On February 8 the government announced if you are aged 70 or over or are in the clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) category and have not yet been offered your first dose of the vaccine then you can now contact the NHS to get it.

You can book an appointment by visiting www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination or those unable to get online can call 119.

If you are not in one of the these groups you should wait to be contacted.

When it is your turn to be vaccinated, and if you are registered with a GP in Oldham, you will be contacted directly from your practice or an NHS representative.

More than 1,100 private homes are empty in Oldham, and the Liberal Democrats would like to see them brought back into use to help address homelessness and to reduce the pressure to build new housing on the Green Belt and green spaces.

Figures recently released by Oldham Council showed that in November 2020, 1137 private homes were empty, many for long periods of time.  Government figures published in December 2020 also show that 5,421 households were on Oldham Council’s housing waiting list.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE said: “Homes which remain empty for a long period of time are often neglected and fall into disrepair, leading to an area becoming blighted and driving down neighbouring property prices.  At a time when families on the Council waiting list are in desperate need of a property to make their home, it is scandalous that we have so many empty homes that could be put to good use.  If we bring empty homes back into use, it will also mean that there will be less pressure to build new homes on our irreplaceable Green Belt.

“One of the ways that we can incentivise absentee owners to let or sell properties they leave empty for long-periods is to levy an increased Council Tax on them, as we are permitted to do by law.  This is an option we would like to see Oldham Council look at in the budget for the next financial year.”

Oldham East and Saddleworth Labour MP Debbie Abrahams opposition to taxing online giants such as Amazon on Politics North West this weekend has been criticised by Oldham Councillor and tax campaigner Sam Al-Hamdani.

When asked if she would support proposals to introduce an online sales tax, intended to combat tax avoidance and raise money for the Coronavirus response, Abrahams said: “Not at this stage.”

She even pushed back against the presenter’s suggestion that: “There is nothing wrong with getting the online giants to pay their tax”, saying: “I wouldn’t want to be considering increases in taxation at this stage.”

Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani said that the MP’s response did not add up. “It shows a complete disregard for what is happening in the real world. While people running local businesses are struggling to keep their doors open, Amazon announced record sales of more than $100bn over the last three months.

“This isn’t fair for people in Oldham. We can see that Amazon are taking advantage. It needs to be called out and dealt with.”

Amazon did not declare how much tax it paid in the UK last year, but the company paid £293m in tax (worldwide) in 2019, while raking in €294m in tax credits across Europe (including the UK) in the same period.

Councillor Al-Hamdani said that the MP’s response made even less sense in the light of her later criticism of the Government’s funding settlement for Councils. “She condemned the Government for pushing the costs of the coronavirus pandemic onto local authorities – and the Conservatives have taken this approach, to the detriment of towns like Oldham.

“But why is she also opposing something that would create a level playing field, designed to protect small and high street businesses, and which could actually bring in the money that could change this?

“Our out-of-date tax system needs fixing. Social care must not be paid for by pushing the costs on to those who can afford it least, but by a new national settlement. We need a Government – and an opposition – who care about fairness, who care about the vulnerable and, importantly, who care about getting the economy and taxation right, so that we all pay our fair share. If the Labour Party are not going to rise to this challenge, then the Liberal Democrats can.”

Report on Amazon’s sales figures and taxation: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/03/amazon-reports-uk-sales-rose-by-51-in-2020

Debbie Abrahams comments can be found at 11.05 on Poltics North West: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000s5m1/politics-north-west-07022021

The Liberal Democrats have revealed the shocking truth that some disabled people in Oldham have had to wait for almost three years for a parking bay.  

And, sadly, there seems no end in sight as Oldham’s Labour Administration has not allocated any funding for the creation of disabled parking bays in the last two financial years.

Disabled parking bays require minimal work, the area designated as the bay is painted onto the highway and they only require a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to be issued.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE wrote to the Deputy Chief Executive of Oldham Council in January taking up the issue of the wait time on behalf of one of his Shaw constituents.  He was seeking answers about what was happening with the backlog, and found those answers disturbing to say the least. 

Councillor Sykes said: “Eighty people are now waiting for assessments to determine their eligibility for a parking bay.  These are all people who hold a Blue Badge and have severe disabilities.  They need a disabled parking bay to access a vehicle that is parked near their home to get out and about.  It is tragic that some have had to wait almost three years – forcing increased isolation, and this waiting list is steadily growing.”

“It is scandal that some of these people waiting will either be dead or no longer able to drive by the time their application is dealt with.  It is just not good enough and they deserve better!”  Added Councillor Sykes.

“Oldham Council has failed to allocate any money for providing disabled parking bays since the 2018-19 financial year.  This increasing backlog will only continue to get worse.”  Councillor Sykes continued, “I shall carry on advocating on behalf of these forgotten and vulnerable citizens and press Oldham Council to make some cash available so we can provide some hope of light at the end of the tunnel for these disabled people who have been waiting patiently for so long.”

The rapid Coronavirus testing facilities are continuing at four centres across Oldham Borough.

Tests are available for people who cannot work from home, who work with members of the public, and who are not showing any symptoms.

The centres are located at:

• Shaw Life Long Learning Centre, High Street, OL2 8RQ

Opening Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 7am-5.30pm

Wednesday 10am-8pm

• Failsworth Town Hall, Oldham Road, M35 0FJ

Opening Monday to Friday 9am-5.30pm

• Oldham Leisure Centre, Middleton Road, OL9 6AF

Opening Monday to Friday 7.30am-5.30pm

Saturday 10am-4.30pm

• Uppermill Civic Hall, Lee Street OL3 6AE

Opening Monday to Friday 8.30am-5.30pm

Testing is quick and easy. Appointments aren’t necessary – just turn up.

For more information, visit https://www.oldham.gov.uk/keyworkertesting

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority will consider approving in principle a proposal to develop a new plan to build homes across nine of the ten districts of Greater Manchester at a meeting of its Executive next Friday (12 February).  Surprisingly no specific timescale is given in the report for the plan’s production, but the Government requires a local plan to be in place by December 2023.

The previous Greater Manchester Spatial Framework proposals were abandoned at the end of last year after Liberal Democrat Councillors in Stockport led the charge to withdraw that authority from the controversial plan.  Oldham’s Leader of the Opposition, Liberal Democrat Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, hopes that the leaders of the nine remaining authorities, eight of which are Labour-led and one Conservative, will use this new opportunity to finally abandon their universally unpopular proposals to build thousands of new homes on the Greenbelt.

Councillor Sykes said:  “This is such an important issue.  The new plan will have a significant long-term impact on land use in our districts and on the quality of life of residents, so it is incredibly important that we get this right.  It has been clear throughout the development of the ill-fated, ill-conceived Greater Manchester Spatial Framework that the people of this region do not want homes built on our irreplaceable Green Belt.

“Opposition to Green Belt development has also been the consistent position of Liberal Democrat Councillors across Greater Manchester and this will continue to be the case.  We feel that there is no justification for building new homes on any of our precious green spaces, and we will join local people in opposing such development proposals if they continue to be part of this new plan.”

Councillor Sykes continued: “I now hope that the leaders of the nine authorities will take a fresh look at this issue and finally recognise that Green Belt development will never be accepted by Liberal Democrat Councillors and the public.”

“If Greater Manchester’s Labour Mayor and the nine Council leaders really want to bring public opinion with them, they need to focus solely on development on Brownfield sites and repurposing many of the empty factories, mills, pubs, and houses across our region to bring them back into use as homes to meet our housing need.  That way when they bring their new plan forward for public consultation, and then present it to Oldham Council for approval, instead of being as one in opposition, we can all say, as Liberal Councillors and public, ‘yes’.”

The Oldham Liberal Democrats will be proposing in their amendment to Labour’s 2021-22 Council Budget measures to make Oldham a ‘Healthier, Greener and Cleaner’ Borough.

They have found cash to invest in:

• three much needed new health centres for Shaw and Crompton, Saddleworth, and Chadderton;
• make Oldham Council greener and more energy efficient;
• improve pavements;
• and tackle speeding, anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and dog-fouling across communities.

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and the Green agenda, Councillor Chris Gloster, will be first presenting the Liberal Democrat’s Budget Amendment to the Council’s Performance and Value for Money Committee when it meets on 9 February, for pre Council scrutiny before tabling it for consideration by the Full Council when it debates the budget on 4 March.

Over the next five years, the Liberal Democrats are proposing to invest £18 million to build three new health centres for patients in Shaw and Crompton, Saddleworth and Chadderton by 2026.  Invest £6.5 million in building a green infrastructure taking Oldham forward in its ambition to be Britain’s first carbon-neutral Council and Borough.  Create a dedicated fund worth £2.5 million to repair our pavements.

For the next financial year, the Liberal Democrats have also found £294,000 more to tackle the antisocial behaviour, such as fly-tipping, litter and dog-fouling, which ruins so many communities and blights the lives of so many Oldham residents.  They will  spend £200,000 to introduce 20-mph zones in residential streets to cut road deaths and injuries, especially amongst children and the elderly.  This is also part of their build back better agenda and making sure we recognise and keep the increased amount of walking that has happened due to the lockdowns. 

In the next two years, the Liberal Democrats have identified over £1.2 million in savings from cutting Civic Centre bureaucracy and waste, such as reducing or abolishing car mileage allowances for Council staff that no longer need them (working from home for example), to spend on front-line services.  They also wish to redirect a significant sum from the Council’s Capital Programme currently allocated to ‘so called projects’ in Oldham town centre to realise their ambitions.

Commenting Councillor Gloster said:  “As we hopefully emerge from the nightmare of Covid-19, the proposals we have outlined in our budget amendment will help make  Oldham a healthier, greener and cleaner Borough, and I am looking forward to outlining them to the PVFM Committee.”

“I anticipate some tough questions as – rightly – it is the job of PVFM to properly scrutinise any plans to save or spend the hard-earned cash of our residents, but I also expect that those of our proposals which are rejected by the committee this year may well be taken up by Labour next year, or in subsequent years, without fanfare and without giving credit to the Liberal Democrats, as has happened in the past.”

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Opposition, spoke in support of the proposals:  “I would first like to thank Chris and the finance team for their hard work in putting together this Budget Amendment.  The Liberal Democrats have consistently, year-on-year, put forward common-sense proposals which cut waste at the Civic Centre to reinvest in the frontline services that matter to Council Tax-payers, and this has again been our approach this time around.” 

“Although Council finances remain very tight and we have very little latitude to make changes, the Liberal Democrats have once again come up with some innovative ideas that would – if implemented – significantly improve the lives of many of the residents of our Borough.  It is noticeable that yet again the Conservative Group has failed to put forward any proposals of its own.  They talk tough but consistently fail to back it up with actions.  This demonstrates once more that only the Liberal Democrats have credibility as an opposition to Labour in Oldham Borough.” 

For more details:

Pleased to report the above is now up and running.

The loss of local ATM machines over the last few years has been a concern for your Shaw & Crompton Liberal Democrat Councillors and we have raised the matter with the regulator on more than one occasion.

Hopefully this replacement machine will help prevent ‘Shaw running out of cash’ at peak times like Bank Holidays.

For real time information: https://oldham.roadworks.org/