Oldham Labour Running Scared of Debate, say Lib Dems

20070503-free-speech-cartoon-via-citizen-arcaneThe Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has attacked the Labour Administration for its proposals to radically alter the Council’s constitution to stifle debate in the Council Chamber.

In the proposals to Wednesday’s Annual Council meeting, Labour want to reduce the number of Council meetings in the year at which questions and motions can be tabled by one and to then further reduce the number of questions that members of the opposition parties can ask.

Commenting Cllr Sykes said: “These proposals are not good for local democracy in Oldham.”

“In seeking to reduce the number of opportunities where members of the opposition can question the actions of Labour Cabinet members, the public will be left with the impression that Labour is scared of debate and they will ask why?”

“Perhaps Labour Cabinet members doubt their ability to respond effectively to questions from the floor of the Chamber, or perhaps they have something to hide, but there is no question that given their numbers (45 out of 60) it is always their will as the current majority party that shall prevail.”

“Surely in a vibrant and healthy democracy, we should be encouraging members of the opposition to have their say in the Chamber and they should have the right to expect proper, considered answers to their questions from the Leader and Cabinet members.”

Under the proposals, Cllr Sykes as Main Opposition Leader will see the number of questions that he can ask the Council Leader fall from three to two at each Council, a 33% reduction.  Also both the Conservative and UKiP group lose their right to ask a question and theory have to ‘share the right’ to ask one question between them.

“With such a large majority and control of the Council agenda why reduce the amount the current pitiful time allowed to the opposition even further,” stated Cllr Sykes.  “This is the sort of action you would expect in one party states like North Korea not in English local government.”

Cllr Sykes added: “This time slot is time well spent.  In the past, there has been significant accord on many issues between myself and the Council Leader Cllr McMahon and in recent Councils, I have raised a number of innovative proposals that the Administration is now investigating, such as establishing a Community Shop to help low-income households source high quality food at low prices, alongside help to find employment, to exploring the geothermic power beneath our feet as a renewable energy source.”

“The problem I encounter in the run up to each Council is not finding three good-quality questions to ask the Leader, but making a choice of which three of the many sensible and considered questions I have to hand to take into the Chamber.”

Labour’s other proposal to take other questions on a “politically balanced basis” also do not sit well with Cllr Sykes.

He said: “Labour backbenchers have exclusive access to their own Cabinet members in internal group meetings or in their Cabinet Office.  Councillors from other parties have neither.  The Council Chamber often still remains the best and only place for opposition members to raise issues that are of concern to their constituents, particularly where previous attempts to engage officers or Cabinet members have met with little or no response.”

“These proposals mean in effect that almost all of the time slot will be monopolised by Labour members with at most one, or perhaps two, questions available to members of the opposition.  For the smaller groups on the Council, Conservative (2), UKiP (2) and Independent (1) this means they will be lucky if they ever get to ask a question.  Previously ward questions were taken on an alternating basis and this was a sensible arrangement.”

Cllr Sykes stressed that his viewpoint was not just driven by expediency:

“As a Liberal Democrat, I strongly believe that it is important for all democratically elected representatives to have the opportunity to raise issues in the Council Chamber.  I feel particularly sorry that the Conservatives and UKIP as minor opposition parties are being even more short-changed by these proposals”.

Cllr Sykes has tabled amendmentquestions-to-ask-your-LASIK-doctors to the proposals to retain the existing arrangements.

Missed bins Shaw and Crompton

refusecollectorI have just been sent this information by Oldham Council.

Please be aware that we have not completed collections on Food & Garden and General Rubbish today.

The following areas outstanding:

Food & Garden:

Crompton – Rochdale Road area (1.5 hours)

  • Shaw – Salt Street area (1.5 hours)

General Rubbish:

  • Crompton – Wood Street/Sherwood Way area (1 hour)
  • Shaw – Harewood Road (30 minutes)

The Council will be returning tomorrow (Saturday) to clear all collections missed from today.

 

Budget welcomed – by local Lib Dems

thCAGDS5F2Lib Dem Group Leader and Opposition Leader on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes, commented:

“The key things in the budget that will have a welcome impact upon the citizens of Oldham Borough include:

  • Help for lower and middle income earners by increasing the Personal Allowance by further £200 so that from April 2016 the tax threshold increases to £10,800 and from April 2017 to £11,000.

Raising the Personal Allowance was a commitment by the Liberal Democrats when they joined the Government. At that time, Prime Minister David Cameron said that it was not affordable – but the Liberal Democrats have done it.

An average worker is now over £800 a year better off as a result of this measure.

By 2017/2018, 27.2 million workers will have benefited from increases in the personal allowance and we will have lifted over 3.7 million out of income tax altogether.

  • Help for children with mental health problems by providing £1.25bn of new funding over the next five years to treat 110,000 more children with mental health issues, and provide rapid access to treatment for new mothers.

This investment has been secured following a recent personal commitment by the Deputy Prime Minister, Liberal Democrat Party Leader Nick Clegg.

  • Help for motorists by cancelling Labour’s fuel duty increase for September, so that fuel duty will have been frozen for five years – the longest freeze for more than 20 years.

This will give a total saving to the typical motorist of more than nine pounds every time they fill up their tank.

  • Help for people buying a house with a new Help to Buy ISA providing up to £3,000 for first time buyers using their savings to buy a home.

This is in addition to home owners making mortgage repayments benefitting from Britain’s lowest interest rates throughout the lifetime of this Parliament.

  • Help for savers by creating a new savings income allowance so that 95 per cent of individuals can now save completely tax free.

This will mean more money in the pockets of savers who work hard to put money aside.

  • Help for pensioners by introducing Steve Webb’s proposal to give people who have already bought an annuity greater flexibility over how they access its value.

This is on top of the Triple Lock commitment made by the Liberal Democrats that pensions should rise by inflation, average earnings or 2.5% each year, whichever is the highest figure, meaning that pensioners no longer face the humiliation of the 75p ‘rise’ grudgingly given by Gordon Brown’s miserly Government.

“And it is all fully paid for by delivering on Liberal Democrat policy:

  • By reducing the lifetime allowance for pension contributions that benefit from tax relief from £1.25m to £1m – affecting only the top 4% of wealthiest individuals.
  • By increasing the bank levy which will raise £4.4bn over the next five years.
  • By cracking down on off-shore tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance on those who are serial avoiders.

The Liberal Democrats have been cracking down on those who dodge tax with 40 loopholes, left by the last Labour Government, closed so far. This has resulted in billions of pounds in additional tax being collected over the course of this Parliament.

The latest measures announced in the budget will raise an extra £3bn – money that can be spent on schools and hospitals.

  • By ensuring capital gains tax entrepreneurs’ relief is well targeted and only available when someone is making a meaningful withdrawal from that business.”

“The economy is growing because of the hard work of people and businesses throughout Britain.

The UK currently has the fastest growth among G7 economies. At the end of 2014, the number of people in work was at a record high of 30.9m

This shows that in the face of rising instability around the world the Liberal Democrat plan is delivering stability and growth.

Also there are no pre-election give-aways which I also welcome.”

 

Liberal Democrat Budget Options – Spend to Save on Two Key Services and Cut Waste

thCAGDS5F2The 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 “.

Leaders Questions – Oldham Council 4 February 2015 from Cllr Howard Sykes

questions-to-ask-your-LASIK-doctorQ1 – 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?