High Street Innovation Fund:

Mary Portas – a successful high street retailer and the so called Queen of Shops – was appointed by the Government to conduct a review about the future of the high street.

Following this review, around 400 towns across the UK were offered Government money from the High Street Innovation Fund to reinvigorate their high streets.

Oldham received £100,000 from this fund a year ago in Spring 2012.

Will the Leader tell me why is it, when this administration is always claiming to be poor, that after a year we have yet to spend a penny of this money?

No one would suggest we should spend this cash wastefully however I do find it hard to believe some or most of it could not have been used so far to support our hard pressed High Streets.

In addition the failure to spend does undermine Oldham’s case for cash/better treatment when we fail to spend such amounts.

And we do not even detail how and when we will spend it or why it takes so long to spend it or is the best idea to wait, if it actually is?

And can he also tell us how this Administration will use this money to support the Oldham retail economy, and the other district centres in our Borough, and when is it planned to use this cash to support our colleagues in the retail sector?