CSE – Page 3 – Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

10Nov 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader calls on government to close sex offenders’ loophole

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence

Two years on from the Oldham Liberal Democrats calling for the law to be changed to make illegal sexual contact between persons in ‘positions of trust’ and young adults in their care, Group Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE has written to the Deputy Prime Minister calling for long-overdue action. In September 2019, the Liberal Democrats brought a motion before the Full Council in support the NSPCC ‘Closing the loophole’ campaign. The children’s charity wants the Position of Trust law changed to cover all roles where an adult holds a position of power, care or responsibility over a 16-or 17-year old and to make it illegal for that adult to engage in sexual activity with that young person, even in circumstances where this activity is mutually-consensual. The motion received cross-party support.…

25Oct 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrats welcome second reading of new bill to bar sex offenders from public office

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence, Parliamentary news

Oldham Liberal Democrats have welcomed the second reading in Parliament (22 October 2021) of a new bill which would bar sexual offenders from seeking, or remaining in, elected public office. In July, Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE wrote to the Conservative MP for Mole Valley, Sir Paul Beresford, offering his support for the Local Government (Disqualification) Bill and providing his office with a comprehensive briefing on the current legal situation and options. The bill, now published, will on becoming law disbar anyone from standing or remaining in public office who is subject to a ‘notification requirement’ or ‘order’ relating to sexual offences. Current legislation only bars individuals who receive a custodial or suspended prison sentence of three months or more. Commenting, Councillor Sykes said: “Over the last…

29Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Sykes seeks special Council to discuss action on child sex exploitation report

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence

The Leader of the Oldham Liberal Democrats has written to the Leader of the Council to seek her assurance that a special council meeting will be held in the autumn to discuss the much-awaited report on historic child sexual exploitation in Oldham. In his letter to the Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE asks for sufficient time to be made available to discuss the report at the scheduled November or December meeting of the Full Council, or, as he would prefer, that ‘a special one agenda item meeting of the Full Council [be convened] as soon as is practicable after publication to enable discussion to take place.’ The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has stated that his intention is to publish the CSE report ‘by November or, at the very…

20Sep 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

‘Computer Says No!’ – Police officers still failed by Mayor’s new iOPs system

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence

Police officers and the victims of crime across Greater Manchester continue to be let down by a new computer system backed by £29 million in public money from Greater Manchester’s Labour Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner, Andy Burnham. A report by accountants Price Waterhouse Coopers into police performance was finally published last Friday after being hidden for many months by Mayor Andy Burnham. Pressure from the Liberal Democrat Leader of Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, helped bring the findings to light. It includes a damning litany of the inadequacies of the iOPs (Integrated Operational Policing System) system. Councillor Sykes said: “Police officers have complained to me about the inadequacies of iOPs from the time it was first introduced in June 2019. The PwC report candidly records the frustration…

03Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Liberal Democrats hold Council to promise on findings from national CSE inquiry

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence

Oldham Council’s Safeguarding Partnership is working to introduce recommendations from the national Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA), following further work from the Liberal Democrat group on the Council. Having already received a promise from the Council that it would apply any relevant local recommendations into their work, Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani went through the last two IICSA reports in detail to identify those that applied, and demanded a detailed response from the Council on how they were being implemented. Those recommendations have now been taken to Oldham’s Safeguarding Partnership by the Managing Director of the Children & Young People team, who will then be reporting back on what specific actions are being taken. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “We worked hard to ensure that the Council made that commitment, but we…

02Aug 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Third time lucky: Liberal Democrat Leader again backs change in law to bar sex offenders from public office

Borough news, CSE, Parliamentary news

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader Councillor Howard Sykes MBE recently wrote to a Conservative member of parliament backing his plans to change the law on when councillors will be barred from public office. The name of the Conservative MP for Mole Valley, Sir Paul Beresford, was drawn in an annual ballot held recently in Parliament. Selection entitles Sir Paul to propose a private member’s bill. He has chosen to introduce a bill titled the Local Government (Disqualification) Bill. Councillor Sykes wrote to Sir Paul asking him to ensure the new law will ban anyone convicted of a sex offence and placed on the Sex Offender’s Register from seeking, accepting, or staying in public office. The Oldham Liberal Democrats have already twice asked the Conservative Government to do this. “At present, only…

11Jul 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Domestic abuse victims to get priority for council accommodation

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence

Victims of violence in the home are to get automatically prioritised for council accommodation following a changes to the law in the Domestic Abuse Act. Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani has welcome the changes, saying that it is a “clear move to provide support for victims, and simple, practical improvements to help people get away from abusers”. Previously, victims had to be separately assessed as being ‘vulnerable’ as a result of domestic abuse to be identified as having a priority need. Now, domestic abuse will be a standalone reason for qualifying. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “It’s terrifying to know how many people are victims of this. There are over 400 cases a month reported across the UK, and this is known to be a massively underreported crime. “How would you…

29Jun 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Safer streets fund opportunity for Oldham

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence

The addition of £25 million from the Home Office into the Safer Streets fund is an opportunity for Oldham to improve its work in schools to combat violence against women and girls, and combat public street harassment, says local Liberal Democrat councillor Sam Al-Hamdani With the opportunity to bid for up to £550,000, Councillor Al-Hamdani has written to Oldham Council to ensure that they apply to run a programme later this year, such as introducing educational and community programmes across the Borough. Councillor Al-Hamdani said: “Oldham Council already pledged to support Our Streets Now’s work to improve education in schools to combat harassment, and it is vital that we take every opportunity to change the culture around violence and abuse. “The release of the Ofsted review of sexual abuse emphasized…

11Jun 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Community approach can benefit survivors in Oldham

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence

After the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA) produced its latest report, local Liberal Democrat Councillor Sam Al-Hamdani has called on the Council to put its recommendations – and lessons from around the country – into practice in Oldham. One example is the Quetzal Project in Leicester, which provides free counselling for women recovering from the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. They have been running an outreach project to allow women in isolated communities to access counselling, particularly from South Asian backgrounds. Sam said: “What the Quetzal Project has done really well is reach out to people and communities, not wait for people to come to them. They found the right people in the community, that survivors would trust, and gave them the help they needed to ensure that…

11Jun 2021 by Sam Al-Hamdani

Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader welcomes promise of Council debate on CSE review

Borough news, CSE, domestic abuse and violence

The Oldham Liberal Democrat Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has welcomed the commitment made by the Leader of Oldham Council to make ‘proper time (available) for consideration by councillors’ of the long-awaited report by the review team into historic child sexual exploitation issues at a meeting of the Full Council. Last month, Councillor Sykes wrote to the new Leader, Councillor Arooj Shah, to request that Councillors be able ‘to discuss this matter in Full Council at the earliest opportunity’. As the Greater Manchester Deputy Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner, Baroness Beverley Hughes, had previously said the report would be available by the middle of this year, councillor Sykes was hopeful that this would be at the July 14 Council meeting. In her reply, Councillor Shah could not confirm that…

Category: CSE