THE Prime Minister was put under the spotlight by Rochdale Council staff at a ‘listening event’ in Liverpool.

Sue Hackett, the healthy schools co-ordinator, Shah Newaz, the principal policy officer and Kerry Reddy, who manages the Rochdale Domestic Violence Forum, were among the audience of businesses, community leaders and members of the public who met with Gordon Brown and members of his cabinet in a conference centre to discuss the impact of the economic downturn on local people and places.

Around 200 people were invited to the event ahead of a full Cabinet meeting in the city.

Mr Newaz said: “The Prime Minister was talking about a range of government actions being taken to tackle the recession but wanted to learn first hand about the impact of the economic climate.”

He added: “The cabinet was interested about what’s happening in our borough, what the issues are, measures that are working and what still needs to be improved.

“The importance of maintaining strong community relations during these difficult times was discussed and Gordon Brown outlined the importance of ensuring support is available to get the unemployed back into work as quickly as possible.

“He seemed keen to listen to local people.”