You do need to live in Shaw and Crompton.

HOWEVER NEW GOVERNMENT RULES ARE IN PLACE TO TACKLE INCREASE IN CASES

Despite dedicated local efforts, coronavirus infection rates in Oldham remain high. Because of this, from Saturday 22 August (00:01am), additional restrictions designed to curb the spread of coronavirus, will come into force in Oldham. These new guidelines are in addition to national guidance relating to coronavirus and apply to Oldham residents, businesses and anyone visiting the Oldham area. From Saturday 22 August: You can not socialise with anyone who does not live in your house (unless they are part of your support bubble). You must avoid using public transport, except for essential travel. When visiting shops, when on public transport or in other enclosed or crowded spaces you should wear a face covering. Weddings, civil partnerships and funerals should be limited to household members and close family and no more than 20 people.  Restaurants will also be encouraged to only seat people who make reservations in advance, up to a maximum of six people per table. If you run a pub, restaurant, cafe, shop, place of worship, community centre, leisure and entertainment venue, or visitor attraction, you should ensure people maintain social distancing and avoid physical contact (working safely during coronavirus guidance). We are advising any residents who have recently shielded to continue taking extra care now that the shielding process has formally ended in Oldham (guidance on shielding). We’re urging residents to continue to take the risk of coronavirus seriously and to comply with current guidelines. Please visit the Government website for the most up to date information: North West of England: local restrictions – what you can and cannot do

The Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, is pleased that Covid-19 testing will finally be delivered from mobile testing units located in district centres across Oldham. 

But he condemns the chaos caused by the failure of the promised Shaw local testing unit to turn up on the first day, or arrive on time on the second day, or turn up without full kit on another day and left early on another day.

Councillor Sykes said:  “It was a total shambles.  We were promised a testing unit in Shaw on Tuesday last week (4 August) – it failed to show.  And we were promised another on Friday of last week (7 August) – it arrived two and a half hours late.  Shaw and Crompton residents, who had booked appointments online, arrived to find there was no unit to test them.”

“Imagine how they felt.  They were anxious they had the symptoms of Covid-19 and desperate to get a test confirming whether they did, or did not, have this deadly disease, and the private company commissioned to deliver the tests decided either not to bother to show up or to show up late.  If the situation wasn’t so serious it would be a farce.”

“I absolutely support local testing as a method to more effectively tackle this disease.  In Oldham Borough, we are faced with increasing levels of infection and we need a radical, better resourced and locally focused testing programme to tackle this challenge head on.” 

“The national Track and Trace programme has proven to be ineffectual in contacting many local people who may be infected, and a locally driven response should be far better, but we must never have a repeat of this shambles again.  If this private sector provider cannot immediately step up their game, they should be sacked, and the army brought back to do the tests,” he added.

For real time information: https://oldham.roadworks.org/

Good luck and well done to those getting their results in GCSE, BTEC, Tech Awards, Technicals, and similar.

The Oldham Liberal Democrats have backed calls from students and teaching unions that the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson must go for failing thousands of A-level students across the country, many thousands in Oldham alone, over the examinations’ farrago.

Liberal Democrat Council Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, said:  “The Secretary of State Gavin Williamson gets a U unclassified grade from us for his complete inability to perform in his job role, and by letting our young people down so badly.  Thanks to his inept indecision, the grades of students were judged by an impersonal computer algorithm rather than assessed by the teachers that they know and trust.”

“Under intense pressure from students, parents, teaching professionals, politicians from all parties, and the media, common-sense has finally prevailed and this Conservative Government has finally done the right thing and done a U-turn.  But it has taken too long and was done begrudgingly.”

Councillor Sykes added:  “Not only has the incompetence of this government cheated our youngsters of the grades that were rightfully theirs, but the indecision has meant that now many students have been deprived of places at our top universities.  Instead of his crocodile tears and drinking tea on the front pages of today’s newspapers, Gavin Williamson should now do the honourable thing and resign”.

Can I take this opportunity to say well done to all those last week and this week on your exam results!

Oldham Liberal Democrats have condemned the Conservative Government for focusing on reforming the planning system instead of forcing developers to build at least 100,000 new homes a year in the UK for families to rent.

The Liberal Democrats believe the Conservatives’ proposals will fail those stuck on waiting lists and zoning proposals risk “leaving whole areas behind”. Instead, the Party is calling for “an urgent house building programme”, with proposals to build 100,000 social homes for rent every year. 

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, said: “The Conservatives are once more failing the poorest residents of this Borough.  Their plans to reform the planning system will do nothing to alleviate the housing crisis in Oldham borough.  25,357 families are stuck on Oldham Council’s housing waiting list with no-where to go.  This is outrageous and it is completely unacceptable. 

“I despair that once again Conservative ministers are falsely blaming councils for failing to grant planning permission for new housing, but in fact it is the housing developers who are failing to deliver.  Councils grant planning permission for nine out of ten housing applications, and they only refuse to do so when there are good grounds under planning law.”

Data from the Local Government Association in March this year shows that planning permission was given for the construction of over one million new homes over the last decade which have yet to be built by developers. 

Councillor Sykes added: “Instead of trying to change councils, government ministers should force the hand of housebuilders to make them build the affordable homes we so desperately need.  There are literally thousands of housing applications which have been granted planning permission where not a brick has been laid.  Reforming planning laws does not help people languishing on waiting lists or struggling to afford a home in our borough or anywhere else.
 
“The Liberal Democrats want 100,000 new environmentally-friendly social homes built in the UK every year, and for all councils to be granted the power to suspend the right to buy, so that we can finally start tackling the housing crisis in our borough.  Not only will this provide new homes, but it will also provide new jobs in building them – jobs we need in an economy hit hard by the impact of Covid-19”.

With the number of people testing positive for Coronavirus increasing in Oldham, Liberal Democrat Councillors are urging residents of the Borough to follow national and local guidance to stay safe, help stop Covid-19 spreading, and save Oldham from the possibility of the reintroduction of a local lockdown.

New cases detected in Oldham have almost doubled in just one week.  The latest figures, for the week ending 8 August, show there were 255 new cases detected in Oldham, a rate of 107.5 new cases per 100,000 people.  During week prior to this ending 1 August, there were 137 cases or 57.8 per 100,000.  Leicester was placed into lockdown when it had 135 new cases per 100,000 of population. 

The Liberal Democrats are concerned that if the present rate of increase is not checked immediately that not only will public health be seriously jeopardised, but the local economy too, as the imposition of a new local lockdown will be inevitable in the next few days.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, said:  “Many people have been following the local and national guidance, but unfortunately some do not.  Now is the time when we all need to pull together.  We all need to follow this guidance to stop people getting infected and ultimately to beat this disease.  The guidance is there for a reason – it works.  If we all follow the rules, we can reduce the rate of infection and avoid the prospect of a local lockdown, which will be necessary to save lives, but which will have a further devastating impact on Oldham businesses and Oldham jobs”.

The guidance issued recently:

• Limit the number of people you have contact with and work from home where possible
• DO NOT have visitors to your home or garden
• If you must meet people from outside your household, you must do so in an outdoor location, maintaining social distancing and avoiding physical contact
• When visiting shops and when on public transport or in other enclosed or crowded spaces, you should wear a mask.
• Avoid touching your face and wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds. 
• People are also being asked to help protect those who are more vulnerable.

Although those who are younger, or without underlying health conditions, may feel that Coronavirus does not present a major risk to their health, their actions could put others at risk.

If you have Coronavirus, you must isolate and book a test as soon as possible. People who test positive must isolate for ten days, while others in the household must isolate for 14 days as symptoms can take a while to appear.

Visit www.oldham.gov.uk/coronavirus for our most up to date guidance, or call the dedicated Coronavirus helpline, available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on 0161 770 7007.

To book a Coronavirus test go to https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test or call NHS 119.

This is the longest time; since 1985 when I first started delivering Focus leaflets in Shaw; I have gone without delivering any due to illness and lockdown.

As you can see we take precautions of wearing a mask and regular hand sanitiser while on travels.

Can I say what a warm welcome I have received from residents and passers by. It was good to see many of you and stop and chat (socially distanced of course) with some of you.

Hopefully you should get your Focus soon, if not let me know.

As always if you wish to help in our work for Shaw and Crompton and its community do get in touch.

Equally so, get in touch if there is a problem I or my colleagues might be able to help with.

Best wishes and stay safe.

Let’s us never forget the sacrifices others made on our behalf.

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