I was delighted this weekend to have the opportunity to visit the Manchester Pride festival and help out friends and colleagues from LGBTory at their stall in the exhibition area. It was also great to see a good presence from Salford (see picture) - the magenta balloons certainly came in handy!
It’s great to see so many people – gay and straight, male and female – enjoy themselves over the Pride weekend. I’ve never actually visited Pride before and as a straight man I felt completely welcome.
I know that all the main Parties here in Salford agree that we need to make sure that our City is a friendly, open and tolerant place to live where everyone regardless of their background can reach their full potential. I think that we are well on the way to that.
This afternoon I attended the “AGMA summit” at the Manchester Central conference centre. Present were Councillors and senior officers from all ten Greater Manchester authorities, plus assorted partners and voluntary groups. For those who don’t know, AGMA is the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities – an umbrella group for the 10 Councils in Greater Manchester.
The summit was compered very ably by former broadcaster Jim Hancock, but I came away wondering what on earth the point of it all was – a mixture of items that most people are already familiar with together with some self-congratulatory back-slapping, with very little room for genuine discussion and contribution.
The only interactivity prior to a short and dull Q&A at the end was a farcical “interactive” session with a series of loaded questions about City-Regional Governance.
I understand the summit cost the taxpayer in the region of £30k in hard cash, and the cost of lost officer time (most senior officers from all 10 Councils seemed to be there) would add to that considerably.
I won’t be going again and I would be very disappointed if the AGMA leadership embarked on another similar summit. We’re moving in the right direction in terms of devolving power back to Greater Manchester but today’s meeting was far from a shining example of devolution in action!
Back in January, nine fire service staff from Greater Manchester went out to Haiti as part of a larger search team to help with the rescue attempts following the devastating earthquake. I’m extremely proud of the dedication and hard work that they showed out in Haiti; all nine members of the team were a huge credit to themselves and to Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.
Sadly, Echo the search-and-rescue dog was quarantined on return to Britain, which I thought was a daft decision. I’m really pleased to read today that Echo is now out of quarantine and back home with his handler Mike Dewar. Mike is one of the most dedicated people I’ve ever met and I’m delighted that he has been reunited with his dog.
I read with interest today the news that the MEN Media group, which includes the Manchester Evening News as well as our own Salford Advertiser, has been sold by Guardian Media Group to rival publisher Trinity Mirror.
I’ve made it clear in the past that I feel that our local newspapers have been treated very badly by Guardian Media Group – jobs have been cut and coverage slashed at their regional titles in order to prop up the loss-making Guardian and Observer.
I hope that our local titles are treated better under Trinity Mirror than they have been by GMG – but I’m not holding my breath. The MEN Media group staff, who have already been through a huge upheaval with job losses and the closure of local offices including the Advertiser office on Church Street in Eccles, now face a further period of uncertainty, and I wish them all the best.
Tomorrow lunchtime (Sunday 31st January) I’ll be a guest on Andy Crane’s Sunday lunchtime show on BBC Radio Manchester, along with Liverpudlian comedian Steve Gribbin.
The show is broadcast live from the Lowry centre from 12 noon until 1pm. Local residents in Greater Manchester can tune in on 95.1fm and you can also listen live online on the BBC Manchester website.
Do tune in!
Tonight (27th January), the BBC programme Crimewatch will feature a reconstruction of the fire at Little Holme Walk, Bolton which killed Alana Mian, aged 4, and her grandmother Hameeda Begum and left Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) Firefighter Steve Morris with extensive injuries including 50% burns.
The programme will include a filmed reconstruction of the events of the night of the incident, which Steve’s colleagues from Bolton and Farnworth Fire stations volunteered to take part in.
It will also include interviews with Mumtaz Chisty, Alana’s grandfather and Hameeda’s husband, Detective Chief Inspector Jeff McMahon from the Major Incident Team at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and FF Steve Morris.
County Fire Officer Steve McGuirk said, “The terrible events at Little Holme Walk, which took the lives of Alana and Hameeda, and so drastically affected our colleague Steve Morris have left a lasting impression on each and every member of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
We support wholeheartedly Greater Manchester Police’s appeal for anyone with any information to come forward, and help to find who caused this terrible fire and give justice to all the people it has affected”.
Anyone with information is urged to contact GMP’s Major Incident Team on 0161 856 2197 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
(GMFRS press release reprinted in full – if you have any information, please pass it on to the police or via Crimestoppers)
I’m really proud of the Greater Manchester firefighters who have travelled out to Haiti to aid the rescue efforts following the terrible earthquake in Port-au-Prince. Nine fire service staff from Greater Manchester have flown out as part of a UK search-and-rescue team to lend their expertise, and I know they are already making a real difference.
Four of the team are based here in Salford at various locations, and I’ve met Mick Dewar the dog handler in the course of my Fire Authority duties who is the most dedicated person I could ever hope to meet. Echo, the search-and-rescue dog, is a remarkable animal and I know that their presence will save lives.
You can donate to the Haiti appeal through the Disasters Emergency Committee – click here for more information.
Another Monument To Labour Waste
Fans of Yes Minister will doubtless recall the classic episode involving the hospital with no patients. It rather reminds of the North West Regional Fire Control Centre at Lingley Mere in Warrington – a giant, phenomenally expensive building lying almost empty save for a few meetings.
So I’m pleased that today, BBC Radio 4 have picked up the baton to draw wider attention to this catastrophic example of the obscene waste of the previous Labour administration.
The regional fire control centres (RCCs) are late, over-budget, and not to specification. They were supposed to deliver savings but any savings have long since disappeared in delays and budget overruns. The new Fire Minister, Bob Neill MP, has been left with the unenviable task of cleaning up the mess left by Labour, in the knowledge that cancelling the whole white elephant might cost even more.
Our control centre staff at Fire Service HQ in Pendlebury do a fantastic job, and it is unacceptable that they have been left in such limbo by the advent of the Regional Control Centres. They continue to work with dedication despite not knowing if or when they will be expected to move to Warrington, and they have been in this state of flux for a number of years now. For that alone – before we even get to the appalling waste of money – previous Labour ministers should hang their heads in shame.