The Leader of the Opposition and Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes, MBE, has hit out at the Labour Council’s latest proposals to scrap the seven District Executives and centralise power back to the Civic Centre.

Councillor Sykes said: “The Labour Administration claims to have a commitment to co-operative working and to empowering Ward Councillors as ‘local leaders’, yet, in recent proposals to be put before Councillors at Wednesday’s Annual Council meeting (22 May), Labour is proposing to scrap all seven District Executives and return power to the Executive.”

“The Liberal Democrats have a strong commitment to devolving power and money to local councillors and local people so that they can work together in partnership to identify and address the local needs and priorities of their own community through having access to a devolved budget and a dedicated team of officers.  District Executives were the public and accountable mechanism through which we did this across the Borough.”

At present, there are seven District Executives – East Oldham, West Oldham, Chadderton, Failsworth and Hollinwood, Royton, Saddleworth and Lees, and Shaw and Crompton.

Under Labour’s proposals, the District Executives and their annual budgets will be scrapped, taking away £400,000 from local areas.  Instead Labour has proposed that each of the sixty Councillors receives £6,000 instead of £5,000 to spend on local priorities and that a one-off £500,000 Local Improvement Fund be created into which Districts can bid for.

“No wonder these plans were kept under wraps until after the local elections,” stated Councillor Sykes.  “Put bluntly, this means Labour will abolish local control and take a net £340,000 every year away from local communities.”

Councillor Sykes added: “Labour’s £500,000 Local Investment Fund is a one-off fund, and there is no guarantee that it will be distributed evenly across the districts.  Local councillors know their patches best and are accountable to their citizens.  My guess is that, as the fund will be managed by three Labour Cabinet Members, it will only go to Labour’s pet projects.  Also what is the plan when the cash is spent!”

“I am not opposed to the Council taking back money from District Executives that remains unallocated or unspent.  In fact it is scandal that some areas have not spent their cash.  This proposal seems grossly unfair to District Executives, such as Chadderton, Royton, Saddleworth and Lees, and Shaw and Crompton, which are making prompt and proper use of the money that is allocated to them and doing so transparently by making decisions in public meetings.”

Councillor Sykes concluded: “The Liberal Democrats will therefore be proposing a series of amendments to the report being presented to Wednesday’s Council.  First and foremost we want to see District Executives remain in place, with their existing budgets, but with the money that remains unallocated in some of the Districts clawed back for use elsewhere within the Council budget.  If Labour are opposed to this, and District Executives are abolished that the same amount of money remains available to local councillors to meet local needs.  Also, despite assurances the report currently does not provide a timescale, we would like to see the Labour Administration at least make a commitment to start a comprehensively review the arrangements that are put in place by September 2019 at the latest.”ENDS/…

The amendments detailed below and link to report:

https://committees.oldham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=132&MId=7168&Ver=4

Item 12

Amendment 1 – that the recommended option approved by Council be:

1.

Continue with District Executives as currently constituted, with the attached revenue and capital budgets.   Remove any unallocated revenue, capital or elected member budgets from the 2018/2019 financial year or previous financial years and claw these back into the central budget.   Create a Local Improvement Fund.   Review the current arrangements once the multi-agency decision making teams are in place or no later than September 2019.

Proposed by: Councillor Diane Williamson

Seconded by: Councillor Garth Harkness

Amendment 2 – that the recommended option approved by Council be:

1.

Dis-establish District Executives with immediate effect, but retain the current revenue and capital budgets.   Establish the District Lead Role.   Remove any unallocated revenue, capital or elected member budgets from the 2018/2019 financial year or previous financial years and claw these back into the central budget.   Create a Local Improvement Fund.   Review the current arrangements once the multi-agency decision making teams are in place or no later than September 2019.

Proposed by:  Councillor Howard Sykes MBE

Seconded by:  Councillor Hazel Gloster

Amendment 3 – that the recommended option approved by Council include the words:

‘Review the proposed arrangements once the multi-agency decision making teams are in place or no later than September 2019.’

Proposed by:  Councillor Dave Murphy

Seconded by:  Councillor Chris Gloster

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

INFORMATION I HAVE BEEN GIVEN

Please be aware that despite our best efforts we will not finish food and garden collections on our Friday rounds today.

This is due to an increased amount of material that has been placed out for collection.

We have a number of pockets across Shaw and Crompton which we will back to collect tomorrow.

Should you be contacted by any residents please advise them to leave their bins out for collection.

We are very pleased to announce the new Kerrching Grants funding application for this year. 

Please note: The application process has been revised so please read through the attached form carefully.

What it is: Kerrching – Youth Opportunity Fund is a pot of money that is specifically for young people.  The fund aims to provide opportunities for young people in their leisure time that will improve their health and wellbeing and enable young people to lead healthy lifestyles.

The fund is: For activities for all young people aged 8-19 (or up to age 25 if the young people have additional needs).  Activities that are funded must take place before the end of March 2020.  It is managed by young people from Oldham Youth Council who will be making decisions about the allocation of funds.

This year, we have the opportunity to award grants to youth and community groups within Oldham in the form of the Kerrching Grants Awards.  We are offering up to £5,000 to groups in order to enhance their health and wellbeing of young people.

We are inviting nominations from all types of groups who currently offer positive activities and opportunities for positive engagement to young people in Oldham.

Applications will be assessed by members of the Youth Council. The deadline for applications is Friday 31^st May 2019 no later than 3pm – we will not accept any applications received after this time.

Applications can be sent electronically via email to Rahila.karamat@Oldham.gov.uk – or you can print out the form and complete by hand – returning it to us on the address below. For more information contact; Jodie.barber@oldham.gov.uk

Please note : the proposed dates of any OMBC resurfacing works are to be used as a guide and will be subject to change I have been told!

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

The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has today announced the appointment of his Shadow Cabinet Team and appointments to boards and committees for 2019/20.  The Liberal Democrat Group has also elected its officers.

Councillor Howard Sykes said:  “I am looking forward to once more leading the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council.  I am especially pleased that the Group is being joined by two new colleagues, Councillor Louie Hamblett representing Crompton and Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani representing Saddleworth West and Lees.  Louie and Sam are already experienced parish councillors and I know that they are both keen to make a difference.”

“Voters can rest assured that the Oldham Liberal Democrats will continue to oppose Labour’s waste, inefficiency and centralisation tendancies and we will always speak up for fair treatment for our citizens and for value-for-money services and common sense solutions.  As ever, the Liberal Democrats remain the only party holding Labour to account on Oldham Council, and we shall continue to take that responsibility seriously.”

Details of positions:

Name of Councillor	Role
Councillor Howard Sykes	Group Leader
Councillor Chris Gloster	Deputy Group Leader
Councillor Diane Williamson	Group Secretary
Councillor Hazel Gloster	Group Treasurer
Councillor Garth Harkness	Group Political Secretary

Name of Councillor	Portfolio
Howard Sykes	Economy and Enterprise (Opposition Leader)
Garth Harkness	Education and Skills
Hazel Gloster	Children’s Services
Louie Hamblett	Health and Social Care
Dave Murphy	Neighbourhood Services
Diane Williamson	Policing and Communities
Sam Al-Hamdani	Housing
Chris Gloster	Finance and Corporate Resources (Opposition Deputy Leader)

Name of Councillor	Board / Committee
Chris Gloster	Audit Committee
Garth Harkness	Overview and Scrutiny Board
Diane Williamson	Performance and Value for Money Committee
Hazel Gloster	Planning Committee
Chris Gloster	Licensing Committee
Diane Williamson	Standards Committee
Dave Murphy	Petitions and Traffic Regulation Orders

Name of Councillor	District
Diane Williamson	Chair, Shaw and Crompton
Sam Al-Hamdani	Official Spokesperson, Saddleworth and Lees