Despite being chief executive of one of the hardest hit council areas in terms of cuts, Martin Swales explains to Heather Jameson how his council has ambitious plans to do more than just get through the next few years.

Martin Swales has been chief executive of South Tyneside since early 2010, and in the three years he has been in post, councils have suffered staggering losses due to the cuts, particularly in his region in the North East.