Questions from the Leader of the Opposition to the Council Leader – Oldham Council 5th Feb. 2014

1) Monitoring Air Quality:

As one of the foremost cotton towns, with a continued legacy amongst our citizens of poor respiratory and cardio-vascular health, we must all recognise the importance of clean air to the well-being of the residents and wildlife of this borough.

Certainly in Shaw and Crompton, ward members, being conscious of the on-going impact of diesel fumes from the many HGVs that pass through our ward, en-route to and from local distribution centres, have campaigned long and hard for the installation of a station to monitor air quality. This campaign was recently rewarded when such a station was installed on Crompton Way.

Councillors may be unaware that the Committee on Medical Effects of Air Pollutants estimates that up to 29.000 deaths in the UK per year are attributable to poor air quality and that the World Health Organisation has recently classified outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans.

I was therefore recently concerned to hear of a suggestion by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs that the legal obligation be removed from local authorities to monitor air quality.

I am sure that the Leader will want to join me in seeking to maintain our Council’s commitment to carrying out these checks, and to continue to participate in the work of the Greater Manchester Air Quality Network, so can I invite him to join me (and the other group leader on Oldham Council) in sending a joint letter to the Minister expressing our concern over this issue?

2) Use of Discretionary Housing Payments and Local Welfare Provision Monies:

I would like to ask the Leader about the use of money allocated by the Coalition Government to provide relief for the poorest and most deserving residents of this borough affected by welfare reform.

I am referring to two ‘pots’ of money given by the Department of Work and Pensions – the DWP – to this authority – the Discretionary Housing Payments fund and local Welfare Provision Fund.

In the 2013 – 14 financial year, Oldham Council has received £498,000 in order that it “may be awarded, in addition to any welfare benefits, when a local authority considers that a claimant requires further financial assistance towards housing costs”.

It is principally used to meet shortfalls, where an award of housing benefit falls short of the rent owed on the property.

The sum that Oldham Council received this year was significantly larger than that received previously, with the intention that it be used in large part to meet rent shortfalls for those social tenants who were deemed to be under-occupying so they might have time to secure a smaller property or to increase their income (by taking up employment or taking in a lodger) to pay the rent.

As of the start of this week, £327,000 – or approximately two thirds – has been spent.

The Local Welfare Provision replaced a number of grants and social fund loans in April and is intended to “meet the short term emergency and immediate support needs of vulnerable people” and “assist vulnerable people to establish or maintain a home in the community”.

The DWP awarded £1,038,000 to this authority for this purpose.

My understanding is that by mid-December £453,000 – or under half of this money – had been spent.

However, only £213,000 of this went to needy applicants. £80,000 was spent on beefing up our welfare rights service, which we welcome. But worryingly £160,000 was spent on administration. There must surely be something wrong when Oldham Council is spending £4 on administration for every £5 awarded in grant?

We are now in the final quarter of the current financial year.
At this point, we have spent two thirds of one budget and under half of another.

So can the Leader please tell me how he intends to speed up payments in the final quarter to ensure the poorest and most needy residents of this borough get the money they are entitled to as the Government expected when it awarded this Council the money?

And what he intends to do with any underspend – which particularly in the case of the Local Welfare Provision is likely to be significant?

3) Zero Hours Contracts:

The use of zero hours’ contracts by employers has recently attracted significant criticism.

The Get Oldham Working strategy, a key corporate priority for this Council, includes a commitment (to quote from the Council’s own website) “to support ‘Fair Employment’ by promoting a Living Wage and tackling issues like ‘zero hours’ contracts”.

We had the debate about introducing the National Living Wage at last Council, so for tonight I will confine myself to a question relating to ‘zero hours’ contracts.

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Dr Vince Cable, MP, has launched a public consultation on a range of proposals to reform the use of ‘zero hours contracts’ in the labour market. The closing date for the submission of comments is 13th March of this year.

The Leader will recall that I asked for a special hearing of the Overview and Scrutiny Board to be convened to respond to a similar consultation last summer by Government on the Work Capability Assessment.

I would like to ask the Leader to convene a similar hearing of O + S to which elected members and other interested parties, such as employers’ bodies and trades unions, are invited to attend, or otherwise contribute, in order that this Council can make a collective submission by the deadline.

SHAW and CROMPTON DISTRICT MEETING and COMMUNITY FORUM

SHAW and CROMPTON DISTRICT MEETING and COMMUNITY FORUM

Tuesday 28th January 2014

6.00pm
Shaw Lifelong Learning Centre
High Street, Shaw,
Oldham, OL2 8TB
Community Forum meeting which will start at the
rise of the District Exec (approx 6.15pm)

ALL WELCOME

Come along and talk to the Councillors and Officers
Who work in and for your local area
(Police, Highways, Environmental Services, Housing Providers, Youth Service and more)

Working together we can address:

• Local Issues
• What you like about your area
• What is good about your area
• Matters we can assist you with

http://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/200608/meetings

Plea for rightsizing policy in social homes – gross mismatching ‘a scandal’ affecting children’s health and future

The focus of debate on housing issues should return to the plight of the thousands of families living with overcrowding, say Liberal Democrat councillors Lynne Thompson and John McCann.

It is not just a matter of comfort or convenience; it has a severe impact on the health and educational attainment of many of Oldham’s children.

Children sleeping in overcrowded bedrooms are more likely to get every bug going around and much less likely to have a quiet area to do homework or to read or pursue hobbies. Also common is disturbed sleep when siblings of various ages and differing bedtimes must sleep together.

It is desperately unfair when, according to the latest statistics the council has published, at least 7 individuals or childless couples appear to be living in five-bedroomed social homes, 25 in four-bedroomed homes, and no less than 341 in three-bedroomed homes.

(It could be that they have a child or children, but that means you can add extra bedrooms to the figures above.)

And that is just the tip of the iceberg – those who have been living rent-free and must now pay towards their unused bedrooms. There could be as many again over pension credit age, who are exempt from the size criteria; it is often the elderly who find themselves in unmanageably large properties when children have left. And then there are people who pay the full (subsidised) rent.

The ideal answer to overcrowding is to build more affordable homes, but that takes time and a great deal of money – up to £200,000 for the family houses which are in high demand.

With 5,555 families in priority need of a new home with 3 or more bedrooms, the majority of them overcrowded, the council should be pursuing every solution. One priority family in 15 could be rehoused if just those grossly under-occupying at public expense moved – potentially as many as one in 8 if all under-occupiers did.

Oldham had until recently an award-winning downsizing scheme which delivered over 200 larger homes for occupation quickly and for around £500 a time.

Councillors Thompson and McCann are seeking its reinstatement, along with a whole raft of other measures, in order to free up large homes for the families they were built for.

Those measures include:
• extra housing list priority for tenants seeking to downsize
• setting up a lodger scheme
• promoting the AGMA Help With Rent scheme for would-be downsizers
• improvements to the home exchange scheme
• a no-eviction policy and a hardship fund to help would-be downsizers who fall behind with rent because they under-occupy.

Councillor John McCann explains: “These are voluntary schemes we are proposing to help people who find themselves financially squeezed because they live in homes which are far larger than they need.

“Our experience with the downsizing scheme was that the big reduction in outgoings was in heating bills and running costs. The reason many beneficiaries, especially older people, had hesitated was the complexity of moving home. Our downsizing scheme’s one-to-one support made it easy and they found themselves much better off.

“We have not hesitated to make common cause with our Labour colleagues on the council in opposing the size criteria legislation where it is bad – inadequate allowance for disability, for instance, and failure to allow for the scarcity of one-bedroomed accommodation.

“However, those with two or more spare bedrooms have a choice because they are vastly outnumbered by families who want family-sized houses. It is council procedure which perversely makes a move more difficult than it need be.”

“The crunch question is whether to press people to move”, says Cllr LynneThompson. The most heart-rending casework I get is still from people living like sardines in overcrowded homes.

“I understand emotional attachments to houses but ultimately I have to question whether it is morally right to allow people to play dog-in-the-manger with publicly-provided houses they do not need and others need desperately.

“I also sympathise with young families struggling with a mortgage so they can realise the dream of a home of their own. Under-occupiers’ outrage that they must pay £21 a week to keep a four or five bedroomed house rings very hollow in their ears – and Labour’s claim they are hard-done-to even more so.

“I believe that, in the first instance, the council should leave people a choice – downsize or contribute if required to. But if selfish people dig their heels in, the council must consider tougher measures and councillors of all parties must face up to supporting that. There is nothing generous about sacrificing children’s well-being to others’ self-interest.”

Questions to the Leader of Oldham Council – from the Leader of the Opposition – Cllr Howard Sykes – 18 Dec 13

Honouring our Spanish Civil War Dead

I was pleased to see that as part of Democracy Week an exhibition was staged in Gallery Oldham about the ten men from the Borough of Oldham who fought as part of the International Brigades against Fascism in the Spanish Civil War.

April 2014 will mark 75 years from the ending of the war – the tragedy for Spain is that the Fascists won, immersing the country in a stifling dictatorship that only ended in 1975.

Oldham has recently rightly honoured its dead from both World Wars with a refurbished war memorial.

It would therefore also seem appropriate to ensure that the men who served in this lesser known, but critical, conflict receive their due recognition.
In 1986 former Mayor Alwyn McConnell unveiled a memorial plaque to these unsung heroes in the Local Studies Centre.

Unfortunately this is now sadly languishing somewhere in the vaults – available for inspection only upon request to the curator.

Can I therefore ask the Leader if he will commit himself to ensuring that this plaque is placed on display in a prominent position in a town centre public building as was intended in time to mark the 75th anniversary of the ending of the war?

And can I also ask him to ensure that there will be a re-dedication ceremony to be held on a date agreed with the International Brigade Memorial Trust to which relatives, representatives from the Trust and veterans organisations, and local civic leaders can be invited?

Public Investment in Renewables

Climate change is of increasing concern to the public – as inhabitants of this Earth every one of us has a personal responsibility for ensuring we cause no harm to the planet – but as local leaders, elected members also have a collective responsibility for showing the way.

I was therefore very pleased to hear that the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities has set ambitious targets for reductions in carbon emissions for each of the ten authorities and that Cabinet has recently discussed how Oldham Council will contribute to these targets.

One way that other local authorities have done this is by supporting the development of local renewable electricity generation schemes, whether hydro, solar or wind, often in conjunction with a specialist commercial operator, and these schemes have been part-financed through a community share offer to the public.

Such schemes are revenue-raising as they provide a long-term income stream to the authority, but they also embody the co-operative agenda as local authorities and communities work together to achieve a common goal.

There are some factors in Oldham’s favour.

We have a track record with the establishment of a community-owned hydro scheme at Dovestones Reservoir, new Passivhaus carbon-neutral homes at St. Marys, and our electric-charging points.

We also have local expertise in this field – a splendid Regional Science Centre and The Oldham College Green Technology Centre.

So there is no reason why Oldham cannot be ambitious.

Can I therefore please ask the Leader if he will agree to convene a renewable energy think-tank – rather along the lines of the recent successful Feeding Oldham Event – with key partners and players, to identify future renewable energy projects for our borough?

Developing a Municipal Bond Market

Given the significant level of public investment proposed by this Council in the coming years, I am sure that the Leader and the Cabinet Member for Finance would welcome any opportunity to access cheaper money to finance infrastructure projects.

The Chairman of the Local Government Association, Sir Merrick Cockell, has recently stated that the revival of a municipal bond market would help local Government access finance at a lower cost than the Public Works Loan Board.

It was Sir Merrick’s view that this would also provide local Government with greater independence from central Government.

Sir Merrick has issued an invitation to Councils to participate as partners in a new agency to work up a practical proposition for municipal bonds and so far 18 Councils have expressed an interest in joining such an agency.

Given that this proposition could save our Borough’s hard pressed Council tax payers money from servicing reduced interest payments, can I ask the Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance to consider taking up Sir Merrick’s invitation, or can they inform Council that they have already done so?

Milnrow Road Zebra Crossing tragedy – statement given at Full Council 18th Dec – posted for information purposed only

18 December, 2013
OLDHAM COUNCIL: STATEMENT TO FULL COUNCIL

A statement was given at tonight’s Full Council meeting about the tragic death of a local schoolgirl in Shaw.

Annalise Holt, 12, was fatally injured following a collision with a van in the incident on Milnrow Road, Shaw, at about 4.30pm on December 17.

Full Council observed a minute’s silence as a mark of respect at the start of proceedings.

Councillor Dave Hibbert, Cabinet Member for Environment and Housing, then gave the following statement to the Council Chamber:

“I am sure that everyone here tonight in the Council Chamber and people from across our Borough are united in a sense of sadness and shock after hearing news of yesterday’s tragic events”, he said.

“We have had a number of public questions submitted for our Question Time event this evening about this tragedy and that is only right because we all want information and answers.

“Firstly, I want to pay tribute to the emergency services who responded to last night’s incident in a typically professional manner and did all they could to assist.

“At present we are now assisting the police investigation which aims to find out exactly what happened. That means we are somewhat restricted in what we can say because we must take very great care not to prejudice the outcome of that investigation in any way.

“There have been some misleading reports about the crossing site which I would like to correct. Some of the data that has been quoted in relation to accident figures does not refer to this site at all. They refer to a stretch of Milnrow Road (A663) running north towards Milnrow.

“Our records at this crossing site since 1999 show that – prior to yesterday – there have been three incidents in 14 years. Two of these simply involved ‘shunting’ – where one vehicle has gone into the back of another giving way to pedestrians.

“The other case was the tragic incident in January 2012 when Lynn Steele was one of two pedestrians hit by a car and subsequently died.

“The police report into that accident stated that the glare of the sun low in the winter sky was a contributing factor in this incident – not the condition of the highway or the crossing. We understand the Coroner held an inquest in late-October but the Council was not called as an interested party and nor has the Coroner’s report been released to us.

“Some reports have also speculated that the lack of a school crossing patrol may have been a contributory factor in yesterday’s incident. It is true that this crossing used to have a patrol for two local primary schools, but at the time of day when this incident happened the patrol would not, in any case, have still been on duty given that they finish at around 4pm.

“We fully recognise that a petition that has been launched by the public asking the Council to consider replacing the zebra crossing with a pelican crossing and we understand the concerns being raised.

“This site is eligible for either a zebra, pelican or puffin crossing. Although we are still far from a conclusion to the police investigation, what I will say is that we will consider this in consultation with the local community when we have the full facts before us. We are certainly not dismissing this request, but the existing zebra crossing does meet all our highway safety obligations.

“That is as much as we can say at this stage without prejudicing the ongoing investigation. We all have a duty to allow that to proceed in a fair and responsible manner.

“In that context I have tried to address as many of the questions submitted to us as possible by the public as we can but we must now wait for the police to report their findings to us.

“I pledge to continue to liaise with local Ward Members, who have raised this issue as a matter of urgency, as we get more information in the coming days. The Council is also supporting Royton and Crompton school in their efforts to deal with these tragic events.

“I will issue a further public update on this matter as quickly as I am able to do so.

“Finally, I would again like to express my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Annalise Holt, and also to wish her school friend a full recovery.

“I know I speak for the whole Council Chamber when I say that they are all in our thoughts and prayers.”