Agenda item

(Time limit 90 minutes)

Leader and Cabinet Members to present their reports.

Non-executive members may ask questions.

a.    Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Building a Better Oldham – including the Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held 14^th October 2024 and 18^th November 2024, the meetings of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority held 25^th October 2024.

b.    Deputy Leader and Decent Home Portfolio Holder

c.    Deputy Leader and Value for Money and Sustainability Portfolio Holder

d.    Children and Young People’s Portfolio Holder

e.    Education and Skills Portfolio Holder

f.     Enterprise Portfolio Holder

g.    Adults, Health and Wellbeing Portfolio Holder

h.    Don’t Trash Oldham Portfolio Holder

i.      Thriving Communities and Culture Portfolio Holder

The Mayor invited the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Members to present their reports and further invited non-executive members to ask questions thereon, as follows:

 

a.    Councillor Shah, Leader and Building a Better Oldham Portfolio – including the Minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held 14^th October 2024 and 18^th November 2024 and the Minutes of the meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority held 25^th October 2024.

 

Councillor Sykes, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group

Question 1: Place for Everyone

I want to ask about something that we debated on the minutes the council meeting on 6^th November when Members voted by 30 to 29 to write to the Secretary of State, calling for Oldham to be removed from Places for Everyone. Everyone in the chamber knew what that vote was that's the way they spoke it was clear from the speeches on both the Labour side and opposition members there was no doubt what people thought they were voting for and instead of honouring or being weaselled out of a democratic decision made by the Council, the Administration has used what looks like every trick in the book to avoid writing to the Secretary of State and they think they're being clever just like they think  they're being clever with at least four planted labour questions about this very same issue.

Mr Deputy Mayor is it the Labour group's policy that the council will have to vote and debate once again, the issue of Places for Everyone before they write to the Secretary of State just because they didn't like the result last time?

 

Councillor Shah Leader of the Council replied, thank you Councillor Sykes for your question however I do think there's some irony in this like so there's if there's something about and a common theme that runs across the chamber it's when people don't like the outcome of something they like to say it's a conspiracy or it's wrong but actually um you've actually given me an opportunity to set the matter straight um to which I'm really thankful for again. So, I have to say that I've actually had no involvement in the procedure around the decision not to write to the Deputy Prime Minister to request that we withdraw from places for everyone it's very clear that the administration agrees with Places for Everyone however the report before Council, on 6^th November 2024, didn't actually mandate officers to write to the Deputy Prime Minister to request the removal of Oldham for Places for Everyone. The vote was on the recommendations contained in the submitted report.

 

Question 2: Social Care:

My second question, I think, is equally as serious since about the winter crisis and the problems we're encountering in Social Care, Mr Deputy Mayor. The NHS is facing it's not a double whammy it's not a triple whammy it's a quadruple whammy in terms of the respiratory diseases that people are getting. I understand it in terms of another winter crisis, ambulance services being in chaos; I had the joys of visiting Oldham’s Hospital recently and the whole of the ambulance bay was full as we were still waiting to offload patients and find somewhere for them to be even if that was on a corridor. The pressure on social care is mounting there's some evidence from earlier this week, I read, that nearly a third of people in hospital are in hospital because they're waiting for somewhere to be discharged to and that's not the fault of our social care it's the fact that successive governments have kicked the can down the road.

 

Social care services in Oldham are under extreme financial pressures, Mr Deputy Mayor but what's really dangerous is the impact that this Labour government's National Insurance hike could have on our services if common sense doesn't prevail. More essential services will disappear from view for those who rely on them, so, I ask the Leader tonight, if she agrees is it time for her government to work with other parties to sort this out and does she agree that it's important is that people get care based on need and not on what they can afford to pay?

 

Councillor Shah, Leader of the Council replied, everyone in the Chamber can entirely agree with we know that adult social care is under increased pressure. We know it's a huge significant budget challenge not just for this Council but for councils across the country and we also know that the issues around the NHS and how all of its unintended consequences add to all the other pressures that we're actually facing out in our communities as well and we're all in agreement as well that actually not resolving any of this isn't helpful to anyone. The previous government bears significant responsibility for this because they left the current government with a significant mess.

The cross-party LGA are calling for greater understanding and for greater funding. I am hopeful that this will happen. The Leader agreed to give Councillor Sykes a more detailed response, to his question which she will submit to him in writing.

 

Question from Councillor Ghafoor

I think it's very important that we talk about child sexual exploitation. We have all been disgusted by the exploitation and rape of the most vulnerable children in society every victim must be heard and appropriate legal action must be taken against the perpetrators, whoever they are. As a group of Muslim councillors, we in the Oldham Group, feel that the perpetrators should be punished with the worst and longest punishments available.

We know that now that many of these vile individuals were never investigated due to the failings of our institutions whether they were the police, social services, children’s care home or safeguarding teams. In many cases these institutions failed vulnerable white girls for decades, these children were sometimes blamed or shamed or ignored by the very people paid by the taxpayers to protect them.

My question to Councillor Shah is, will the Oldham inquiry be judge led, similar to the Telford inquiry, to ensure Independence and credibility? Will you commit to Consulting the full Council chamber to reach a consensus on the terms of uh reference for the inquiry ensuring a broad and transparent scope will the terms of reference explicitly include all relevant institutions such as the Police, Social Services, Council departments, politicians, children's care homes and safeguarding teams to ensure systematic failings are comprehensively addressed? Will you ensure that this inquiry is given full legal powers to enforce compliance including access to any document or evidence that it requires, and finally can you confirm that the inquiry will examine both historical and recent cases of institutional failings to identify systematic issues and propose actionable safeguards for the future?

 

Councillor Shah, Leader of the Council replied, saying that she was disappointed that notice hadn’t been taken of the survivors’ statements that had been given earlier in the meeting asking that politics needs to be taken out of this.

The Home Secretary, last week, made a statement in the House of Commons about sexual abuse and exploitation of children that there must be recognition that survivors have suffered the most horrific form of abuse and that there must be an absolute commitment to protect children from abuse now and in the future. Councillor Shah added that listening to the voices of survivors and the protection of children which must be the driving force behind the independent inquiry that will be set up. The request for the inquiry actually came from local survivors who were affected and who felt that the previous Assurance Review had not given them an opportunity to have their voices heard or put forward their individual testimonies and experiences examined. The Leader reassured the meeting that, since the summer, Oldham Council had been working with a group of survivors and those affected by child sexual exploitation to discuss how they could help shape a further local inquiry.

 

The Home Secretary announced last week, that she will appoint Judge Crowther, to lead the inquiry, having previously led the Telford Inquiry. Survivors are happy with this because they have observed how the Telford Inquiry was conducted. I am confident that this will provide additional assurance to survivors and that they will be at the heart of the inquiry. The recent home office announcement also said that that there would be additional government support and additional funding and we, as a Council, will continue to have discussions with government about funding the inquiry and how it will progress but one thing that I am also proud of is that as of now and  thanks to these survivors, we'll be shaping how future survivor led inquiries across the country, will happen.

 

Question from Councillor Byrne

I would like to ask the Leader of the Council, Councillor Shah, if you will confirm whether you would support the following you've covered quite a bit of the area but this is more specific. Will you support our call for a national inquiry, into Pakistani heritage rape gangs who have groomed children, not just in Oldham but in the whole of the UK? Will you confirm the timeline for the local inquiry into the historic cases of child sexual exploitation in Oldham and can you confirm that the inquiry in Oldham does not exclude any Council officer’s councillors or members of the Council who were and are still employed by the council? Will the Leader of the Council demand that the Prime Minister apologise for claiming that those fighting for justice are far-right?

 

Councillor Shah, Leader of the Council replied that once more I have to apologise to the survivors, who made their statements at the start of this Council meeting. I think it is really unacceptable that we keep drawing this out and trying to use it politically. It is unfair, it is also disrespectful. The only voice that matters is theirs and they've made it clear they don't want to hear from me they don't want to hear from anyone else and they don't want anyone to try to politically point score. What I'm not going to accept though is any kind of division. Perpetrators, like I said in my statement, come from all backgrounds - religion and race don't come into it. 

I will not ask the prime minister to apologise for his comments. He takes his responsibilities seriously, just like every single member in this chamber should and that is why we should unite and bring communities and people together. I have said previously that we need to look at drivers in certain communities to see what drives them and what drives those patterns of behaviours. We need to look at that that is important but actually abuse does not discriminate everybody is affected by this and we have to like use this and accept what the survivors have asked of us.

 

b.    Councillor Taylor, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Decent Homes

The Deputy Leader and Decent Homes Portfolio Holder presented her report.

 

Question from Councillor Harkness -  I understand that the Government is looking to introduce a legal responsibility for Councils to provide accommodation for veterans in locations where they have links to a community.  However, those plans appear to provide no additional funding to enable this housing to be provided.  While the principle of this is to be lauded, is this another instance of central Government passing responsibility for issues onto local councils without the required funding, leaving council taxpayers in Oldham faced the bill, when the country as a whole should be ensuring that veterans get the support and housing that they deserve?

Councillor Taylor replied stating that Members may be aware that Veterans already have priority need for the Council’s Housing register. 

You might have also seen today that the Government has announced the biggest ever increase in funding for homelessness prevention services to council, and we expect Oldham will benefit significantly from this new money. So no I disagree with the premise of Cllr Harkness’ question, the government has already put their money where their mouth is.

We will continue to support veterans in the same way as all our residents through advice, guidance and housing support.

 

Question from Councillor Arnott seeking an update on properties at Union Street in Royton.

Councillor Taylor replied that the Council was aware that number 12 Union Street had been converted into a number of flats.

A letting agent had been been in touch with us offering the units for temporary accommodation – as is often the case, we get offers from letting agents regarding property across the borough every week.

While we are always in need of homes and properties to meet our Temporary Accommodation needs, we must always consider the price, the suitability and the appropriateness of the facilities.

We have not entered into a conversation with the letting agent in question regarding the property on union street, however this be considered and will follow standard processes at the appropriate time.

 

Question from Councillor Harrison - The Cabinet Member’s report outlines good progress in delivering a brownfield first policy and much need affordable and specialist homes. However, too many families are waiting for permanent homes in temporary accommodation this Christmas – can Cllr Taylor explain what changes are planned to reduce the numbers of people needing temporary accommodation mentioned in her report?

Councillor Taylor replied that one of the Council’s priorities was to reduce the need for Temporary Accommodation: however, this sort of change will take time as there are simply neither enough suitable nor enough affordable homes for Oldham's residents.

Therefore, in the meantime a range of solutions have been accelerated since we declared a number of local solutions to the national housing crisis to ensure that we are able to provide quality temporary accommodation facilities for residents in need.

This includes projects Like the SHAP - the Single Homelessness Accommodation Project - at Foundry Street; new contracts with providers who can provide access to more suitable and affordable properties; the refurbishment of existing Council premises; and, where appropriate the strategic acquisition of properties.

In response to the housing crisis, we have been working closely with private landlords, developers and social housing providers to accelerate the delivery of new housing across the borough.

This work has included accelerating the delivery of new homes on Council owned sites such as Southlink and South Chadderton. A key aspect of these housing plans is the accelerated provision of the 500 truly affordable homes over the next 5 years. Finally, the housing team are now taking a more prevention led approach to support our residents who find themselves at risk of homelessness when eviction notices or properties are condemned on safety grounds, to help residents stay in their homes while the concerns and issues are resolved.

 

c.    Councillor Jabbar Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Value for Money and Sustainability

The Deputy Leader and Value for Money and Sustainability Portfolio Holder presented his report.

Question from Councillor Islam - Can the Cabinet Member explain what the benefits to residents will be of the successful a bid to GMCA to fund digital inclusion work across the borough with the aim of increasing access to digital support closer to home?

Councillor Jabbar replied that he was delighted to share that following a successful bid to GMCA, we will be receiving 70k funding in early January with the specific remit of increasing the number of Oldham residents who can access digital support within 15 minutes of home.

Building on our comprehensive Library offer, we are using the funding to embed a partnership approach across the borough together with Inclusive Bytes CIC. Over the 6-month funding period, Inclusive Bytes will be working with partners and across the VFCSE sector to set up digital hubs and a digital champions network so that residents can get digital help closer to where they live. Inclusive Bytes will be providing training to support this as well as online resources and mapping to show how and where to get support.

Further information will be available in early 2025. I’m delighted that we have been successful in obtaining this much needed funding and I know that it will make a big difference for residents who need support to get online.

 

Question from Councillor Ghafoor – could the Portfolio Holder clarify the Council’s financial undeetaking in repect of work that MUSE are carrying out on behalf of the Council and if the associated legal advice could be published?

Councillor Jabbar replied that this issue had been considered at length at a meeting of the Place, Economic Growth and Environment Scrutiny Board on 17^th December 2024.

 

Question from Councillor Al-Hamdani - Council has announced the upcoming departure of the Chief Finance Officer, effective from January. 

In the run up to the Budget-setting Council Meeting for 2025/26, how confident is the Cabinet Member that this change in senior leadership within his directorate will not have any adverse impact on Oldham Borough’s finances?

Councillor Jabbar replied that he did not consider that the imminent departure of the Director of Finance would have an adverse impact on the Council’s finances. The Director of Finance leaves at the end of January at which point budget setting will be very advanced. Throughout the process she will have been supported by her very able Assistant Directors, who will provide continuity throughout the rest if the process whilst we appoint a replacement.

 

d.    Councillor Mushtaq – Cabinet Member for Children and Young People

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People presented his report.

 

Question from Councilllor Aslam - the Labour Government’s Plan for Change includes a milestone of 75% of five-year-olds being school ready. How is Oldham performing against this target and what is the plan to achieve or exceed it?

Councillor Mushtaq replied that Oldham’s Good Level of Development (GLD) at the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) increased from 62.8% in 2023 to 63.6% in 2024.  This was a larger improvement than nationally and the gap between Oldham and the National position has continued to narrow from 7.4% in 2018 to 4.1% in 2024.  A plan of support to continue to improve outcomes for children at the end of EYFS is in place through schools and our Family Hubs to support the home learning environment and speech and language development.

 

Question from Councillor Al-Hamdani - At the September meeting of Council, Councillor Mushtaq announced that the Council was reviewing the residential model for children's homes and creating another three homes for a further 7 placements, which would deliver 20 council run placements over the next three years. At the same time, Greater Manchester has introduced its Project Skyline, to introduce 10 children's homes across Greater Manchester that can accommodate 24 children. In the report received by the Governance, Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Board, there was no information on either of these two projects, although I would like to commend officers for their work towards delivering an initial three houses. So, could the Cabinet member confirm that the further 7 placements are going ahead; on what date this will start; and whether this is separate to the Project Skyline children's homes which are being delivered?

Councillor Mushtaq replied that he could confirm that an additional 8 placements will be delivered in 2025/26 across three new council run children’s homes with the first home on track to open from April 2025 for 4 placements whilst progress continues on homes 2 and 3. As outlined at the Governance, Strategy and Resources Scrutiny Board the creation of new children’s homes can take a minimum of 12 months due to a significant number of factors and inter-dependencies including property search, purchase, procurement and delivery of refurbishment work, change of use, resident engagement Ofsted registration, workforce recruitment and training, preparing the home environment, and matching and placing children and young people.

Greater Manchester Regional Care Cooperative (RCC) as one of two National Pathfinders are delivering project skyline to create 24 new placements in 10 new children’s homes across GM. These placements are separate to those being created by Oldham Council and will be available for all 10 LAs in GM to place children and young people locally close to their communities and networks.

 

Question from Councillor Malik - Councillor Mushtaq’s reports confirms the progress Oldham has made in improving Children’s Services and outlines what more we need to work on. The horrific abuse suffered by Sara Shariff highlights yet again why vulnerable children need protection. How will councillors and residents know progress is being made in the Achieving Excellence strategy and improvement plan?

Councillor Mushtaq replied that this was a tragic national case, and we welcome the government strengthening multi-agency safeguarding arrangements and having oversight of elective home education.

The Achieving Excellence strategy and improvement plan has been shared with Ofsted and progress will be monitored by them through focused visits as part of Ofsted Inspecting Local Authority Children’s Services (ILACS) framework.

The Strategic Director of Children’s Services chairs fortnightly meetings to maintain progress on the delivery of actions.

Quarterly progress reports are provided to the independently chaired Achieving Excellence Board and to me at my Children and Young People portfolio, highlights will be included in my council reports.

Bi-annual progress reports are scrutinised by the Children and Young People Scrutiny Board.

 

e.    Councillor Mohon Ali – Cabinet Member for Education and Skills

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills presented his report

 

Question from Councillor Lancaster - since our last Council Meeting, the Partnership Week which seeks to promote and encourage close working between independent and state schools has been held. Locally, I attended an event with my alma mater, Hulme Grammar School, and Briscoe Lane Academy from the neighbouring local authority area, to learn about their sharing of resources, facilities, and best practice, to aide the academic and personal development of students, particularly those from poorer backgrounds. With the public policy climate for independent schools being challenging at present, to say the least, can the Cabinet Member please detail any additional actions which Oldham Council could take to improve partnerships between all types of schools across our Borough, and to maximise opportunity for local pupils?

Councillor Mohon Ali replied that Oldham Council encouraged collaboration between all of the settings, schools, academies and colleges educating our children and young people. We do this through regular communications with the whole sector, hosting the independently chaired Oldham Learning Partnership and providing some universal and other traded services to these establishments.

Hulme Grammar School and other provisions in our borough provide an option for those residents who choose to access independent education. These independent schools will be operating in a more challenging environment in the New Year, so I will encourage our officers to consider additional support to improve collaboration between schools to maximise opportunity for local children. Oldham Learning Board does not currently have a representative from the independent sector, so I will ask for this to be rectified and hope that they can contribute to the work in addressing the current borough priorities in SEND, attendance, literacy and workforce.

 

Question from Councillor Iqbal - There have been national challenges in Speech and language development in the early years for the past decade and I welcome the reduction in waiting times for speech and language therapy. Can the Cabinet Member explain how this has been achieved and whether further improvements in accessing this service are planned?

Councillor Mohon Ali replied that the waiting list for children and young people to access the Speech and Language Therapy service has reduced from around 1,800 at summer 2023 to below 750 currently. 

This significant improvement has been achieved by additional investment into this NHS service by both the Oldham Integrated Care Partnership and Oldham Council. In addition to this the Start for Life and Family Hubs programme has invested £390,000 in early intervention and prevention to supporting early language by funding the Early Years Better Communication Team and commissioning work in schools and early years settings to build capacity within the workforce to support early language development and support early identification of need.

Significant work with families has also been funded. The SALT service is now delivering clinics within our Family Hubs and in local schools to support easier access to specialist support and reduce missed appointments.

I acknowledge that some families are still waiting too long to access this service, and we are working with colleagues in the NHS to further strengthen and develop this service.  

 

f.     Councillor Fida Hussain – Cabinet Member for Enterprise

The Cabinet member for Enterprise presented his report.

 

Question from Councillor Murphy - does the council have any plans to encourage small businesses to tender for council contracts, especially those below 25k by joining other GM council like Stockport and Trafford on the STAR Procurement portal, recently highlighted by GM Federation of Small Business? 

Councillor Fida Hussain replied that the initiative to which you refer is a pilot that is being run by STAR procurement on behalf of its members with the Federation of Small Businesses. Unfortunately as we are not a member of STAR Procurement we can’t access this.

However we absolutely value our local small suppliers and when we updated our Contract Procedure Rules we amended them to allow more flexibility and targeting of local suppliers. The updated CPRs go into this in much more detail and I would be more than happy to share more specific detail in a written response.

 

Question from Councillor Sajed Hussain - Could the Cabinet Member give me some examples of practical outcomes for Oldham businesses from the GM LINK programme Cisco Demo Day? And could Cllr Hussain explain further the support for businesses available at the Hive?

Councillor Fida Hussain replied that located on the upper floor of the Spindles, the Hive is a place where businesses can access practical information, advice and guidance. It is a place for businesses to network, collaborate, share ideas and do business with each other.

The Hive also hosts a range of business events such as the Cisco Demo Day last week. This is a GM wide programme that enables start-ups and SME’s to respond to a number of challenges through innovative solutions. 

At the Cisco Demo Day hosted in Oldham at the Hive last week, 10 businesses showcased potential solutions for mental health care and decarbonisation of public sector buildings.

As a direct result of this session Cisco are attending Oldham Strategic Estates Group in the New Year so we can explore ways to make energy savings, reduce operational costs and support sustainability goals through these innovative local businesses.

Holding these type of regional business events is great for the reputation of our Borough, and they really help to showcase the Hive as a place to collaborate, innovate and do business in a socially responsible way.

 

Question from Councillor Arnott seeking clarification on apprenticeship schemes in the borough of Oldham?

Councillor Fida Hussain replied that in September 2024, the Government had announced its intention to reshape how the apprenticeship levy will work. Skills England is reviewing where the key skills gaps are and will work with employers to create new frameworks which will include foundation apprenticeships that will support more young people to get into good work by creating stepping stones into intermediate, advanced and higher apprenticeships. This will see the Apprenticeship Levy change into a new “growth and skills levy” which will be more responsive for businesses and young people.

We are committed to ensuring our young people and our business community can access the right skills provision to grow our economy.

We are continuously reviewing our approach to enhancing our offer for apprenticeships in the council to ensure we are creating opportunities for residents. We are aiming to create a clear talent pipeline for every service, to build on the successes we have seen with the Social Work Academy model which has seen us recruit 42 Social Worker degree apprentices, to provide routes into the council for young people within the borough.

This will also include an expansion on our existing offer with other early career pathways such as T Level’s, Work Experience and Graduate Programmes. We are also focusing on how we can specifically support disadvantaged young people in the borough to achieve their potential. A positive example of this was our involvement with the Care Leavers’ Summer Jobs programme that has resulted in a council apprenticeship for one of the young people. We have committed to running another placement scheme and we are constantly reviewing all avenues where we can remove barriers to support our young people.

 

g.    Councillor Brownridge – Cabinet Member for Adults Health and Wellbeing

The Cabinet Member for Adults Health and Wellbeing presented er report.

 

Question from Councillor Bashforth - can Councillor Brownridge explain which Providers are involved in the development and support of Integrated Neighbourhood Teams and what this initiative means for people who use those services?

Councillor Brownridge replied that in November our colleagues in the NHS committed to make a step change in their work in order to better connect with the Administration's policy of integrated working at neighbourhood level. Over the last few years, the Council has been progressing work on public service reform. At the November Integrated Care Partnership Committee, it was agreed that all NHS providers and healthcare providers more widely will now also place integrated working at neighbourhood level at the heart of their strategies. Work will progress in the New Year to align the corresponding work programmes to this.

 

Question from Councillor Arnott which sought clarification on the community grants programme, available from the One Oldham Fund?

Councillor Brownridge replied that The One Oldham Fund is a strategic single investment fund that uses pooled resources from a range of sources VCFSE sector in Oldham. The fund is administered by Action Together. Since its launch in October 2021 the fund has distributed £1.6m to voluntary and community organisations in Oldham

These grants have been awarded across a range of outcome themes, including health and wellbeing, hate crime, children & young people, cost of living.

The majority of grant awards are to organisations working across the borough, or across more than one district.  North district has fewer applications coming in than from other districts so Action Together and the Council’s District team are working with groups in that district.

The One Oldham Fund is not affected by the recent news that GMCVO has gone into administration. GMCVO are not an investor in this fund.

 

Question from Councillor Hamblett seeking clarification on electric vehicle charging points across the Borough?

Councillor Brownridge undertook to provide Councillor Hamblett with a written answer to his question.

 

h.    Councillor Goodwin – Cabinet Member for Don’t Trash Oldham

The Cabinet Member for Don’t Trash Oldham presented his report.

 

Question from Councillor Nasheen – Would the Cabinet Member agree with me that people who fly tip for profit or because they are lazy should be ashamed of themselves & the amount of money they cost council taxpayers to clean up after them? How can people make sure the ‘man with a van’ who is taking their rubbish away has a licence and will dispose of it legally?

Councillor Godwin replied that fly-tipping is a scourge that effects the whole of the borough and can cause significant public health issues. 

Council teams investigate and clear thousands of tips each year as it blights Oldham’s beautiful landscapes and the costing hundreds of thousands of pounds, we encourage all residents to ensure that any ‘man with a van’ service they use is registered with the Environment Agency and the details are checked on the Agency’s website. If the material if fly tipped, the resident will be responsible and could be fined or prosecuted for it. Therefore, we encourage all to use reputable, honest and licensed waste carriers.

 

Question from Councillor Hamblett - could the Cabinet Member please provide an update on the disabled car park behind the Tommyfield pub?  When will the car park be operating at its original capacity so that blue badge holders can have proper access to parking without the current congestion.

Councillor Goodwin replied that Hackney carriage bays were relocated to the New Radcliffe Street car park when the rank was lost on Dan Fold due to the ongoing redevelopment works in the town centre.  In order to increase capacity, new disabled bays were implemented on the carriageway off New Radcliffe Street, close to the Integrated Care Centre. 

Work is ongoing to locate other suitable locations within the town centre to implement further blue badge bays.  There are no immediate plans to make changes to New Radcliffe Street car park. However, a review of accessible parking forms part of the car parking strategy work and we will look to support additional capacity where possible. 

In the meantime, if users of the car parks are having issues, we will investigate and take appropriate action.  Problems can be reported at any time to the council’s parking enforcement team.

 

Question from Councillor Lancaster - I recently attended an Elected Member Local Transport Plan session with Transport for Greater Manchester, at which I learnt of their Vision Zero for Safer Roads, which sets the noble ambition of zero fatalities and life changing injuries on our roads by 2040. In order to make meaningful progress against that ambition, enforcement of excessive speeds will need to be improved – traffic calming measures alone will not suffice – and so many more permanent speed cameras must be erected and maintained. At present, however, the criteria for new speed cameras is prohibitive and nigh impossible to satisfy. Will the Cabinet Member commit to raising the example of Leicestershire, where speed cameras have been introduced at locations of known community concern, at the GM Casualty Reduction Partnership, and pursue any other opportunities to increase permanent speed camera coverage?

Councillor Goodwin repliedthanking Councillor Lancaster for his question and for attending the Local Transport Plan session with Transport for Greater Manchester. 

I share resident concerns about the road safety issues associated with speeding vehicles and I’m very keen, as I know every other councillor here is, to ensure that the roads in Oldham are safe for all users.  Where issues are identified, we will continue work with our partners and residents to secure safety improvements.

Greater Manchester Safer Roads Partnership is, along with the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs, collaborating on the drafting of a new Safety Camera Handbook.

The new handbook includes revised criteria for assessing applications for Safety Cameras. The new criteria will give Highway Authorities much greater flexibility over the location of new safety camera sites and is due to "go live" in 2025.  Once live, we will work closely with the Partnership, residents and Greater Manchester Police to bring forward sites that require improvements.  We will share more details in due course.

 

Question from Councillor Marland - Leaf clearance on our pavements and footpaths this autumn/winter has been abysmal.  Residents are reporting slips and falls and inaccessible pavements as a result of this Administration completely failing to get the basics right. 

Could the Cabinet Member explain why leaf clearance across Oldham has been so below standard this year; and outline what steps will be taken to ensure improvements are made?

Councillor Goodwin replied that every year, the Street Cleansing teams start Autumn leaf clearance in September and much of this work depends on the weather, as milder weather leads to a prolonged period of leaf fall. 

Leaf fall and debris blocking drains causes localised standing water / flooding when there is rain, therefore these areas have had to be prioritised to protect properties and ensure highway safety and prevent road closures. 

Work remains ongoing by the team who remove over 1,300 tonnes of leaves from the borough’s roads and footpaths every year.

In order to increase capacity and efficiency, we are looking to replace some of the sweeper vehicles but they will only arrive in the new year.

 

i.      Councillor Dean – Cabinet Member for Thriving Communities and Culture

The Cabinet Member for Thriving Communities and Culture presented his report.

 

Question from Councillor Aftab Hussain - What kind of activities are being provided for eligible children by the Household Support Fund over the Christmas period? And does the Cabinet Member know how many eligible children will be able to join in?

Councillor Dean replied that the Household Support Fund was providing support to approximately 19,000 children and young people on means tested free school meals during the Christmas holidays in the form of a £40 voucher per child.

Household Support Fund is also supporting the expansion of the HAF programme to families above the free school meals threshold. This will provide a further 1600 places at Holiday activity provision enabling children and young people to access enriching and fun activities over the Christmas holiday period alongside a hot nutritional meal. The programme also includes specific activities targeted at children and young people living in temporary accommodation.

 

Question from Councillor Bishop - Graduates from Oldham Theatre Workshop were shown around the new location for the Workshop in November, in the Old Library building, which will also house the council chambers.  What does this mean for the previous plans to use a single space to house and coordinate the many arts organisations that Oldham has together? And what does it mean for the "arts quarter" concept, given that the Coliseum is now due to return to Fairbottom Street?

Councillor Dean replied that as well as creating a fantastic space for Oldham Theatre Workshop we are also on track to open the new event space which will host much of the programme from the QE Hall as well as the theatre on Fairbottom Street next year.

Through the Cultural Partnership Board, of which I am the Chair, we work with a range of arts and cultural organisations across the borough and are actively working with them to understand their needs, mapping use of assets across the wider estate to give more cultural organisations opportunity to access the most suitable space for their needs.

The cultural programme is a key part of our town centre regeneration programme with the heritage, arts and cultural focus still very much within this part of the town centre.

 

Question from Councillor Charters - has the Council had any information about plans to introduce a new “right to buy” for community assets, outlined in the King’s Speech in July, will make it easier for people to purchase empty heritage assets and convert them into cultural venues, with the government providing "seed funding" to help them to do it?

Councillor Dean replied that as you have outlined The UK government is advancing plans to introduce a "right to buy" for community assets as part of its legislative agenda, highlighted in the King’s Speech.

This initiative aims to empower communities to purchase and revitalise valued but underused or empty heritage assets, such as pubs, shops, and cultural venues, converting them into community-beneficial spaces like arts centres or music venues.

The policy, expected to be part of the English Devolution Bill, reflects a commitment to community-driven regeneration and economic participation

It is expected to support these efforts, the government will provide "seed funding" to assist communities in acquiring and developing these assets.

 

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Leader and Portfolio Holder reports be noted.

2.    That the Minutes of the meetings of the Cabinet held 14^th October 2024 and 18^th November 2024 and the Minutes of the meeting of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority held 25^th October 2024, be noted.