Episode 4 Call the Council

From rubbish and recycling

to potholes and pavements...

One street down, another street to go.

..educating our children...

Fantastic.

..and caring for the elderly...

It does make a difference when you see what can be achieved.

..we rely on our local councils to provide a huge range of services.

You may kiss the bride.

APPLAUSE

In this series, we follow front-line staff

working for Wigan Council in Greater Manchester.

-THUMP! GASPS:

-Sorry!

Like council officers across the country,

they're protecting us from hidden dangers...

Oh, dear.

..stepping in when there's an emergency...

You never know what you're turning up to.

..and responding to residents...

Thanks for everything. Good job done.

..when they...Call The Council.

Coming up...

officers get tough on hygiene and hazards at a takeaway...

Flies are coming in.

-So, shall we try and get that shut now, then?

-Yes, of course. Yes.

..help vulnerable residents

expand their horizons and make new friends...

-Do you have any relatives who fought in the war?

-Yes.

Something over there that'll interest you.

-Oh, look at that.

-Yeah.

..and let one happy couple fulfil a lifetime's ambition.

And from this time forward, you are partners in life.

Give yourselves a round of applause.

The UK's 433 local councils

are the beating hearts of our communities.

West of Manchester, Wigan Council serves over 300,000 people.

Its job is to support and enhance the life of every one of them.

When residents call the council, there's a team of officers

tasked with delivering the best service they can.

Wigan Council. Steve speaking.

One service key to every council is environmental health.

Officers like Fran Lindley ensure our communities are clean and safe.

I love my job because there's so much variation

in the work that I do.

It's predominantly food hygiene

and also dealing with complaints from members of the public.

Fran and her colleagues nationwide

maintain the standards of the country's takeaways.

Every year, they carry out more than 20,000 inspections

to make sure hygiene practices

are up to scratch and premises kept safe.

They rate the businesses' hygiene

from 0, the lowest, to 5, the highest -

and these scores are made available for us all to see.

-5 score. Thank you very much.

-Brilliant!

The frequency of these inspections varies

according to the size and type of the business

and the risk officers decide it poses to the public -

but they're always unannounced.

If we made an appointment, then it wouldn't be...

it wouldn't be a clear picture

of what they're actually doing on-site.

Today, Fran and fellow environmental health officer Varsha Patel

are going to inspect and rate a local takeaway.

We've come to do your routine food hygiene inspection.

Right. Because he's not here at the moment. I don't know what happened.

I think everyone's a bit uneasy about us turning up

because I think sometimes the perception is

that we're trying to catch them out,

or they're going to get in trouble for something -

but we're trying to support the businesses and help them to improve.

On its last inspection 18 months ago

this takeaway was given a hygiene rating of 4...

but as the officers get kitted out at the back of the shop today,

the omens aren't good.

Is this your rubbish here on the side?

-You need to make sure you put it straight into the bin.

-Yeah, yeah.

It's important to keep it as clean and tidy as possible

so you don't attract any pests into the premises.

Suitably dressed, Fran needs to wash her hands.

Have you got any soap?

-Yes.

-And paper towels or anything like that?

All premises selling food

should have adequate hand-washing facilities.

This takeaway hasn't got off to a clean start -

and there are many more checks to make.

We're looking at things like temperature control.

Are they cooking food safely? Are they storing it properly?

Have they got suitable surface area for preparation?

Any raw meat like your chicken for marinating?

Whereabouts would you do it?

-Your raw chicken.

-The fresh chicken, yeah?

-Fresh chicken, yeah.

-Fresh chicken, actually is that side.

-Here?

-Yeah.

OK. And do you use any chopping...

-Like, what's this chopping board used for?

-That's for chicken.

-The raw chicken.

-Yeah.

-So that's what you've done it on.

-Yeah.

-That's the raw chopping board.

-Yeah.

-And on this worktop here.

-Yes.

So, is this all stuff that you've used today earlier on?

-Yes, we have to wash it.

-You're just waiting to wash it up.

Time to wash it at the moment, but you've come inside!

-You know that it takes time, that one.

-Yeah, OK.

OK, and what about the meat in this bucket? Is that defrosting, or...?

Yeah, we're defrosting that one, yeah.

I put it here because I didn't want to put it on the top.

-You need to be really careful.

-Yes, I'll...

You know with the blood that's come off there?

-Yeah, everything should be washed, that one, right.

-Yeah.

With defrosting meat dripping blood onto the floor,

Varsha's worried that insects, which could spread harmful bacteria,

might be attracted into the kitchen.

-The flies are coming in.

-I know.

-So, shall we try and get that shut now, then?

-Yes, of course. Yeah.

And what do you use this counter for, here?

-That's for bread dough. Making pizza.

-OK.

Put the topping always on the top.

And what about this worktop here?

-Do you do your salad on here, as well?

-No.

We do salad, actually, on this side. Yeah, that's why you see that...

-You do salad here.

-Yeah.

-OK. And what do you chop your salad on?

Have you got any boards or do you do it straight onto the counter?

-I use that one, the green one.

-The green one, OK.

-Green one, yeah.

He needs to reorganise it a lot better

-so that he can have separate work areas for raw and cooked.

-Yeah.

Coming up...

having identified areas of serious concern in the kitchen,

Fran's attention turns from hygiene to hazards elsewhere,

and a staircase that's putting staff in danger.

It is a risk of, like, when you're walking down,

but it's also a risk for anyone working behind the counter.

From hygiene ratings, to street cleaning,

and running local libraries,

much of our local authority's work is obvious for us all to see -

but a hidden army of council officers

is working behind the scenes,

and many of us don't realise the breadth of services they deliver.

I haven't got a clue!

You know, I can only associate it with binmen.

Yeah, I think they probably get a pretty cushy job

wandering about, sort of pointing at things...

I don't know what they do, to be honest!

I think people think that the city council is all about emptying bins

and maybe sorting out the roads

and the street lighting, when, obviously, they do a lot more.

In Wigan, the Shared Lives scheme

is a service that isn't used by many residents -

but offers a lifeline for those who do.

Council officer Lisa Rigby plays an important role in the scheme.

Shared Lives is a support service which offers support to

vulnerable people in the community.

We do cover all age groups and all disabilities,

and the aim of the service is to provide support

and friendship to people who may be socially isolated,

ensuring they have a positive presence within the community.

One Wigan resident benefiting from Lisa's Shared Lives scheme

is 33-year-old David, who has dyspraxia -

a disorder affecting physical coordination,

memory and sometimes speech.

For David, this impacts on his self-esteem and confidence,

making it harder for him to make friends.

There's people with different problems to me, but, obviously,

you know, it helps everybody, really.

For getting them out for days out

or just having someone to talk to, really.

I think it's really, really good.

Thanks to Lisa, David's life is about to change.

She's been contacted by Norman who has volunteered

to join the Shared Lives scheme and help David.

I'm just getting the house ready for when David and Lisa come.

I'm going to show David the house,

show him his room where he'll be staying on respite,

and...hopefully, he'll think it's OK.

-Going to Norman.

-Will you say hello to Norman for me?

-I will.

Right, I'll just pop myself out on the board.

I shall be back after lunch, so...

-I'll see you both later on.

-Bye.

-Bye!

Lisa introduced Norman to David at David's parents house a week ago.

But today is even more significant, because David is going to Norman's.

A bit nervous because it's my first time I've been here at Norman's.

But, hopefully, I'm looking forward to getting used to being

here at Norman's, yeah.

And, hopefully, it'll be the start of something...

good, I hope.

Hang on, that must be David.

-Hi, David. How you doing?

-Hi, Norman. All right.

-Come on in.

This first home visit is an important milestone

for Norman, David and Lisa.

-Morning, David!

-Good morning, hello! Yes. Hello.

-Nice to see you. Did you find us all right?

-Yes, yes, yes, yes.

-Lovely. Have a seat.

-Yes, yes.

-OK?

-Yes.

-Traffic all right?

-Ooh, yes, yes.

-Not too bad, is it?

-No, no, no.

-Right, so, here we go, this is it.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Session one. All right.

Come on, David.

David needs to feel comfortable here

as in the future, he could be spending the night.

This would give his parents some respite,

and allows David to develop a sense of independence.

-This would be your room.

-Oh, nice. Yes.

-So we've got daybed, TV.

-Yeah.

-Lovely view out the window.

-Oh, nice, yes. Yeah.

-Do you think you could be comfortable here?

-Yeah, yeah.

-It's very nice.

-Good.

We go out of our way, we bend over backwards and go above and beyond

to make sure that we get successful matches

and really good-quality champions.

It's not a quick fix.

Sometimes it does take some time to ensure

that we get the correct match.

-Through there. Bathroom.

-Yes. Oh, yes, yes.

-It's got a shower.

-Oh, very nice.

I will go out on the first visit just to ensure

that they are compatible and that there's no issues

that may arise during the session.

-You don't want to go in there, it's a mess.

-Oh, right, OK!

-So is that one!

-Oh, right!

-THEY LAUGH

I am on pins for the first few initial meetings,

making sure that everything goes to plan

and that it's going to be a long-lasting partnership.

Lisa needs to be confident this partnership will work

before she can step back and let the pair meet up without her,

and eventually allow David stay over at Norman's house.

If the pair do get on, it could change David's life.

-What is your dog's name?

-Romeo.

-Romeo!

-Yeah, yeah.

I think you're always going to be nervous,

even though you think you've 100% got it in the bag

and you've nailed a perfect match.

We're dealing with people and, you know,

sometimes you do get it wrong.

Fingers crossed that it is a good and compatible match,

but there's always that little niggle of doubt that you have.

-Got ducks on here.

-Oh, yeah. Oh, ducks.

-There's ducklings, as well.

-Oh, yeah.

-Just there.

Oh, the ducks. Oh, yeah.

It's not bad having a view like that

-when you come out of your house, is it?

-No, no, no.

Here we go.

So, how have you gone on? Have you enjoyed it?

-I enjoyed it, yeah.

-Norman, how was it for you?

-Fantastic.

-Yeah, I'm going to really enjoy it.

-I'm sure, yeah.

OK, well I've got to get off now

-because I've got some more visits to do.

-Oh, right.

-Do you want to walk out with me, David?

-Yes, yes, I shall.

-All right, Norman. Thanks very much and we'll see you soon.

-All right.

-See you.

-Bye.

-See you on Monday, David.

-Yes. OK. Yes.

-Bye, Norman.

-See you.

-See you.

-Bye.

I'll yet a lot out of being a champion for David.

I think what you need to do is approach it with the view

that - yeah, there's two people involved in this.

And there's two people going to get enjoyment out of it.

And, hopefully, get David out into the community

and build some confidence,

which I think is probably what he needs, more than anything.

Still to come, David and Norman go it alone...

-So you've never been here?

-No.

-Is that right?

-Yes. Never been here.

-Right.

..but will this be a match made in Wigan?

Do you know why Wiganers are called pie-eaters?

Um...yeah.

Our local councils look after us from birth until death,

and are often there to help us with some of our most important

moments in between, like...

getting married.

Wigan Council's longest-serving registrar is Melvyn Jones.

I suppose it's one of the nicest jobs in the council.

Probably officiated and registered in between

10,000 and 12,000 marriages during my career,

and I do feel it's a privilege to be part of someone's big day.

Melvyn's been helping couples tie the knot for over 40 years.

But now Wigan residents Graham and Paul have called the council

asking Melvyn to do something he's never done before.

You always let the tea brew for three minutes.

And you get a perfect optimum cup of tea.

Graham and Paul have been a couple for almost 28 years.

In 2006, they became civil partners.

Elton John had had his civil partnership

in December when it came in.

And we had ours in May.

The pair have very fond memories of their big day.

We had Rick Astley playing

because he was number one when we met, wasn't he?

It was either Together Forever or Never Going To Give You Up.

-I can't remember.

-Never Going To Give You Up.

Never Going to Give You Up we had playing for that.

Now, nine years later, they want to get married

and thanks to a change in the law allowing those in civil partnerships

to convert their status to a legally recognised marriage, they can.

We can say we're the same as everyone else, we're married.

The Marriage Act in 2013 legalised marriage for same-sex couples.

It also meant that more than 60,000 people in the UK

who had entered into civil partnerships since 2005

could now convert them to marriages.

But this isn't the first time

Graham and Paul have tried to convert the civil partnership.

The last time we arranged it, it was May 13th,

the anniversary of the civil partnership.

That's when we arranged the marriage for the same day,

but, unfortunately,

Paul took ill that morning and we had to cancel everything, didn't we?

Yeah. Ended up in hospital.

Ended up in hospital and we had to cancel the honeymoon.

I fainted and collapsed on the floor.

It was diagnosed as dehydration.

But we did tell them, we'd not changed our minds,

we wanted to rebook it.

-So that's rebooked now for...

-1st July.

-Fingers crossed.

It might be a second time for Graham and Paul,

but for registrar Melvyn, it's a first.

Graham and Paul have asked us to do the conversion ceremony for them.

This is the first ceremony I've ever done

converting a civil partnership into a same-sex marriage.

I've had to rewrite the script for them.

I can't include some of the marriage ceremony,

and, of course, Graham and Paul have had a little bit of input into it,

as well, but, hopefully, we'll get that ceremony right for them.

Coming up...

Will Melvyn's bespoke ceremony help Graham and Paul

finally make wedding history in Wigan?

A little bit nervous now!

But everything will be fine.

-Has it gone again?

-This has gone skew-whiff.

Back on the high street,

environmental health officers Fran and Varsha are midway through

an unannounced hygiene inspection at a local takeaway.

These inspections are a legal requirement

for any business selling food.

Officers will rate the business' hygiene from 0 to 5.

So far, they've found rubbish by this takeaway's back door...

-You need to make sure you put it straight into the bin.

-Yeah, yeah.

..struggled to wash their hands...

-Have you got any soap?

-Yeah.

And paper towels or anything like that?

..and discovered that raw chicken is prepared

on a sink where washing-up is stacked to dry.

But now Fran is turning her attention from hygiene to hazards.

Excuse me.

Sorry, how do you normally get downstairs?

The offices need to ensure that the business is safe

for the people who work here.

It's a risk when you're walking down,

but it's also a risk for anyone working behind the counter.

The exposed stairway poses a danger to staff,

and Fran needs to investigate further.

Because this is a staircase and a walkway

you need to keep it clear.

You don't want to slip and if there's things on there...

Actually, we are not using it, actually, all the time.

-Everything we need, we keep it upstairs.

-Right.

Well, I think that probably would be better, if you could relocate

-these somewhere else because...

-Yeah.

There's quite a bit of stuff down here that's used. This is a freezer.

-I think... Can you see where it's all built up here?

-Yes.

The lid's not closing properly.

You can feel that they're not frozen any more.

As well as being repaired,

the freezer needs to be moved to an area that's safe for staff to access

and the cellar is also a mass of unwanted items and clutter.

The stuff in here, do you use any of these?

No, we don't use that one, no.

Anything that you're not using, it's best to get rid of

because it'll make it harder for you to look

and see if there's any pest activity.

You know, when you're doing your checks for mice and...

We check for mice. We don't have any rats or anything like that.

I never see any poison, anything like that.

No, but the more clutter you've got,

the harder it is to have a proper look behind

to see if there are any droppings.

Fran finds no sign of pests,

but will need her torch to access the staff toilets.

-Have you got a light for here?

-Yeah, we've got a light.

Where's the switch?

You have to find it, it's round the corner.

-Is it not working?

-There's one there.

-Perhaps the back door. You just use the back door.

-Is it not...

Is it this one? Is that...

I just think you need to get that sorted, OK?

So you've got lighting throughout.

And when she does get into the bathroom, there are more problems.

I'm concerned about the containers that are in here.

Whether they would then go back

and be used downstairs in the food room.

I don't know what they're used for up here.

I'm seeing if there's any hot water.

Not only are staff entitled to clean bathroom facilities,

the law requires them to have hot water and soap

because any germs here could be transferred to the kitchen.

No soap, no hand-drying facilities.

No flush on the toilet.

It needs a really good clean, as well.

Inspection complete,

Fran leaves a list of urgent jobs for the owner,

including a deep clean, sorting the cellar access

and rethinking the way food is prepared.

It was quite hard to work out how they were using the space

because it was really...

That back room was really cluttered.

Yeah, it's only a small area, isn't it?

-A lot of equipment.

-They need to clean as they go.

So they can maintain some work surfaces. I don't know how they...

It must be difficult to work in the way that they were working

because even the floor,

it was quite difficult to get through different areas

because there was containers of meat defrosting

and tubs of this and that.

It was...

a bit chaotic.

It wasn't one of the worst that I've seen.

But it wasn't good.

In a week's time, Fran will return to deliver a new hygiene rating.

But will this takeaway have made any improvements?

Every hour of every day, our local councils are responsible

for keeping our towns and cities running smoothly.

Any problems, just give us a call.

Councils also try to help us keep fit and healthy.

In Wigan, Jo Crooks and Neil Herbert

work in the council's public health department,

educating and advising on everything from stopping smoking,

fighting cancer and losing weight.

We are just swapping the lungs out for the dummies,

just for infection control.

The faces need to be sterilised,

and the lungs need to be changed as well.

Today, Jo and Neil are going to a local primary school

to teach children how to try to save someone's life

if they're in cardiac arrest.

More than 80,000 people go into cardiac arrest in the UK every year.

Less than one in 20 survive.

So it is vital that Jo and Neil's training hits home.

If children learn basic CPR skills, they're going to go away

and then they're going to inform other people as well.

They're much more resilient,

so they won't be as fazed or panic stricken

in a real-life situation -

and if we can teach them from a young age,

it is something they're going to take with them

through to their adult life.

Jo and Neil usually teach life-saving skills to adults,

but today, they'll be teaching under-12s for the first time.

Hiya. Come on in, take a seat anywhere.

So, Neil's going to be my casualty,

and I'm going to show you the recovery position.

We've just walked into the classroom, and - oh, no,

Neil's collapsed on the floor.

Year Six at Aspull Primary may not be Jo and Neil's toughest students,

but the pair need to ensure that vital life-saving skills

are taken on board today.

So, what do I need to do first.

-ALL:

-Airways.

-Airways, well done, fantastic.

So I'm going to use my two fingers under his chin

and tilt his head back.

They start with the recovery position.

-And then...

-ALL:

-Leg up.

Brilliant. And using that, I'm going to pull him over.

OK?

Demonstration done,

it's time for the children to turn Jo's theory into practice.

Turn his hand like that, and you hold his hand there, as well -

because if he's unconscious, sometimes people can move.

Fantastic. Well done. Brilliant.

If you fix that leg, and that just stops him tipping over.

Well done.

Brilliant. If it's all safe...

Well done.

With recovery position mastered,

Neil now has to teach the children how to keep someone alive.

The right position is here, and not leaning back.

Chest compressions and rescue breaths can keep the blood

and oxygen circulating through the body.

Imagine if I had a glass eye, OK? And my glass eye fell out.

It is going to fall out on the other side of that person.

Make sure I'm in the right position,

and I'm going to sing Nellie The Elephant two times. OK, so...

But translating cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR,

to 11-year-olds isn't child's play.

Who wants to go next?

So, what would you do first, if you found him?

-Check for danger.

-Right, fantastic.

If someone isn't breathing normally and isn't moving,

you should call 999 before starting CPR.

Quite hard.

Move your knuckle a little bit. So we look for the chest there.

These essential life-saving skills are not easy to master.

You're struggling there. Don't worry.

We'll find that clicker for you.

But despite Jo and Neil's inexperience in the classroom,

these children are learning that one day they could make a difference.

So if you put your hand right there in the middle.

Use this bit of your hand.

There we go, fantastic.

We've been learning, if someone's unconscious, how we can help them.

If you lean a little bit more over.

If you put your hand down first, in the centre of the chest.

We could save someone's live.

It could be your best friend.

Pinch his nose first. Brilliant.

I'm going to teach my brother.

Because, like, if he's somewhere, and someone collapses,

if that does happen, he knows.

Just tilt the chin back again.

There we go, brilliant. Well done.

I think it went really, really well.

The children were really engaging, and hopefully we've got 30 children

that are going to take the messages away tonight.

Tell family and friends, and hopefully,

if they're ever in that situation, they'll know how to act.

Across town, Graham and Paul's big day has arrived.

They're converting their civil partnership into a marriage.

We better get sorted out with what we're wearing for this wedding,

-haven't we?

-We need to decide.

-Yeah, so...

It rained for their civil ceremony in 2006.

Today, the sun is shining, but it's causing a wedding wardrobe meltdown.

You're not wearing a waistcoat now?

I don't think so, it is going to be too hot, isn't it?

It is going to be about 80 or 90 degrees, I think, today.

-Hottest day of the year to get married in.

-Get married in shorts.

I think I might do. Just put these on, it'll be all right.

Yeah, put them back until the next wedding.

This is the second attempt, isn't it?

This ceremony was supposed to take place

on the anniversary of their civil partnership -

but Paul collapsed with dehydration,

and they had to cancel at the last minute.

Despite the heat, there are no signs

that he'll suffer a similar fate today.

I'm not nervous now, or anything like that -

but perhaps, when it is actually happening, I probably will be.

-Won't last very long anyway, will it?

-No.

And then it will be off to the reception, at the symposium.

And relax and have a pint.

-That'll do us.

-And some buffet.

-And some buff-it.

THEY LAUGH

Today isn't just Graham and Paul's big day.

It'll be the first time council registrar Melvyn has

conducted a ceremony like this.

He needs to make sure everything runs smoothly.

With it being a special day, they don't want anything going wrong.

But we usually go through the vows with them to reassure them.

-Do you want to come through?

-Yes.

Do you want me to run through the ceremony, what we've done for you?

This is the part which is to do with the conversion, you know,

converting your civil partnership, and the statutory words.

So you've got to say those.

With the ceremony minutes away, Graham

and Paul are about to make it second time lucky.

A little bit nervous now.

But everything will be fine.

This has gone askew. You've tried to...

..hold it.

It's also Melvyn's moment of truth.

So, ladies and gentlemen,

would you all like to stand for Graham and Paul?

Thank you.

I'd like to welcome everyone here today on this very special occasion

for both Graham and Paul. And for Graham and Paul,

converting their civil partnership today

is a proud confirmation of the love, respect and true friendship

that they have for each other.

Graham, if you could, first of all, take Paul's ring.

-I give you this ring...

-I give you this ring.

-..as a token.

-..as a token.

-..of my love and affection.

..of my love and affection.

-Finger's swelled.

-Yeah, it is...

-Hot weather.

Despite the heat, the happy couple and Melvyn are soldiering on.

Paul, if you'd like to do likewise. I give you this ring...

-I give you this ring...

-..as a token of my love and affection...

..as a token of my love and affection...

..and the sharing of our lives together.

..and the sharing of our lives together.

And from this time forward, you are partners in life.

Give yourselves a round of applause.

APPLAUSE

I think it went really well.

And it was the first one we've done in Wigan.

I think it must mean the world to Graham and Paul,

to be able to go through a ceremony like today.

I suppose I'm quite privileged, really,

to be part of somebody's happiest day.

You know, probably one of the happiest days of their life.

Thanks to Melvyn, after years of legal red tape

and unexpected illness,

Paul and Graham have finally fulfilled a lifetime's ambition.

Well, I think it went very well, it was very nice.

Lovely ceremony, everybody enjoyed it. They did us proud, didn't they?

-They did, yes.

-Certainly did.

We saw a lot more. It was nice.

The thing is, now we're married...

there's always the chance I can divorce you now,

I couldn't before, could I?

So... But no, that will never happen.

THEY LAUGH

It won't, don't you worry. I'll kill you first.

THEY LAUGH

-ALL:

-Cheers!

Still to come, Fran returns to the poorly-performing takeaway

to deliver her hygiene rating...

I've got your letter with me,

and I've got your notices with regard to health and safety.

There may be something left, but I have to just...

-There's not much left, but I've done a lot of things.

-OK.

..and David and Norman step out

without council officer Lisa's support -

but will their friendship flourish?

-In the future, what we can do, come back here...

-Come back here.

..and research your family history.

Fancy doing that?

Last week, Wigan Council's environmental health officers

Fran and Varsha made an unannounced inspection of this takeaway.

Is this your rubbish here on the side?

-You need to make sure you put it straight into the bin.

-Yeah.

It is important to keep it as clean and tidy as possible,

so you don't attract any pests into the premises.

The owner, Mohammed, was absent when Fran did the inspection,

but she left a list of jobs that needed urgent attention.

She's returning to deliver a new hygiene rating,

and see if any improvements have been made.

So, I've come back to revisit today. I've got your letter with me.

And I've got your notices with regard to health and safety,

so I thought, if we have a chat through, and then if you...

-I've done something, I've done a lot of things.

-OK. That's great.

It sounds promising, but will it be good enough?

Right, before we start, can I just go and wash my hands first?

Is that OK? And then I'll come back to you...

Adequate hand-washing facilities are a legal requirement

for all businesses selling food.

But a week ago, this takeaway was falling short.

-Have you got any soap?

-Yes.

-And paper towels or anything like that?

But now, there's soap and towels.

-You have to wait to get warm.

-Yeah, that's fine.

The washing-up sink and preparation surfaces that were cluttered

and dirty are now much cleaner and more organised, too.

The cellar door was propped open with a makeshift metal bar.

Now there's a chain to secure the cellar door.

There's also a hand rail,

and the clutter in the cellar has been cleared.

Because it is quite a lot different to how it was last time.

I can see you've put a hand rail on, which is great,

because that's needed on a staircase.

You've cleared all this area, so it just looks totally different

to last time, doesn't it? And I'm happy with the chain.

So you just need to make sure that it's safe

for your staff to come down here.

It is an improvement,

but there's still more that Fran needs to see done.

Because the open staircase still presents a danger to staff.

When you do have to go down there,

something to stop somebody falling here,

something in place to stop them falling.

So you could have something temporary that comes up here.

It's got to be strong enough so that if you did slip or fall,

it would stop you, it would take your weight. And high enough.

But then it folds down.

Finally, the staff bathroom.

Last time, it was cluttered, there was no hot water and it was dirty.

No soap, no hand drying facilities.

No flush on the toilet.

Now it's much better.

-So you've had a big clean-up in here, as well.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

One thing I wanted to ask,

are these used down in the food room afterwards?

-No.

-OK.

There have been improvements,

but Fran can only base her hygiene score

on findings from the inspection last week.

Prior to that, the takeaway was rated as 4 -

but now it's time to deliver the fresh rating.

At the moment, as it stands,

-you've been scored at a 1.

-1?!

-I know.

Come on, we had 4!

I know you did, yeah, which is why it's disappointing

that the standards have dropped.

But you don't need to stay at a 1.

If you do the things that are outlined in the letter,

then we'll be happy to come back and re-score you.

It's not fair!

It's not fair. 1 score. 1.

I don't think a 1.... That's...

You shouldn't be 1, no. We want you to be better than that.

But there were quite a lot of things that were wrong when we came back.

-It was busy time, you know what I mean?

-Yeah.

I understand that it was busy,

but we're only allowed to come when you're open.

You can look at this afterwards, but I'll just let you know how it works.

So this letter is saying if you do these things,

then you're going to be a compliant business

and, hopefully, we want you to get the best score you can.

There's no reason why you can't get back up to the score

you were at before. So...

It's bad news for Mohammad,

but food businesses must maintain high standards at ALL times.

I wouldn't be happy if it was my business and I'd scored low,

so I can understand why they're disappointed and quite angry.

So I've explained the options to them.

They have a right to appeal within 14 days,

or they could request a revisit and ask me to come back

and do another inspection when they've done the work.

So they have got options. It's not set in stone that they're a 1.

Mohammad decided not to appeal against Fran's rating.

She will continue to monitor the businesses' progress

and Mohammad says he and his staff have been working hard

to get the takeaway back on track and ready for the next inspection,

which could be in 12 months' time.

I expect to get 5...

next time they come.

I hope.

HE CHUCKLES

Last month, council officer Lisa Rigby,

who helps run the Shared Life scheme,

introduced volunteer Norman to 33-year-old David,

who has dyspraxia, a condition which means he can't make friends easily.

There we are.

-Ducks and everything!

-Oh, yeah!

-It's not bad having a view like that from your house, is it?

-Oh, no.

Today, Lisa has stepped back to let the pair have a day out alone.

-Hi, mate, how are you doing?

-Are you all right.

-Good.

The first session when Champion Service users

go out on their own is obviously really nerve-racking for me

because I'm not there.

I can't see what's going on.

I'm not controlling, sort of like, the session.

-You've never been here?

-No.

-Is that right?

-Yes. I've never been here.

OK. Well, there's some interesting stuff.

It is important that I taper off my support at that point

to allow the friendship to blossom and the relationship to progress.

Over the next few weeks, they'll meet regularly

and, if all goes well,

David will also be able to stay over at Norman's,

giving his parents some respite.

-Did you know that the Romans came to Wigan?

-Yes. I did.

-Have you seen the Roman baths?

-No, that's something I've never...

-You know the Grand Arcade?

-Yes.

-Round the back...

-Round the back, they're actually there.

-Oh, right!

One of the reasons Lisa has introduced David and Norman

is their shared love of local history.

Do you know why Wiganers are called Pie-eaters?

There was a miners' strike...

-Not the people... It was the 1800s...

-The early 1900s.

Yes, something like that.

And I think they were one of the first to go back to work, I think.

-Yeah, yeah.

-So they had to eat...

-Humble pie. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So they're called Pie-eaters.

-Nothing to do with meat and potatoes or steak and kidney.

-No, no.

In a bid to cement their friendship

and encourage David to come on further trips with him,

Norman has done some research.

-I've seen something over there that will interest you.

-Oh, look at that!

-Yeah.

-Did you have any relatives who fought in the war?

-Yes, yeah.

-Which one?

-It was me grandad.

-Second World War?

-Second World War. The First World War was...

-Your great-grandad?

-..two of my great-grandads, yeah.

-Did one of them get wounded?

-Um... Yes.

-Right.

-Yes.

-OK.

-Definitely got something that will interest you, then.

-Yeah. Right.

Yeah.

Norman hopes the museum's extensive archive will also inspire David.

-I've done a bit of, er, research. These green files...

-Yes?

-World War I...

-All the records.

-And they've got newspaper indexes.

-Right.

-From the times.

-OK.

-So it might be a relative of yours.

-Yes.

-You did say he was wounded, didn't you?

-Well...

Well, one of them was, yes.

-So it might be... one of your great-grandads.

-Oh!

So, what I was thinking was, in the future, what we can do is,

come back here and...

-Yeah, and have a look.

-..and research your family history.

Yes, yeah.

-Fancy doing that?

-Yeah!

Norman's hard work has paid off.

So it's time for a pint to celebrate

what everyone hopes is a long and fulfilling friendship.

-Thank you! Cheers. Thank you.

-Cheers!

-Shall we sit down?

-Yeah.

It looks like a match made in Wigan,

much to the relief of council officer Lisa.

The sense of joy that it gives to you as a worker,

stepping back and letting them get on with it, is...

is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

-Did you enjoy the museum?

-Yeah, it was good.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, it was, yeah. Yeah.

-And a nice drink afterwards.

-Yeah!

-Is that sort of thing you want to do?

-Yeah, yeah!

Lisa's been really, really good.

I could have asked for a better person than Norman.

-There are loads of museums we can go and have a look.

-Oh, yeah, yeah.

I'd like that.

Hopefully, it'll be the start of a long...you know...

a long-standing friendship, I hope. So...

And then we can, you know, carry on doing things we both enjoy doing.

So, yeah.

Really... Really, really looking forward to the future.

It's been a productive shift for Wigan's council officers.

They've taken a takeaway to task on its hygiene and hazards...

There is a risk of, like, when you're walking down,

but there's also a risk for anyone working behind the counter.

..and helped their residents make new lifelong friends.

-There we go!

-Thank you! Cheers, thank you.

-Cheers!

I love my job, yeah. I do love my job.

I can't say anything more than that.

I do get a lot of job satisfaction,

but above all I enjoy helping and supporting vulnerable people

to get a positive presence within the community.