(time limit 30 minutes – maximum of 2 minutes per question and 2 minutes per response)
Minutes:
The Leader of the Main Opposition, Councillor Sykes, raised the following two questions:
1. Question 1: Giving Certainty to Tommyfield Traders
“My first question tonight concerns people living with great uncertainty; they are nervous about their future; or indeed if they have a future; and a Leader who is promising a plan that will deliver a ‘New Jerusalem’… But in this case I am not talking about the people of the United Kingdom, Theresa May and Brexit, but rather the traders of Tommyfield Market, our new Council Leader, and the revised (yet again) Oldham Town Centre Masterplan. We all know that the Leader tore up the old £350 million masterplan – not good enough said he; it ‘falls short of what is required to give a compelling vision for Oldham’. I am sure the traders at Tommyfield were at that time grateful that he described the market as ‘much loved’ and ‘a significant feature of Oldham town centre… in need of investment’. It must have filled them with hope for the future. But since that time the same traders have been living with more uncertainty, made worse by the fact that the new revised, better-than-the-old-one masterplan is now not scheduled to be unveiled until at least March 2020. Yes not March 2019, but March 2020 – in at least 18 months-time. Most citizens of this Borough will wonder why it will take so long and why urgency is not put into the process. With our recent experience of town centre regeneration projects falling behind schedule or just failing to happen; think Hotel Futures and Princes Gate. Traders are right to ask questions and they deserve some answers. At present traders report that when their leases are up for renewal they are being offered new agreements in which they could be given as little as three months’ notice to quit. Many of these traders have been in the market for decades, with a loyal customer base to match, and one – Levers – has its own blue plaque celebrating Oldham as being the historic home of fish and chips. So how can it be right that they can be out on their ear in only 12 weeks? I ask you is this any way to treat traders who were recently described as ‘much loved’. Giving them so little notice means they have no incentive to invest in their business or premises. Some say that in any case a three month notice period makes their business now practically worthless. It causes difficulties with recruiting and keeping staff and impacts on the wellbeing of the owners and their families let alone their pockets. So I would ask the Leader tonight if he will rethink the Council’s offer to traders. Will he do the right thing and agree to requests that they be at least granted five-year automatically renewable leases as a way to guarantee them some future for their businesses and staff? Will he promise traders that they will be consulted regularly as stakeholders as plans for the new market hall (or not) develop and be offered spaces in or around the new market hall which meet their needs and on terms that are affordable to them?”
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council, responded that he was unsure as to where the March 2020 date had come from. Tommyfield was a loved and significant feature in Oldham. Any plans required key engagement with stakeholders and the Leader had met with market traders not long ago and discussed the ambitions. It was the best meeting attended for some time and the items discussed had been well received. Traders would be consulted as they had a key stake in the future of Tommyfield Market. With regard to the 12 week notice period, whatever happened would result in traders having to move out on a temporary basis. The market hall needed work. It had been built in 1993 as a temporary structure. Whatever happened may result in traders moving out on a temporary basis so action had been put into place which enabled that move, if required to take place. A 12 week notice period was sensible. As plans were developed the market traders would have advance notice in excess of 12 weeks of what the future would be.
2. Question 2: Can We Build It? Yes we can.
“For my second question to the Leader tonight I would like to look at another important issue – the shortage of social and rented housing in our Borough. In Oldham, we have a huge housing waiting list. We have a particular shortage of larger houses, as these are the homes most frequently lost to sales under the misguided policy of Right to Buy. We are also desperately short of homes that are built to meet the needs of disabled people or future proofed for an aging population. I know that the Leader will join me in welcoming the announcement by the Prime Minister that, for once, represents good news for this Borough – the lifting of the borrowing cap which has prevented Councils from investing in much needed social and affordable housing. Following pressure from many voices speaking common sense, including those of myself and my fellow group leaders in the cross-party Local Government Association, the cap on the Housing Revenue Account is finally being abolished. In their hey-day, councils were building four in every 10 of the nation’s homes – we will now need to see a Council house building revival to build affordable and social housing if we are to meet the shortfall in new homes that we need in the future. Decent homes improve health and well-being, educational performance and many, many other factors other than just a decent roof over people’s head. We need to get on with it now – with more haste than it took this Administration to recently adopt the idea of establishing an arms-length housing development company that the Liberal Democrat Group first suggested three years ago. The children’s TV character, Bob the Builder, famously said ‘Can we build it? Yes we can!’ I would like to ask the Leader tonight if he is going to adopt Bob’s mantra by ensuring the Council works with our social housing partners and supportive housing developers to quickly rise to this challenge and build the affordable homes that we so desperately need as soon as possible. In short, have we got a plan in place, have we got sits ready to build on and will we see diggers on the ground very soon?”
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council, joined the Leader of the Opposition in welcoming the announcement of the lifting of the borrowing cap in investing in social and affordable housing. The Leader responded that no detailed information had yet been received. The Council was planning to build homes for social rent as per the motion at a previous meeting. Proposals were progressing at pace. The Leader was in favour of the Council being able to build and provide housing which catered for the needs of the most vulnerable and poorest residents of the borough. The Leader raised issues around substandard housing and the only way to address this was to build homes to realist the ambitions of Oldham being a more prosperous borough.
Councillor Sheldon asked a question related to gully and street cleaning. Over the past few weeks members had received calls regarding unclean streets and leaves so deep which were a hazard. If streets were not cleaned on a regular basis grids and gullies became blocked. Councillor Sheldon asked if all members could share the schedule of street clearing activities so as not to delay highways teams.
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council, responded about the investment in street cleaning across the borough and the change of rotas. As a ward councillor there should be the ability to seek the information available and did not have an objection with the information being shared. The Leader encouraged elected members to visit Moorhey Street to view how gully and street cleaning was mapped.
The Mayor reminded the meeting that the Council had agreed that, following the Leaders’ allocated questions, questions would be taken in an order which reflected the political balance of the Council.
1. Councillor Shuttleworth asked the following question:
“At PMQ's on 17 October, Labour MP for Birmingham, Selly Oak, Steve McCabe asked the prime minister, who is a diabetic and wears the Free Style Libre Flash Glucose monitoring system on her arm, about its availability on the NHS. The PM replied: 'It is now available on the National Health Service.' For the benefit of those in our Borough who live with diabetes, and who may well benefit greatly from this form of device, would the relevant Cabinet Member confirm just how 'available' this is on the NHS in Oldham.”
Councillor Chauhan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care responded that a national newspaper had completed a survey and noted the device was not available in 50% of the country. An explanation of how the sensor worked was provided. Oldham CCG had followed clinical guidance on the use of the Free Style Libre Flash Glucose Monitoring System which was agreed in November 2017. The guidance contained criteria which was published. Some patients in Oldham already used the device on the NHS. Oldham CCG and the Royal Oldham Hospital were currently developing an Oldham-specific patient pathway which would cover the use of the device for people in Oldham. The pathway was expected to be finalist later in November 2018.
2. Councillor Leach asked the following question:
“The Leader of the Council has highlighted the increasing evidence of the damage to health caused by air pollution. It particularly affects young children, whose physical and mental development are jeopardised. What will the council do to minimise the number of car trips, to encourage parents not to drive their children to school, but rather to walk with them to school? What implications are there for the council in planning for clean-air zones? In considering new developments which lead to increasing numbers of cars on the road?”
Councillor Shah, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services responded that this was a topic the Council was taking very seriously. The Council was currently committed to working on a GM response as a combined response to tackle air pollution from traffic which was essential. The work was being coordinated by TfGM who were currently working with each of the local authorities to develop proposals which offered the best approach to controlling air pollution which included the potential for an effective clean air zone and other measures which supported a reduction in emissions from vehicles. The work should be concluded by the end of the year in accordance with the Government Directive when the outcomes of the work would be shared.
3. Councillor Akhtar asked the following question:
“I welcome the Council’s support for the Cranmer Trust application for a new school but however I have some concerns about the admissions policy that Cranmer Trust is proposing for the new school. The application for the new school is based on the extra school places pressure from the wards surrounding the town centre. However, I feel the admission policy of Cranmer Trust is trying to accommodate pupils from across the Borough resulting in unfairness to pupils who actually require the extra places. Could the cabinet member please assure the Council that pupils who require the extra places will not be treated unfairly by Cranmer Trust.”
Councillor Jacques, Cabinet Member for Education and Culture, responded that the proposed policy put forward by the Cranmer Trust would provide 240 places for year 7 pupils on opening. There would be 60 places reserved for Christian children of any denomination, 60 places for children of other faiths. These places would be available to children from central, east and west Oldham and beyond. 120 additional places would be available for those children who lived within a 1 mile radius (40 places), 2 miles (40 places) and 3 miles (40 places). There would be six secondary schools operating in east and west Oldham by 2022. For context, Blue Coat and the new school would provide over 25% of places in this area by 2022. This represented a very fair offer to parents of children who lived in central, east and west Oldham, as well as guaranteeing a multi-ethnic mix in the school community.
4. Councillor C. Gloster asked the following question:
“Can I ask the relevant Cabinet Member to update the Council as to the current position regarding the development of a new health centre for Shaw and Crompton? It is now ten years since the development was first proposed, and despite the land and a brand new electricity sub-station being in place for several years, we have yet to see any plans for this much needed and desired development, and patients in Shaw and Crompton continue to be ill-served by the current building which frankly is far from fit for purpose.”
Councillor Chauhan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care responded that the original scheme had been put on hold with the demise of the Local Investment Finance Trust (LIFT) as a development option in 2011. With the introduction of the NHS England Estates & Technology Transformation Fund in 2015, the opportunity to reconsider a scheme in Shaw and Crompton had been made possible and a successful bid for funding to progress the Outline Business Case (OBC) was made in the financial year 2016-17. Since then, work to create an affordable GM Health and Social Care OBC project management brief had been undertaken and was close to completion. It had been agreed at the Oldham Strategic Estates Group that the OBC for both the Shaw and Crompton and Chadderton Hubs would benefit by being completed upon the results of the Local Asset Review, the premises Utilisation Studies and the updated Strategic Estates Plan in response to new models of care and ways of working. Each of these projects would be completed or underway by the end of February 2019 and it was agreed at the Strategic Estates Group meeting last week that the results of the above works could be reflected in the OBC related to both schemes. It was expected that the OBC would be completed by May 2019.
5. Councillor Ali asked the following question:
“Winter is coming and the weather is changing. Could the Cabinet Member for Housing update us on the action being taken by the Council to support the Mayor’s pledge that every rough sleeper who needs a bed this winter will have one?”
Councillor Roberts, Cabinet Member for Housing responded that the Council was supporting the GM Mayor’s Pledge with regard to assisting rough sleepers by taking part in the ‘a bed for every night (ABEN) project’. The ABEN project went live on 1st November and would continue through to 31st March 2019 in line with the Mayor’s guidance. Oldham Council was setting up a night shelter at Oldham Fire Station which offered rough sleepers a bed for the evening during the timeframe identified above. Service users would also have access to shower facilities and access to hot food and drinks. (The shelter was due to open on 16th November). In the interim, bed and breakfast accommodation was being used. The night shelter would be run by the DePaul Trust Organisation and the provision was for male rough sleepers only. The shelter could accommodate up to 10 people. Females would be accommodated at an alternative provision (Porter Street). Referrals to the night shelter would be coordinated through the existing housing advice / homelessness contract with FCHO and the service could also be accessed out of hours using the Freephone out of hours telephone number (0800 988 7061). Referrals were co-ordinated this way to ensure service users received the correct advice and/or support and were assisted with sourcing longer term, more sustainable accommodation. If the shelter reached capacity, alternative provision would be sought via bed and breakfast accommodation.
6. Councillor Haque asked the following question:
“The new administration have reaffirmed their ambition to see regeneration of Oldham Town Centre. Could the relevant Cabinet Member describe the vision that underpins the new administration’s ambition for Oldham Town Centre?”
Councillor Fielding, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Economy and Enterprise emphasised the ambitions for the Town Centre as raised earlier in the Leader’s Annual Statement. A town centre which was sustainable and future proof in the long term was sought. A town centre which was not exclusive as a shopping destination but also a leisure and living offer to be sustainable and not just from within Oldham but outside.
7. Councillor Ball asked the following question:
“Could the Cabinet member for Education and Culture inform residents if the much publicised difficulties in funding Children's social services have had a negative impact on the level of support given to young people with Special Educational Needs?”
Councillor Jacques, Cabinet Member for Education and Culture responded that the administration had fully supported the revenue costs required to ensure the Council achieved all of the recommendations in the Ofsted written statement of action which followed the SEND inspection in October 2017. Cabinet had approved a revenue allocation of £500,000 for SEND in December 2017 which resulted in the creation of a strengthened SEND team and created resources to be allocated to key areas requiring support. Recent monitoring from the DfE and NHS England agreed that four of the five areas identified in the written statement were now “RAG” rated green and the fifth was in amber/green with an expectation that from January 2019 this would also revert to green. There had only been a positive impact on children and young people with SEND.
8. Councillor Harkness asked the following question:
“’A good education is essential and it is also the foundation of a fair society. We should not be satisfied with anything less but, sadly, far too many children are still not reaching their full potential. Unfulfilled talent is criminal.’ These are not my words but the words of the former Council Leader in the Oldham Education and Skills Commission report entitled A Self-Improving Education System in 2016. It also stated by 2020, all performance indicators would be at the national average or above and all education providers would be judged ‘good’ or better by Ofsted. We are now in 2018 and the GCSE results across the borough have declined despite significant investment. Does the Cabinet Member agree that the GCSE results are still not good enough overall in the borough and with a 1 per cent drop in results the direction of travel needs to be a cause for concern?”
Councillor Jacques, Cabinet Member for Education and Culture responded that the hard work and dedication of staff, students and parents should be acknowledged whilst recognising that the changes to the GCSEs were more fundamental than changing the grades from letters to numbers. Coursework and controlled assignments were not allowed this year which placed more pressure on students than ever before to do well in an increasing number of examinations that had to be sat in an intensive period of time. Subject curricula were changed to be more demanding than ever before to allow a smoother transition to follow ‘A’ level courses. In addition, the English education system was designed to fail students no matter how good their performance. The government used a comparability of outcomes measures to ensure standards were maintained, whilst previous administrations used a criterion referenced system that guaranteed a pass if the student did well in the test that was passed. The current system was akin to having a driving test system that once the allocated number of drivers had passed their test, no more drivers were allowed to pass, no matter how good their test results were. The Cabinet Member was proud of the outcomes that the young people of the borough had obtained, recognised the huge pressure that any change brought but was still aware of the need to support schools and academies on their journey of self-improvement.
At this point in the meeting, the Mayor advised that the time limit for this item had expired.
RESOLVED that the questions and responses provided be noted.