Oldham Council is currently consulting the public on its future plans for the Spindles Shopping Centre, and Liberal Democrat Councillor Louie Hamblett is hoping that the Council’s purchase of Spindles represents the chance for a new Changing Places toilet and new accessible toilet signage to be installed to make the town centre shopping experience more welcoming for everyone.

Councillor Hamblett and his Liberal Democrat colleague, Councillor Hazel Gloster, brought a motion to the September 2020 Oldham Council meeting in support of the Crohn’s and Colitis UK campaign ‘Not every disability is visible’ seeking new toilet signage that makes clear that not everyone who uses a disabled toilet has an obvious visible disability. The motion also called for ‘Changing Places’ toilets which provide better facilities to meet the needs of more profoundly disabled people to be fitted in major Council buildings.

Speaking of the opportunity the Council’s acquisition of Spindles represents, Councillor Hamblett said: “Now that the Council has bought Spindles, I hope to see new toilet signage and a Changing Places Toilet fitted within the centre. The Liberal Democrats want to see ‘Not every disability is visible’ signage installed on all the accessible toilets across the council’s property portfolio. This signage helps to educate the public and staff that not everyone who uses an accessible toilet has an obvious disability and asks them to be more understanding of people who do so.

“Changing Places toilets meet the needs of all people with a disability that some standard accessible toilets do not. People with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as well people with other physical disabilities such as spinal injuries, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis often need extra equipment and space to allow them to use the toilets safely and comfortably, and this equipment and space is provided within a Changing Places toilet.”

Councillor Hamblett added: “As we hopefully emerge from Lockdown later this year, it is important Oldham is welcoming to all of its residents and visitors. The Spindles and Town Square shopping centres, our award-winning cinema, art gallery and library, the Oldham Sports Centre and the Tommyfield Market are likely to be amongst the places they will want to visit. I hope that Oldham Council will ensure that these town centre buildings are equipped with the right toilet facilities and signage to provide for the needs of all our disabled guests when they do so.”

Members of the public can, if they wish, comment in support of Councillor Hamblett’s call for new accessible toilets for the Spindles at https://online1.snapsurveys.com/s/jjyf1 The closing date is 8 March 2021.

The rapid Coronavirus testing facilities are still running at four centres across the 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.

All public facing staff are encouraged to get a test twice a week, to help stay safe and stop the spread.

Testing 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

Over 30 Liberal Democrat Council Leaders and elected Mayors in England have written to the government calling for the £20 a week increase in Universal Credit, introduced in March 2020, to be made permanent.

The letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak MP follows a vote in Parliament held on Monday 18th January 2021 in which the government the abstained and in which all Liberal Democrat MPs attending voted in favour of maintaining the increase.  The motion to increase Universal Credit was carried by 278 votes to nil. 

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE who serves as Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group at the Local Government Association, as well as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, was one of the signatories.

“Millions of people are suffering in this country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uplift in Universal Credit has been a lifeline to them”, said Councillor Sykes.  “As more jobs are being lost week-by-week, we should be increasing support to unemployed people and their families at this time, not reducing it.”

The Liberal Democrat Council leaders hope that their letter will help change the minds of ministers.

Councillor Sykes added:  “The Conservative government needs to rethink its intention to end this uplift in April, listen to what Parliament overwhelmingly told them on 18th January, and make this £20 a week uplift permanent to do the right thing by the people who have suffered financial hardship as a result of the pandemic, through no fault of their own.”

The Coronavirus vaccination programme continues to roll out successfully across Oldham Borough, with more than 45,000 Oldham-registered patients now having received their first vaccination.

This week, the appointments booking system also changed, with people aged over 70 and people who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) being invited to book their own appointments if they have not yet been invited by their GP.

If you know anyone in these groups who has not yet been vaccinated, please do share the booking link with them here, or encourage them to call the NHS hotline on 119, to help ensure they can get vaccinated as soon as possible.

• The vaccine is the best defence against Coronavirus alongside effective social distancing, wearing a face covering, and hand hygiene.
• The Covid-19 vaccine is safe. It has undergone months of rigorous testing and strict safety approval processes
• The vaccine is suitable for people from all religions, including people from the Muslim and Jewish faiths. It is also suitable for vegetarians and vegans as the approved Covid-19 vaccines do not contain any animal products or egg.
• Vaccinating thousands of people will take time and is very complicated logistically.

Shaw Liberal Democrat Councillor Howard Sykes MBE has welcomed Oldham Council proposals to introduce selective licensing for private-rented properties in Shaw but would like more properties included in the scheme.

Lower housing demand, lower rents and higher tenant turnover can lead to private-rented properties being left empty for long periods or being poorly maintained or managed.  In these circumstances, councils can introduce selective licensing which requires landlords to properly maintain and manage their properties.  These schemes are self-financing as landlords pay a fee to license each property they own in each area, and properties are inspected before they can be licensed.

Oldham Council is currently consulting landlords, tenants and residents about its plans to introduce schemes in six new areas, including Shaw, and Councillor Sykes has responded to the consultation.

In his response, Councillor Sykes said: “Selective licensing for Shaw would provide safeguards to good tenants from poor landlords, and vice versa, but would also provide assurances to the owner-occupiers of adjacent properties that the private-rented properties in their street would be well-managed and maintained, and not be a contributor to blight or a cause of anti-social behaviour.”

“Some time ago I ask for such a scheme to be introduced in Shaw and now I am pleased, despite a pause due to Covid-19, consultation is now under way,” he added.  However, Councillor Sykes would like the scheme for Shaw expanded to cover a wider area. 

“Current proposals include some streets of terraced properties typically associated with the private-rental market, but other identical streets, where local councillors have received complaints of neglect and ASB in the past, are currently excluded,” he explained. 

“At the same time other areas of Shaw are included that do not experience these issues.  This makes no sense so I hope that Council Officers will redraw the boundaries of the Shaw scheme to reflect my concerns and reassure my constituents.”

I would urge all with an interest in this matter to respond to the consultation at: landlordlicensing@oldham.gov.uk OR 0161 770 2244. Or on the web site:

https://www.oldham.gov.uk/info/201198/help_for_landlords/1450/selective_licensing_of_private_landlords

Councillor Chris Gloster, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and Green, had his first opportunity to present the Liberal Democrat budget amendments to fellow Councillors on the Performance Value-for-Money Committee for the first-time last night.  The committee is responsible for scrutinising spending and saving proposals in advance of this year’s Budget Council meeting on 4 March.

Kindly commended on ‘a grand job’ by Committee Chair, Councillor Riaz Ahmed OBE, Chris was also able to respond to a series of challenging questions from members on this cross-party committee on the detailed report he had produced with assistance from professional Council finance officers.

The Liberal Councillors want to repurpose part of Labour’s capital investment programme and find more money from cutting bureaucracy and waste elsewhere in the Council’s budget 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 build a green infrastructure taking Oldham forward in its ambition to be Britain’s first carbon-neutral Council and Borough; and
• Create a dedicated fund worth £2.5 million to repair our footpaths over the next five years.

In the next two years, the Liberal Democrats would save over £1.2 million by cutting Civic Centre bureaucracy and waste to spend on front-line services.  In the next financial year, £294,000 more would be spent on tackling the fly-tipping, litter and dog-fouling which blights the lives of so many Oldham residents, and a new fund of £200,000 to invest in 20-mph zones in residential streets to cut road deaths and injuries, especially amongst children and the elderly. 

Commenting Councillor Gloster said:  “I was delighted to be able to present our budget amendment proposals to this influential committee and I look forward to doing so again at the full meeting of the Council on 4 March.  Although Labour members felt unable to endorse our saving and spending proposals at this time it was gratifying to know they felt that many of them merited consideration in the longer-term and to make this recommendation to the Cabinet.” 

“One particular small victory was the reassurance that I received that the staff car allowance scheme will soon be reviewed to identify where it is possible to make the savings that we have suggested this year as we did last year.”

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.