Oldham Council has been accused of “failing to get even the most basic things right” after it emerged that the authority failed to issue a single fixed penalty notice (FPN) for dog-fouling for three years.  This shocking fact was supplied as a result of a freedom of information request.

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, councillor Howard Sykes MBE said, “This is a shocking fact.  We’re talking about the basics here.  We hear all this talk from the Labour administration about how they’re getting tough on littering, fly-tipping, and dog-fouling yet the facts say something else.”

“The vast majority of dog owners are responsible, the few that are not spoil it for all.  This is one of the number one issues in my mailbox, and I know it is for many other councillors and the public.  In our Liberal Democrat budget proposals last year, we found the cash to for such basic matters that the public clearly want,”  he stated. 

“Council bosses are happy to throw thousands of pounds at so called campaigns like ‘Don’t Trash Oldham’ yet fail on the basics like fixed penalties for dog fouling.  The facts speak for themselves,” he concluded.