Councillors Rod Blyth, Mark Alcock and Howard Sykes.
Also Parish Councillors Aspinall, Farrell, Duffy, Hall, Stephens, Dodd, Robinson, Murphy and Wood will also attend.
7.30pm – 8.30pm, Lifelong Learning Centre, High Street, Shaw, OL2 8TB.
Thursday: March: 5, 12, 19, 26
NO APPOINTMENT REQUIRED
The Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Howard Sykes MBE, will be presenting the Group’s budget options to today’s Council meeting.
Cllr Sykes said that he: “recognises that this is a very challenging time to present a budget and that hard choices are having to be made within the administration’s budget proposals.
“As in previous years, we are seeking to challenge when appropriate, offer constructive suggestions and options to cut unnecessary spending and seek to put resources into the basic services affecting the majority of our residents.
The amounts involved are comparatively small but will have a positive impact on two key services in this borough.”
The Liberal Democrats are proposing investments in gully cleaning and youth services.
Cllr Sykes continued: “For just £165,000 we could reinstate the level of gully clearing carried out under the previous Liberal Democrat administration with a further three teams being employed to jet out gullies that have been filled with soil and other debris.
“Such an investment can be termed spend to save as jetting means clogged gullies do not have to be dug out at huge expense. It also ensures that there is less risk of homes flooding, less water and ice on the roads, which endangers drivers and pedestrians, and, in the long term, a reduction in damage to the roads caused by frozen water breaking the road surfaces.”
In its other spend to save measure, the Liberal Democrat Group wants to make available a further £272,000 in 2016/17 for investment in youth services by the District Partnerships/Executives.
Commenting, Cllr Sykes said: “The Liberal Democrats firmly believe that local ward councillors and local peopl know best where money can be best spent on services in their locality. Local knowledge and requirements should determine the allocation of this money in each of the districts.
The Youth Service is an excellent service and investment in it saves money in the long run as young people are productively engaged rather than – in some instances – engaging in crime and anti-social behaviour.
Our proposal will I hope be accepted by the administration in the same way they accepted our suggestion that this years cuts to District staffing be decreased.”
Deputy Leader Cllr McCann, who will be seconding the amendment, stated that the extra money for the proposed investment will be found “reducing management, council publications, subscriptions and conferences and increasing income from optional council services”.
The Liberal Democrat Group is also proposing that in 2016/17 (ie during the next financial year) a review of the number of councillors takes place, with a reduction in numbers being considered.
Cllr McCann added: “A reduction in Councillors to two per ward instead of three would generate a minimum saving of £212,000 per year. We believe that such a reduction is possible now we have a Council run by a Cabinet rather than committees. We know this proposal will be popular because this was one of the suggestions that came forward from the public in the consultation over the budget”.
Cllr McCann was also pleased to see that the Labour Administration has adopted one of his suggestions in last year’s Budget debate that budgets on the Council’s capital programme could be reduced because of delays and efficiencies that he had identified.
He stated: “Last year, some Labour Councillors were adamant that I wanted to put the redevelopment of Oldham and Royton town centres ‘on hold’. In fact my common sense suggestion was that the figures in Labour’s budget simply did not stack up. Put simply they were allocating more money than they could spend in the financial year given delays in the capital programme.
It is interesting that this year Labour have quietly slipped in this very same proposal to the tune of some £5 million, hardly small beer. I am delighted that by building on our suggestion some of the harsh cuts to services have been mitigated and actual efficiencies found “.
Use the link below to sign up and show your support:
Q1 – Opening an Oldham Branch of Community Shop
The Leader may be aware that prior to Christmas I wrote to ‘Community Shop’, congratulating them on the opening of a branch of the social enterprise in Lambeth and suggesting that Oldham might be a suitable site for another outlet.
On Monday this week, I took up their invitation of a guided tour of the flagship Goldthorpe shop (S Yorks) and their parent ‘Company Shop’. I am now even more impressed of their professionalism and purpose, and even more convinced of the merits of bringing the concept to Oldham.
‘Community Shop’ operates community supermarkets which sell low-cost, high-quality surplus foodstuffs to hundreds of people on means-tested benefits, backed by services to help them get back into work. ‘Company Shop’ sources the food and provides logistical support.
Each shop works on a membership basis and can shop for food at prices 70 per cent lower than usual and so can feed their families well within a limited budget.
There is also an on-site café with good, wholesome food cooked by an on-site chef, who teaches customers how to cook as well.
But this is not just about food; rather food is the hook to help members get back to work.
This is a ‘hand up’, not just a ‘hand out’.
Members enrol on tailored programmes to improve their self-confidence and job prospects. Working with mentors and professionals from local agencies based at the store, members identify the areas of their lives they need to work on, and receive help to make positive improvements.
It was clear that ‘Community Shop’ would be very interested in working with Oldham Council to open an outlet in our Borough.
This opportunity is NOW as they are shortly opening a ‘Company Shop’ outlet at Stake Hill in Middleton, and want ‘Community Shops’ based close by.
I will be happy to send the Leader more details in due course, but my question to him tonight is will he work with me and Council Officers to find the partners, to find the site and to find the money to bring ‘Community Shop’ to Oldham as soon as possible?
Q2 – Investment in Royton and Crompton School
My second question tonight concerns investment in one of our crumbling secondary schools.
I know the majority of Members in the Chamber will welcome the recent decision, at long last, of the Education Funding Agency to fund a new school for Saddleworth.
Although the chosen site remains controversial, I am sure that we will want to work together on a non-party basis to address the practical issues of locating the school in Diggle, particularly the need to address traffic issues to maintain the safety of school children, staff and local residents.
But my question tonight is not about Saddleworth School. It is rather about another school that for me is both geographically and academically closer to home – it is about Royton and Crompton School.
Royton and Crompton School is in a parlous state. It is a school that requires serious investment to meet the educational needs of pupils and staff in the twenty first century.
And I make a public pledge as I have done privately to help in any way I can to get the school Royton and Crompton deserves.
So can the Leader tonight tell me where we are in looking to secure capital investment from Government to make the school ‘fit for purpose’?
Q3 – Zero Suicide Target for Greater Manchester
In Britain last year 4,700 people committed suicide. Three quarters of them were men, and suicide is the largest cause of death for young people and young men in particular.
The North West has the second highest numbers of suicide rates in Britain. Last year 567 men and 146 women took their own lives in the North West.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, recently said: “Suicide is, and always has been, a massive taboo in our society. People are genuinely scared to talk about it, never mind intervene when they believe a loved one is at risk”.
The Deputy Prime Minister called for more to be done “in every area of our society to ensure that people don’t get to that point where they believe taking their own life is their only option.”
In some areas of the USA, health services have managed to get to a situation where there are zero suicides for people receiving healthcare support.
Some areas of the UK such as Liverpool, the South West and the East of England already have plans in place to achieve this by 2017.
I believe that we should share this ambition for Greater Manchester.
Can I therefore call on the Leader to support me in raising this aspiration with NHS and Public Health Authorities in Greater Manchester so that together we can work to stamp out mental stigma and for a Greater Manchester with zero suicides?
The Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Howard Sykes, MBE, has given his support to the second National Voter Registration Day being held this Thursday 5th February 2015.
Cllr Sykes said: “The National Voter Registration Day is being organised by Bite the Ballot, an organisation established to encourage young people to register to vote and to exercise that vote.” “One of the biggest challenges facing all politicians is disengagement among Britain’s youth. In the 2010 general election, only 44% of voters under 25 actually voted, compared with 76% of over-65s.”
“For both local and general election results to have validity, we need to ensure that every section of the electorate exercises their ballot. Young people are our future – so it critical they have their say on how a future Britain looks”.
National Voter Registration Day is being held on 5th Feb 2015 and organisations or individuals wishing to promote registration are encouraged to run National Voter Registration rallies. Last year 50,000 young people were registered on the day; this year a target has been set of 250,000. Cllr Sykes added: “I am especially pleased that the efforts and aspirations of Bite the Ballot’s campaign have been recognised in an early day motion registered with Parliament by Liberal Democrat MP David Ward.”
“This initiative enjoys cross-party support and I can only wish it every success.”
“If any individual or local organisation, especially youth centres and community groups, wants to organise an event, there is information to be found and various supporting resources that can be downloaded from the website: http://bitetheballot.co.uk/”
Shaw and Crompton District Executive
Invite you to attend Our 11th Holocaust Memorial Day Service at Crompton War Memorial, High Street, Shaw.
Tuesday 27th January 2015 9.30am (20+ mins duration)
The day for everyone to remember the millions of people killed in the Holocaust
Places are still available on our free basic first aid training taking place at Royton Health and Wellbeing Centre on the 15th Jan.
If people want to book onto the course then if they can email or call the British Red Cross on: keyaccounts@redcross.org.uk or 0844 412 9000.
Shaw Holocaust Poster 2015
Shaw and Crompton District Executive
Invite you to attend Our 11th Holocaust Memorial Day Service at Crompton War Memorial, High Street, Shaw.
Tuesday 27th January 2015 9.30am (20 mins duration)
The day for everyone to remember the millions of people killed in the Holocaust
Councillors Rod Blyth, Mark Alcock and Howard Sykes.
Also Parish Councillors Aspinall, Farrell, Duffy, Hall, Stephens, Dodd, Robinson, Murphy and Wood will also attend.
7.30pm – 8.30pm, Lifelong Learning Centre, High Street, Shaw, OL2 8TB.
Thursday: January: 8, 15, 22, 29
NO APPOINTMENT REQUIRED
