I investigated the above incident (ref. 01250936) and can confirm it was a repeat of another incident that was reported to us earlier. I traced the source to pollution to the a distribution centre in Shaw. Despite clean up it does appear that oil was not effectively contained at the time of the incident. I have therefore asked the operators to deploy booms and absorbent pads at the outfall to soak up any residual oil and I hope that this will resolve the problem.
International Day of Peace 21 September
Copy of a suggestion to the Chief Executive and Leader of Oldham Council
Later this week (28th June) will mark the 100th anniversary of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the event that plunged the world into the First World War.
Soon we shall rightly begin our commemorations to mark the selfless sacrifice of so many Britons in this terrible war, but I am writing to you at this time because I also feel passionately that we should take whatever small steps we can to promote peace.
You may be aware that in 1981 the International Day of Peace was established by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. Each year it is observed around the world on 21 September.
On this day, the UN General Assembly asks all combatants to cease hostilities, and invites all nations and peoples to hold commemorative activities and events to help strengthen the ideals of peace and raise public awareness of the day.
As a small step to promote peace, I would like to ask the Council to take a lead in helping to galvanise events across the borough to mark this year’s International Peace Day and to make this an annual effort.
My suggestions are that the Council looks to:
• Host, in conjunction with partners, an annual event in the town centre to which all communities, organisations, and residents be invited to commemorate the day
• Invite representatives from the United Nations Association (United Kingdom) and Peace One Day, a UK-based charity which has been instrumental in promoting the International Day of Peace. to attend this annual event
• Display the United Nations flag at the Civic Centre and on other public buildings to mark the International Day of Peace
• Ensure that information about the day and its significance appears on the Council’s website and in public libraries
• Ask youth club and religious leaders and the Head-teachers and Principals of all schools, academies and colleges in this borough to day in an assembly or event at their establishment on the most practical day that falls nearest to 21st September in each year
The Oldham Liberal Democrats will be very happy to co-operate with the Administration and with Council officers to make the programme a meaningful annual celebration of peace.
I shall look forward to your reply and am of course happy to discuss this further at Group Leaders etc.
Buckstones Road junction with Hillside Avenue – temporary traffic signals
Now informed due to an emergancy these works were delayed 
and will be undertaken today Monday 21 and tomorrow
Crompton Pool Latest 16 June
Crompton Pool Latest 16 June
My most recent correspondence on the matter, and extracts of just some of my earlier correspondence
Dear Ms McManus,
Can I formally request a copy of the papers/reports/email or any other information that has gone to the members of the CIPB about this matter, either under my right to know as a councillor or leader of the opposition or under a Freedom of information request.
Also under the above please inform me which councillors are on the Board and therefore making this decision/recommendation.
Also please confirm when the information was submitted to them for consideration.
I do hope the above will be supplied promptly, by return or within 24 hours at the very latest, and I will not have to chase this matter up as I have with every other email I have sent since the Pool closed on the 6th May.
I await your comments with interest as do thousands of residents in Shaw and Crompton and further afield who use Crompton Pool.
Regards.
Councillor Howard Sykes MBE
NOTES:
Capital Investment Programme Board – CIPB is a Board of Cabinet members, which meets to coordinate /discuss all capital projects and programmes within the council. It is an advisory board, which assists either a delegated decision, or a decision which needs to go on to cabinet/ Council for approval.
I was promised some clarity on this issue on the 15th May – I am still waiting and on every occasion I have to chase the Council.
From: Heather McManus
Sent: 14 June 2014 12:31
The matter is still with CIPB for consideration. As soon as I hear from members I will let you know.
From: Howard Sykes
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2014 12:22 PM GMT Standard Time
Now the 13 June.
Hopefully you will now have some clarity about this matter over a week after your email 5 June.
Users, groups and the people of Shaw need and expect to be kept informed about this issue.
You must know what the problem is now and an idea of what it will cost to fix and who might do that work.
I cannot understand the delay.
It is well over a week since I last asked about this (3 June) as still no information for the public, swim club, schools, etc. etc.
When will we have a time frame for getting the pool open again?
Or is it as people suspect you want to keep it closed to save money?
I and thousands of people await your response with interest.
Howard Sykes
From: Neil Consterdine
Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2014 11:01 AM
Consideration of the options will be considered this week via CIPB. We are hopeful to have a decision by the end of the week.
Neil Consterdine
Oldham Council
Head of Youth and Leisure
From: Howard Sykes
Sent: 29 May 2014 18:25
What is the timescale for the decision please?
I.e. tomorrow, next couple of days, next week, next month?
Many thanks in anticipation.
Howard
From: Neil Consterdine
Sent: 21 May 2014 16:24
The facility had to be closed because of damage to the hot water tank. This meant the pool water could not be kept at the correct temperature.
We are committed to keeping the pool open and are now assessing a repair option to ensure this happens. We will issue an update on this as soon as we possibly can to service users, partners and residents.
Neil Consterdine
Oldham Council
Head of Youth and Leisure
From: Howard Sykes
Sent: 20 May 2014 18:48
Dear Mr Consterdine,
So it is now a week on from your last email and considerably longer since the pool was closed (Tuesday 6th May).
No update or any additional information I am aware of.
Can you please let me and colleagues know the latest situation please and when the pool will re-open.
I await your comments with interest as do hundreds of my constituents, many of which have been in contact with me and colleagues.
Best wishes.
Councillor Howard Sykes
Buckstones Road junction with Hillside Avenue – temporary traffic signals
Purpose: for carriageway patching
Time: Thursday 19th June 2014 for two days during working hours
Works Supervisor and contact number: Geoff Roberts 0161 770 3326
Uncollected bins in Shaw will be emptied on Monday 16 if left out for collection
Some Brown bins have not been emptied and some Green waste bins not collected.
I have been in touch with Oldham Council and have been informed they will be collected on Monday. The reason for the service failure I have been given is a vehicle break down.
Oldham Liberal Democrats opposed to waiting day changes that hurt claimants
Oldham Liberal Democrats opposed to Waiting Day Changes that hurt Claimants
The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Cllr Howard Sykes, has expressed his opposition and that of colleagues to changes proposed by Tory Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Ian Duncan-Smith that benefit claimants should wait seven days for benefits rather than three at present.
The changes if implemented will mean that from October 2014 new claimants for Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) to wait seven days rather than three days before being paid any benefit.
A similar proposal to save money was also made by the then Labour Government in 1998, but following representations the proposal was withdrawn.
Cllr Sykes has written to the Secretary of the Social Security Advisory Committee, an important parliamentary body that advises the Government on social security matters.
The committee has been asked to conduct a public consultation on the proposed waiting days’ amendment, with a closing date for responses of Friday 13th June, prior to making a recommendation to the Secretary of State as to how to proceed.
In his letter, Cllr Sykes expresses his hope that our representations in this instance will help lead the committee to recommend to the Secretary of State that this proposed amendment also be abandoned.
The Liberal Democrat Group is concerned that JSA claimants will lose £40 on average, while disabled people claiming ESA will lose £50.
The Government’s own estimates indicate that 1.3 million people a year will lose out.
Claimants leaving work through dismissal or made redundant after short periods of employment will receive no statutory compensation from their employer on the termination of their contract; they may therefore have no immediate sources of ready cash to meet day to day needs.
In Oldham, a significant number of claimants already report that delays in processing their claim for benefit place them in financial hardship.
The Liberal Democrats are concerned that this change in policy may oblige newly-unemployed people to turn to ‘loan sharks’ or short-term sub-prime lenders to borrow money to survive, paying exorbitant rates of interest, or to food banks in order to eat.
The Liberal Democrats are convinced that this change will in no way assist unemployed people to find employment; on the contrary evidence suggests that where unemployed people have no income for immediate needs they focus on securing that income rather than on job-seeking.
As Cllr Sykes also believes the new measure will be counterproductive:
“This change will make it less likely that jobseekers will accept offers of short-term employment as they may be penalised twice when they sign back on”.
Nor does it reward those who as employees make National Insurance contributions.
Cllr Sykes added:
“The change is grossly unfair on new claimants making a claim on the basis of National Insurance contributions. These claimants are only entitled to benefit for a maximum of six months and are thereafter disbarred from receiving benefits because of savings or spousal earnings.
This change will eat into this entitlement by a further four days, providing yet more evidence that National Insurance is in fact a tax in all but name rather than a real passport to benefit entitlement”.
Copy of Cllr Sykes’ response below:
Sent: 12 June 2014 09:50
To: ssac@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Cc: Howard Sykes
Subject: FW: FAO Ms Denise Whitehead, The Committee Secretary Re: Consultation on the Social Security (Waiting Days) Amendment Regulations 2014
Dear Mrs Whitehead
I am writing to you as Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council.
The Liberal Democrat Group notes with great concern the recent proposal by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, The Rt. Hon Ian Duncan Smith MP, to require new claimants for Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) to wait seven days rather than three days before being paid any benefit from October 2014.
We note that a similar proposal was made by the then Labour Government in 1998 in order to save money, but following representations the proposal was withdrawn.
We hope that our representations in this instance will help lead the committee to recommend to the Secretary of State that this proposed amendment also be abandoned.
The Liberal Democrat Group is concerned that JSA claimants will lose £40 on average, while disabled people claiming ESA will lose £50.
The Government’s own estimates indicate that 1.3 million people a year will lose out.
Claimants leaving work through dismissal or made redundant after short periods of employment will receive no statutory compensation from their employer on the termination of their contract; they may therefore have no immediate sources of ready cash to meet day to day needs.
In Oldham, a significant number of claimants already report that delays in processing their claim for benefit place them in financial hardship. By obliging new claimants to wait longer, this policy has the potential to make newly unemployed people turn to ‘loan sharks’ or short-term sub-prime lenders to borrow money to survive, paying exorbitant rates of interest, or to food banks in order to eat.
The Secretary of State’s proposed amendment will in no way assist unemployed people to find employment; on the contrary evidence from a number of sources indicates that where unemployed people have no income for immediate needs they focus on securing that income rather than on job-seeking.
This change also has the potential to deter jobseekers from accepting offers of short-term employment for who is going to take short-term employment contracts if they are obliged to serve another 7-day waiting period on resubmitting their claim (‘signing back on’)?
Furthermore the change is grossly unfair on new claimants making a claim on the basis of National Insurance contributions. These claimants are only entitled to benefit for a maximum of six months and are thereafter disbarred from receiving benefits because of savings or spousal earnings.
This change will eat into this entitlement by a further four days, providing yet more evidence that National Insurance is in fact a tax in all but name rather than a real passport to benefit entitlement.
I trust that the Committee will take the Oldham Liberal Democrat Group’s views into account when making its recommendations to the Secretary of State, and in due course we look forward to hearing further from you about your deliberations.
Yours sincerely
Councillor Howard Sykes
Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group Oldham Council
Member for Shaw Ward
Member for East Ward Shaw & Crompton Parish Council
Home: 5 Ballard Way, Shaw, Oldham OL2 8DU
T: 0161 770 4016
F: 0161 770 4026
E: howard.sykes@oldham.gov.uk
W: http://howardsykes.mycouncillor.org.uk
Twitter: @Howard_Sykes
Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader welcomes Promise of Statutory Code and Pubs Adjudicator in Queens Speech
Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader welcomes Promise of Statutory Code and Pubs Adjudicator in Queens Speech
The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillor Howard Sykes, has welcomed the announcement in last week’s Queens Speech that the Coalition Government intends to establish a new Statutory Code and Pubs Adjudicator to reform the big pub companies and support hard-pressed landlords.
The announcement was in direct response to the call for the introduction of these measures by the Campaign for Real Ale and many others to a Government consultation last June.
As part of this consultation, Cllr Rod Blyth wrote on behalf of the Oldham Liberal Democrat Group to the Business Secretary, Lib Dem Dr Vince Cable, supporting the proposal to establish a Statutory Code and a Pubs Adjudicator and also to express “strong support” for Dr Cable’s stated position that “a tied tenant should be no worse off than a free-of-tie tenant”.
In welcoming the announcement, Cllr Sykes said: “This will ensure that publicans are treated fairly and will crack down on the sky-high rents and beer prices that are often charged by the big pub companies.
If the Adjudicator forces the big pub companies to reduce the wholesale prices they charge publicans to match open market prices, this could result in a price fall by up to 60p a pint. As a result we should see cheaper pub prices for customers, more investment in pubs and ultimately fewer pub closures.
This campaign success is testament to the relentless campaigning by CAMRA members and branches and by members of the Fair Deal for Your Local campaign, chaired by Leeds North West Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland”.
Cllr Sykes added: “This announcement adds to the support already shown by this Government for the licensed trade. Support that has included:
– The abolition of the beer duty escalator, introduced by Labour, from 2014
– Two reductions in beer duty in successive budgets
– The creation of the ‘Community Right to Buy’ permitting local communities to purchase and save pubs coming onto the market
– The introduction of the National Planning Policy Framework with pro-pub policies”
FOR HELP AND ADVICE – SHAW WARD SURGERIES
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: June: 5, 12, 19.
NO APPOINTMENT REQUIRED
The Rt. Hon. Dan Rogerson MP
Parliament Under Secretary of State for
Forestry et al,
Department for Environment, Food &
Rural Affairs
Nobel House, 17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Date: 22 May 2014
Dear Sir
In March I wrote to you Minster calling for urgent action to help save Britain’s ancient woodlands.
Since plans to sell off public forests were abandoned in 2011, I am pleased to say that this Government has worked with local communities, woodland users and other stakeholders like the Woodland Trust to make sure the estate is properly valued and sustainable for the future.
Recommendations were made by an Independent Panel on Forestry for a new management structure to care for the estate in 2012. These were agreed by the Government in 2013 when the Secretary of State for the Environment, Owen Paterson, promised to introduce the management structure in a new Forestry Bill. This has the support of all of the major political parties and many forestry stakeholders – so why hasn’t it yet happened?
Soon we will see the last Queen’s Speech in the current parliament. This announces legislative plans for the coming year.
On behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, I would urge you to press the Secretary of State to ensure that the Government takes this final opportunity to introduce a Forestry Bill.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Yours faithfully
Howard Sykes