Episode 1 The Council

Oh...

Oh, my God!

Brace yourself.

The council. The organisation that everyone loves to hate.

See, the thing is, they're all talk at this council, but no action.

Everything is the council's fault, the council's fault,

the council's fault.

You will empty my bin.

Listen, I pay my council tax.

-You work...

-I'm saying nothing more.

-You work for me.

I pay your wages.

It's such a rewarding job.

Did you get that note of sarcasm?

Councils in Scotland are facing punishing budget cuts.

But with demand for public services higher than ever,

the pressure has never been greater.

I've only got two weeks.

I've got to find somewhere for me and five children to go.

You're paying your council tax for services that you're not receiving.

You've got no money. It's hard to just do anything.

It's not fair. There needs to be more funding.

I've got no choice. They give me no choice.

From educating our children to caring for our elderly and

protecting the vulnerable,

the council staff are on the front line.

Oh, it's just a nightmare.

We'll have to be allowed to do our job by the council rules.

Fife Council is the third largest local authority in Scotland,

costing over £1 billion a year to run.

There's one staff member for every 20 people living in the area.

Hello, there, Miss Kennedy.

You're through to John.

'Hi there. What it is, is my toilet seat's just broken.'

Every year, the council receives 4,000 complaints,

many about council housing.

'Fife Council are actually, like,

'breaching my human rights in what they're doing.'

'You're the fourth or fifth person I've spoken to this

'morning, do you know that? I'm getting told I'm getting transferred

'to a manager, I get transferred to a colleague,

'who then transfers me back into a queue, and then I come to you.

'What kind of service is that?'

With a stock of 30,000 council houses,

the Department of Housing bring in the most revenue for the council.

Right, see you later.

Bye, enjoy.

-Oh, I know! Right, bye.

-Cheerio.

Karen has spent her entire working life with the housing department.

-Stop trying to make me feel important!

-Karen, you are important.

No, I'm not. In the grand scheme of things, I'm not.

I'm just a number.

Right.

Today is what we call gas break-ins.

Basically, we get a list sent through every week, every fortnight,

with addresses that haven't allowed us in to get their

gas servicing done.

And, by law, we're required to do it,

so these people have been sent three letters, now,

and the third one, basically, saying, "You've not let us in,

"so this is the last date, we're coming to do your service,

"whether you like it or not, and if you're not there,

"we're breaking in."

Oh, this will be the talk of the steamie.

-There we go, now.

-In!

-OK. I think the only

thing that's hiding here is spiders.

Hm... There is no fridge or anything.

Right, "Best before, May 3rd 2015."

Urgh...

3rd March, maybe about three years ago.

I'm just going to take the house back,

because he's clearly not living here.

-Right.

-Aye...

There are 25,000 abandoned homes in Scotland,

costing councils over £200 million a year in lost income.

So, we're going to a property that has just terminated.

The tenant has left and given us back the house,

so we're going to have a little look.

Oof... It's ripe, eh?

Oh, jeezo!

The tenant lived here for 22 years.

This person was here with her son.

She holds down a job and had...

..a number of cats, apparently.

Oh... Right, we'll go into the kitchen.

Oh, my God!

Urgh.

Jesus Christ.

You want to see the trays over there.

Oh, my God.

SHE GAGS

-Karen?

-What?

Brace yourself and watch your feet cos there's cat shit all over the stairs.

It's horrific.

HE GAGS

Oh, dear.

Right, mind over matter, now.

That's what you have to do.

-Are you all right?

-Aye.

Jesus Christ! Oh, my God!

-People crying out for houses.

-Yeah, I know.

And then you have this.

I know.

The toilet is actually relatively clean, believe it or not.

The bath isn't that bad, either.

Clearly unused.

Does this make you angry?

Absolutely.

Absolutely. Well, there, you've got to understand that

we get a hard time as an authority, because we've got so much cutbacks

and tightening our belts on providing services, et cetera.

And then you come into something like this, which is so unnecessary,

and we've got to plough thousands of pounds into getting this into a

habitable home for somebody else and...

I mean, this is... This is...

..cat shit that I'm standing in.

That's going to be stuck in my nose all day.

JP is team leader for community learning and development,

working with deprived communities.

I've been a community education worker since 1992, so...

24 years in June, it'll be.

'And you've still got a sense of humour?'

I hope so. I think so. I think it's very important.

Without wanting to come over all David Brent,

I think it is very important to have a sense of humour.

It keeps things in perspective.

And, at times, when things are a bit dark,

to be able to have a little laugh, it's very useful.

Today, JP is visiting Macedonia in Glenrothes,

named after a former estate farm of the Countess of Rothes.

Here, three quarters of the population are unemployed or on benefits.

So, here we are, on the Glenwood shops, as it's called, in Macedonia.

As you can see, it's pretty run down, really,

and it could do with an injection of cash, and a bit of change.

JP has just received £10,000 funding to launch

a new community project.

Macedonia is one of the most deprived areas in Glenrothes,

and what we're going to try and do is, with a Starter For Ten,

kick-start some community action and try and get people interested in

their community, to make some changes.

It's a shithole.

What makes you say that, pal?

Because I stay in there.

-Do you?

-I just filled in a wee questionnaire.

-Good.

-Was it called Starter For Ten?

Yes.

-Filled that in. They've got a grant for here.

-Yes.

Well, that's what we're here for.

-How long have you stayed here?

-I've just moved.

-I've been out homeless and...

-Oh, right.

I was homeless, as well, like. Just got that just in November.

-From the outside, they look horrible.

-I know.

-They need a lot doing on them. Come up, we'll show you.

-All right, then.

Well, that's amazing.

As you can see, they're nice, fresh flats.

They've just been knocked through at the weekend, man.

That was actually all right. But the door got kicked in.

All the glass and that, man. That was fine.

What's the whole point of this grant, then?

-What yous...?

-Shall we sit down and talk?

Is that all right? Cheers.

-Aye.

-I'm glad you filled one in.

The idea is for local people to say, well, "I live here. For me,

"these are some of the problems that we'd like to see fixed."

But to get involved in fixing them.

So, if you say, "JP, we want £2,000 so we can paint all the interior corridors,

"or the halls, or the landing,"

we put it to a public vote and if people vote for it,

you get the money to do it. So there's £10,000.

We could go for that, like.

Well, you would. But would the people?

-I don't know.

-How did you manage to get the ten, then?

-I asked the councillors for that.

-Just asked the council?

I said, "I think it'll be a good idea. It'll get people interested."

Rather than just say, "Oh, you'll have to form..."

-Or I'll come in and spend 10,000 on the area.

-Give you something for...

Just as you said, it's an area that needs it.

It's good to see, actually, that stuff is going to be happening,

getting done in areas like this.

It would make a big difference if this flat, if these flats

-were redone.

-Cleaned.

-Aye. And kept...

Can you paint and decorate?

-Aye. I'm a painter and decorator.

-Are you?

-Aye.

-Really?

-Really. Aye.

So, if we costed it and got the paint and said,

"We want a mural on the stairs, make them look more attractive..."

-Aye. Aye.

-That's all right.

-I would do it.

-I would do it.

-Cheers, Steve.

-Thanks, mate.

-Thanks a lot.

You're very welcome.

Wow. No, that's great, just the kind of thing you want to hear.

Really good to meet the guys.

The flats, interior-wise, are fine.

But, externally and looking at this close, I mean,

it's not attractive at all.

It's almost scary for people.

Yeah, if we can change some of that, that will be worth doing.

Local people have some great ideas about making a difference and we

want to be able to help them to do that rather than waiting on the

council getting packages of funding here, there and everywhere.

We can do some, maybe, quick-term fixes or quick fixes

which make people feel just a little bit better about where they live.

Me and Stephen have, like, basically wanted to do bits that's good for

Macedonia because we stay here.

We didn't want, like, the place getting a bad name when it's

actually an all-right place.

And if we had, obviously, the Starter For Ten money that's going

into the community, the 10,000, that would well be enough to do

these sort of things that the teenagers are wanting.

Like a football cage and that.

The Starter For Ten may be my Starter For Ten, aye.

Helping me. Helping the community.

As a result of nearly a decade of frozen council taxes,

along with reduced central government funding,

local authorities in Scotland are facing an estimated deficit of

£1 billion over the next two years.

In Fife, the man who has ultimate responsibility for managing the

council budget is chief executive, Steve Grimmond.

Morning. It's eight o'clock. We're just heading into the office

to start the day ahead.

Quite a lot going on today. A number of meetings. People to see.

-Things to do.

-Things to do.

-Council to run.

-Council to run.

No two days are the same.

It can range, everything from working on issues from early years

in education through to care of the elderly within the same 12 hours.

Morning, Andrew. We're facing unprecedented levels of reduction in

resource, of a scale and of an order that we've never had to look at before.

It is a hugely daunting time in terms of the pressures on the

reduction of public sector resources, but the real challenge

and opportunity is how do you make that work?

How do you make the radical changes that are necessary

if we're going to be able to survive through the next 12 months?

Today, it's Budget Day and Steve and his elected councillors must save

around £88 million this year alone.

And with the cuts comes 235 job losses

and a prediction of up to 2,000 more in the next three years.

One department safe from cuts is housing services.

What do you mean, you were giving it to the landlord?

Because if it's our property, we're the landlord.

Otherwise, you're not going to get the suspension lifted on your application.

Because it'll remain like that until there's further information to

say that you don't have those arrears or you don't have those

rechargeable repairs. All right?

Every year, the council spend over £30 million on repairs,

maintenance and bad debts.

To stop the abandoned house lying empty and not bringing in rent,

a clean-up operation has now been ordered, costing over £5,000.

I love this job.

HE GAGS

How's that gag reflex coming on?

Get in amongst it, eh?

Get in amongst it, eh?

Do you need a strong constitution for this?

Just a wee bit.

You get used to it, though. We get used to it.

We get about eight of these a month, these bad ones with animal waste.

But then you get other bad ones that's needles,

lots of other bits and pieces.

Oh! Oh!

Cor...

I hate the smelly cats, like.

That's strong in there. The urine is unbelievable.

How long will this take to clear up?

About three days.

Look what's on it.

That's his lighter.

Your favourite animal.

Another area that's receiving investment is Pittenweem

in the East Neuk, where a £2 million project is just getting started.

This is our breakwater to protect our harbour.

About two years ago, it was damaged in a storm to the extent

that it was becoming unstable.

So, they've underpinned it, sorted the sides of it and, I think,

they're going to, kind of, level it off a bit.

Because, obviously, it's dropped down a bit.

I think some of it, about a foot.

So, it has to be done to protect the harbour but also has to be done to

stop the harbour being no use in the future.

Jim has worked as the council's harbour master for six years.

The council own all this, so they have to have a harbour master.

We have two here because it's a commercial harbour and it's open

from 12 minutes to seven in the morning until nine o'clock at night.

So, we have two over that space of time.

But you have to be here.

You're kind of like looking after it for them, aren't you?

Making sure everyone's all right.

If there's any problems, we're like a hotline to

headquarters up the road at Glenrothes.

Pittenweem is the last commercial fishing harbour in Fife,

bringing in over £3.5 million per year.

So, out in the sea today, we've got Long Shout Venture Again.

Saint Adrian, Harvest Moon and the Charisma.

Not a lot. I think it's this time of year where the boats can't make up

their mind whether to be on night shift or day shift.

Hi, Maurice. How are you today?

When the boats are on the night shift,

that's when it's really busy because the prawn boats will come in in the

morning and their guys go out in the morning, so you've got that.

You've got to try and juggle it to keep them all happy.

The creel boats have to get their bait before they go to the sea.

The prawn boats come in to land their catch to go home.

-So, that's it.

-So, are you like an air traffic stewardess?

Yes. This way, this way.

Brownie points if they behave.

But boats are only part of the job.

I'm not saying don't go up there but there's green, slide-y slate.

If you slip on it, and go over there, that's me calling an ambulance.

It's just for your own safety.

I'm not telling you not to go up there but you could easily slip, hey.

OK?

'Hello there. I'm calling on behalf of my dad.

'He's elderly and getting quite infirm now...'

'Good morning. You're through to Craig. How can I help?

'Hi, good morning.

'I'm looking for a week's respite for my husband who's got dementia.'

The council's Department of Health and Social Care works with 23,000

residents a year at a cost of half a billion pounds.

Diane is an occupational therapist in Glenrothes.

We're heading off to assess this chap who's just come to light,

in terms of rehousing.

Actually, I don't know much about him at all other than he's sleeping

on his sofa and he's actually been housebound, potentially, for a year.

So, I'm really just going along here to meet him and do

a basic assessment of his needs.

-'Are you OK?'

-I'm getting there.

I'm getting there. I'm getting there.

I'll just go to the bathroom.

I've got osteoarthritis of the lower spine.

Deep-vein thrombosis, so I'm on warfarin.

And my lungs are bit dodgy with emphysema.

Whoever thought it was such hard work just to have a pish.

HE GRIMACES IN PAIN

Right. That's me.

Oh!

Fuck it! I'm needing a fag.

You can keep filming if you like.

It's legal.

You ever heard of a band called Motorhead?

Right?

And the guy that was the leader of the band, Lemmy.

On bass? You heard him? Right.

I watched a documentary on him.

Interviewer says, "You chain-smoke?"

"Yes." "And you drink a bottle of Jack Daniels a day, every day?"

He says, "My lungs are fine, my liver's fine. My heart's fine.

"My blood pressure's fine."

And the boy says, "How do you account for that?"

He says, "It's my fuck-you-ness."

The boy says, "What?" "It's my fuck-you-ness."

The doctor says to me, "Stop smoking."

I go, "Fuck you." "Stop drinking."

I go, "Fuck you."

And that's what's going to keep me alive for at least another couple of year.

MUSIC: Ace of Spades by Motorhead

Having just turned 60, Davey is now being considered for one of the

council's retirement homes.

KNOCK AT THE DOOR

MUSIC BLARES OUT

Fife Council.

-Hi there.

-Hiya.

-How you doing?

-Hello!

-Did you remember we were all coming?

-Yes.

-And I'm Diane, the housing OT.

Occupational therapist?

That's it. Well done.

-Can I get a seat?

-Aye.

Do you want me just to sit here?

One of my colleagues in the office is considering you for Byron Court?

Are you aware of all that?

I've been mentioned that.

Not for me to refuse things that have been offered to me.

I don't want anything that's too much like an old people's home.

-No.

-No, thank you.

-I mean, I was a single man until I was 47-years-old.

-Were you?

-Yeah. My first marriage.

I was 47.

-Good grief.

-And my wife, was 27.

-That's a big age gap.

But we just had so much in common.

But there's a difference between her being 30 and me being 50

than her being 40 and me being 60.

Yes.

Could I, maybe, see you standing up?

So, you're quite tall, as well.

Just sit back down. That's fine.

Sit back down.

-My legs have gone.

-So, are we thinking, really,

it's going to have to be wheelchair suitable, wherever you move to?

-Because you're going to be using your chair in the house.

-Yes.

OK. We'll rule out Byron.

And we'll get you down for a sheltered bungalow,

or an ordinary bungalow, now that you're a pensioner.

Then we'll get you on your Harley.

-Thank you. See you later.

-Thanks, bye.

Cheerio.

If he's had a young wife and everything, then he is young.

He's not one of your older 60-year-olds.

Which I had the impression before I went.

20 years age gap!

In Macedonia, JP is hoping the community will come together to

discuss ideas for the Starter For Ten project.

So, we're now walking up to Macedonia play park, there.

That's all the council workers.

They're all out now because the BBC are about.

They get out and about there. They see that they're doing their job.

I've not seen somebody pick up litter on this

estate for many a year.

All right, lads. Tony, Scott?

Good, good. Welcome, everyone. Thanks for coming.

It's really good to see so many people here today.

What we've got is, just for everyone,

17th of February, we've booked a school,

we've got the school booked and what we want is to have a number of

projects that people can vote on.

The most common things people are saying is, bigger, better, new park.

Football cage, goals or pitch.

Bigger, better, new skate park.

Children, young people, family activities in the area.

Things for families to do.

Clean it up. Do you want to tell us about some of the things you thought

would be worth doing in the area?

I think we were discussing about just general mess of the flats.

Getting them redone.

It's a bit daunting, people walking in and they're a bit rundown.

Stop them getting raided every three weeks.

Windows getting smashed and stuff.

Teenagers coming to and from the school at lunchtime,

-drop litter everywhere.

-That's annoying.

We said, what if we said to the headteacher, £1,000,

if you sort it, you get to keep that £1,000.

Go up to Glenrothes, £1,000, get it sorted.

I'll sort it for £1,000.

Thank you, everyone. Seriously.

Thank you for your time. That's brilliant.

With a committed group of residents now on board,

JP has to reach the rest of the community.

Since 2012, Scottish councils have paid out over half a billion in

compensation for damages caused by potholes, with a new claim

lodged every 18 minutes.

Today, John and Ian from the roads maintenance department are in

Craigluscar, north of Dunfermline.

The whole road's needing done.

But we can only do so much.

We'll cut this one out.

Again, where the fuck do you stop?

In Fife, there was a £95 million backlog in road repairs.

Well, basically, the council can't afford to uplift every single road

and re-tar every bit. For two reasons, money they don't have.

Secondly, the manpower to do that.

If you were to think of all the roads, Dunfermline,

and Fife, Scotland, Britain, so it's down to the Government.

You'd need to issue a load of money and they would need to allow

the council to take more people on, basically.

This doesn't help either.

Big HGVs coming down small track roads like this.

And you can see, exactly what's happening. Squashing the tar out.

There's a good chance we can do this and one of them will come down and

take it all out.

Bit frustrating, aye.

We'd love to fill every pothole that you can see.

We can't. Because we've got to go to different locations and the fact

that we don't have enough tar to do what everybody wants.

There's been budget cuts for the last three years.

Like I say, the council's not taking any people on and then we've got all

these cuts coming up. Then we'll just see how it goes.

You're a bit of a politician!

Aye. If only. Do you reckon I should be the new gaffer of the council?

No ifs, no buts, no public sector cuts!

No ifs, no buts, no public sector cuts!

After an eight-hour meeting, a new budget is agreed.

With it, brings a £5 million cut to health and social care,

a £1 million cut to road maintenance and staff reductions.

To some extent, we've got a perfect storm,

which is we're facing the largest cash reduction,

the biggest gap that we've ever faced.

It's not easy.

I absolutely understand the anxiety that there is within the

organisation because moving to a model going forward

where we deliver services differently,

almost certainly means delivering those services with fewer staff.

Fife has 2,500 specially adapted council houses.

Diane is looking at one for Davey that has just come

back onto the system.

How long do you think it's going to be?

Do you know? It doesn't look like there's much needing done.

So, the first thing I'm looking at is the access.

And, obviously, that's the back door.

And there is only one step.

The other thing I'm looking at, are the width of the doors to make sure

that it's suitable, either for a wheelchair or a walking aid.

I mean, it's in good decor. It's a lovely property.

You could actually move right into this.

-Are you filming that plumber, or are you filming me?

-You.

Me looking at the plumber's bum?

Builder's bum!

That a perk of the job.

Oh, dear God.

Hello, Davey.

Listen, we've been to have a look at a bungalow that I think will be

suitable for you.

Aye, I think it would be good for you.

Nice kitchen and it's nicely decorated.

We'll nip round and have a chat with you, anyway, if that's OK?

It's a wee surprise for you today.

Can I sit down. Is that all right?

So, I really would like you to consider the Methil Brae one.

Any garden at all?

No, erm... No.

But you're not going to be able to do a garden.

And it's not sheltered?

No. Methil Brae isn't. No.

What I would suggest to you, I don't know timescales because, as I say,

I don't allocate but you might not get a long time to move.

I'm going to need to start selling stuff because I've got a whole load

of gardening tools.

Right. You can look in the back bedroom first.

Want me to open the door for you there or can you manage?

Actually, it's not bad at all, Davey, to be honest.

Because you've got it already in boxes.

You'd be able to just, even, lift these boxes and you could take

it with you and sort it out when you're there.

I think, if you're organised, a man and a van,

you'll get this done in an hour.

So, actually, I'm quite impressed.

I don't think it's going to be too difficult.

-You have done a lot of work.

-Aye.

I know. It's quite sad, really.

I was hoping to get a wee bit of garden.

Getting back to growing pot plants.

I mean, house plants.

I don't mean pot plants.

-Right?

-No. Because you'll get evicted.

We've gone to all this extreme to get you a house.

I'll go to jail!

Right! Tatty-bye.

-Thanks, Diane.

-See you soon. Aye, cheerio.

BIRD SQUAWKS

What's that, Charlie? What is it, Charlie?

We're going to be moving.

Two weeks later, and without viewing the bungalow,

Davey has declined the offer.

People expect there to be lots and lots of properties and there aren't.

It's hard to say to them,

it's not like an estate agents where we've got lots to show you.

It's very rare that a bungalow will be returned to stock and you could

wait for months, for years, and sometimes

I don't think people believe us because, well,

they've been offered something.

It's just taking that risk of how long you'd have to wait for

something suitable.

Hello, Davey!

-All right?

-Hello, it's Diane.

-Aye, come on up.

-Is that OK?

-Aye.

What are we going to do, then? What are you thinking?

Well, I have already told you, I'm declining the offer.

I just don't want that particular...

Right. Right.

That's fine, what's putting you off that one?

Is it the lack of garden?

That's one of the things. Look, I've been making some notes.

-Good.

-Gas central heating and gas cooker because when I asked you the

last time, can I take my gas cooker with me? You said you didn't know.

If there's electric cooker, is that a deal-breaker?

-No.

-Or...

-I'm not wanting an electric cooker.

-Right, that's fine.

-It has got to be a gas cooker.

-That's fine.

-Then I've got...

Now, this is a vital one. You might think I'm being trivial

but I'm on Sky and unlimited broadband.

Now, I rely on my internet access.

No, you can get Sky at your expense.

You know, you'd have to pay for it to be relocated.

-I understand that.

-Sky wouldn't be a problem.

But, I mean, I can't be without my broadband.

No. Will we see how long it takes because...?

-I don't care how long it takes.

-Right, you're not in a great rush.

I have been struggling here for getting on for three years and managing.

Right? And if I've got struggle on for a bit longer, I don't care.

-Yeah, that is fine.

-I'm no in a rush.

-That's fine.

-OK.

-Right. Be good.

-Can't be good, be careful.

-Be careful.

Aye, I knew you were going to say that.

That's what my granny used to say to me.

I know, I know. It's a sure fine saying, though.

-Right, tatty-bye.

-Right, then.

-Thanks, Diane.

-No bother.

-Cheerio.

-See you later. Cheerio.

Davey now joins a waiting list of 4,000 people

needing an adapted house.

I just get the feeling he doesn't want to move,

that he's quite happy where he is...

..stuck upstairs.

Maybe not how we'd want to live but I think, for him, that's better.

I don't give a fucking shit what some people might think.

It's what I want and if they can't deliver, I'll stay here.

In Macedonia, eight projects have now been shortlisted

for Starter For Ten.

Glenwood's housing officer, Stacey,

is hoping that painting the flats will win.

Today's the day where we're looking for the community to come and vote

for potential projects and one of the potential projects that we've

got for today, is to have the stairwells

in the block of flats painted.

Now, they're particularly bad, I have said this before,

the block itself isn't the best to look at and I think it would be a

great thing if we could get these stairwells painted.

However, I need to have the tenants on board and I really need them

to be there and to support, because if we don't get the votes for it,

it's not going to get done. So that is what I'm going to try to persuade

today. Work my charm. We'll see.

-Hi! Is this your house?

-Yes.

Sorry. You've maybe never met me before but I'm actually the new

housing officer for the Macedonia area.

We were trying to identify possible projects to improve the

Macedonia area and one of the things that was mentioned, was having the

stairwells painted and cleared, cleaned and all painted.

Waste of time.

Oh, hi there.

It's Jim from the council and this is my colleague, Stacey.

-I've met you before.

-She's the neighbourhood housing officer...

-Oh, right.

-..for the whole of Macedonia.

-I noticed some things on the list.

-Yes.

And one of them was painting this.

-I wouldn't bother.

-Oh, God, everyone keeps saying that.

I wouldn't, honestly, don't.

It is a waste of money.

-People...

-Do you not think we should at least try?

-No.

It's quite sad and I think... I had this discussion with my colleagues

yesterday and obviously I am quite a new housing officer to this block

and I'm quite keen to at least try and do my bit to improve it but,

I mean, that's the first two tenants that we've spoken to there

and they've both said they don't see the point of painting the

stairwells because no-one cares about this block.

It is an area, it's certainly had its...

Seen the nasty side of what can happen and with services.

That's it. And, you know what?

If there is any place that is crying out for a bit of TLC,

this is one of them.

After months of planning,

the community will now decide which projects they want.

You get a red heart and a pink heart, all right?

On the boards when you go in, there are different projects that we're

looking to, as possibilities to do in the Macedonia area, OK?

There you go. All right? OK, thanks for coming.

£10,000 isn't going to be enough to fix Macedonia or the problems round

here, it's not enough.

Right, ladies and gentlemen, you have the results.

Thank you.

The first winner with the highest votes went to the green gym

which is going to cost £4,000.

The goalposts, that is £1,000.

The community planting project, that's £1,300.

And painting the stairwell, £300, that is in the Glenwood centre.

So thank you very much for voting and these projects will go ahead in

the very near future.

APPLAUSE

My flats are getting painted!

-So is that a sign?

-That is a sign of the love in the community of

Macedonia and a sign of things to come.

I am hoping that in six months' time,

this whole place will be filled with love hearts.

And we'll all love each other and we'll all hug it out.

Four weeks later and work begins on the Glenwood flats.

It looks cleaner already.

Aye, we've been... Cleaned and everything today.

Hiya. How's it looking, Raymond?

It's just freshened up the place, it's really good.

-Yes.

-That's much better already.

-Have you noticed the difference?

-Yes.

Just kept going. Ignored.

You didn't mention it the other day, did you, no?

He's got a bad back, he said, mind.

I think they'll get that finished in the middle and realise how much a

waste of time it was doing it in the first place

because it's going to be like that again in a week.

We won the project, it's not a project, it's a start,

it's about getting engaged with people.

I know it sounds really naff but it's about working with people,

local people working together.

That's what we're trying to make happen because, you know,

the council is going to have less money in future and I think the more

people who are involved in their own communities,

the better they can make it.

In Fife, bin collection times are from 6.30am to nine at night.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, off to work we go.

Go and see the posh people.

Between them, Ronnie and Craig have been on the bins for 30 years.

Do you like it round here?

-What's that?

-Do you like it around here?

-Oh, aye.

I would buy that one if I had the money.

That's my house. That, right there.

Yeah, one day.

Satisfaction.

-Job satisfaction.

-Job satisfaction we get.

We're making sure the town isnae a complete shithole.

Because, let's be honest, without us, it would be.

Every year, the council spend £10 million disposing of household waste.

Bucky bottles in them bins and it's wine bottles

in the fucking posh bins.

It's a different class of wine, bro.

Fucking Lambrini.

Lambrini's all right.

The council are now trialling a three weekly and the UK's first-ever

monthly collections to encourage recycling and reduce landfill costs.

Today, they're in Markinch.

It's the guinea pigs, if you like.

Where we go, everybody else follows, I think.

Whether that's right or wrong is another question.

The council are hoping to roll out one of the schemes across the region.

To be honest, if I was doing it, just do the four-week system

and that is it.

That's it done. Once people get used to it,

it should never change again.

-Is this a money thing, do you think?

-It's always about money now.

With just over half of all household waste recycled,

the council is hoping to reach a target of 70%

within the next decade.

There will come a time when there won't be any landfill at all.

It'll be recycled, it'll all be...

..burnt or something because I think there's a European directive

that we've got to stop putting waste into landfill sites.

So, this is us spearheading the fight towards it, I would say.

Fucking hell, it's brand-new.

-Really?

-They paid some money for that.

Easy one, easy.

Someone's paid, what? 300, 400 quid for that.

And we're about to turn it into three or four quids' worth.

Oh, the brakes are on.

How much rubbish is that? Is that one day, is that one week?

Couple of days' worth, probably.

Two days' worth, maybe. 100, 150 tonnes, probably, I think.

Six weeks after Davey refused a bungalow,

occupational therapist Diane is on her way to see him.

MUSIC PLAYS

Right, fantastic news.

A lovely wee bungalow has just come back and it's for him.

He's going to be able to be independent,

he can get out to the shops, he can get out for a boogie in his

garden for a barbecue in the summer if he wants it.

Today, Davey is going to view the adapted bungalow.

Good morning.

Santa Claus has been.

Oh, that looks like a handy thing.

I've tried to make it as high as I could.

Living on the first floor of a maisonette,

Davey has been housebound for over a year.

There's no assistance to get people out of houses when they're housebound.

We usually have to ask family, so it's really good that he's going

to be able to do it himself.

Just steady yourself.

Get the oxygen back to your brain.

-It's no my brain, it's my legs.

-Is it warm up there?

Oh, look at you whizzing.

Oh, this is all right, this.

-Look at you.

-Right, Charlie, I'm going out for a wee while.

You look after the house for me.

-Be a good boy.

-Girl.

-Girl.

-Right.

-Right, have you got it?

-I'll just hold on to this.

And then I can...

-I'm not going to fall.

-No, you're fine.

Just concentrate.

I tell you what I will do, stay there,

I will sort your laces because if you stand on your lace.

The last time a woman tied my laces I was five years old

going to primary school.

You just think how lucky you are having me.

-Oh, forgive me.

-Aye, get lost. Right, come on.

That's over and above the call of duty, get down the stairs.

-Do you want me to hold your other arm?

-No.

You're going to see me as I am, all right?

That's it.

Take your time, just have a rest any time you need it.

My feet are sore, my legs are sore.

Are they? Concentrate on going down the stairs.

Can you imagine me trying to get out of here in an emergency?

Leave my wind, missus.

-You're doing really well.

-Christ, that's a cold wind.

-It is, it's freezing. Do you want zipped up?

-No.

-Right.

-All right?

-Aye.

-I have made it.

-What we'll do,

you'll get a wee seat in my car until the taxi comes.

-No.

-Moving to this here...

-No.

-No?

We could be standing for ages.

Are you sure you don't want a seat?

Look. Listen.

-I pay my council tax, you work...

-I'll say nothing more.

You work for me. I pay your wages.

Seeing him walking down those stairs...

That was, I would never, in my wildest dreams, have thought

he could've done that today. I mean, I'm sure his new walker has given

him a lot of confidence because when we first filmed him,

he had nothing to hold on to.

But that was amazing.

And good for his confidence, too.

Oh, right. All right? Cheers, Tom. Cheers.

Davey, are you going to manage to walk because it is up here?

-I'm coming.

-Will I get a wheelchair?

-No.

-Are you sure?

-Are you all right?

-Nice?

You are doing really well, you'll get a seat in here when we get in.

Stop bossing me about, missus.

You'll like it, don't you tell me you don't like it.

Get in here, you will have a seat.

I will let you open the door to make sure you can open it.

-Oh, this is the living room, is it?

-It will be.

I take it that's an electric fire?

Well, we'll do that in a minute.

Do you want to have just a wee seat the now?

Have a wee seat on this perching stool.

Are you sure? Right.

The housing officer does all that with you.

-Right.

-All I'm really here today is to make sure that it is suitable for you.

It's a fine big bedroom.

So have a look at the wardrobes first.

Remember and take your walker with you. Don't lean.

Right, come and see the piece de resistance.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da!

-Dropped my gloves.

-Oh!

Look at this.

Brilliant.

Absolutely brilliant.

I have brought a toilet frame here just to try it if you wouldn't mind today.

Because you obviously struggled a wee bit to get on and off the

toilet in your own house.

No, I didn't. I think I have still got one of these in my house.

Have you? Where?

It's one of the cupboards someplace.

Bastard. I don't like these fucking things.

Sorry. It doesn't even fit properly.

Just want a fucking...

I just want a lavvy pan, I don't want any of these fucking things.

But that, just for the purposes of my job...

Oh, right. It's ideal to get you on and off the toilet safely.

-Yes.

-Yes. Of course it is.

-Yes.

-Thank you.

-So what are you thinking?

-I think this is brilliant.

-Where do I sign?

-Well, remember it is not ready yet,

it is still just about to go under repair.

-Aye.

-Come on, we'll go through to the living room and have a chat

rather than standing in the bathroom.

I'm no wanting to be gazumped.

No, you won't be, honestly, it will be yours.

I am chuffed to bits.

Yes, it's perfect for me.

Absolutely perfect. Diane has done a brilliant job.

Better than I could have ever hoped for.

It'll be a cracking house-warming party.

This lady, when we came in to see her, we discovered that she had

bypassed her meter and normally it's a criminal offence.

Excuse me. We're from the council and you've been caught on CCTV

throwing your cigarette end down.

-Right, yes.

-Right, the fixed penalty notice is £80.

-Right.

-Well, I'm having to sleep with a baseball bat next to my bed.

I didn't want to be sitting on the toilet doing a shit

and my door goes in and I haven't got a piece next to me,

do you know what I mean?