News – Page 136 – Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

23Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government must extend support to protect local jobs, Lib Dems warn

The Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to continue furlough support until it is safe and extend support to those who have so far been excluded by the Government. Acting leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP, who is asking the public to join the party's campaign to protect workers, warned that the Government must not "undo the work and threaten mass unemployment." According to government statistics published this week, 32,000 of people in Oldham have benefited from the job retention scheme. Government statistics also show a further 8,900 people in Oldham are receiving financial support through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, following a successful campaign by the Liberal Democrats. However, the party has warned some of the worst hit are the country's self-employed workers, three million of whom…

22Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Cost of tackling food crime soars more than 1000% due to Brexit, Lib Dems reveal

Parliamentary news

The Liberal Democrats have revealed the cost of the National Food Crime Unit, vital in making sure food sold in the UK is safe, has seen costs soar by more than 1000% in the past five years as a direct result of Brexit. Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron warned the cost of Brexit is “increasingly clear” and urged Ministers to uphold high food safety standards and prevent the UK being “flooded with cheap imports that put our health at risk”. Figures uncovered by a Liberal Democrat freedom of information request have revealed the NFCU budget has gone from a budget of just £420,739 since it's creation in 2015 to more than £5.7m in 2020/21. The extra funding comes via the expanded Food Standards Agency budget, in order to facilitate NFCU readiness for…

21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Councillor calls for changes on pavement parking

Borough news, Campaigns, Parliamentary news

Local Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani has written to the Transport Secretary urging him to ensure that a consultation to ensure pavements set to become safer for parents and disabled people does not get forgotten about. The consultation was due this summer, but has not yet happened. Sam said: “This year has been a turbulent one, and it is still difficult for all of us. But we have to make sure that we carry on fixing day-to-day problems for people. Running a consultation such as this can be done without any real impact from the Coronavirus, so is exactly the sort of work that the Government should be taking forward.” Pavement parking is a constant issue for parents with prams and buggies, and for anyone in a wheelchair, often necessitating that they…

21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Nitrous Oxide advice must be updated, says local councillor

Borough news, Campaigns

After Government advice on restricting the supply of nitrous oxide for recreational use was withdrawn, local councillor Sam Al-Hamdani has written to the Home Office seeking for an urgent update on the issue. The advice was withdrawn three weeks ago (July 23), citing that it no longer represents Government policy, but with no link to any new advice, and no indication of replacement advice in the Home Office’s news and communications. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “There is no part of our borough where you do not see these small canisters left around, night after night. Both myself and the Liberal Democrat leader Howard Sykes have raised this at council meetings. We need to ensure that more is done to stop their abuse. “As such, I have written to the Home Office…

21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Undecided fate for Saddleworth School site must be resolved

Borough news

Following a written request, Oldham Borough Council has confirmed to local councillor Sam Al-Hamdani that there is no agreement to transfer the site of the existing Saddleworth School in Uppermill to local developer Wiggetts. Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani, the Liberal Democrats spokesperson for Saddleworth, said: “This is a large site in the centre of Saddleworth’s most populous village. It is clear that we need to know what the existing site is going to be used for, and to ensure that we can maximise the benefit to the community. “It seems that most people’s understanding that the site was to be transferred to Wiggetts in exchange for the new school site was incorrect. We need to know what the alternatives are, and push the Council to deliver the best solution for Saddleworth…

21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Government continue to threaten economic recovery

Parliamentary news

Responding to ONS figures that show retail sales rose above pre-pandemic levels in July, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey said: “This will be welcome news for so many people working on our high streets who would have spent several months worried about their job. "However, we are not out of the woods yet. The Government is yet to bring forward a proper plan for high streets in locally locked down areas, so people are likely to go through more tough times. “The Government also continues to threaten our economic recovery with its damaging Brexit policy. The fact that we could still leave negotiations with the EU with a bad or no deal means that many high street businesses will still be very concerned about what the future…

21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

“Shameful” that bereaved families of NHS and care workers risk losing access to welfare benefits

Parliamentary news

The Liberal Democrats have warned it is "shameful" that bereaved families of NHS and care workers who die of coronavirus risk losing access to welfare benefits if they receive payments under the government's Covid-19 compensation scheme and called on Ministers to "scrap this senseless rule immediately." The Government has confirmed that families who receive the £60,000 payout under the scheme will no longer be able to claim for universal credit, housing benefit or pension credit, as they would be in breach of capital limits. Layla Moran led the cross-party campaign calling for the introduction of the Covid-19 compensation scheme for families of NHS and care workers who lose their lives to coronavirus. Figures she uncovered in July revealed only 19 families had benefited so far from the scheme, despite there…

21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Extending eviction ban nothing more than kicking the can down the road

Parliamentary news

Responding to reports that the eviction ban in England will be extended until 20 September, Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said: “No-one should face losing their homes while this deadly virus still hasn't been properly brought under control. "Extending the eviction ban by just a mere month is nothing more than kicking the can down the road. It is a dereliction of duty. "For families who have been days away from the threat of eviction, this news will go down like a bucket of cold sick. "The Government must get real on renters right and immediately ease worries by extending the ban until there is a proper long-term solution for people who have found themselves in crisis."

21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Local testing long overdue, but we need no repeat of shambolic start in Shaw

Borough news

The Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, is pleased that Covid-19 testing will finally be delivered from mobile testing units located in district centres across Oldham. But he condemns the chaos caused by the failure of the promised Shaw local testing unit to turn up on the first day, or arrive on time on the second day, or turn up without full kit on another day and left early on another day. Councillor Sykes said: “It was a total shambles. We were promised a testing unit in Shaw on Tuesday last week (4 August) – it failed to show. And we were promised another on Friday of last week (7 August) – it arrived two and a half…

21Aug 2020 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Brexit reality falls short of rhetoric again as “no deal” threat looms

Parliamentary news

Responding to news that the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the EU "seems unlikely", Liberal Democrat Brexit and Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said: “We were told that this would be the easiest negotiation ever but, yet again, the Brexit reality is very different from the rhetoric. "Millions of people are looking to the future with dread. With no end in sight to the COVID crisis and the worst economic forecasts for a century or more, the disruption of a no deal Brexit threatens to push the UK into total meltdown. "This is not about party politics. It's about making sure families can put food on the table and access life saving medicines. "The Prime Minister's childish refusal to extend…