Essential Car User Payments to low-mileage Council staff ‘Financial Madness’ says Liberal Democrat Leader

Oldham claims to be a cash-strapped Council, but still pays £62,000 a year to staff using their car to travel less than two miles per week on Council business.

The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, is dismayed by this waste of public money at a time when public services are being squeezed.

Figures uncovered by the Oldham Council Liberal Democrat Group reveal that in the 2016 – 17 financial year 124 staff designated ‘Essential’ car users made a claim for business travel of 100 miles or less.

Such ‘Essential’ users automatically qualify for a £500 lump-sum simply for having a vehicle for business and can also claim a 45 pence per mile allowance and receive a 100% subsidy for parking charges when parking in the town centre.

Commenting Councillor Sykes said: “An ‘essential car user’ working at Civic Centre and travelling just one hundred miles a year on business would receive £545 and free parking; this adds up to quite a tidy sum towards the cost of running a car for not a lot of inconvenience.”

“Surely this is financial madness as these officers are travelling so few miles on business that it would probably be cheaper to send them in taxis.”

Councillor Sykes has written to the Chief Executive Dr Carolyn Wilkins OBE, Borough Treasurer Anne Ryans, and Deputy Council Leader Cllr Abdul Jabbar MBE to request this Council reviews the whole scheme.  He has suggested that a simple mileage allowance be paid for those travelling under a certain number of business miles and that the £500 lump sum be phased in beyond this point.

At Councillor Sykes also suggests: “At a time when the Council must look at save every penny, we should also take another look at a car pooling scheme for those staff with such low-mileage on business travel.”

Copy of email send below:

From: Howard Sykes
Sent: 02 August 2017 07:08
To: Cllr A Jabbar
Cc: Anne Ryans; Carolyn Wilkins; (A) Kay Gibson (kay.gibson@oldham.gov.uk)
Subject: Oldham Council essential car users

Dear Councillor Jabbar,

I am writing to you with a money saving proposal, which, in these times of financial challenge for local authorities, I am hoping the Council will chose to consider.

Oldham Council pays a lump sum of £500 per annum to essential car users regardless of the mileage travelled on Council business.

In 2016 – 17, one hundred and twenty four staff, who were deemed to be essential car users, made a claim for business travel of 100 miles or less.

We are paying them £62,000 a year for using their car to travel less than two miles per week on Council business.

Such staff can also claim 45 pence per mile allowance and receive a 100% subsidy for parking charges when parking in the town centre.

At a time when public services are being squeezed, this is an area we must look at. An ‘essential car user’ working at Civic Centre and travelling just one hundred miles a year on business would receive £950 and free parking; this adds up to quite a tidy sum towards the cost of running a car for not a lot of inconvenience.  It would clearly be cheaper to send them in taxis.

I accept with a few this would not be an acceptable or appropriate alternative.

I request we take a look at this whole scheme again.  There should be in my view a simple mileage allowance for those travelling under a certain number of business miles and the £500 lump sum should be phased in beyond this point.  And at a time when we are looking to save every penny, I would suggest we should take another look at a car pooling scheme for those staff that need to do such low-mileage on business travel.

I shall look forward to receiving your reply.

Best wishes.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE

Mobike, please come to Oldham, says Liberal Democrat Leader

The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has welcomed recent news that the innovative Mobike bicycle sharing scheme has been introduced to Manchester and Salford, and has written to the company’s owners asking them to bring the scheme to Oldham too.

Councillor Sykes said: “Mobike is a bike-share scheme but it is different from the so-called Boris Bike scheme in London.  With a Mobike users create an online account and download a simple smartphone app to find and access a bike near to their location.  They then ride the bike, and park and lock the bike at the end of their journey.  However, unlike Boris Bikes there is no need to find a bicycle dock in which to place the bike; it can be parked and left in any public place that is safe and convenient.”

Users of the service pay a one-off registration fee, and then a small fee every time they use a bike based on the duration of their journey.  They are incentivised to act responsibly and within the rules, and penalised if they do not.

Councillor Sykes believes that Mobikes are one part of a whole transport solution to make our towns and cities greener and to reduce the number of short car journeys taken for work or personal business reducing traffic congestion.  “Mobikes provide people with the option of taking a bike to a business meeting or to go to the Library or attend a doctor’s appointment, rather than taking out the car or waiting for a bus. And they mean that you do not need to own a bike to do so, thus avoiding the need to purchase, maintain or store your own bike.”

Councillor Sykes has written to Mobike asking them to roll out the scheme to Oldham.

He added: “Oldham may have more hills than central Manchester, but I think there will still be a great deal of interest in this scheme from local people.  I hope that Mobike will soon be up and running in our Borough as a low-cost and green solution for short journeys for some people who cannot afford bus or taxi fares or run their own car.”

Northern rail services like the Stone Age compared to London services

The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has criticised Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling MP, for agreeing to find another £30 billion to back the Crossrail 2 scheme to improve commuter links from London to the Home Counties when only last week the Conservative Government shelved plans for rail projects in the north of England.

Councillor Sykes said: “The future electrification of the Trans-Pennine North rail line, which stops at Greenfield Station, is now in jeopardy.  Under the Coalition Government, the then Chancellor announced plans in 2011 to electrify the route which runs between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and York with a planned completion date of 2018.”

“Immediately after the 2015 General Election, then Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced that the plans were being suspended, but after campaigning by MPs, the media and local rail groups he announced that the project completion would be put back a year to 2019.”

“Then when the rail franchises came up for renewal, potential operators were told not to expect electrification during ‘the lifetime of the franchise’.  This meant no electrification until at least 2023.”

“This is par for the course with this Government as the Great Western and Midland Main Line electrification schemes are also behind schedule and way over budget.  It seems that when it comes to this Government anything rail that doesn’t start in London is being short-changed.  What else can you expect when the Prime Minister represents Maidenhead and the Transport Secretary Epsom, both in the Home Counties?”

“I have nothing against Crossrail 2 but we need to have Trans-Pennine 1 funded and built first,” stated Councillor Sykes.   “What we currently have in terms of rolling stock and journey times is a stone age railway.  We should have a fair share of cash and investment then we can drag this route into the 21st Century.”

Duchess Street, Shaw – Pencil Brook Flood Alleviation works update:

Trent Road industrial park service road (off Duchess Street)

The progress of the drainage works on the access road off Duchess Street, we have uncovered cellars beneath the road construction. It is necessary that these cellars are filled to make the road safe for traffic. This will involve the removal of the existing carriageway construction above the cellars and filling/compaction with suitable material and the construction of a new carriageway at this location.

Whilst these works are undertaken it will be essential that the road is closed. An emergency traffic order will be implemented to facilitate this road closure.

During this closure period we will endeavour to provide access to properties on the lower part of the access road off Duchess Street but will not be able to provide vehicle access to the upper part of the street. As part of the traffic order no parking will be allowed on the access road off Duchess St.

Following completion of the filling works we will progress to resurface the access road and across Duchess Street under the same traffic order.

Due to the nature of these works, it is difficult to predict accurately how long these works will take but we anticipate the works as follows:

This work is programmed to commence on Wednesday 2nd August 2017 with a completion date of Friday 11th August.

HOLLY LEA/217 ROCHDALE ROAD HIGH CROMPTON – road closed 2 August 7-9pm

OLDHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984, SECTION 14(2)

HOLLY LEA/217 ROCHDALE ROAD HIGH CROMPTON TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF DRIVING NOTICE 2017

The Oldham Borough Council hereby gives Notice that no person shall cause any vehicle to proceed in that part of Holly Lea/217 Rochdale Road High Crompton Shaw – 60 metres west of New Barn Street for 25 metres westerly

The restrictions are required to facilitate manhole works and will be in force on Wednesday 2nd August 2017 from 7pm to 9pm or until the works are completed whichever is the lesser period

The alternative route for Vehicles affected by the restriction shall be via Rochdale Road High Crompton/Thornham Road/Fir Lane/Dogford Road/Rochdale Road Royton/Oldham Road/Rochdale Road /Shaw Road/Manchester Road/Crompton Way/Rochdale Road High Crompton and Rochdale Road High Crompton/Rushcroft Road/North Downs Road/Grampian Way/Duchess Street/Cowie Street/Smallbrook Road/Milnrow Road/Crompton Way/Rochdale Road High Crompton.

Changes to bus services – 353/354 and new 355, and the 402

Changes effective 3 or 4 September

402

Following a number of requests from local councillors and residents Service 402 was revised to additionally serve the Thornham area in January 2017.

As part of this change the service was revised to no longer serve Grasmere Road in Royton. Following feedback it is proposed to make a further revision to reinstate the service along Grasmere Road by removing it from Firbank Road, Fir Lane and Dogford Road.

Service 408 maintains an hourly daytime service along Fir Lane and Dogford Road. Residents on Firbank Road will be a maximum distance of 340 metres from hourly services 402 & 408 and frequent service 409 which maintain links to Royton, Royal Oldham Hospital and Oldham town centre.

353/354 and 355

Services 353 and 354 provide a combined hourly service on Sunday daytimes between Ashton and Uppermill.

Between Mossley and Uppermill the services follow different routes via Grasscroft (353) or Greenfield (354).

It was agreed to replace these two services with new service 355 which would operate every two hours but extend beyond Uppermill to Denshaw, via Delph providing new Sunday daytime links.

The replacement of Sunday daytime services 353 and 354 with service 355 will enable extra running time to be given to Ashton local services 38, 41 and 345 which currently interwork with services 353/354.

There are no changes proposed to the Monday to Saturday daytime services 353 and 354.

It was agreed to replace the Sunday daytime journeys on services 353 and 354 with new service 355.

For some time usage on the Sunday daytime services 353 and 354 has been very low – on average less than 4 passengers per trip.

It is proposed to completely revising the routes to maintain service between Ashton, Mossley and Uppermill (reduced from hourly to every 2 hours) but extending the service to provide new Sunday links to residents of Greenfield (Shaw Hall Bank Road, Carr Lane), Dobcross Village, Delph (Palin Wood Road) and Denshaw.

Stockport Road and Mossley Road (between Mossley and Uppermill) would no longer be served, however, usage on this section is extremely low – a sample survey showed a total of 3 passenger trips across 8 Sunday daytime journeys. All affected passengers can use Saddleworth Local Link as an alternative. Greenfield village would no longer be served by this proposal (service 354) however links to Ashton, Mossley and Uppermill are maintained by hourly service 350.

This proposal ties in with the Total Transport project which aims to improve transport links in the Saddleworth area.