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?

Lib Dem Welcome for National Voter Registration Day

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/”

Cllr Howard Sykes welcomes Expansion Plans for Shaw Park and Ride

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Liberal Democrat Shaw Councillor Howard Sykes has welcomed the announcement that February’s Oldham Planning Committee will consider plans to create more than 40 extra car parking spaces for local commuters using the Shaw and Crompton Metrolink station.

Oldham Council purchased the former Talentum building on Beal Lane specifically to enable TfGM to create more car parking spaces to meet demand.

Cllr Sykes said: “This is good news but it has been a very long time in coming.”

“For many years now, in fact years before the closure of the Oldham – Rochdale railway line in 2009, Shaw and Crompton Liberal Democrat Councillors have been campaigning for more parking at the Shaw and Crompton Station.”

“Just as getting the new Metrolink Station located on the Oldham side of Beal Lane took many years to ensure it happened, the provision of extra parking was also part of our long term ambitions for Metrolink in Shaw. I lost count ages ago of the number of meetings over the last 20 years I have attended, and called, to ensure Shaw gets some extra parking and the Station in the right place.”

“Shaw and Crompton was always one of the busiest stations on the old railway line and this has not changed with the opening of Metrolink. The existing car-parking is always full well before 8.00am on most week days and at many other times. This means that many users have had to drive the extra distance to Derker Station, which rather defeats the point of encouraging people to ‘park and ride’ from their most local station to reduce traffic congestion and environmental pollution. Or other drivers decide to make their whole journey by car.”

Cllr Sykes expressed his hope that the Planning Committee will approve the plans and that work to create the additional car parking will then take place as quickly as possible.

Missed bins up date for Shaw

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This is the information that has been sent to me.

Although snow has been limited today, driving conditions have been very difficult due to ice on the roads and underfoot.

However, working closely with the winter gritting team, crews have managed to complete the vast majority of their work today.

The outstanding pockets in Shaw and Crompton are as follows:

Kendall Drive area (off Grains Road) – general rubbish only

A small cluster of streets off George Street – general rubbish only

A small cluster of streets around Victoria Street – general rubbish and paper & card

Brunswick Street area – paper & card only

Residents are advised them to leave their bins/bags out and they will be collected tomorrow or Monday (weather permitting).

Sir Winston Churchill Statue Petition

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I have had that much interest and support on this matter I have now launched a petition on this matter.

Use the link below to sign up and show your support: http://www.richardmarbrow.org.uk/howard_churchill_statue

Words of petition are:

Statue petition Churchill

24 January 2015 represents the 50th anniversary of the death of former war-time Prime Minister, The Rt. Hon. Sir Winston Spencer Churchill.

Winston Churchill started his political career as the Member of Parliament for Oldham, serving the constituency from 1900 to 1906, and was also awarded the honour of Freeman of the Borough.

Given Sir Winston’s historic connection with Oldham we petition Oldham Council to erect a statue in his image.

The location of such a statue to be ideally in the new Parliament Square, or on the steps of the restored Oldham Town Hall, or at another prominent location in the Town Centre, if deemed more appropriate.

This statue should be funded, as many were in the past, by the Council soliciting business sponsorships and subscriptions from the general public, rather than just through recourse to public funds.