The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, will be calling in a motion for Oldham Council to back the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals at its next meeting on 10 July.

In September 2015, 193 world leaders met at the United Nations General Assembly in New York to adopt seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.  These goals seek the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, improvements in public health, reductions in child and maternal mortality, better educational outcomes, more gender equality, better international co-operation and a environmentally sustainable future for our planet to help the United Nations achieve the ambition articulated in their 2000 Millennium Declaration of creating ‘a more peaceful, prosperous and just world’ by 2030.

Councillor Sykes believes that local government, as well as the UK government, should be aiming to help deliver these worthy objectives, and he is backed in his ambition by Liberal Democrat Councillor for Saddleworth West and Lees Sam Al-Hamdani, who has previously worked with UN agencies such as the World Health Organisation.

Commenting, Councillor Sykes said:  “These goals may seem lofty and New York may seem a long way from Oldham, but we can all make our own contribution, whether we are a Council or an individual, as part of one world community to achieving them.  Unfortunately, even in Britain, one of the world’s richest countries, many children still go to bed hungry and food bank use and homelessness is on the rise, so we still have work to do even on our own doorstep.  In a world increasingly threatened by climate change, we have seen an increasing incidence of fierce fires on our local moors meaning we should all now redouble our efforts to ensure that the preservation of our natural environment is placed front and centre when we consider our actions, whether as a citizen or as a public body.”

Councillor Sykes wants the Council to carry out an audit of what it has done to contribute towards the goals and what more it might do in the future.  He added:  “In our motion, Councillor Al-Hamdani and I will be asking the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Board to conduct this audit with our social partners and to present a report of their findings to a future meeting of Oldham Council.  We both look forward to reading it with great interest and then to implementing it with vigour.”

Council 10 July 2019 – Notice of Opposition Business –

Motion 1 – Making a Commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Council welcomes the UK Government’s commitment to the delivery of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the world community at the United Nations in September 2015. The goals form part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which seeks to eradicate extreme poverty, address inequality and injustice, and promote sustainable development and peace.

The goals are to: 

• End poverty in all its forms everywhere
• End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
• Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
• Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
• Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
• Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
• Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
• Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
• Reduce inequality within and among countries
• Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
• Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
• Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
• Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development

Wishing to replicate the UK Government’s position on the goals, this Council resolves to make a similar commitment to their delivery, as far as is practicable and within its power and resources, and calls upon the Health and Overview and Scrutiny Boards to identify the work that is already being done by the Council and its partners and what more can be done, and to present a report with its findings and recommendations to a future meeting of full Council.