My two allowed Questions to the Leader of Oldham Council for tonight’s Full Council meeting

questions-to-ask-your-LASIK-doctorCouncil 16th December 2015

Leaders Question 1 – Closure of Oldham Tax Office

My first question tonight concerns the proposed closure of the Oldham HMRC Tax Office at Phoenix House on Union Street.

This move will represent a massive job loss for Oldham and a further blow to our Borough’s public sector, following on top of this Government’s proposal to close both of our court houses and the significant cuts in local government spending announced recently in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

The Government is proposing to close dozens of other local HMRC tax offices and consolidate their operations in large regional offices in Manchester and twelve other cities across the regions.

Such a move makes no financial sense – Manchester’s office rentals are second only to London, whilst Oldham’s are well under half the price.

Public contact with HMRC is largely online or via email or the telephone, rather than by personal visit, therefore there is no need to locate these offices to busy and expensive, cities.

Rather common sense suggests that to save money this Government should instead choose to expand the Oldham operation into a new regional centre and migrate Civil Service jobs into our Borough.

Sites like Union Street (next to the Town Centre Metrolink stop) and Hollinwood Junction (adjacent to the motorway network and the Hollinwood tram stop) are easily accessible for staff and could represent alternative affordable locations.

This is the approach taken in London where HMRC are regionalising to Croydon and Stratford, rather than central London.

Can I therefore ask the Leader if he will join me in writing to the Chancellor and the Head of HMRC offering to work with them to bring a new regional centre to Oldham and the many new jobs that will come with it? 

Council 16th December 2015

Leaders Question 2 – Wilshaw Report

For my second question, I would like to return to a subject on which I have consistently expressed concern – namely the education of the children of this Borough.

Like any parent, I place the education of my children up at the top of my personal priorities, so like many parents in this Borough I was extremely disappointed to hear that the Head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, recently announced that Oldham was one of sixteen authorities where less than 60% of our children are studying at a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ school.

This damning admission means that almost half of all of our children are being failed by some of our schools and this Administration and this is attested to in recent announcements about examination grades.

Parents have the right to expect that education will be of a quality that will allow their children to reach their full potential.

Why is it that we as an education authority continue to fail our young people?

I would like to ask the Leader what is being done to address this Oldham education ‘gap’ and why there continues to be a delay in the publication of the findings and recommendations of the much-awaited Oldham Education Commission?

This so called Commission will have cost council tax payers more than £100,000 and yet it is still to see the light of day.

We needed to start work to improve the education for our young people months or years ago, rather than keep hiding behind this much promised report.

Now that the Oldham West and Royton by-election is out of the way, surely there can be no further justification for any further delay – why can’t we see it now?

And why can we not start to improve the lot for our children now!

Councillor Howard Sykes, Leader of the Opposition and Lib Dem Group Oldham Council, Member for Shaw Ward

Street Charter will make Streets Safer for Sight Impaired, say Lib Dems

RNIB-street-campaign-500x375

The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, will be proposing a motion to Wednesday’s Oldham Council meeting (16/12/15) that the Council look to work with individuals with sight loss and organisations representing them to develop a Street Charter for the Borough.

In a survey conducted by the Royal National Institute for the blind amongst people with sight loss, nearly every respondent reported that they had collided with an obstacle (such as a wheelie bin, a car, or an advertising – or A- board obstructing the pavement) in the street within the previous three months, and a third of people reported an injury as a result.

Cllr Sykes said: “Like, the Royal Institute for the Blind, the Oldham Liberal Democrats find it unacceptable that those residents of our borough who have sight loss have to chance serious injury every time they step outside their front door.”

“We want the Council to take a lead in removing obstacles and hazards from our streets and pavements.”

“Many of these already pose a significant hazard to the elderly, wheelchair users and parents with prams and buggies but imagine how much more of a hazard they are to those suffering from sight loss.”

“If we do not take action then the situation will only get worse – it is expected that the number of residents in our borough who live with sight loss will increase to nearly 9,000 by 2030.”

Cllr Sykes and the Lib Dems therefore support the ‘Who Put That There!’ campaign by the Royal National Institute for the Blind to raise awareness amongst the sighted and to ask local authorities to engage with blind and partially sighted people in their area to develop a Street Charter to remove obstacles and hazards from the public realm.

The Liberal Democrat motion calls for the Overview and Scrutiny Board to convene a workshop with representatives from the Royal National Institute for the Blind, people living in this Borough with sight loss and their local representative bodies and highways and planning officers to draw up a Street Charter for the borough.

Cllr Sykes added: “I am proud that the Oldham Liberal Democrat group have in the past raised many proposals in Council to support disabled people in this Borough.  We shall always champion sensible ideas in the Council Chamber to help those living with disabilities.”

“December is Disability History Month during which there is greater emphasis on identifying issues that impact on the lives of disabled people.  Last year we proposed more support for disabled people and carers seeking employment through the Council’s Get Oldham Working programme, measures to combat the evil of hate crime against disabled people, and the need to consider disabled access when the Council Chamber is eventually refurbished.”

Cllr Rod Blyth, Shadow Cabinet Member for Social Care and Safeguarding, who is seconding the motion said:

“I am proud to support this motion as I represent Oldham Council on the board of Sight Support Oldham.  This worthy charity has been providing support and advice to the visually impaired, and their friends and family, since 1878.”

“In the United Kingdom someone starts to lose their sight every 15 minutes. According to data from the Royal National Institute for the Blind there are approximately 2 million people with sight loss in Britain; 6,000 of whom live in Oldham.”

“As it is estimated that the number of residents in our borough who live with sight loss will increase to nearly 9,000 by 2030, this call for the Council to work with key partners and residents with sight impairment could not be more timely.”

Motion – Royal National Institute for the Blind Street Charter 

Council notes that:

  • Every 15 minutes, someone in the UK starts to lose their sight.
  • According to data from the Royal National Institute for the Blind (the RNIB) there are approximately 6,000 people in Oldham living with some degree of sight loss, and this figure is expected to rise to nearly 9,000 by 2030.
  • Obstacles in the public realm such as:
  • Inaccessible crossings;
  • Vehicles parking on pavements;
  • Advertising boards (A-boards);
  • Street and cafe furniture;
  • Wheeled bins and refuse bags; and
  • Overgrown shrubs and trees, and overhanging branches impede access and mobility, and represent hazards, for the two million people in the UK who suffer from sight loss.
  • In a Royal National Institute for the Blind survey conducted in 2014 nearly every respondent with sight loss reported that they had collided with an obstacle in the street within the previous three months, and a third of people reported injury as a result.

Council therefore welcomes the ‘Who Put That There!’ campaign by the Royal National Institute for the Blind and endorses the call to local authorities to engage with blind and partially sighted people in their area to develop a Street Charter to remove obstacles and hazards from the public realm.

Council therefore resolves to ask the Overview and Scrutiny Board to convene a workshop with representatives from the Royal National Institute for the Blind, blind and partially sighted people living in this borough, and their local representative bodies, and highways and planning officers to draw up a Street Charter for this borough.

Sykes says of Oldham Education Commission report: Why the delay, publish now!

635605627991241363-shutterstock-202809568

The Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has written to the Chief Executive, Dr Wilkins, asking for the findings of the much-awaited Oldham Education Commission to be published before Christmas.

Cllr Sykes said: “After months of deliberations, an interim report was promised in January, it failed to materialise; then in the summer, a report was promised, it failed to materialise; now there have been yet further months of delay in its publication, and it has still to materialise.  This is beginning to look like Oldham’s Chilcot Report.”

“I understand that the publication of the report had to be placed on hold during the recent by-election, but we now have the result so there is no reason for a further delay until the new-year.”

“I know parents, teaching professionals, governors and elected members will be as keen as I am to see the findings – and more importantly we need to start to act upon them as soon as possible to improve the education made available to the children and young people of this borough; because the state of Oldham’s education has already been damned even before the publication.”

Cllr Sykes has been very concerned to see a steady decline in educational performance at many of Oldham’s schools since the change in Administration in 2011. He added: “This year we have had two damning Ofsted reports.  The first found that Oldham has the third highest number of infant pupils taught in classes of more than 30 and that our average junior class at almost 29 pupils is the seventh highest in the country.

“This was bad enough but in the last week, Sir Michael Wilshaw, Head of Ofsted, has cited Oldham as one of the sixteen education authorities with the lowest percentage of pupils able to study at ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ schools.  Only a third of our pupils are able to do so.”

“The reality is that under Labour this authority is failing to offer thousands of our children the education they deserve.  It is just not good enough.  If there was a school report on this Administration’s performance it would say ‘must do much better’.”

Cllr Sykes set out the Liberal Democrat vision for education in the borough:

“The Liberal Democrats firmly believe that all of our borough’s children and young people deserve an excellent education to enable them to reach their fullest potential in academia, in employment and as active citizens.  A good schooling opens doors for individuals so they can access further and higher education, become productive and well remunerated in the workplace, self-expressive and active citizens, and serve as positive parents and role models for their own children.”

“We hope that the Oldham Education Commission will also share this vision and identify the means to achieve it.  Let us hope that the report is soon published so that politicians from all parties can renew their efforts to do all in their power to assist in changing the current state of affairs.  The Liberal Democrats stand ready to do so”.

Copy of email to Dr Wilkins, Chief Executive of Oldham Council

Dear Dr Wilkins,

I am writing to you because I am concerned that Oldham Council wishes to hold over the publication of the much-awaited Oldham Education Commission report until the New Year, whenever that may be.

After months of deliberations, an interim report was promised in January, it failed to materialise; then in the summer, a report was promised, it failed to materialise; now there have been yet further months of delay in its publication, and it has still to materialise. This is beginning to look like Oldham’s Chilcot Report.

I understand that the publication of the report had to be placed on hold during the recent by-election, but we now have the result I can see no reason for a further delay until the New Year.  Delaying these weeks and months can only have an adverse impact upon our children, many of whom are just not getting anything like the standard and quality of education they deserve and to be blunt should expect nothing less.

I know parents, teaching professionals, governors and elected members will be as keen as I am to see the findings – and more importantly we need to start to act upon them as soon as possible to improve the education made available to the children and young people of this borough; because the state of Oldham’s education has already been heavily condemned by Ofsted in two reports in recent months.

It is simply not acceptable that almost two thirds of Oldham’s pupils are unable to study at a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ school – we should and we must do better by the young people of this borough.

I look forward to receiving your reply and hopefully and early publication of this report.

Yours sincerely.

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE