Oldham Liberal Democrats fear that the latest ‘Places for Everyone’ plan continues to represent a real threat to our borough’s precious and irreplaceable green spaces.

Nine local government leaders, eight Labour and one Conservative, agreed to support the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester in his call to create the new plan at a recent meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (12 February).  ‘Places for Everyone’ will replace the failed Greater Manchester Spatial Framework (GMSF) proposals which were scrapped late last year, after Stockport Liberal Democrat Councillors led the charge in voting against their Council being a party to the proposals. 

The Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, said: “Although the Stockport Council vote represented a fatal blow to GMSF, unfortunately it has spawned an unwanted offspring.  I would urge everyone to be on their guard.  Over the coming months, Greater Manchester residents will hear many mealy-mouthed words from Labour and Tory Council leaders trying to reassure you that the new plan will be ‘cuddlier’.  They will say it will be more focused on brownfield development; less focussed on taking away our much-loved Green Belt and green spaces for new housing; and that it will provide jobs and affordable homes for everyone.  There is nothing at this time to suggest that this so-called new plan, the bastard Son of GMSF, will be much different to its father.” 

Councillor Sykes added:  “Yes, we want jobs and we need homes, but the Liberal Democrats do not believe that there is a necessity to destroy our natural environment to create employment or to concrete over any of our Green Belt for new houses.”

“There are already plenty of brownfield sites and plenty of empty factories, mills, shops and offices, sadly more so following the COVID-19 Lockdown, that must be repurposed for housing and for employment first.  This has been the consistent Liberal Democrat position from the moment that the GMSF proposals first saw the light of day years ago.”

Oldham Council is still waiting for the Government to provide further funding for local businesses which have been forced to close, despite the previous funding running out on February 15.

The Conservative Government will not be providing the money, which is a lifeline for local people, until they provide information on how long businesses are likely to have to keep their doors closed.

Leader of the opposition, and Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet Member with responsibility for coronavirus, Howard Sykes MBE said: “It is sadly unsurprising that the Conservative Government has left local businesses high and dry. For a Government which seems to be very good at organising coronavirus contracts for businesses owned by people they know, they seem incredibly bad at making them for everyone else.”

Once the Government confirms what is happening for local businesses, and provides the promised funding, businesses will receive their payments without any need to reapply.

Local Liberal Democrat councillor Sam Al-Hamdani, who found out about the delays when following up on payments for local businesses in Lees, was furious. “It is absolutely shambolic. This Conservative Government provided money to cover up to a week ago, and then just left everyone to wait until they made another decision.”

“It’s absolutely typical of the thoughtlessness which seems to be the hallmark of this Government. It doesn’t seem to be asking for much to get just basic competence, but it seems to be well beyond the capacity of this Government, and it’s people in Oldham who suffer because of it.”

The Leader of the Opposition and the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has shown his support for the ‘Shopkeepers’ Campaign’ that is calling for a cut in the business rates that high street retailers pay. 

In 2020, Revo, a membership group representing retailers, launched the campaign to cut and reform business rates for retail property.

Since its introduction, this tax has increased by almost 50 per cent for bricks-and-mortar stores and is one of the largest costs paid by shopkeepers.  It has led to the closure of many shops, leading to job losses and a loss of customer choice.  During the COVID-19 Lockdown, non-food shops have been forced to close for long periods, and many more now face ruin. 

The government is conducting a Fundamental Review of Business Rates which will now report back in the autumn, and Councillor Sykes hopes that this will bring some good news. 

Commenting, Councillor Sykes said:  “High business rates are undoubtedly a factor in the loss of several of our leading high street names, but we have also seen local community shops close in our current challenging economic environment.  Physical stores struggle to compete with online retailers who do not face such financial demands.

“I now hope that the government will use this opportunity to think afresh at business rates to create a more equitable system that will raise revenue without destroying businesses and jobs.”

Revo has launched a petition to Parliament and Councillor Sykes is inviting members of the public to join him in signing it.  “This petition represents an opportunity for members of the public to ask the government to reduce business rates to help ensure that we have a healthy and vibrant high street in the years to come.”

The petition can be found at:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/560396

Liberal Democrat Councillor Howard Sykes MBE is dismayed that a hotline established to respond to the failure to record complaints from the 80,000 victims of crime across Greater Manchester is close on Friday 19 February.

Councillor Sykes had just recently written to the Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to seek reassurance that such victims would continue to receive specialist support from Victims Support staff for the foreseeable future.

The Greater Manchester Crime Support Line was only launched back in December after a damning report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found systematic failures at Greater Manchester Police which led to the force failing to record 80,000 reported crimes – including one in four violent crimes and many instances of domestic violence.

The report led to Greater Manchester Police being placed in special measures and the Chief Constable leaving office early.  The hotline was set up in response to the report to provide a mechanism for victims who had been ‘denied justice’ to seek redress.  Now just two months later it will be scrapped.

Councillor Sykes wrote to Mayor Andy Burnham about the hotline in January. The closure decision is so unexpected as in a recent reply to correspondence from Councillor Sykes, dated 5 February, Mayor Burnham assured him that “At this time no decision has been made as to how long the Crime Support Line will be operational for.”

Commenting Councillor Sykes said:  “This sudden decision represents an unexpected blow to Greater Manchester crime victims failed by police.  Operating a bespoke line for just two months and then closing it just smacks of ‘tokenism’, of ‘ticking a box’ to get Greater Manchester Police out of special measures, rather than a sincere effort to support the many thousands of victims of crime that have been failed by the senior leadership of the local Police service.”

The Government has extended shielding for the clinically extremely vulnerable to Wednesday 31 March.

Even if residents have had both vaccination doses, they should continue to follow shielding measures.

Meanwhile, a new system has been introduced in England to help clinicians identify an additional group of people who may be at high risk from Covid-19. These people have therefore been added to the shielding list.

Anyone added to this list will be notified by a letter from the Government and advised to stay at home as much as possible until 31 March. They will however still be able to go outside to exercise or to attend health appointments.

For anyone who has been shielding for a long time and is in need of support, help is available at www.oldham.gov.uk/shielding.

This also applies to those new to shielding who may also need support and advice. The Council should send a letter to these people and providing them with support at what is a difficult time.

Following national guidelines, if you are aged between 65 and 69 you will soon receive a letter, if you haven’t already, inviting you to book a vaccination appointment at the Greater Manchester Vaccination Centre, based at the Etihad Campus.

Choosing to have your vaccination at this site will be your earliest opportunity to receive the vaccine.

If you choose not to be vaccinated at the Etihad, you will be contacted by GP to book a vaccination appointment soon, but there may be a delay.

To book an appointment, visit: www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination.

Anyone unable to book online can call 119 free of charge, anytime between 7am and 11pm seven days a week.

If you are aged 60-64, you will be contacted by your GP to make an appointment at one of our six vaccination centres across the borough.

Residents who are Clinically Vulnerable (CV) and are at moderate risk from coronavirus will be contacted by the NHS to arrange a vaccination appointment.

Vaccination data

As of Wednesday 17 February, the number of first dose vaccinations given to Oldham registered patients is 52,801.

For more information, and all the latest statistics, visit: www.oldham.gov.uk/covid19data

Vaccine FAQs

For a list of frequently asked questions on the vaccine, please visit: https://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/201170/coronavirus/2674/covid-19_vaccination_programme

Liberal Democrat Councillors want to see a half-hourly train service from Greenfield to Manchester and Huddersfield, and an hourly train direct to Leeds, to make rail travel more frequent and more reliable for passengers.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, who represents Oldham on the Transport for Greater Manchester Board and is the Leader of the Opposition on Oldham Council, has responded to the Greenfield Rail Action Group to confirm that he supports the group’s aspirations for a better and more reliable train service to the only mainland train station actually located within the Oldham Borough. 

Following the introduction of a new timetable in May 2018, rail services were thrown into chaos, and many passengers at Greenfield were left stranded waiting for trains that had a shocking record for punctuality and reliability.  In 2020, the Manchester Recovery Task Force was formed with representatives from the Department of Transport, Network Rail, Northern, TransPennine Express, Transport for the North and Transport for Greater Manchester, to come up with proposals to restore the rail service.

The findings of the task force and a series of possible options were published by the Department for Transport on 14 January and are now open to public consultation.

Councillor Sykes, and his Liberal Democrat colleague, Councillor John Leech, from Manchester are clear where they stand. 

“Option 3 stands out as the one we want”, said Councillor Sykes, “it will help restore some of the trains to Greenfield as well as providing a more reliable service in the so called ‘congested corridor’ in Manchester.  It will better enable commuters to get to and from their places of work and students to get to their colleges and universities in towns and cities served by a new half-hour daytime service from Greenfield.  We also want to see the investment that is much needed and overdue to make this station completely accessible so all passengers can enjoy an improved service.”

Although both Councillors will be making representations supporting option 3, Councillor Sykes is clear that members of the public should have their say too:  “I would urge all passengers who use this station to use this opportunity to speak out in favour of more frequent and more reliable services and a fully-accessible station at Greenfield.”

The consultation can be found at:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/951401/manchester-recovery-task-force-public-consultation.pdf

Responses can be made by email to performancerecoverytaskforce@dft.gov.uk or in writing to MRTF Consultation, 3rd floor, Department for Transport, Great Minster House,  3 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR

The Closing Date for responses is 10, March.

The Greenfield Rail Action Group can be found on Facebook at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/greenfieldstationusers/

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Government to “give carers a break”, by giving councils immediate emergency funding so they can provide the support services unpaid carers need to take a weekly break.

More than 24,322 people in Oldham are looking after elderly, disabled or vulnerable people during the Covid pandemic.

In a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, Ed Davey highlights research from Carers UK showing that nationally:

• 64% of carers have not been able to take any breaks from their caring role during the pandemic,
• 74% feel exhausted and worn out as a result of caring during Covid, and
• 44% say they are reaching breaking point.

The Liberal Democrats are calling on the Chancellor to provide local authorities with emergency funding in his Budget on 3rd March at the latest.

Launching the campaign, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: ”Our wonderful carers deserve more support, but they are too often forgotten and ignored by people in power.

The Chancellor mustn’t ignore carers any longer. He must provide local councils with emergency funding now, to finally give carers a break.

“Liberal Democrats are working to build a more caring society as we emerge from this pandemic.”

Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani added: “People in Oldham looking after their loved ones are doing a remarkable and important job in very difficult circumstances.

“Oldham’s unpaid carers have taken on dramatically increased caring responsibilities during this pandemic. Most haven’t been able to take a single break since the pandemic started. Most are simply exhausted.

“Liberal Democrats are standing up for carers and calling on the Government to give them a break.”

According to the 2011 census, 24,322 people in Oldham provide unpaid care – although the number is now thought to be much higher. The local 2011 census data is available from the Office for National Statistics at www.nomisweb.co.uk.

The Carers UK report ‘Caring behind closed doors: six months on’ is available here.