Thursday March – 8, 15, 22, 29

All at Shaw Lifelong Learning Centre, High Street, Shaw

From 7:30pm to 8:30pm

Councillors: Gloster, Sykes, Williamson, Murphy and Turner

NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY

Liberal Democrat Councillor John McCann was surprised to find that he was the only Councillor from the three in Saddleworth South Ward on Oldham Council who bothered to turn up for Wednesday’s important Budget Council meeting (28 February 2018).

He explained: “I was disappointed that Conservative Councillors, John Hudson and Graham Sheldon, sent their apologies and failed to show.  I know it was not good weather wise, but I felt it was my duty to make it, whatever the weather.  I think the public expect us to be there and I have to travel a similar distance to get here as they do.  If anything they could be closer to the civic centre than I am!”

Councillor John McCann proposed a Liberal Democrat amendment to the Labour budget that would have cut waste and bureaucracy to find over £400,000 in extra money for investments 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.  This includes in Saddleworth South, regrettably, the Labour Administration, which runs the Council, voted against it and the proposal was defeated.

“But at least they turned up!” stated Councillor McCann.  “The Conservatives the minority opposition group never propose any amendments to the Budget, and they usually vote with Labour.  But, just not turning up at the most important meeting of the year beggar’s belief.”

“It would however have been some consolation if they had been there to support the common-sense and costed proposals of the Liberal Democrat Group that would have helped the residents of Saddleworth South,” he added.

Mr Mayor, I rise tonight to second the amendment to the Administration’s Budget proposed by the Opposition Liberal Democrat Group.

Local government continues to be butchered disproportionately – hit by the Conservative Government’s continued adherence to so called austerity.

The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement announced in December did not bring us an early Christmas present; it simply represented yet more pain for us to absorb.

The Liberal Democrat Group recognises that in our financial situation the Labour Administration has once more had to reduce overall spending whilst, regrettably, increasing Council Tax by a further 3.99%.

Through necessity, we will support the rise to pay for improvements to adult social care and services.

This is albeit reluctantly because we know that many residents in our Borough have not seen any increase in their take home pay for several years whilst facing a constant rise in the cost of basic necessities.

I am only glad that there has been cross-party support to maintain the Council Tax Support Scheme at its current level to help those on the lowest incomes to reduce their bills.

I now want to turn to our amendment.

Councillor McCann in his speech highlighted the additional savings in Civic Centre bureaucracy that the Liberal Democrat team has identified.

I want now to explain how we intend to invest those savings to improve highways; tackle fly tipping; and address anti-social behaviour and crime; to make our Borough’s streets better and cleaner; and our communities safer.

We are proposing to spend £400,000 of our savings this year to  invest more in our highways; to restore the cuts to our youth services; to tackle the fly-tipping that blights our communities; and for public safety measures, such as alley-gating and CCTV schemes.

I will look at each of these proposals in turn.

The Labour Administration recently announced a £6.2 million investment in road improvements, including proposing an investment of £5 million this year.

Although welcome, this is not the first time we have heard such a proposal in this chamber.

We made the same proposal in each of our last two Budget Amendments.  These were investments that Labour and others failed to support. 

If it is suddenly right to do this now, why was it not right to do it then, especially as in the last two years our road surfaces have been steadily getting worse?

But in 2018 the Liberal Democrats are more ambitious.

In our proposals, we can afford to fund AN ADDITIONAL £5 million in highway and infrastructure improvements in 2019/20.

Thus sustaining the level of investment for one more year making more of our roads smoother and safer. 

So our proposals represent welcome news indeed to our motorists, users of public transport and pedestrians.

The Liberal Democrats are concerned that the £100,000 reduction in funding for our youth services will lead to more instances of anti-social behaviour and increased pressure on our already over-burdened Children’s Social Care Services and on the Police.

A false economy if there ever was one.

Through our savings, we would find the money to restore the funding.

We also want a proper Service Level Agreement to be drawn up to ensure that some funding is focused on providing youth services within EACH of the Districts, not simply at Mahdlo, which is a town centre venue that many young people are unable, or reluctant, to travel too.

The Liberal Democrats want to see some of our youth services delivered locally as they should be.

We also want to make £650,000 available over two years to tackle environmental crime and for public safety.

• Money to apprehend the cowboy fly-tippers who criminally dump bulky waste items by the side of our highways and in our beauty spots. 

• Money to establish a fund to support applications for alley-gates and CCTV cameras to reduce burglaries and street crime. 

• Money to help people to feel safe in their homes and communities.  

So, Mr Mayor, in summary our proposals will deliver:

• Better roads
• Better and more local youth services
• Less anti-social behaviour and safer communities
• Less fly-tipping and cleaner streets

All priorities for the residents of Oldham Borough and all this for less than half a million pounds!

Mr Mayor, these investments will have a real positive impact on the quality of life of our residents.

This is about getting the basics right and spending less on back-office bureaucracy in the Civic Centre!

I do hope that tonight Councillors from all sides of the chamber will choose to support this very sensible amendment.

At next Wednesday’s Oldham Budget Council meeting (28 February), the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council will propose an amendment to the Labour budget to find a further £423,000 in savings at the Civic Centre to provide more money to fix our pot hole ridden roads, provide more youth services, and tackle crime and fly-tipping.

The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, said:  “The Labour Administration is once more being forced to make savings and raise Council Tax by a further 3.99% as a result of another cut to Oldham Council’s grant by a miserly Conservative Government wedded to austerity.”

“With regret, we will vote to support most of the Administration’s proposals and the Council Tax rise – but we believe that the pain will be reduced if the Council agrees to the further back-office savings identified in our Amendment. This will free up over £400,000 to invest on fixing our roads and other basic services that are valued my local residents,” he added.

The Liberal Democrats have identified a further £423,000 in annual savings by improving disciplinary procedures, tackling absenteeism, reducing staff car allowances for low-mileage users, cutting spending on agency staff and consultants, significantly reducing expenditure on communications and marketing, scrapping Borough Life, and making Council meetings paperless.  They would also invest in bus lane enforcement to fine selfish drivers who illegally use them.

The Liberal Democrats would use this money to service a £5 million loan to invest in improving our Borough’s highways in 2019/2020, doubling the investment proposed by Labour; to reversing the £100,000 cut in youth services proposed by Labour; and to invest £650,000 over two years in further measures to tackle fly-tipping and install alley-gates, CCTV cameras and other crime busting measures to make communities cleaner and safer.

Councillor Sykes said:  “We recognise that our savings represent only a relatively small amount compared to the many millions that this Council has been forced to save, but this modest amount would nonetheless make a real difference to local citizens”

“Once again we are the only group to present an alternative to Labour’s proposals.  The Conservatives and others talk hot air but fail to offer any alternative and if I was a betting man I would bet they will vote with Labour as they usually do,” said Councillor Sykes.