Tameside Council security tell Tameside Councillors to move on!

A SMALL group of protesters who meet each week to give out free food parcels and benefit advice to the unemployed and homeless, outside Ashton-under-Lyne Jobcentre, were told to move on yesterday by the local police and Tameside Council security personnel, after they arrived outside the new Tameside One building, in Market Place, Ashton.  The building now accommodates Ashton library, Tameside Council's Customer Services, Citizens Advice, Cash Box Credit Union and Jobcentre Plus.

Among those who were told to move on by burly Tameside security staff, were two Tameside Councillors and Cabinet members - Oliver Ryan, Executive Member (Children Services) and Leanne Feeley, Executive Member (Lifelong Learning).  A former Tameside Mayor, Michael Ballagher, was also among the group as was Nigel Morgan, Chief Executive Officer, Tameside Citizens Advice Bureau.

Charlotte Hughes, a single parent from Ashton-under-Lyne, who leads the group 'Tameside Against The Cuts', later wrote on her blog:

'We arrived as normal at 10am outside the new Jobcentre.  It was pouring down with rain which didn’t help things either.

'The minute that we arrived the police arrived, they must have been waiting for us. At first they were quite happy for us to stand outside the Jobcentre in the plaza area because it had been deemed a public place, however a member of the local authority decided differently.  We were told that we had to stand in the area near the steps downstairs...  Of course that the Jobcentre don’t want us there so they’ve probably had words with someone, you know how these things go.  Despite this’ll we will be back outside the Jobcentre next week.

'We help people, hand food parcels out and support people…  All things that the DWP should do.  Whilst we were there local councillors who were standing with us weren’t impressed with us being moved.  Believe me we will be back.'

Ms Hughes also believes that some disabled people may have difficulty accessing the Jobcentre because of the stairs both in and outside the building and the small lift that some people might be unable to use because of its restricted space.  She was also critical of the lack of signs in the building indicating where to locate services and the lack of privacy in the library.  Apparently, one member of the public complained to her that DWP staff were seen "milling round the library and looking at what people were doing."

Although Labour have been in power in Tameside for the last forty years, the borough has one of the worst records for food poverty in the North West.  It looks like Tameside Council might live to regret having invited Jobcentre Plus into their new administrative centre. 

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