Agenda item

(time limit 15 Minutes)

To receive questions submitted by members of the public.

1.    Question from Nick Harwood

What can be done to stop idiots vandalising play areas in Oldham’s parks?

 

Councillor Goodwin, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods replied, thank you Mr Mayor and thank you to Mr Harwood for his question. It is disappointing when we see incidents of vandalism and anti-social behaviour marring our fantastic parks and green spaces.

We would always encourage residents witnessing such incidents to report them to Greater Manchester Police through the non-emergency 101 number, or through the Greater Manchester Police web reporting portal. This will hopefully allow Greater Manchester Police to identify and arrest the individuals responsible.

Once those responsible have been identified the council can seek to use civil powers, alongside any criminal prosecution, to act against the individuals, such as Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions, or Criminal Behaviour Orders. Such Injunctions/Orders can prevent Offenders from entering specific areas and we would seek to prevent further such behaviour by prohibiting offenders from entering the Boroughs Parks where appropriate.

When we have identified issues previously in parks, the Local Authority have also asked the First Response Security Service to patrol or monitor the location to deter such incidents. In some cases, where young people are found to have been involved our youth service can work in local parks and neighbourhoods to engage with the young people and divert them into more positive activities if possible.

 

2.    Question from Connor Green

What’s the council doing to improve SEND provision after the recent ofsted and CQC inspection?

 

Councillor Ali, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills replied, thank you Mr Mayor and thank you to Mr Green for his question.

A joint Ofsted/CQC area SEND inspection of the Oldham partnership took place in June 2023. Following the inspection, Oldham Council and the Chief Executive of Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board received the inspection report, which highlighted some positive practice but also two priority areas that required addressing urgently and some areas for development. 

To respond to this, the local area partnership, including the council, the integrated care partnership, parents/carers and wider partners, came together to coproduce a Priority Action Plan, which details the actions that the local area will take to address the two priority actions identified by the inspection.  

The areas for development have been included in the existing SEND & Inclusion Improvement Programme. The Priority Action Plan forms part of this and will be published shortly, so the actions we are taking as a local area partnership are open and accessible to everyone.

 

3.    Question from Meg Birchill

What services are on offer at Beever Family Hub and when will Family hubs open across the rest of the borough?

 

Councillor Mushtaq, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Children’s Services replied, Beever Family Hub was the first of six planned Family Hubs across the borough that will offer a wide range of support for families with young children. At each family hub local families will be able to access a range of help and support to make sure their child is developing well, is healthy, safe and looked after. Services at Beever currently include:

·          Weekly Baby Play and Stay & Play sessions

·         Weekly FAB activity sessions for children aged 5-11 years old

·         Midwifery clinics for before and after the baby is born.

·         Health visitor contacts and development clinics such as baby weigh sessions

·         Breastfeeding and weaning support groups

·         Families can also purchase Healthy Start vitamins, children’s toothbrushes and toothpaste and feeder cups

We continue to develop new sessions and services so would urge families to check our website or visit a family hub or children’s centre for the most up to date information about the services and support available.

Improvement and redecoration work is due to commence on the new Family Hub sites in the new year. The formal transition and launch of these sites as Family Hubs will be in late Spring/early Summer 2024.  

Work is also underway to develop Family Hub services at Oldham Library.

 

4.    Question from Denise Leach

Would the Leader of Oldham Council please confirm the number of knife crime incidents that have taken place in Oldham since January 2023, and detail what her Councils strategy is to discourage our young people from being influenced by criminals who carry knives?

 

Councillor Goodwin, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods replied, thank you Mr Mayor and thank you to Ms Leach for this question which I think she has mistakenly attributed to the council leader, despite community safety sitting in my portfolio.

The council recognises the significant impact and harm that knife and weapon enabled crime has on Communities and has implemented a number of measures to attempt to reduce such types of behaviour, using a mixture of education, intervention and enforcement.

This includes using research from the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit, adapting recognised good practise from other areas, and listening to residents to establish why they feel the need to carry a knife, or other weapon. The responses have included sessions in schools, including presentations to young people and the commissioning of a play regarding knife crime and its effects.

The council have also funded commissioned, targeted works, with individuals at risk of engaging in knife crime and focusing on messaging around how we are keeping residents safe, so they do not feel the need to carry a knife, or other weapon.

We are also working closely with Greater Manchester Police to identify individuals involved in knife crime, supporting their criminal prosecutions, where appropriate, by using Civil powers such as Criminal Behaviour Orders.

 The Local Authority have also in the past funded knife arches at the request of GMP, which were deployed in hotspot location.

With regards knife crime incidents that have occurred in the Borough this information would be held by GMP. I would suggest that the resident request this information from GMP directly.

 

5.    Question from Gary Tarbuck

Can the relevant Cabinet member please confirm what the total net debt for Oldham Council is forecast for the year 2023-24 year and what the total amount anticipated in interest payments to service this debt will be over this current financial year?

 

Councillor Jabbar Cabinet member for Finance and Corporate Resources replied, thank your Mr Mayor and to Mr Tarbuck for his latest question to Full Council. The Council’s debt is forecast to be £160.996m at the end of the financial year. For 2023/24, the interest payments to service this debt are forecast to be just over £6.5 million.

 

6.    Question from David Nestor

Can the relevant cabinet member please confirm how many racially motivated crimes were recorded in schools in Oldham and provide a breakdown of these crimes? As part of this, can they provide a breakdown of victims and perpetrators by ethnicity?

 

Councillor Ali, Cabinet member for Education and Skills replied, thank you Mr Mayor and can I thank Mr Nestor for his question. While the council encourages schools to report any hate incidents there is no legal requirement for schools to report incidents to the Council, nor to report the breakdown of information you have specifically requested in your question.

The total number of incidents that have been reported to Oldham Council for the academic year 2022/23, so the school year ending in July this year, is 195. 

I welcome your concern about any hate incidents happening in schools but would like to offer reassurance that, where these issues occur, they are taken incredibly seriously by schools who use their local policies to tackle perpetrators and support victims.

Alongside this schools throughout the borough do fantastic work in promoting respect and a culture of zero tolerance for racism and hate. During the last week before half-term I know many local schools were taking part in curated activities around hate crime awareness week.

 

7.    Question from Lynne Kovacs

Can the relevant Cabinet member please confirm the total number of HMOs in Oldham and how many people are being accommodated in them in total?

 

Councillor Taylor, deputy Leader of the Council and the Cabinet member for Housing and Licensing replied, thank you, Mr Mayor and thank you to Ms Kovacs for her question.

There are currently 72 properties that have been licensed as HMOs by Oldham Council. To be licensed as an HMO a property must house 5 or more people of 2 or more households sharing facilities.   

There are also several smaller HMOs that do not require licensing under the legislation and as of August 2022, the Council’s monitoring of HMOs identified 331 such properties in the borough.

The above equates to just 0.34% of all residential dwellings in the Borough of Oldham. This data does not specify the number of people accommodated in each property. 

 

8.    Question from Julie Heywood

Can the relevant cabinet member please confirm how many secondary schools in Oldham have gender neutral toilets? Can they also confirm if risk assessment were conducted to ensure the safety of girls in schools with gender neutral toilets. 

 

Councillor Ali, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills replied, that the provision of toilet facilities is a matter for individual schools and the council does not hold this information.  If, as a parent, Ms Heywood has questions about provision at her children’s school these can be taken up with the school in question directly.

 

9.    Question from Anita Lowe

On viewing the council meeting on 6th September and previous live meetings 

It’s obvious to observe some council members and also those of the cabinet whilst sat in the council chamber using their mobile phones 

They have their phone either on the desk in view or sit as though they appear to be asleep with their heads bowed and viewing their devices. 

Their social media must be far more important to be looking at their phones 

than being interested in what is being spoken about in the chamber by their comrades

Observing Councillors on their phones is happening far too often and it appears as though they are not interested in the meetings as all we see is heads bowed.

My question is this: 

Can all Councillors and staff please refrain from using their social media devices whilst in the chamber.

Switch them off or out of sight 

After all, …. they may learn something!!!! 

 

Councillor Ali, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills replied, whilst I accept that it may seem to an outside observer that those using their phones aren’t paying attention in reality the very opposite may be true.

Councillors and council staff use their phones, tablets and other devices to access information, to read agendas and reports and to gather information in response to queries raised during meetings. In fact, we are actively discouraging members from using printed copies of reports and agendas – to save us money and time in printing.

Far from being a distraction, mobile device of all sorts is now an essential tool in many settings.

 

10.Question from Kyle Phythian

I know Failsworth Town Hall is now offering a range of services to the community, when will other parts of Oldham benefit from these community hubs?

 

Councillor Dean, Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture replied, that recent changes at Failsworth Town Hall within our south district, represents the first stage in providing services in districts across Oldham, as part of the Council’s on-going commitment to improving access to services and support as part of our ‘Resident Focused’ approach. Meaning people can get advice and appointments closer to home rather than having to travel further afield.

This will get stronger as we develop more integrated services working across the council, voluntary and other public sector partners.

We are working on providing similar improvements in the other four district areas (North, East, West and Central), to ensure the transition of local services within other key venues in the new year.  The formal launch of the other community hubs across the remaining four districts will be late Winter/early Spring. Some local services, such as weekly Citizens Advice sessions are already available in several venues across the borough.

 

Several questions submitted by members of the public remained unanswered at the end of the allotted 30-minute period for this item. The Mayor advised that the unanswered questions would be published, with appropriate answers, on the Council’s website in due course.