Episode 12 Call the Council

From waste and recycling

to pest control and Trading Standards...

..the taxes that we pay to our local councils are used to provide

many of our most essential services.

I like people who are keen to recycle.

In this series, we follow the front-line staff

working behind the walls of Tameside Town Hall in Greater Manchester.

Like council officers across the country,

these local heroes are waging war on those blighting our communities.

-Oi! Oi! Oi!

-Excuse me.

-Excuse me, love, you can't do that.

They're protecting us from hidden dangers...

If there's rodent activity in your kitchen

you won't be opening tonight. It's that simple.

..making sure our cash is spent on those who need it most...

I'm at a loose end. I do not know where to turn.

..and responding to their residents when they...

call the council.

Coming up, the council responds to a resident's call for help

when cockroaches invade her flat...

Look at them all coming out now.

..and give the local economy a kick-start by helping entrepreneurs

turn their dreams into reality.

Is this a business we should be investing in?

One, two, three.

THEY CHEER

From waste management and bereavement services

to road maintenance and pest control, across the country,

almost two million local council employees

are working hard with one aim -

to serve their community

and put public money to the best possible use.

Hello. Environmental services. Phil Rodgers speaking.

Officers at Tameside Council in Greater Manchester are no different.

At the council's HQ,

every department has a team of experienced officers who are

ready and able to respond to calls for help from their residents.

'It's like any job.'

It's like a rat job, a cockroach job, a flea job or anything.

No matter how bad that particular customer makes it sound,

'you've got every confidence in the stuff that you use

'and everything, you know that you will get it under control.'

Be it bed bugs, mice, rats or cockroaches,

council pest control teams the length and breadth of Britain

are primed to deal with residents' pest-related problems.

In Tameside, Katie Brown's home is overrun with fleas

so she's called the council.

I had a kitten and there's lots of cats in the area

and it seemed to get fleas and I've tried treating the cat a few times.

The cat has since left and moved in with one of my neighbours

but I just keep finding fleas everywhere.

My youngest, she's three.

She's got, like, bites on her legs

and she's obviously been scratching them so now they've gotten sore.

It's not very nice for her.

-SHE SHUDDERS

-They need to go.

Katie's flea infestation is top of pest control officer

Brian Whelan's list of jobs to tackle today.

I feel sorry for the poor animals cos nine times out of ten

they blame the animals straightaway and it's not always the poor animals.

You could go into a shop, someone stands next to somebody,

you could go on a bus, you can go...anywhere.

You could be in a pub, you could be anywhere,

and a flea could land on you and not necessarily bite you straightaway.

It can take up to 24 hours for a flea to bite you.

Touch wood, I've never took any home.

I've never took any fleas home or anything.

So I must be doing something right.

Armed with his insecticide,

Brian cracks on with the job in hand.

Is there anywhere that's particularly bad or is it just all over?

-Mostly my room and probably the living room.

-Right, no problem.

The insecticide has a low toxicity that won't harm any children

or pets but it will interrupt the fleas' life cycle.

I'm just getting the coverage over the floor as best we can.

Once it's dried, you don't have to hoover for at least ten days.

Especially with having three kids.

On some of these wooden parts, it might dry white

but don't worry about it, it will mop off, yeah?

Fleas are most commonly brought into our homes by cats and dogs.

Once resident, they multiply fast.

Females can lay up to eight eggs after every feed they have on blood.

These eggs hatch in just two days.

To reduce the chances of having fleas, you should vacuum regularly,

wash bedding often and make sure pets are groomed frequently.

I vacced it and put my own spray down

but it just doesn't seem to do anything.

Did you hoover up next day, two days later, something like that? Yeah.

You tend to find a lot of people do that when they do it themselves.

They don't leave the poison down enough, the insecticide,

and what happens is all you're doing is your sucking it back up.

Chances are, you would have killed some but not all, obviously.

But if the situation gets too bad, you could call experts like Brian.

The most important thing is to get the most coverage for fleas.

If you can get everywhere, all the floors, all the junctions.

-I'm glad I cleaned under there.

-HE LAUGHS

It's usually old newspapers, to be honest with you.

Especially when you've got kids, it's food, yeah.

There's nowt you can do about that, unfortunately.

-Can you see them?

-Can I see them?

I see small people.

HE LAUGHS

Sometimes you can. I mean, sometimes they'll land on you.

Anything like that.

And Brian uses every pest control officer's tried and tested

technique to be sure he leaves the property flea-free...

HE LAUGHS

Job done, he gives Katie one last tip for tackling the little mites.

The other thing I would suggest, change to, like,

a citrus shower gel, something like that, and that might ease...

It'll soothe the little 'un anyway, from itching and that

because it's citrus. It'll take the sting out, sort of thing.

Just see how she goes with that.

I just feel relieved that, hopefully,

I won't see them again, stop getting bitten.

I don't feel... I don't feel dirty any more.

And hopefully the kids are not going to see them again.

'It's like anything. When people turn round and they bite themselves,

'especially fleas, ants, any insect,

'crawling insect spray that they get or anything like that,'

nine times out of ten, it never works and most of the time they phone us.

The product's, always, are slightly weaker than us.

At least with us, you get a good kill and you don't hoover for ten days.

Fleas dealt with, Brian's next job sees him

take on the most serious cockroach infestation of his career.

This is just the kitchen. And this is bad.

In these austere times, our councils endeavour to support

local businesses through advice,

grants and, where possible, reduced business rates.

However, there are over 50,000 empty shops

in the UK's town centres,

with 11,000 retail jobs being lost in 2013.

But some plucky entrepreneurs ARE ready to reinvest.

In Stalybridge, local butcher John Mettrick has rented this

disused unit and, eager to test the market, has started trading from it.

What we're trying to do here is establish a traditional

butcher's shop in this town, which hasn't had one for about three

or four years now, and the traders have seen a downturn in the trade

since there wasn't a butcher's shop here.

So we've come here to try and ascertain as to whether there's

enough trade in this town to warrant having a butcher's here.

And we've just decided now to go ahead with the full shop fit,

because this is not how we would trade.

I mean, this is more like a market stall inside and we're hoping,

fingers crossed, that this really works out for us.

When a new food business starts up, councils must conduct

an advisory inspection to ensure the business is working to meet

high hygiene standards.

It's the responsibility of council environmental health officers

like Simon Ashton to do these inspections.

And, with previous experience as a trainee butcher,

he knows what to look for.

It's good sometimes to have experience,

even if it's only part-time experience, of working in industry.

'When you go out doing inspections and dealing with businesses,

'when they know that you've actually worked in the food industry,

'you get quite a lot of respect from that.'

-Morning.

-Hi, pleased to meet you. Hi, Simon. Hi, Charlotte. You OK?

I mean, this not is our normal set-up.

If you see our other two shops, you know what I mean,

that's what we're aiming for.

The public are behind us, the MP's behind us, everybody's behind us

trying to do this and trying to bring some life back into the town.

So, what are we selling here at the moment, then?

-We're selling fresh meat.

-Right.

-These two counters here.

And pies out of here.

John currently brings the meat in, wrapped and ready to sell,

then clears it out once trading has finished.

Although Simon and his colleague Charlotte are keen to support

this new venture, their priority is making sure the food John

is selling is safe for consumers to eat.

We've got the little sink there that obviously has a heater inside it.

It needs to be more than that, to be honest. I know it's only

a temporary arrangement and you've got big plans for the shop

but you really...

I mean, first of all, you need a sink for cleaning equipment,

don't you, really?

There's no equipment, there's no machinery, there's no equipment.

Everything is...is wrapped and everything is cleaned down.

I thought he might have just done a little bit more. Even though it's

a temporary arrangement, I'd have expected to see a bit more, really.

Maybe installed a proper wash hand basin and things like that.

When you walked in there was leaves blowing into the shop

and stuff like that.

It just probably didn't give the right impression.

Simon is concerned that this temporary set-up isn't

meeting hygiene standards.

He needs to be convinced that John's plans for the permanent

butcher's shop will fully comply with the regulations.

-Do you want me to get this plan out?

-Yeah, let's have a look at the plan

-so that we...

-Can see what we're going to do.

-Yeah.

So, this is the entrance to the shop here, right?

So, that's the public entrance to the shop.

And then at the back, just through that room there,

is the actual entrance where the product will come in.

I'm trying to make complete separation.

Even the actual floors here between the two areas,

so there's no confusion between the staff as to which area

they're in, are different colours, yeah?

If John's plans don't become a reality and he doesn't meet

basic hygiene requirements then Simon could close this place down.

Do you think you'll be all right?

I'm happy with the plans that you've shown us, yeah.

I think, really, obviously once everything's done,

we'll be a lot happier then.

With the refit starting in just two days, Simon gives him

leeway to continue trading for now.

But it's down to John to deliver

the hygiene levels that he's promising.

The nation's local councils are all tasked with

putting our money to the best possible use.

But, as we all contribute to our council's coffers,

everyone has an opinion about how they should manage those finances.

I know it's very difficult for them.

They've got a finite amount of money

and they've got to spend it where they think it's best spent

but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're right.

At the end of the day, we're all in this together

and we all have to act together and work together.

We are under austerity times and there is only

so much money in the pot.

You can't please all the people all the time,

and to have to choose where you're going to make your cuts is extremely

difficult and I certainly wouldn't like to have to make that choice.

Our local councils don't just enforce hygiene regulations

or tackle pests. They also try to generate more

income for their communities by investing in new business.

Tameside Council is taking the bold decision to increase

rather than slash funding for new start-ups.

One of the council bosses, Robin Monk,

is leading their own version of Dragons' Den.

'As a council, we're here to support local businesses,

'we're here to actually bring new businesses into the borough.

'But it's nice to get something a little different'

to give young people, older people

that are looking for that opportunity to start up a business

to come before a set of Dragons, me being one of them,

to actually present their case for a grant of up to £1,000

just to help them get started.

Robin has selected a panel of five business leaders who have all

started and now run successful companies in the region.

We all work together as a collaborative force

for the benefit of new business start-ups in Tameside.

'For you to be able to grow your business,'

you need to be able to build connections,

whether it's with other businesses or whether it's with your council.

The business leaders will hear five-minute pitches

from seven budding entrepreneurs.

They're each bidding for an investment of up to £1,000 -

money they hope will kick-start the project of their dreams.

A little bit nervous but I think I've got a really good product

so hopefully it will speak for itself.

Thank you.

The pitches get under way with an educational toy designer

who's blending the real with the virtual.

We want to build a platform as well that will allow the children

to interact online as well as play with a traditional toy.

He's followed by an aspiring entrepreneur launching

a website that aims to give students quality work experience.

You spend three years of your life

and a hell of a lot of money to get your degree and then you don't

actually have the experience to go into the career you want.

And eager to face the panel is 21-year-old musician Owen Ashworth,

who needs the cash to fund a rehearsal space for local bands.

Quite nervous but I've got my presentation ready,

I've rehearsed it, so hopefully it'll just go all to plan.

-Hi.

-Hiya.

-Hi.

Music is my passion and what better way to show that passion than

to build music rehearsal rooms for all young people?

I pitched the idea to my mum and dad and they straightaway wanted

to give me a bit of help, so they financially backed me.

Owen's spent two years developing his idea

and has already started building the rehearsal rooms.

I am in a band. We're called Revival.

We're a melodic metal band from Manchester area.

We practise at my local youth centre.

When you turn about 20, 21, you're not really supposed to be

practising there any more so I thought, "What's a good

"follow-on from there and what can young people go and do afterwards?"

Owen's dad has also been helping his son build his empire.

Owen came to me some time ago with the idea of running his own business

and I could see it wasn't just an interest or a hobby.

This was going to turn out to be something a bit bigger than that.

I've had to pull my dad out of retirement

so he can help with the building of this.

He's been the engineer behind it, all the brains.

I thought I was going to be putting my feet up but I think this is

a worthwhile cause, and me and the wife, Denise,

have pulled out all the stops to help Owen to achieve what he wants to do.

Owen's dad might be happy to be out of retirement

but he doesn't want to be out of pocket too,

and the cash being given to their son's new venture is running low.

Having got halfway through it now,

we've realised just what a big project it is.

I will be going for the full £1,000 and we hope

that we can secure the extra money just so we can finish it off.

This money is essential for Owen to make his dreams a reality.

We do only have a limited amount of funds

so £1,000 is a lot of money and it does go a long way.

Silver Lining Studios - practice makes perfect.

Thank you.

Pitch done, it's time for Owen to face the panel's questions.

I think it is a great concept.

I think we can all share that.

I've got children at an age that would be dying to go

to a place like this.

I'm surprised, actually, I've not heard anything about it.

It's just been word-of-mouth at the moment.

I have set up a Facebook page and my friends have been sharing

that at the moment, just letting people know that we are in

the vicinity, that something is going to be happening fairly soon.

How are you going to keep moving?

Where is the rest of the money coming from?

We are hoping that when we get up and running,

the business is going to pay for itself then.

-Have you got a business plan for that?

-Yeah.

I've done a cash flow and the money that we are potentially going

to make, we would break even in the first year

and then start making a profit within the second and third year.

How are you going to generate this revenue that's in your business plan?

Our main customers are going to be anyone from 13 up until, say, 30.

However, I have had a lot of interest from older bands.

-They have been really interested.

-Thank you.

With the ordeal over, Owen will have to wait to see if he has done

enough to secure the much-needed finances for his business.

It went well. You know, it's really intimidating

when you first walk in there.

I was really nervous but once you get going

and you get into the flow of things, it's...

It was a lot better.

Good morning. Tameside Council. How can I help you?

At the heart of every hardworking council is its call centre.

Jake speaking. Can I help?

Staff across the UK deal with tens of thousands of calls

every month from residents who need help...

That would be bereavement services.

If you can bear with me, I shall put you through.

..advice...

Everybody has a legal right.

You can do that but it can't be done verbally.

..or have a complaint.

I'm so sorry. OK? Thank you, bye.

Dealing with complaints throws up challenges

that the team aim to tackle head-on.

We do have quite a lot of regular callers.

We have one chap,

bless him, he goes round Tameside with a little book

and a little pad and he will report absolutely everything.

He will tell you if a crisp packet's on the floor, he will tell

you if he's seen a spider and that we need to get the exterminators out.

Right.

It's trying to balance being professional but also letting him

know, you know, we do have to go now but it's been nice to speak to you.

You've got to remember that, if they're upset with the council,

even if it's a very small thing, they're not upset with you.

Take ownership of the problem, turn it around a little bit

and see where we go from there.

Yes, we deal with those. That's a pest control issue.

We all have our own coping mechanisms in the office.

Some of us stand up and do a bit of a shudder.

It's not the caller's fault but it's the way it makes you feel, isn't it?

From Land's End to John O'Groats,

making our communities pleasant to live in

and ridding our regions of pests

is top of every pest control officer's agenda.

After exterminating fleas,

Brian Whelan has been called to a public recycling point.

Rats have been reported running around the bins.

There's the bottle bins, there's clothes bins, there's cardboard

and plastic and people turn up and they throw...recycle stuff.

Now, sometimes we get a bit of a rat activity

cos people don't just throw...

They throw food waste in sometimes and it's a bit annoying.

Disease-ridden rats are scavengers

that will migrate to any area with a food source.

It's the human race, how we live today.

You know, it's just easier to throw things away and throw things on

the side and unfortunately they get a takeaway, they won't go and walk

over the road and put it in a bin, they'll just drop it on the floor.

But that's human nature.

That's how we live, that's how we've developed over the years.

I mean, we've just come them sort of people, unfortunately.

You've got your clothes, you've got your glass.

It's not exactly tidy, unfortunately.

'It's an ideal dumping site for people to throw anything,

'to be honest with you, because some of them

'can't even be bothered putting their clothes in the thing.'

Potato peeling. Food waste.

Old clothes left lying on the floor. Bags of rubbish.

And, again, round the back of here there's a lot of rubbish,

a lot of waste.

Then we get an infestation.

'There was apples, there was all sorts there,

'there was bread, there was everything.'

But it's not a bread site.

It's not a recycling for bread. But people throw it there.

Monitoring rat activity is a time-consuming

and often frustrating part of the job.

In the past, when we've just sort of sat here quietly and just watched out

the car windows, normally, they scurry from underneath, back and to.

But today, we're here...

Diddly squat.

Sometimes they still think that, you know, you are the Pied Piper

and you make a noise and all the rats jump in your bag.

I wish it was that easy.

The only rat I've found is that. I'll knock it in the head. Yeah.

Right, we'll go and get some dinner.

'You know, we were there, staking it out but, trust me, there was no...

'no bad boys running round that place, was there?

'But these are the things you have to do.'

It's all part of keeping the borough and keeping on top of things.

One thing, though - you'll never, ever, ever

get total eradication of rats in Tameside, or mice.

You'll get control but you'll never get total eradication.

No-one can offer that. It's impossible.

Not the way we live today. Impossible.

Brian might not have spotted any pests here

but he's unlikely to have the same problem on his next job.

Once again, a resident's called the council asking for help

to tackle some unwanted insect inhabitants,

but, rather than the hopping flea kind,

this time it's cockroaches.

If you think, when you're on holiday abroad or something like that,

and you get the odd cockroach in a room

and most people are disgusted by it and think,

"Oh, my God, I want to move, I want to go back to England,"

like that, they think that's a bad situation.

But it's not just the countries we visit on our holidays

that are home to cockroaches.

The UK is also suffering with an increasing problem

with these filthy insects.

Attracted by food debris and dirty surfaces,

they access our homes through gaps around pipes and under doors.

And it's a problem for us

because cockroaches carry bacteria such as salmonella and e.coli

that cause diarrhoea, fever, abdominal pains and can be fatal.

Brian's responding to a call from a concerned resident who wants

to rid her home of roaches

but he's not prepared for the size of this infestation.

-If there's any behind there, they'll start coming out.

-Right.

-There you go.

-Yeah, I see one then. Yeah. Yeah.

Look at them all coming out now.

This is the worst infestation Brian has ever tackled.

I'll have a look in the kitchen.

At every turn another hiding place is revealed.

-Round the back of the clock I just took off the wall.

-Yeah.

Look at all them there.

Do you want a torch?

I went into the kitchen and it was just...

It was just a shock to your system that someone could live how it was.

In the cupboards as well, there.

Cockroaches can survive on very little food

but will eat anything, including other cockroaches, to survive.

Brian must establish how far they've spread

to get to the root of this problem.

That, there, that is the ootheca, which is the egg case.

If you look there, that little one,

that's a stage of it. Look at it, picking it up.

'It's very rare that you see the egg casings.'

You might see the odd one or two in a property

when you're doing the job but with this one,

I mean, on one work surface, I'd seen six or seven egg casings.

Egg casings contain up to 30 nymphs...

That's the egg it's carrying on its back.

..which could potentially increase this infestation

by a further 240 cockroaches.

-This is just the kitchen and this is bad.

-Yeah, loads of them.

-Isn't there?

-Yeah, you've got nymphs crawling round. This is bad, this.

I tell you.

To halt the infestation, Brain must fill every nook and cranny

with a poisonous gel that the roaches will eat and die.

There's a saying, you know, if there was a nuclear war,

a cockroach would still be alive.

But...

the poisons that we've got on the market and the insecticides that we

have on the market for cockroaches, I mean, are far better than anything.

With the poisonous bait laid, the cockroaches will be

eradicated from the property in just over a week's time.

Can you just put that in there for us and I'll take that off you?

Every rule was broken in hygiene in that house.

I mean, unfortunately... I've just had a chat with the lady now.

She's going to work with us, tidy up little bit. It's just bad.

It's been a distressing job,

but this heroic council officer has given the residents the help

they so desperately needed once they'd called the council.

While the UK's town centres are still struggling

from the effect of the recent recession,

with 18 shops closing every day...

..butcher John Mettrick has decided to take a leap of faith.

He's opening a new shop on a struggling high street

and has been busy refitting it after a trial run.

As you can see, we've cracked on with it.

I mean, it's sort of like seven days at the moment.

-I think I'm looking for your shop.

-It opens tomorrow.

'There's been quite a local bit of interest.'

Mettrick's is pretty well known up this way and people can't wait.

The feedback's pretty good so people are looking forward to it.

A bit of something decent in the town centre

to bring people back into it.

Council officers like Simon Ashton are charged with making sure

new businesses are safe for us.

After having had some concerns about John's temporary set-up,

Simon is back to ensure he's begun to put

the right hygiene requirements in place.

If not, Simon could be forced to delay the opening

and dent John's plans.

-Hello.

-Hi, Simon. You all right?

-Yes, fine, thank you.

-Nice to see you again.

-Yes.

-Different now.

-Just a bit.

Well, not quite ready yet. We're getting there.

It's so much different. Really good.

Right, so do you want to sort of take me

through what you're proposing to do?

What we've got here is the fresh meat counter as you walk in,

with a butcher and a server behind here, specifically for fresh meat.

This section here will be the hot counter.

It's the bain marie underneath.

What sort of things will you be selling hot?

We'll be serving things like breakfast out of there

so we'll be doing bacon, sausage and egg in the morning

and then we'll probably be doing things like pulled pork,

steak sandwiches and that, like, for the dinner time.

There will be a till on the end there.

That till will be specifically for cooked food.

You'll notice there's a full glass divider there

so there's no chance of any contact with the red meat.

We've got a little section in the middle there for the cooked meats.

-Right.

-So that'll be sliced ham, beef, turkey.

So it's complete separation between the two areas.

Now, what we've got is we've got little data loggers,

thermo data loggers, for each of the cabinets so we can record

the temperatures and print the graphs off on the computers and that so

we can illustrate that everything's been kept at the right temperature.

Constantly monitoring rather than checking a couple of times a day.

We've got a constant thing there.

This is about as hi tech as hygiene gets.

It's a massive difference to the state of the temporary store

Simon inspected six days ago.

You can also see, so nobody gets confused

whether they're in cooked or raw,

we've got a floor covering difference.

If they're stood over there, they know they should be handling

cooked stuff and if stood here then they should be handling red meat.

That's excellent. All the equipment will be labelled up, will it?

-All have signs up.

-There, you can see.

I mean, we're right in the middle of it. We've got all the things here.

"Cooked meat preparation. Cooked meat only. Cooked meat preparation."

So nobody gets confused where they are.

The shop fit is going well but the real test will be

when Simon carries out the full hygiene inspection.

But when he does, there's a last-minute panic to provide

everything he needs to give a good rating.

-Hopefully this is what you've been looking for.

-Yeah, let's have a look.

Simon, like council officers across the country, is battling to

balance his responsibility to the keep the public safe

with the desire to safeguard the future of the local economy.

'The council's role is about providing quality public services.'

We are also about economic growth,

we are also about bringing jobs to the borough

'and making sure that we do have a sound economic base.'

We want a really nice place to work,

to live and to visit.

So economic regeneration is important.

'We do that through ensuring people get good education,'

that people have access to life skills, that people who can't

particularly look after themselves get looked after.

'And local business is just part of that much wider picture.'

At Tameside's Enterprise Centre, aspiring entrepreneurs

are still battling to win the support of their local

council and business leaders, who have up to £1,000

to inject into start-ups that show potential.

Let me give you some stats.

So far, the panel have heard pitches from a toy developer,

a web designer and a candle maker.

My aims are to make people aware that there is a choice between paraffin

and a natural product and to be a recognised brand within four years.

Next to pitch her bunting business is former seamstress Sheila Taylor.

I've always been interested in traditional crafts.

As you see, the bunting comes in many forms,

many colours and for every occasion.

I'd like to pass the traditions on to current generations,

the knitting and sewing, to young people.

Currently, 60% of new businesses are being started from home.

Sheila's desperate to add to these figures

with an idea inspired by a relative.

My granddaughter was 21 and I decided that I'd make her something

personal, which would be the bunting, so I put her name on, 21,

and the girls from uni, they were like,

"That's great, will you do me some?"

And that's where the idea started.

I'm going to ask for the £1,000 because I do need more equipment.

I need a worktable that I can cut out on.

I've bought the machine, the sewing machine and the dye machine,

and the dyes out of my savings,

so obviously that money's not going to come back

because I don't work now.

I am retired. It's not something I've taken on lightly.

I've put a lot of effort into it and I really, really do want it to work.

Back in the pitching room, Sheila's worked just as hard

to try and win the panel's approval.

Genuinely, I think it's a really well made, quality product

and I absolutely believe there's a market for it.

What competition is there out there in this kind of market?

There is a market out there

but I think if I can go to party planners and I go to bridal fairs,

I can convince them this product is...because the product is good...

-Good quality.

-It's excellent. It's good quality. And I can deliver.

I'm interested in where you see this going.

I mean, we potentially could invest £1,000 in this business.

But where do you see your business going?

I'd very much like to take somebody on who'd want to learn

the skill of sewing, to actually teach somebody.

Well done.

-Thank you very much.

-OK.

-Thank you.

All the budding entrepreneurs have now delivered their pitches

and it's decision time for the business experts and council.

But which of these ambitious beginners will secure

the £1,000 prize that could help launch their empire?

It's also a big day for staff

at the new butcher's shop in Stalybridge.

The shop opened two weeks ago and council officer Simon Ashton

is about to carry out its first full hygiene inspection.

I'll put my gear on and I'll come through.

Like council officers nationwide, Simon's role is to protect us

and keep our high streets safe.

He'll rate the business's hygiene regime

from zero, the lowest, to five, the highest.

Five stars will reassure customers

and could help this venture get off to the best possible start.

-You do, like, a breakfast, don't you?

-We do, yeah.

-Right.

That is cooked down here on these premises, yes.

-Any other products that you cook on-site?

-We cook turkey,

-you know, breasts joints, on-site.

-Oh, right.

Yeah, we do turkey.

To achieve the five-star rating, staff must be employing clean

and safe methods of working, and have the paperwork that guides

them through the strict protocol for handling the products they sell.

I'm just wondering if I'm missing something.

-No, there's no talking of cooking on here, is there?

-Right.

No. Chilled storage. Chilled delivery.

Simon can't see any paperwork

detailing how staff handle cooked meat.

Without this, he'll be forced to give them a low rating.

I just wonder if it might be worth ringing the other shop

-just to find out if...

-If they've not sent it.

Do you want to ask one of your colleagues to give them

a ring and just find out?

Paperwork is important certainly in terms of things like cooked

meats and products like that because it shows that somebody's

actually sat down and done an assessment of how the product

is made on the premises and how it's handled.

The staff put in a call to owner John Mettrick to see

if he can trace the missing paperwork.

Yeah, he's got a driver coming down anyway, so...

While they wait for a response, Simon carries out

the inspection of the food preparation and storage areas.

But, as Simon's shown the walk-in fridge, there's a potential problem.

Obviously, the raw meat. The fridge.

Right. It's purely raw meat in there.

You've got salad in there, though.

Yeah, we store the veg in here.

Right.

I mean, everything is washed. You know, like, we wash everything.

Yeah, I...

I think if it's going to be raw meat only, keep it as raw meat only.

-I wouldn't keep any salad items in here.

-Right, OK.

-OK.

Cross-contamination is one of the main causes of food poisoning.

In the UK, 5.5 million people

suffered from the illness last year.

The staff need to come up with a solution

to deal with Simon's concerns.

What about putting them in there on the top shelf or something?

Yeah, things like your salad items and stuff like that, yeah.

If we put them on the top shelf. I'd keep them there.

Yeah, you've got it there but I'd recommend you have... OK, then.

-No problem.

-Right.

As Simon does his final checks,

owner John arrives with what he hopes is the missing paperwork

and the evidence that will ensure he gets a good rating.

-Ah, hi.

-Hello, Mr Mettrick.

-You all right?

-Fine, thank you. Right.

-Hopefully this is what you've been looking for.

-Yeah, let's have a look.

OK. This is, like, covering pies, cooking of pies.

-Holding at hot temperatures. And cooking of meats as well.

-Right.

-Super. Brilliant.

-Is that OK?

-Yeah, that's absolutely fine.

-OK.

-Have you got a minute?

-Yeah.

Simon's made a decision about the rating, so John gathers

the whole team to tell them the result of weeks of their hard work.

Mr Ashton's finished his inspection.

Five stars. Well done.

Congratulations. You done your job right. Everything. Brilliant.

Well done. Very, very pleased.

It's terrific.

I mean, we can put the five stars in the window now

and people will realise that this establishment is being well-run.

It'll give them confidence in all the hygiene

and everything that we've got going on in this place.

All right, then. Cheers. Thanks very much. Bye-bye, now.

'There's a transformation taken place there, really, isn't there?'

When I first came down and it literally was just a pop-up shop

but obviously since then it's now open as a high-class butcher's shop.

There's been a lot of investment in the actual premises.

I'm really pleased with it, yeah.

After making the big decision to open a new business

and help regenerate the town centre,

this top rating should help attract much-needed new custom

to make this business and the high street flourish.

Simon's played his part in protecting us,

now it's time for the council to help the wider economy bloom.

With a cash injection of up to £1,000 each on offer,

fledgling entrepreneurs have been busy pitching

their new business ideas.

Now they must wait as the panel decides whether the start-ups

show potential and deserve their financial and personal support.

-My personal view, I'd like to give her a contribution.

-I'm in for 500.

I'm not knocking the concept, it's great.

So we're saying £1,000, then?

Fabulous. He's a talent.

I'm in for a grand.

I really don't like the way she's going to use the money.

-I'm not behind it at all.

-Is this a business we should be investing in?

Those successful today will have that ambition,

they'll have that drive but they'll have that business acumen.

They'll understand business,

they'll understand what it will take to go from here today with

maybe up to £1,000 to actually then start to grow that business.

Very nervous. Very nervous.

Sheila's first to find out whether she's been awarded any money

to kick-start her bunting business.

The Dragons were very impressed with your presentation today

so we're going to give you the full £1,000 to help with your business.

-Oh, thank you.

-Well done, Sheila.

Thank you. Thank you.

For Owen, the extra money would enable him

to finish building his music rehearsal rooms and start trading.

The Dragons have decided to give you £1,000 towards your business.

I was certainly impressed that you've already spent some of your own

money and your parents' money.

-Some of the Dragons decided they were going to help you.

-That's fantastic.

Thank you. OK, thank you.

-So?

-Full thousand.

CHEERING

Owen's dad has also been waiting anxiously to hear the news.

PHONE RINGS

-'Hello?'

-Hi, Dad. Yeah, I got the £1,000.

-'Have you?'

-Yeah.

OWEN'S DAD LAUGHS

The offers of money and support continue.

-We're going to give you a full thousand pounds.

-Super. Thank you.

£1,000.

CHEERING

-We're going to give you £500.

-Thank you.

Well done. I'm very proud of you.

The Dragons have decided we going to give you £1,000.

Thanks very much, everyone. That's great.

Full amount.

CHEERING

Led by our heroic council officer Robin,

the Dragons will now support the fledgling businesses as

they take off and put the money they've been awarded to good use.

When you're a millionaire, remember where you got the £1,000 from.

Yeah, I will do. Thank you.

The council's hope is that in time the whole community will reap

the rewards of their bold investments.

Do you know what? I really enjoyed that.

That was a brilliant afternoon and I thought the seven people that

came and presented were absolutely brilliant.

I mean, it just goes to show the talent that's out there

if only you can find it and just give it a bit of...

of encouragement.

CHEERING

It's been another enterprising shift for our local councils

and hard-working officers across the country.

They've supported local businesses

and helped breathed fresh life into our town centres...

Five stars. Well done.

..they've rid residents' homes of fleas and cockroaches...

This is bad.

..and they've kick-started several new businesses ideas with

much-needed cash injections.

CHEERING

But, most importantly, they've worked tirelessly to

help their residents when they called the council.

Public services are absolutely critical.

Yes, times are difficult

but it's important that we concentrate on what this is about.

This is providing the services that the public expect us

to provide and continue to provide.