Cllr Jim McMahon — Labour has shown every promise is fully funded  -...

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Labour has shown every promise is fully funded  - The challenge for the Tories is to show where the money comes from - Harriet Harman

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Harriet Harman, Labour’s Deputy Leader, speaking ahead of the Conservative Party manifesto launch said:

“Labour has shown how every promise in our manifesto is fully funded and paid for with no additional borrowing. The challenge for the Tories is to show where the money comes from for the over £20 billion of unfunded and unbelievable promises they have made so far.

“At the last election the Tories promised to protect the NHS and improve living standards, but since 2010 wages are down £1,600 a year and our NHS has gone backwards.

“Now the Tories are making panicky promises with absolutely no idea how they will pay for them. At the same time they have an extreme plan to double the pace of spending cuts next year. It’s now clear that to make their sums add up the Tories will end up breaking their promises – raising VAT again and putting our NHS at risk.”

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I spoke to the Guardian about the growing funding crisis in local government

Article originally published in the Guardian on Sunday 5th February 2017. 

‘The government is being accused of trying to bypass parliament with legislation giving the communities secretary executive power to allocate local government funding for services without a vote in the Commons.

The move would make councils, rather than the government, directly accountable for a £5.8bn shortfall that threatens to plunge social-care services into total crisis.

The local government finance bill, currently in committee stage in the Commons, abolishes the annual local government finance settlement, which is approved by parliament every year. The Department for Communities and Local Government says the change would ensure councils are more self-sufficient and accountable for funding services with business rates, 100% of which will be retained by authorities to spend on newly devolved responsibilities, such as public health, by 2020.

But Labour MP Jim McMahon, the shadow local government minister, said he believed the changes were an attempt by the government to avoid scrutiny of funding shortfalls and to make councils take ownership of unpopular cuts to services such as the crisis-stricken social-care system.

“They know there is no new money, and want as little scrutiny of that fact as possible, and they also know that even a 25% increase in the amount of authority funding that comes from council tax won’t be able to pay for that. I suspect we’ll see some really whopping council tax increases coming by the end of this parliament.”

The Local Government Association estimates councils will face an overall funding shortfall of £5.8bn by 2020, £2.6bn of which is specifically related to social-care services.

McMahon, a former leader of Oldham Borough Council, said the public would face “a council-tax bombshell” in 2020, by which time the government projects that the total amount of local authority funding raised by council tax will have increased by 25% – equivalent to each council increasing council tax and the social-care precept by the maximum allowed every year.

“The cruelty is that the government refuses to take ownership of the problem,” he said. “You’re asking people to pay more council tax than they’ve ever done before with absolutely no consideration of their ability to pay at a time when the universal services they think they’re paying council tax for are being snatched away.”

The Conservative-run council in Surrey, the county where the chancellor, Philip Hammond, and the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, are MPs, will hold a referendum in May on a 15% council-tax increase to pay for social care and children’s services in May, with other councils in the south-east said to be following developments closely.’

Click here for the original article.

We need tougher restrictions on gambling

A report from MPs representing the main political parties has called from strong action to be taken against ‘fixed odds betting terminals’ – or FOTBs – found in betting shops.

The report raises concerns about the negative effects that FOTBs are having, not just on vulnerable individuals who are drawn into using them on a regular basis, but on their families and the wider community. For example, the report found evidence of crime directly relating to the presence of FOTBs.

The problems with the current use of FOTBs have been recently underlined by attacks on staff, and reports of individuals who are committing suicide as a direct result of overusing FOTBs. 

According to ‘Stop the FOBTs’ there are 38 betting shops in Oldham. In a single year, over £22 million is gambled on FOTBs, with customers losing £5 million. £73 million is lost across Greater Manchester.

Currently a maximum £100 stake can be made at an FOTB. Some betting companies are actively clustering shops with terminals within close-proximity of one another. The report highlights this as a particular issue, as it maximising the potential for vulnerable people to place multiple bets, with minimal effort.

To curb the effects of addictive gambling MPs are calling for the stake to be lowered to as little as £2, and for powers to be given to councils to prevent the clustering of betting shops in local areas.

Devolution to the Greater Manchester combined authority could give the incoming metro mayor new powers to limit the use of FOTBs across the city region.

MPs stress the need for balance between customer use and enjoyment, and the need to protect staff, the high street and vulnerable individuals.

I welcome this issue being brought under the spotlight. The number of betting shops opening up in Oldham is a serious concern. The statistics on how much money local residents are losing speak for themselves, and betting companies shouldn’t be allowed free reign to maximise profits at the expense of vulnerable individuals and our high streets. 

The abundance and convenience of fixed odds betting terminals means that it is easy for people to get drawn in, addicted, and exploited. No wonder these terminals are being called the ‘crack cocaine’ of betting! 

To limit their use there needs to be better restrictions in place. This isn’t about being a nanny state, telling people what they can and cannot do. But it is about making sure that people aren’t exploited. With the right protections in place we can ensure a balance between customer enjoyment, and protecting the high street and vulnerable people. 

I fully support the campaign to stop fixed odds betting terminals, and I encourage anyone in Oldham who is concerned about this issue to take action too. You can object to a planned betting shop, or learn more about how to tackle a gambling problem by visiting the ‘Stop the FOBTs’ website.

Stansfield Road, Failsworth is out for consultation for installation of double yellow line near the chicanes towards Roman Road. I have been contacted by a local resident who wanted to object because of the loss of valuable parking on the street. I...

Stansfield Road, Failsworth is out for consultation for installation of double yellow line near the chicanes towards Roman Road.

I have been contacted by a local resident who wanted to object because of the loss of valuable parking on the street.

I visited the street and it was clear parking was already a problem and that the chicanes didn’t seem to slow cars down as intended.

A number of options were discussed but engineers have given support to the removal of the chicane and amending the original plan for double yellows to include just the short section near Roman Road.

The Failsworth and Hollinwood District Executive have approved funding for allow the work to go ahead subject to consultation with local people to ensure there is support for the proposal.

If residents are in agreement the chicanes could be removed over the coming months.

The traffic calming scheme was install in the early 2000’s as part of the Safer Routes to School initiative. By and large the scheme has successfully reduced rat-running vehicles from Ashton Road East though Kew Road. But the general opinion seems to be that this feature doesn’t add greatly to the scheme.

The agenda for Failsworth & Hollinwood District Executive, Thursday, 13th October, 2016, 7.00 pm has just been published.

Download it in full here http://committees.oldham.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId=6429&x=1

Meeting venue: Failsworth Town Hall, Oldham Road, Failsworth, M35 0FJ

The following items are included in the agenda:

No.

Item

1.

Apologies For Absence

2.

Urgent Business

3.

Declarations of Interest

4.

Public Question Time

5.

Minutes of Previous Meeting

6.

Failsworth & Hollinwood Partner Updates

7.

Failsworth & Hollinwood Budget Report

8.

Petitions

9.

Date of Next Meeting

Failsworth: after complaints from local people Oldham Council are consulting on introducing double yellow lines on the junction of Church St and Ashton Rd East. Anyone who uses that junction will know how congested it can be with vehicles parked on...

Failsworth: after complaints from local people Oldham Council are consulting on introducing double yellow lines on the junction of Church St and Ashton Rd East.

Anyone who uses that junction will know how congested it can be with vehicles parked on both sides of the road.

If you want to add your comments the deadline is 31st Oct.

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