11Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrats seek National Stalking and Domestic Violence Register to catch offenders

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence
Oldham’s Liberal Democrats believe that proposed legislation currently going through Parliament would be much more effective if it included a commitment to establish an offenders’ register for those convicted of stalking or domestic violence. Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Councillor Chris Gloster, a former police officer with 30 years’ experience, will be proposing a motion to the next meeting of Oldham Council (16 December) calling on the government to create this register as part of the Domestic Abuse Bill when it becomes law. Councillor Chris Gloster explained why he is bringing this motion to Council: “The Covid-19 lockdown has sadly led to a significant increase in reports of domestic violence as partners have been obliged to spend more time at home and underlying tensions in relationships lead to breakdown. Most shockingly…
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10Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Warm welcome for arrival of ‘cold vaccine’ for Covid -19

Warm welcome for arrival of ‘cold vaccine’ for Covid -19

Borough news
The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has given a warm welcome to news that the first Covid-19 vaccine is finally being distributed for use with the most vulnerable group in society, care home residents. Councillor Sykes said: “The logistics associated with the transport and storage of this vaccine are considerable as it must be stored at minus 70 degrees centigrade until shortly before its use, but it is my hope that the residents of Oldham’s care homes (and staff) will soon be able to receive it – let us hope by Christmas. “If we could combine the vaccine roll-out with the introduction of 30-minute on-site lateral flow tests for family members, then face-to-face visits to care homes, allowing physical contact in safety, may become possible and this…
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10Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrats call for Young Carers Action Day

Borough news
Liberal Democrat Councillors will be calling on Oldham Council to mark Young Carers Action Day in 2021. Councillor Hazel Gloster and Louie Hamblett will be proposing a motion to the next full meeting of the Council (Wednesday 16 December) requesting a local event be held in the Borough as part of a new national campaign to recognise and support young carers. Young Carers Action Day will be held on 16 March 2021. It is a new event being organised nationwide by the Carers Trust, replacing a previous annual Awareness Day held on 30 January. Councillor Hazel Gloster, who will be proposing the motion, said: “Research indicates that up to one in five secondary school children may be a carer for grandparents, parents or siblings, and that many of the children…
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07Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Stockport Liberal Democrats deal blow to Labour’s Green Belt homes plan

Stockport Liberal Democrats deal blow to Labour’s Green Belt homes plan

Borough news
Last week, at a special meeting of Stockport Council, the 26 strong Liberal Democrat Group, led a charge to vote down the latest Greater Manchester Spatial Framework proposals in a nail-biting 26 to 35 votes.  The vote at this second meeting followed the request for an adjournment made by the Conservatives and Labour Groups at an earlier meeting to enable the two parties to seek a compromise that would enable the Tories to vote with Labour, but even after talks the Conservatives found the latest modified proposals still unpalatable. The proposals supported by Greater Manchester Labour Mayor and the ten leaders of the Greater Manchester Councils have been opposed by Liberal Democrats across the city region, and the Oldham group has also been at the forefront of local efforts to…
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07Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Sykes reassured by police commitment over child sexual exploitation review

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence
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…
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07Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Too little, too late: Government announcement leaves pubs short-measured

Too little, too late: Government announcement leaves pubs short-measured

Borough news
The Government will make the long-suffering publicans of ‘wet’ pubs, which do not serve food, a one -off payment of £1,000 for the month of December to compensate them in part for their loss of earnings during the Covid-19 closure, but the news has left Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE underwhelmed. In response, Councillor Sykes said: “This payment, though welcome, is a drop in the ocean compared to the loss of takings that publicans have suffered through the prolonged and repeated closure of their premises and the loss of trade they have suffered even when open which has been caused by all of the restrictions placed upon them. “Even if it were a £1,000 extra a month, every month it would not really touch the sides, but…
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04Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Spending review forces inflation busting rises on Council Tax payers to fund essential social care

Borough news, Parliamentary news
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…
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04Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrat call for support for Small Business Saturday (5 December)

Borough news
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…
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02Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani
Liberal Democrats seek further support for carers

Liberal Democrats seek further support for carers

Borough news
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…
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01Dec 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

24-hour high street shopping proposal is ‘madness’

Borough news
Local Government Minister Robert Jenrick MP has announced his intention to allow shops to remain open around the clock in the run-up to Christmas, and Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, is far from happy. Describing the move as “madness”, Councillor Sykes said: “Once more a Conservative Minister has shown themselves to be completely out of touch with reality. It might work in an out-of-town retail park where no-one lives, but we have communities where supermarkets are situated cheek-by-jowl with homes. Imagine living next door to a supermarket or department store open 24-hours, dealing with the noise and the traffic of Christmas shoppers and of delivery trucks. Unlike London, we do not have a 24-hour public transport system so shoppers would still come in by car in the wee…
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