(15 minutes for public questions and 25 minutes for Councillor questions)
Minutes:
The Mayor advised the meeting that the first item on the agenda in Open Council was Public Question Time. The questions had been received from members of the public and would be taken in the order in which they had been received. Council was advised that if the questioner was not present then the question would appear on the screens in the Council Chamber.
The following questions had been submitted:
1. Question asked by David McGealy:
“Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm has broadcast “all about Oldham” for the last 9 years and 9 months and if it can find the finance to pay the bills will continue for a minimum of another 5 years until March 2023.
To date we have broadcast every Council Meeting and Civic Event. These have included Freeman of the Borough Awards, Mayor Making Ceremonies, Civic Appreciation Awards, Council Annual Meetings, etc.
Our broadcasts are very popular with residents of neighbouring Boroughs and we bring some of these into Oldham by inviting them to join us in a series of “Summer Strolls” (around Oldham), Also to visit various locations in Oldham. For example, Gallery Oldham and The Mayor’s Parlour. Our latest initiative has been to invite them to join us for a series “Silver Screenings” at the new Odeon Cinema in the Old Town Hall. We have increased the number attending these screening “six fold” and I am informed that last time they had to turn customers away as the screen was full!
Our Annual Listener Survey indicates that around 40,000 individuals listen to the station each week and of these 40% live outside Oldham. Even taking this “out of area listeners” into account the number of listeners seems very large and we would rather be cautious and estimate the audience at twenty to twenty five thousand per week.
Over this time frame the number of guests on-air must have run into the many thousands. The guests during the last week have included The Houghton Weavers, Chris Hamilton, U3A, Oldham Symphony Orchestra, Christian Aid, the Inter Faith Forum, A local Vet and a number of telephone guests – and this was a very quiet week!
We were delighted to see “Warm Homes Oldham” receive a National Award for their campaign and feel delighted that we fully supported their campaign and were paid for our contribution.
While commenting on National Awards I am delighted that Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm were recently recipients of three National Community Radio Awards. Gold in Speech and Journalism, Bronze in Specialist Music and Highly Commended in “Station of the Year”. It is good to know that “Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm” is held in such high esteem within the Sector.
We have never had a negative comment on any of the contributions made by Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm to any of the campaigns we have been a part of over the years. Feedback has only ever been positive. Thus it was a tremendous shock and a huge financial blow that we discovered in late November that we had been “dropped” without warning from “Oldham’s 2016 Christmas Advertising Campaign”. The anticipated £3,000 was critical to our budget. This was less understandable as Oldham supports the ethos of “Love Where You Live”, “Go Oldham” and “Britain in Bloom” and “Shop”, “Spend” and “Support Local” are supposed to be integral to the Boroughs way forward!
My Questions:
1. Why were we “dropped” from the 2016 Christmas Campaign and not informed of this?
2. What are the advantages, to Oldham, of telling people in Wigan about, for example, the Christmas lights switch-on in Oldham?
3. To the best of my knowledge, every other one of the over 200 community radio stations in the UK has received payment for advertising their local council’s Christmas Campaign. Why is Oldham so different?
4. and finally, What more does Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm have to do to become a ‘part’ of Oldham’s Christmas Advertising Campaign?”
Councillor Stretton, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Enterprise responded that Mr. McGealy’s question and his previous email to all sixty councillors was based on a significant inaccuracy. Oldham Community Radio (OCR) had not been dropped from the Christmas campaign by the Council. The campaign was not Council-owned but was funded by the Town Centre Christmas Marketing Budget which had been cut by all partners. The campaign now used fewer communication channels based on intelligence from surveys on how people found out about the events. Money previously given to OCR was not spent with Key 103 instead. The campaign had used Key 103 for many years as a successful commercial channel which could statistically prove its impact on residents and visitors to Oldham. Bus, Metrolink and road hoardings were also stopped this year and spend with the Chronicle was cut. It was unfair to blame the Council when the budget was not held by the Council. The Council did appreciate what Oldham Community Radio did and Mr. McGealy had been honoured with a Civic Appreciation Award last February. Since grant funding had stopped, the Council had also offered support in kind by waiving the costly rental charge for OCR’s radio mast located on the Civic Centre. The Council was sympathetic to the financial predicament but it had to be understood that it was not practical to personally contact every channel to let them know if they were not being used on a campaign. It was clearly evidenced that the funding was untrue and the Leader was available to discuss any issues with Mr. McGealy.
2. Question received from Parish Councillor Paul Turner via Twitter:
“As there are a shortage of school places, what has OMBC put in place to cope if the house building in the GMSF goes ahead?”
Councillor Chadderton, Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years responded that the Council annually reviewed school place projections for the coming year and the therefore the current projections did not take into account GMSF. The GMSF was only at initial consultation with the final plan due at the end of 2018. At the end of 2018 the Council would receive the plan. The concerns for Crompton and housing where shared, however, 1200 houses were not just going to ‘pop up’. Planning permission would be needed and it was estimated that this would take years. The Council updated pupil projections annually and planning housing developments were taken into account.
3. Question received from May Winter via Twitter:
“I see there is a petition to get rid of Shaw parish council. How many signatures will OMBC need to disband?”
Councillor Stretton, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Enterprise responded that a petition may require a community governance review to be undertaken. The petition would have to set out at least one recommendation that the petitioners wanted the review to consider to be made. The petition would need to be signed by the requisite number of electors. In the area mentioned in the question, the petition would have to be signed by 7.5% of the electors in the parish area. The Council was not currently in receipt of a valid petition which triggered a community governance review. Should the Council receive a petition there was a requirement to consult local people along with other bodies. The review would need to be completed in 12 months and the Council would need to take the consultation response into consideration. The decision would need to be approved by Council and the appropriate orders made.
4. Question received from Dr. Alison Mary Lees via Twitter:
“I’d like to know why we can’t have off-street parking in Acorn Street to improve safety of schoolchildren and old people?”
Councillor Fida Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, responded that the Council did not own any land adjacent to Acorn Street to create an off street car park. However, there was a car park on nearby Taylor Street at its junction with Mellor Street which was available for use.
5. Question received from Syed Maruf Ali via email:
“There have been a number of significant changes to the educational system in recent years. These include the expansion of the academies and Free Schools programme; the creation of University Technical Colleges and Studio Schools; the development of school to school support, including Teaching Schools, National / Local and Specialist Leaders of Education and National Leaders of Governance; and raised Ofsted expectations of schools, settings and Local Authorities.
A major initiative has been the introduction of the Pupil Premium. This is additional funding given to publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and close the gap between them and their peers. The government has extended this scheme to early years, with a pupil premium for all disadvantaged 3- and 4-year-olds and similar support for eligible two year olds.
Local Authorities retain a statutory duty under the 1996 Education Act ‘to promote high standards so that children and young people achieve well and fulfil their potential’. However, how Local Authorities carry out this role has had to respond to the wider changes in the educational system. For example, Local Authorities have no power of intervention in academies and Free Schools but do have a responsibility to know how well the children in those schools are doing and to take appropriate action if there is concern.
Do the Local Authority and Cllr's have any concerns in Werneth Ward for Primary and Secondary school?
As most of us are aware LA has no power to carry out direct monitoring in academies, which is the responsibility of the Trust. However, under the 1996 Education Act LA can intervene if concerns has been raised by parents. Has the LA and Cllr's for responsible for education had any discussions with School/Academies/parents in Werneth Ward regarding high standard of education, performance and attainment level and any action that School should take?
What support/funding does The Local Authority offers to schools and academies in Werneth ward to improvement the attainment level?”
Councillor Amanda Chadderton, Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years responded that the Council had an obligation to raise concerns about academies or free schools with the Regional Schools Commissioner. Concerns had been discussed about several academies such as Werneth, however, these issues could not be disclosed. The council met with academy leaders board but it was up to them to choose the support they accessed which included the school alliance.
At this point in the meeting, the Mayor advised that the time limit for this item had expired.
The Mayor reminded Members that the Council had previously agreed that questions would be taken in an order which reflected the political balance of the Council. The following questions were submitted by Councillors on Ward or District matters:
1. Councillor Dean asked the following question:
“Could the Cabinet Member update me on the progress of the proposed housing development on the former Counthill School site? Local residents and ward Councillors were assured development would take place sometime ago.”
Councillor Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Cooperatives responded that the formal process for the selection of an appropriate residential developer partner for the former Counthill School Site commenced in July 2016. Due to the high level of interest shown in the site, it had been necessary for a short-listing process to take place, which was concluded in September. Detailed proposals had subsequently been received from four parties in late November and these were being assessed. The Council would hopefully be in a position to confirm the preferred development partner early in the new year. There would be a requirement for a detailed planning application to be submitted prior to the commencement of the development on site during the course in 2017.
2. Councillor Adrian Alexander asked the following question:
“We have been waiting patiently for a decision on the Breeze Hill School site about whether it can be made available for sport facilities for Springhead FC and various other sporting organisations. Is there any progress to report?”
Councillor Stretton, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Enterprise responded that there had been on-going site investigations and viability appraisals taking place for confirmation of how exactly how much of the former Breezehill Site could be taken forward to provide much needed family homes in the area and these were scheduled to be completed by the end of January 2017. In the meantime, discussions had been ongoing with other interested parties if it was concluded that a recreational use was more appropriate for certain parts of the site. Officers had met with Springhead FC on two separate occasions to discuss Springhead FC’s potential aspirations for the site and a further meeting was scheduled to take place. In the event that parts of the were to be made available for recreational uses, the Council would continue to work closely with interested parties for proposals to be drawn up that would result in viable and sustainable uses for the benefit of local communities.
3. Councillor Hewitt asked the following question:
“Does the Council recognise the real need for more primary school places in Saddleworth and across Oldham and what steps are being taken to meet this pressing need?”
Councillor Chadderton, Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years responded that the Council recognised the need for more places. Work had been undertaken in the last six months through a matrix system and the most preferable was the rebuild of Greenfield School. Public consultation was underway. If approved, 30 additional places would be provided. In relation to other areas, the new North Moor Academy offered 640 places. East Oldham was the largest planning area and a decision had been taken that this area was too large. The area would be split and further proposals made.
4. Councillor Harkness asked the following question:
“The Cabinet Member will be well aware of the recent disappointing news that the judicial review sought by The Save Diggle Action Group to prevent the new Saddleworth School from being located in Diggle will not now be heard until 2017.
Will the Cabinet Member agree with me that this decision represents yet another regrettable delay in providing an excellent new educational facility to pupils of secondary school age in Saddleworth and that it will involve this local authority in further considerable unnecessary expenditure in legal fees and court appearances?
Can the Cabinet Member please also tell me how much the construction of the new school will be put back as a result, how this will impact on the timescale for its completion and readiness to accept new pupils, and if there are contingency plans for if the whole project falls apart?
My fear is that Saddleworth pupils will continue to have to receive their education for longer in buildings that are no longer fit for purpose and that are creaking at the seams, buildings that will eventually have to close leading to local children being bussed around the borough for a school place.
I am sure the Cabinet Member will agree with me that this decision prolongs the agony and uncertainty for pupils, parents and staff who all deserve better?”
Councillor Chadderton, Cabinet Member for Education and Early Years responded that the decision was disappointing and regrettable. In September this year the other schools included in that tranche had opened. The review would take place in January 2017. From past experience with the EFA, it was not certain when the Council would receive their response. It was agreed that Saddleworth School was not fit for purpose and that parts of the schools were 110 years old. Students should be taught in outstanding facilities along with Royton & Crompton and Hathershaw which were of the few that had not been rebuilt. With regard to costs and money, the Council would need to wait until the end of January 2017.
5. Councillor Ali asked the following question:
“In Chadderton North, a number of our community groups are working extremely hard to tackle the issue of fly tipping within back street alleys. Resident groups are repeatedly telling us, whilst they make real efforts to keep the area free from fly tipping; there are a handful of individuals who continue to fly tip. Residents feel frustrated that their efforts go to waste, and clearly this damages their morale.
The situation in Chadderton North isn’t too bad; however we are keen to keep the issue ‘nipped in the bud’. District officers and Councillors are working extremely hard to ‘improve awareness and change behaviours’.
I know the Council has a zero tolerance approach to fly tipping; however due to many internal changes it is not always clear the Council’s role in dealing with the issue. I would like some assurance from the relevant cabinet member that resources will be prioritised to ensure ‘unscrupulous behaviours’ are fully investigated and more support provided to wards in ‘raising awareness and changing behaviours’ in relation to tackling fly tipping.”
Councillor Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods and Cooperatives sympathised with the concerns of the various community groups which operated in the area and advised she was grateful for the work the residents did in looking after the area. The Council had a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to flytipping and prosecuted those responsible, but this could only be done if the Council knew who they were. The Council had invested in portable CCTV which would be distributed across the borough. This would be another piece of ammunition to assist in the identification of individuals and take serious action against them as the Council wanted to prevent this type of behaviour.
6. Councillor Malik asked the following question:
“Can the relevant cabinet member, please inform us when will the new showroom be open, how many jobs will be created by Jardine Motor Group and what job opportunities there will be for the local people.”
Councillor Stretton, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Enterprise responded that the 17 car showroom and 24 bay service workshop, which also offered a full aftersales and pre-delivery inspection service, was set to open in summer 2017. The new dealership would create more than 80 new jobs. Jardine had also confirmed that hey were committed to the ‘Get Oldham Working’ campaign, and were looking forward to working with local colleges and supply chains.
7. Councillor Garry asked the following question:
“Given the recent revelations regarding sexual abuse of children within sports, especially football, can the relevant cabinet member assure me that children of Failsworth and children throughout the Oldham borough are sufficiently safeguarded.”
Councillor Harrison, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Safeguarding responded that sports clubs which played in structured leagues and competitions needed to be affiliated with their respective national governing body of sport. Within the affiliation process, clubs were required to have appropriate safeguarding policies in place and specifically sports coaches needed to have a DBS check. There could never be a guarantee that every child in the borough was safe from harm but assurances were provided that the Local Safeguarding Children Board ensured that all key agencies in Oldham which included the voluntary and community sector were safeguarding aware and had access to the training and guidance which made this happen. Work was undertaken with young people in schools which informed them of the risks and what they could do.
8. Councillor McCann asked the following question:
“During the recent floods it became apparent that the problem was made worse by water flowing from privately owned land onto roads, pavements and public footpaths due to the land drainage not being maintained.
I would like to ask if the Council has an active system to force private landowners to maintain sometimes substantial culverts and drains on their lands, and when these are not maintained, what enforcement action is then taken by this Council?”
Councillor Fida Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services responded that the recent flood event which had occurred on 21st November 2016 had been a combination of high rainfall (potentially one month’s rainfall in one day) and the melting snow which had fallen on the hills during the previous weekend. This combination had caused a very sudden high increase of volume of water especially into the ordinary water culverts, of which at least two had become significantly surcharged, coming off the adjacent hills before falling into open water courses and main rivers which further raised already raised levels. The investigations and data gathering was still proceeding. Under the recent Flood and Water Management Act and the Land Drainage Act the Council had certain powers and duties such as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA). This allowed the LLFA to enter private land under the act in order to carry out investigations and to compel private landowners to carry out works on water courses/culverts that may have become blocked for example on their land as they are the riparian owner where the watercourse passes through their land.
9. Councillor Dearden asked the following question:
“Could the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, please inform us of the progress that is being made with the 'Early Adopters' scheme for the integration of health and social care services and staff in Chadderton?”
Councillor Moores, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing responded that the Early Adopter of the integration of health and social care in Chadderton was progressing with a co-located team of community nurses and social care staff being in place before the end of December. Work had been completed which identified the staff who would make up the team and they had regular meetings. A co-located team were moving to Horton House and which were subject to IT works being completed to ensure staff had access to health and social care recording systems. Multi-Disciplinary meetings had taken place, coordinated plans for patients of Woodlands and CH Medical Practices developed which drew together nurses and social care staff and also Age UK, Early Help, Action Together, First Choice Homes staff as well as staff from the relevant GP practices. The integrated team were developing the new pathways, referral and allocation, assessment and care planning systems as part of the early adopter, and were being supported with coaching and mentoring and regular reviews which ensured learning was captured.
10. Councillor McLaren asked the following question:
“ASB on and around the Freehold Metrolink Stop is a cause of concern for local residents, could the relevant Cabinet Member please advise us what if any steps are being taken by Metrolink and GMP to resolve this issue?”
Councillor Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services responded that there was an ongoing multi-agency piece of work that addressed the issues linked to the Freehold Metrolink stop and the wider use of the Metrolink system. Staff from Metrolink were working closely with colleagues from the Council, Greater Manchester Police and TfGM. Funding had been provided to support some of the work by the Community Safety and Cohesion Partnership Board. Any persons identified as involved in anti-social behaviour would receive some form of intervention and/or punitive action.
11. Councillor Ur-Rehman asked the following question:
“With the onset of winter and the well-publicised pressures on A&E services, can the Cabinet Member assure us that the primary health care provision in my Ward are fit for purpose?”
Councillor Moores, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing responded that the NHS Oldham CCG and Oldham Council had an annual programme in place, named ‘Choose Well’ which provided guidance to people in need of care to find the right source of that care. That could sometimes mean attending the local pharmacist for advice on appropriate medication for minor ailments. The NHS Choices Service was also available for advice by telephone and via the internet. If residents in Medlock Vale required medical attention a number of practices were available which included Werneth Medical Practice, Werneth Primary Care Centre and the Integrated Care Centre. The CCG had a commitment to improve the quality of primary care services and had a year round programme to support the delivery of high quality primary care in Oldham. The Hill Top Surgery which served residents in Fitton Hill, Hathershaw and Bardsley was recently rated outstanding. Professor Steve Hill, Chief Inspector of General Practice, said the Hill Top Surgery was one of the most inspirational GP surgeries he had visited. This was a real achievement and fantastic resource for the people of Oldham.
12. Councillor Sheldon asked a question related to the new pedestrian refuge at Oaklands Road and Oldham Road, Grasscroft and the new layout. The new island reduced the width of the lanes at the Oldham bound side which was noticeable and traffic had to slow down to pass through. The new road layout may cause an accident especially with larger sized vehicles. He asked the relevant Cabinet Member to check on the concerns raised.
Councillor Fida Hussain, Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, responded that he would look into these concerns and respond to Councillor Sheldon.
13. Councillor Fielding asked the following question:
“In Failsworth West there is an open area of land bounded by Oldham Road, Heywood Street and Hardman Street which is in the ownership of the Council. For a long time this had been left unkempt and local residents had contacted me on numerous occasions to arrange for the Council to cut the grass and clear up fly tipping that was taking place. Thankfully a rolling programme of maintenance has now been drawn up.
However, given that this plot occupies a strategic location on the main A62 corridor, what steps are the Council taking to develop a long term plan for this land? In my view it represents a prime development opportunity and, were it to be developed, this would remove the revenue costs of maintenance that the Council currently incurs and could also potentially provide some much needed housing in the local area.”
Councillor Stretton, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Enterprise responded that Council officers were working hard on sites in order to obtain a comprehensive regeneration of the area. The Council was also giving consideration of options of the Heywood/Hardman Street site in isolation which would be taken to the market in the new year with works to commence as soon as possible.
At this point in the meeting, the Mayor advised that the time limit for this item had expired.
RESOLVED that the questions and the responses provided be noted.