Friday 4 Dec 20

Despite the Council’s best efforts through todays weather they are not going to complete the refuse collection today.

They believe there is about an hours work outstanding around the Brunswick Street, Ivy Close, Vine Close.

Residents are asked them to keep/put their bins out for first thing Monday morning.

We will return first thing (approx. 7:30am to collect from the area).

This week the Council launched new business grant schemes to support businesses affected by local and national coronavirus restrictions.

They include grants to support leisure, visitor accommodation, non-essential retail and hospitality sector businesses who pay business rates and those who don’t pay rates but have fixed property costs.

These new schemes are in addition to the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) which is in already place for rate-paying businesses which have been legally required to close.

For more information visit www.oldham.gov.uk/localrestrictionssupportgrant

In advance of the publication of an independent review into allegations of historic child sexual exploitation in Oldham, the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, wrote recently to Greater Manchester Police seeking assurances that they ‘will act without fear or favour to reassure the public and bring all offenders to justice’.

In November 2019, Oldham Council and the Oldham Safeguarding Partnership commissioned the independent review from the Mayor of Greater Manchester.  Two experienced investigators, Malcolm Newsam MBE, a childcare expert, and Gary Ridgeway, formerly a senior police officer specialising in public protection, were appointed to head up the review team and they are now working to finalise their report.

In his letter, Councillor Sykes was keen to impress upon Assistant Chief Constable Mabs Hussain MBE that Oldham’s Liberal Democrat Councillors were seeking an assurance that no-one with possible crimes to answer for would escape prosecution ‘regardless of any status or position in life they hold’.  This includes prominent public figures, including any elected members.

Greater Manchester Police has already established Operation Hexagon under the command of Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey to work with the review into the historic allegations.  In his response, Assistant Chief Constable Hussain reassured Councillor Sykes that ‘any matters which are disclosed as part of the independent review are being progressed by Greater Manchester Police prior to any formal publication’ and this has included some evidence being ‘placed before the Crown Prosecution Service for consideration’.

Commenting, Councillor Sykes said:  “Child sexual abuse in all of its forms is totally abhorrent and both I and my Liberal Democrat Councillor colleagues are determined to ensure that anyone with a case to answer for does so, whatever their political situation or social station.” 

“I fully appreciate that Assistant Chief Constable Hussain must be guarded in his public comments in order not to compromise the integrity of any future prosecutions or the outcome of the review, but, reading between the lines, I am reassured that ACC Bailey and his police team at Operation Hexagon stand ready to bring any offenders to book.”

Losing someone close is never easy, whether it is a family member, close friend or work colleague.

For more information on support for bereavement or loss, please visit:

https://www.oldham.gov.uk/NGAW

Number of people have contacted me about the above – hopefully this should help calrify the situation.

Best wishes and stay safe.

As the national lockdown lifts this week and so called non-essential shops open once more in time for Christmas, Liberal Democrat Councillors are asking local shoppers to consider giving more of their custom to smaller independent shops across the Borough, instead of patronising large store chains or buying gifts from online megastores.  Small Business Saturday (5 December) is an annual event to promote the virtues of shopping with small and local businesses.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Oldham Liberal Democrats, is a big fan:  “As someone brought up in family-run shop in Shaw, I believe that shopping in a small store is more friendly, more personable and more fun.  There is no joy in fighting your way through Christmas crowds in a large department store and shopping online means you are denying yourself yet another opportunity for social interaction.”

“Your local independent shops and small businesses are the lifeblood of your community, offering a range of goods and services that are vital to customers, yet 2020 has been a horrible year for many of them financially.  Instead of backing the owner of Amazon, who frankly doesn’t need the money, why don’t you instead support your local business?  You will help keep local people in work and help support your local high street, but you will also get a good deal and receive a personal service in return.”

More information about Small Business Saturday, including information about which small businesses are participating, can be found at:

https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/

The Oldham Liberal Democrats have described the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s recent Spending Review as “a failure to provide” money needed to build back better public services and a greener Britain after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Responding to the disappointing review, Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, said:  “The Chancellor squandered this opportunity to properly support local authorities in these most-troubling times with more finance, and to invest in the health and social care sector and in combatting climate change to help make Britain better after Covid-19.”

“The Government has failed yet again to address the long-term challenge of sustainable funding for adult social care. The financial responsibility for social care has once again been shifted onto local taxpayers and councils have been given ‘permission’ to raise council tax well above inflation to fund this essential service,” added Councillor Sykes.

In the review, the government ‘failed to provide’

• Any extra funding for councils to carry out more public health work.   The Association of Directors of Public Health described this as “completely incomprehensible”. The Oldham Liberal Democrats believe that it is crazy for any Government not to increase the public health grant during a major pandemic.
• The billions of pounds needed to fill the funding gap in social care.  The government only pledged £300 million more as new funding both children’s and adult social care. The Liberal Democrats are gravely concerned that this will mean that Councils, like Oldham, will be forced to increase the social care precept of Council Tax to try to make up a small part of the shortfall.
• Any funding to Councils to improve public sector pay, especially for those workers who have been working so hard in the front line against Covid-19.  Workers who are earning under £24,000 per year will receive £250 extra, but even this is not funded by government meaning more cuts elsewhere to services.
• Anywhere near enough money to deliver projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of a £100 billion investment programme in infrastructure
• Councils with access to funds from the government’s “Levelling up” fund, without first getting sign off from local MPs, indicating a lack of trust by government in the judgement of Councils as to what is a local priority need.

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

A recent survey by Carers UK found that four in five unpaid carers were providing more care for relatives during the Covid-19 pandemic and that two thirds were worried about how they might cope with these demands when faced with further lockdowns or local restrictions.

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has written to the Mayor of Greater Manchester and to the Leader of Oldham Council with two requests to improve the rights of carers in Greater Manchester and to make life for local working carers a little easier.

Councillor Sykes has written to the Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham asking him to make the Greater Manchester Care Leavers’ Travel Offer open to young adult carers.  Commenting he said:  “I have asked Mayor Burnham to make this available to young adult carers, aged 18 – 21, as well as care leavers.  This would entitle them to free bus travel across Greater Manchester.  Bus fares incurred in activities related to caring, such as shopping and collecting a prescription, can represent a significant and unreasonable burden on the limited finances of a young adult carer”.

Councillor Sykes has also written to the Leader of Oldham Council, Councillor Sean Fielding, suggesting the wording of the Council’s Fair Employment Charter be changed to encourage responsible local businesses to commit to supporting carers who are in their employ to successfully combine their caring responsibilities with work.  

Explaining why, Councillor Sykes added:  “The Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey MP, wants to see carers provided with legal protection against discrimination in the workplace under the Equalities Act 2010, something I am also very keen to see happen.   Whilst we cannot make this legislative change at Oldham Council, we can ask our responsible local employers to voluntarily commit themselves not to discriminate against carers when they sign up to our Fair Employment Charter”.