#organdonation

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https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/get-involved/news/planning-underway-for-organ-donation-week/

At a meeting of Oldham’s Full Council on Wednesday (07/09/22), Liberal Democrat Councillors will set out a plan to tackle the rising cost-of-living in the borough.  

In Oldham, one in every three children live in poverty according to charities such as ‘End Child Poverty’ – the average across the UK as a whole is one in five.  Yet Oldham’s primary schools are facing a funding cut of £212,797 from infant free school meals budgets.  Families across the borough are also braced for energy price rises of up to 80% in October. The Liberal Democrats have tabled a motion calling for a reverse of the cuts to free school meals as well as for the Council to step up its cost-of-living support by working with local food banks. 

“The party is also calling for Oldham Council to set up local libraries and community centres as ‘Warm Banks’ to offer residents a place to stay warm without racking up high energy bills at home,” stated councillor Alicia Marland.

Councillor Louie Hamblett said, “The pressures facing people in our Borough our immense and people are already struggling.  Our child poverty rates are shameful, with 10 children out of every classroom of 30 living in poverty.  The price cap rises currently planned for October will quiet simply be devasting for many.  The Government and the Council must step in, our Liberal Democrat group is highlighting the areas where a real difference could be made for our residents.”

Copy of motion

Oldham Full Council meeting 7 September 2022

Submitted by the Liberal Democrat Group

MOTION: Meeting the human needs for food and warmth

This Council notes that:

The pandemic has highlighted the significant health, well-being, and economic inequalities in our society.

More than one in three children in Oldham borough live in poverty – far higher than the national average of one in five.

The Government has no current plans to address the massive increases in energy costs that have already occurred and are planned, but that the Liberal Democrats’ policy on energy costs have now been adopted wholesale by the Labour party which is welcomed.

This year, schools in Oldham will face a real terms reduction in funding for Universal Infant Free School Meals of £212,797 because of decisions made by this Conservative government.

Those on the lowest incomes will be hardest hit as incomes are squeezed by double digit inflation and increased taxation.

The Government ended the uplift in Universal Credit, removing means for families to offset rising food and fuel costs.

A poll in April this year found that 5.3 million households were already having to choose between heating and food.

If you cannot afford food or heating, you have no disposable income which exponentially reduces the amount of money spent, creating a vicious economic cycle.

That this Council also notes that:

Increasingly, Greater Manchester Local Authorities are developing ‘Library Plus’ or ‘Warm Bank’ schemes, to give residents a place to stay warm and keep the cost of bills at home down after school and during evenings and weekends.

Oldham Foodbank have issued 8,048 three-day emergency food supplies in the last year.

Whilst the need for food banks in the fifth richest economy in the world is a mark of great shame, local food banks do a brilliant job and are a lifeline for many residents of our borough.

This Council believes that:

No one should go cold or hungry in Oldham borough.

Fuel and food poverty in the United Kingdom are disgraceful and shaming indictments of the policies of the Conservative government.

It is time to enshrine the human right to food into law.

This Council resolves:

That Oldham Council will develop a plan for the use of ‘Warm Banks’ across the borough. This will include later opening for Libraries, Community Centres, and other suitable buildings where possible.

That Oldham Council will write to the three MPs for Oldham, asking them to confirm their commitment to action to cut the costs of energy for residents.

That Oldham Council will write to the Secretary of State for Energy to demand investment into the Oldham Mine Water Heat Network, which would provide an alternative way of delivering a secure heating source for hundreds of homes in the borough and commits to finding funding for this project at the soonest possible opportunity.

That the Chief Executive of the Council will write to the Secretary of State for Education to ask that damaging cuts to Free School Meals are reversed.

That the Chief Executive of the Council will write to the Chancellor, urging him to reinstate the uplift for Universal Credit and extend Free School Meals to all families on Universal Credit.

To work closely with food banks and charitable organisations across Oldham Borough to identify initiatives to alleviate food and fuel poverty that can be supported by this council.

Proposed by: Councillor Louie Hamblett
Seconded by: Councillor Alicia Marland

Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has welcomed news that bus fares will be capped at £2 for adults and £1 for children for one-way journeys from 4 September.

Councillor Sykes said, “Its very welcome news that we have more affordable fares, but the fact remains that many people in Oldham will be unsure about the future of their local bus services.  If services like the 180 and the 425 are cut, there will be less travellers to back fill the money lost through this reduction in fares.  That could create a vicious cycle of more and more service cuts.” 

It was recently announced that multiple services including the 180, 81, 181, 182, X84, 59, the 350 and the 425 – were due to see a reduction in services, with many set to be axed completely.  Transport for Greater Manchester have placed many of the affected routes out for tender, but uncertainty remains and is dependent upon those tenders and their cost.

Councillor Sykes said, “People are really struggling with cost-of-living pressures.  Lower bus fares might just make all the difference to working families who are trying to make savings.  Now these new fares have been agreed, I hope that more people opt for public transport.”

Harry Catherall
Chief Executive
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council

Dear Harry Catherall,

I am writing in light of the council’s decision to stop posting recordings of meetings online and to remove past recordings of council meetings from YouTube.

I am deeply dismayed by this decision, which I feel represents a very unwelcome backwards step in terms of openness, accountability and trust; all at a time when we as councillors should be striving to demonstrate good practice across those three key pillars of local democracy.

Oldham Council has described its ambition to become a ‘listening council’ that brings residents closer to decision making.  Ensuring that residents, businesses and journalists have access to council meetings should be of paramount importance to Oldham Council as part of this ambition.  We cannot call ourselves a listening council if we are preventing people listening to council processes.

Without a robust and formal process for capturing what is said at council meetings and committees – in the way that Hansard does in Parliament – recorded meetings play a vital role in our democratic process.

I am writing as Leader of the Opposition to urge the council to reconsider this move, to ask how the council reached this decision and what the reasons and motivations were in doing so.

I look forward to your urgent response.

Best wishes – Councillor Howard Sykes MBE 

Pop along for advice, help or to discuss any issue or matter with your local Liberal Democrat councillors.

Shaw and Crompton Advice Surgeries (no appointment necessary) held on the following Thursdays at Shaw Lifelong Learning Centre – 7:30pm to 8:30pm.

August: 25.

September: 1, 8, 15, 23 and 30.

Mobile services are being upgraded in Shaw and Crompton. This is of course great news, providing improved speed, performance and coverage for local residents and businesses via tablets and mobile phones.

However, because these new mobile signals were previously used by TV services received through an aerial – such as Freeview, BT, TalkTalk and YouView – there is a small chance that if you use these services, you may notice new interference. Signs of interference include poor sound, a blocky picture, or a ‘no signal’ message.

Restore TV provides free support to households that may experience this sort of TV interference. This ranges from providing a free TV filter which blocks the mobile signal and enables you to continue receiving and watching free to view services to in-home engineer visits. Restore TV offers extra support for people who are 75 years of age or older, listed blind or partly sighted, or receive any of the following benefits: personal independence payments (PIPs); attendance allowance; constant attendance allowance or War Pensioner’s Mobility Support.

Cable and satellite TV, like Sky or Virgin, will not be affected by these mobile signals, but if you have cable or satellite TV and also watch TV through an aerial on another TV, Restore TV can provide free filters and advice, but not in-home engineer support. If you have noticed new interference to your TV service, get in touch with Restore TV to find out if it is caused by the recent mobile signal upgrade. You can contact Restore TV on 0808 13 13 800 (free from UK landlines and mobiles) or via restoretv.uk, where you can also find more information

Shaw representative and Oldham Liberal Democrat Group Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has called on council leaders to act after it was revealed that 3,033 over-65s in Oldham are currently not receiving their full pension entitlement. 

The figures were uncovered in research conducted by the charity Independent Age, who say that on average, pensioners are missing out on payments of £63.54 each month. 

Councillor Sykes said, “Pensioners are already facing severe cost-of-living pressures with energy bills and the cost of the weekly shop rocketing, an extra £60 per month could make a massive difference.  Oldham Council must play a proactive role in reaching out to and helping these pensioners claim what they are entitled to.”

Independent Age research also shows that 51% of over-65s across the north of England are making considerable cutbacks to save money for energy bills and essentials.

Councillor Sykes said, “The fact that more than half of pensioners are struggling to make ends meet is a damning reflection on this Conservative government.  They have left people behind to fend for themselves.  Blame for the cost-of-living crisis lies squarely with the Conservative party.” 

New funding for brownfield housing development is being made available for councils to bid on and Oldham’s Liberal Democrats are calling on Oldham Council to “play a leading role” in shaping Greater Manchester’s bid. 

Liberal Democrat Leader and Shaw representative councillor Howard Sykes MBE has written to senior council officers urging them to ‘get the best possible outcomes’ for the borough.

Councillor Sykes said, “We keep seeing developers pushing for four- and five-bedroom developments on green belt land.  This style of development is doubly unwelcome because it harms the environment without providing homes for first-time buyers.  Councils rarely get the financial support to drive brownfield development, so Oldham Council must seize this rare opportunity and strive to play a leading role in shaping any Greater Manchester bid.”

The Liberal Democrats argue that a successful bid for brownfield development would be in keeping with Oldham Council’s stated objective to ‘make Oldham a place where every resident, as well as those looking to settle here, can find a home they want at a price they can afford.’ 

Oldham Borough is home to many brownfield sites, notably derelict mill buildings and former industrial sites.  These are often viewed as undesirable by developers as they say the clean-up costs can negatively impact on developer profit. 

Councillor Sykes said, “Funding from central government was always going to be needed if we want to offset the clean up costs and bring brownfield sites back into use instead of relying increasingly on precious green belt land.  This is a key levelling agenda item.  There will be a lot of other local authorities putting their own bids in so Oldham Council’s leadership must act with a comprehensive and thorough bid, in partnership with our colleagues across Greater Manchester, so that we are at the front of the queue.”

After years of campaigning, Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Leader councillor Howard Sykes MBE has welcomed the news that laws will be changed to prevent people on the sex offenders register holding elected office.

Councillor Sykes said, “I am pleased that the common-sense law change is finally coming into effect.  Rishi Sunak announced that the government would adopt this proposal back when he was a Local Government Minister in 2018 but he’s dragged his feet on getting the law changed.”

The changes to the Local Government Act were finally put before MPs in June and were signed off by both Houses of Parliament on July 6^th.  The Statuary Instruments (S.I) to make this law have now also been approved.  The new regulations come into effect immediately for all local elections in England.

Councillor Sykes said, “People expect the highest standards from those who serve in public office.  I am glad this loophole has at long last been plugged, shame it took so long.”

TIMELINE: Local Authority and Combined Authority Elections (Nomination of Candidates) (Amendment)

 Timeline – SI 2022 – Statutory Instruments – UK Parliament

Councillor Sykes calls for law change 

November 2021

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader calls on government to close sex offenders’ loophole | Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)

October 2021

Liberal Democrats welcome second reading of new bill to bar sex offenders from public office | Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)

July 2021

Third time lucky: Liberal Democrat Leader again backs change in law to bar sex offenders from public office | Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)

November 2020

Conservative Government still gives no commitment to disbar sex offenders from public office two years after promise was made to do so | Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)

March 2017

Disqualification of a Councillor who is placed on the sex offenders’ register | Howard Sykes (mycouncillor.org.uk)