops or advice because you cannot get through to City West then please call Cllr Mullen on 0161 707 4519.

In Irlam and Cadishead,  Christine Hudson the Chairman of the Irlam & Cadishead Community Committee and Former Salford Cllr Roger Jones have issued the following statement:

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