Why vote Liberal Democrat in the Oldham Council elections on May 3?

Council finance has been hammered by Conservative Government cuts.  Some local services are now in real danger of collapse.  The eight Liberal Democrat Councillors have spoken out against the cuts; the Conservatives and UKIP stayed silent.

We are the only opposition to Labour’s 44 councillors (out of 60), challenging decisions that hurt our Borough’s residents, and proposing practical solutions instead.  UKIP and the Conservatives say nothing, do nothing and often vote with Labour.

We want Oldham Council to get the basics right – clean streets; potholes filled; and an end to fly-tipping and crime.

We declared ‘war’ on Civic Centre waste to free up over £650,000 for highways improvements, youth services, tackling fly tipping, and public safety measures to help make our streets cleaner and safer.  Labour voted against our proposals, UKIP and the Conservatives did not even bother to turn up to the meeting!

The Liberal Democrats put people and communities first.  Voting Liberal Democrat means opposing Labour’s land grab of our irreplaceable green belt, supporting sound finance and reliable public services, and electing councillors who will deliver the services you expect whilst squeezing much better value from your Council Tax.

It also means you will elect a local councillor who will always be on your side!

Polls are open 7:00am – 10:00pm on Thursday 3 May – you DO NOT need your poll card in order to vote.

Liberal Democrats welcome benefits U-turn by callous Conservative Government

The Oldham Liberal Democrats have welcomed the recent Conservative Government U-turn on the payment of Universal Credit and housing benefit to those under 25. These benefits will now be restored to these young people.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE said:

“Although this eventual change of heart amongst Conservative ministers is to be welcomed, we must not forget that for many months young people were left in poverty without a roof over their heads.  Some will have become destitute and homeless as a result of their original decision.”

“In contrast to the callous Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats believe that young people are our future – they should not be marginalised and demonised in this way, but supported to make a successful transition into adulthood and independent living.”

Out break of Graffiti in Shaw and Crompton

Your Liberal Democrat team have reported a number of sites that have been subjected to this anti-social environmental crime recently.

Just some of the places include: throughout the town centre, Beal Lane up Grains Road, Hillside Avenue, Scarr Lane, Crompton Way, Wrens Nest and up Rochdale Road.

Hopefully these will be cleaned this week.

The police are also making enquiries and if anybody has any information that would be of help with their enquires please do share the information then we can catch these people who blight our town and community.

Liberal Democrat Leader cries ‘Foul’ over reduced action on irresponsible dog owners

The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has expressed his disappointment and frustration over figures revealed through a recent Freedom of Information Act request which show that Oldham Council have massively reduced action on irresponsible dog owners who fail to clean up after their pets.  The figures show that in 2017 only one dog owner was prosecuted and the offender received only a £40 fine.

Councillor Sykes said: “This inaction sends out completely the wrong signal to irresponsible and inconsiderate dog owners.  The vast majority of dog owners accept that as part of the responsibility of pet ownership they must clean up after their dog in the interests of public health and to help keep our streets and public parks clean, but regrettably a few do not.  The fine of £40 is also derisory when the consequences, particularly for children, of coming into contact with dog faeces, such as blindness, can be so grave.”

Councillor Sykes added: “According to these figures the number of public complaints received went down from 425 in 2013 to 40 in 2017.  This doesn’t add up – councillors constantly receive complaints about dog fouling; it is one of our biggest causes of complaint.  This leads me to believe that people are not reporting this, because they can see that no action is taken and offenders are simply not prosecuted.  We need to see more action from Council on this now that is what the public wants to see!”

The Freedom of Information Act request follows is below:

13 April 2018

Freedom of Information request regarding Dog Fouling-11820

In response to your Freedom of Information Request regarding dog fouling, Oldham Council is happy to provide the following information;

Year Complaints received FPNs served Prosecutions
2013 425 13 5
2014 147 21 2
2015 84 17 0
2016 77 5 0
2017 40 3 1

2013

£100 fine £200 costs

12 month conditional discharge £60 costs

£200 fine £400 costs

12 month conditional discharge £100 costs

£65 fine £100 costs

2014

£80 fine £100 costs

£80 fine £250 costs

2017

£40 fine £50 costs

Why vote Liberal Democrat in the Oldham Council elections on May 3?

Local government finance has been hit big time by Conservative Government cuts.

Some of our services are now in real danger of collapse.  The eight Liberal Democrat Councillors have spoken out against the cuts; the Conservatives and UKIP continue to stay silent.

We also provide the only opposition to Labour with their 44 councillors (out of 60), challenging decisions we feel are detrimental to the borough’s residents, and proposing practical solutions to the borough’s problems.  UKIP and the Conservatives say nothing, do nothing and often vote with Labour.

We also believe that Oldham Council must get the basics right.  People want clean streets; potholes filled; and an end to fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.

We proposed a ‘war on waste’ by cutting Civic Centre bureaucracy to free up over £650,000 to invest in highways improvements, youth services, tackling fly tipping and installing alley gates and CCTV cameras to help make streets across the Borough cleaner and safer.  Labour voted against our proposals; UKIP and the Conservatives could not even be bothered to turn up to the meeting!

The Liberal Democrats are a party that puts people and communities first.  Voting Liberal Democrat means opposing Labour’s land grab of our irreplaceable green belt, supporting sound finance and reliable public services, and electing councillors who will face the challenges in local government head on – delivering the services you expect whilst squeezing much better value from your Council Tax.

It also means you will elect a local councillor who will be your champion and always be on your side!

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Liberal Democrat and Opposition Leader, Oldham Council and Councillor for Shaw Ward.

Liberal Democrats welcome crackdown on fly-tippers

Your Shaw and Crompton Liberal Democrat Councillors have welcomed plans for people to be fined up to £400 if they fail to employ a licensed firm to take away their waste.

Fly-tipping is the bane of everyone’s lives and an issue that features highly in the complaints we receive.  It is a blight on our environment and costs Oldham Council – and you – millions to clear it up.  This is cash that could be better spent on looking after our elderly citizens or fixing our crumbling roads.

Please ask to see the licence of anyone you want to employ to take away your waste.  You can also check the Waste Carriers, Brokers and Dealers register held by the Environment Agency online at https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/index.

My two allowed questions at tonight’s Council meeting 28 March – Tackling Child Poverty in Oldham and Primary Health Care

Oldham Council 28 March 2018 – Leader’s Questions – Councillor Howard Sykes

Q1 Tackling Child Poverty in Oldham

Mr Mayor, for my first question tonight I want to refer to the report published last month by the campaigning coalition End Child Poverty into child poverty across the UK.

Overall the report found that Oldham was the local authority area with the 7th worst estimated prevalence of poverty in the UK.  Most shockingly Coldhurst was identified as the electoral ward with the highest estimated level of child poverty in the country, with over six in ten children living in poverty.

Regrettably Werneth, St Mary’s and Alexandra also featured highly with over fifty percent of all children in poverty.

But child poverty is not simply confined to these areas – there are children living in poverty everywhere in our Borough.

Sadly, you also find pockets of economic deprivation in Shaw, Saddleworth, Chadderton and Royton – all are a criminal indictment of the indifference of policymakers and financiers in the affluent nation that is 21st century Britain.

Of course, much of the blame for the increase in poverty must be laid at the feet of a Conservative Government which continues to insist on austerity and has punished the poor with a benefit freeze.

Yet there were previously investments amounting to tens of millions directed at our most deprived neighbourhoods, Coldhurst, Glodwick, Derker, Fitton Hill, Hathershaw, Limeside, Werneth, and Westwood during previous  Government’s including Labour.  I will mention just four!

  • The Single Regeneration Budget
  • Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
  • The New Deal for Communities
  • Housing Market Renewal

Despite their high sounding titles, very little seems to have changed on the ground.

Mr Mayor, this Administration talks a lot about the ‘game changer’ that the redevelopment of our town centre will represent, but for the children of these neighbourhoods who are hungry or ill-shod a real ‘game changer’ would be having enough food to eat and decent shoes and clothes to wear right now.

My first question to the Leader tonight is this – does this Administration along with its partners have a practical strategy, a ‘game changer’, with real achievable, measurable targets to address the poverty, and therefore the life chances of these disadvantaged children?

This is one league table we need to get off the top of and better still Oldham needs relegated to a lower division.  At least 4 wards in the top flight for poverty is not where we need to be!

If there is not such a strategy, does she not think it is about time that we put one in place as a top priority and as a cross-party priority – for I can tell her now the Liberal Democrats stand ready to help or is another generation to be condemned to poverty?

Q2 Primary Health Care

Mr Mayor, I would now like to return to another very important issue for many residents in our Borough – access to modern primary care facilities in their locality.

The NHS Clinical Commissioning Group has recently consulted on proposals to create five local ‘clusters’, each to serve approximately 50,000 patients at which local GP practices will be concentrated, along with a range of high-quality primary care services that will be tailored to the especial needs of the host community.

I am confident that patients and carers in Chadderton, Saddleworth and Shaw and Crompton will be excited to hear this news as they are currently obliged to attend health centres that are well past their best to say the least.

In fact their facilities are so poor that I would suggest that if a patient presented in such a condition they would be immediately referred for emergency treatment by triage.  They are quite literally falling to bits.

Mr Mayor, if we do indeed have a National Health Service that provides everyone with access to equal treatment at their point of need, why do we not have a Local Health Service that does the same?

Certainly the hard working tax payers in Chadderton, Saddleworth and Shaw and Crompton are being seriously short-changed with their current provision.

We have been promised new health centres in these areas for years; it would nice to see this finally happen – and soon.

The recent appointment of our own Chief Executive Dr Carolyn Wilkins, to a key position and leading role in our local NHS gives me some hope that things may now finally move in the right direction.

With this in mind my second question to the Leader tonight is when can we expect to see new health centres in all areas of our Borough that are fit for the 21st Century?