Hundreds of businesses which have been legally required to close as a result of local or national restrictions have now received a Local Restrictions Support Grant.
This includes hospitality venues, soft play centres, hairdressers and barbers and non-essential retailers.
As of Wednesday, 448 grants had been paid. All applications received have been processed by the business grants team which is making payments daily.
The amount of money businesses will receive is dependent on the rateable value of the property:
• Properties with a rateable value of £15,000 or under – grants of £1,334 per four weeks of closure.
• Properties with a rateable value over £15,000 and below £51,000 – grants of £2,000 per four weeks of closure.
• Properties with a rateable value of exactly £51,000 and over – grants of £3,000 per four weeks of closure.
Further schemes, including a discretionary fund and support for businesses which remain open but have been affected by restrictions, will be announced soon.
Liberal Democrat Councillors were surprised when the Leader of the Oldham Conservative Group was so dismissive of a Liberal Democrat backed plan to introduce 20mph zones across the Borough to help reduce road deaths and injuries.
Shaw Councillor Howard Sykes, Leader of the Opposition, proposed a motion at the meeting of the Council last Wednesday (4 November) which called upon the Council to look again at introducing a 20mph speed limit on residential streets across the borough to save lives. The Liberal Democrats had previously asked for 20mph to be the default speed limit in 2014, an action that the Labour Administration chose not to pursue at the time.
Tory Councillor John Hudson OBE described the plan as “a load of crap” and “unnecessary” passing judgement on a measure which studies show reduces road accidents by 20%. Conservative Councillors then abstained on the motion.
Councillor Sykes said: “In this debate, the Conservatives showed they are out-of-touch with people’s concerns when it comes to road safety. In surveys, over seven in 10 people support the introduction of 20mph zones, and this level of support goes up when they are introduced. At a time when people feel powerless in preventing deaths from Covid-19, is it ‘crap’ to ask drivers to help prevent more deaths on our roads by slowing down to save lives?
“Responsible people wear face coverings and socially distance to help prevent Covid deaths; responsible drivers can be encouraged to reduce their speed to help prevent road deaths. Having a 20mph limit signposted on our residential streets will, like the messaging to wear a face covering and make space, make responsible drivers aware of what the right choice is – and it is to kill your speed and not a child.”
Crompton Councillor Diane Williamson backed her colleague in seconding the motion. Councillor Williamson also seconded the motion when it was first discussed in 2014. She added: “Road casualty statistics show that you are at least five times more likely to die if struck by a vehicle travelling at 30mph than 20mph or 10 times if over 60 years old. And there are also 20 percent less injuries on roads with 20mph speeds. Reducing the speed limit on our residential streets is common-sense”.
Despite the Conservatives refusing to support the measure, the motion was overwhelmingly carried, and the proposal will now go before the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Board for in-depth examination. Councillor Sykes concluded: “We must now hope that this second time around, the Administration choses to invest in this worthwhile road safety measure. It’s time to say 20’s plenty in 2020”.
The Oldham Liberal Democrats have welcomed Boris Johnson’s recent climbdown over the provision of school meals to the children of England’s poorest families. The Conservative Government has pledged £396 million of targeted support for 1.7 million children over the Christmas, Easter and Summer school holidays. The Prime Minister conveyed the good news in a telephone call on Saturday with campaigning footballer Marcus Rashford OBE.
The Liberal Democrats brought a motion to the last meeting of the Oldham Council (4 November) in support of Marcus Rashford’s campaign to tackle holiday hunger and child poverty in England.
On hearing the welcome announcement, Saddleworth North Councillor Garth Harkness, who proposed the motion, said: “We congratulate Marcus Rashford on his successful campaign to turn around government policy on this issue. Only days before, Tory MPs had disgracefully voted against awarding money for school meals in Parliament; all the while taking advantage of the publicly subsidised canteens in Westminster. Over one million people signed a petition in support of the campaign of the Manchester United and England player, and the Oldham Liberal Democrats in bringing forward this motion wanted also to show our support for Mr Rashford’s initiative”.
Crompton Councillor Louie Hamblett, who seconded the motion, added: “The Oldham Liberal Democrats believe that to let children go hungry in the United Kingdom, one of the world’s richest economies, is truly disgraceful. We hope that in passing this motion, Oldham Council will send a clear signal of support to Marcus Rashford and to Henry Dimbleby, who chaired the National Food Strategy group, in their fight to end child food poverty”.
The motion was carried at the Council meeting last Wednesday (4 November).
The Oldham Liberal Democrats are hopeful that the Conservative Chancellor, Rishi Sunak MP, will extend the £20 a week temporary increase in Universal Credit for a further year in next year’s Spring Budget. The temporary increase was first made at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic to provide extra financial support to citizens faced with unemployment following the economic downturn.
In October, Councillor Sykes wrote to the Chancellor asking him ‘to make a clear and principled policy decision’ and make the temporary rise permanent. Commenting, Councillor Sykes said: “This temporary uplift of £20 per week, or £1,040 a year, if made permanent would be a Godsend to our poorest residents and their families. For many it will represent the difference between being able to put food before the family at mealtimes or keeping the lights on or keeping their home warm; or being unable to do so. Although I would prefer the increase to be made permanent, it is rumoured that the Chancellor will only agree to pay the increase for a further year in the spring budget, but this is at least a move in the right direction.”
