Coalfield Communities Debate

I responded to an excellent debate on Coalfield communities in Parliament this week. Many industrial communities have links to coal including Oldham where over 150 collieryโ€™s are reported to have been in operation to power the mills and factories which made the town an industrial giant through the 19th and 20th century. Without the workContinue reading “Coalfield Communities Debate”

Tackling Fuel Poverty

Today the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero have committed to cut energy bills in private rented homes, tackle fuel poverty and keep money in working people’s pockets. The Government has pushed for landlords to meet energy efficiency standards rather than make renters fit the bill. This initiative will save renters ยฃ240 a yearContinue reading “Tackling Fuel Poverty”

Weekly Ministerial Round-up

All eyes were on the announcement of the Devolution Priority Programme in light of our Department’s announcement of six more devolution agreements being reached. Taking into account the existing agreement to work towards a mayoral authority in Lancashire, it represents the single biggest package of devolution for England. In this way weโ€™re delivering our pledgeContinue reading “Weekly Ministerial Round-up”

Financial stability for Local Government

It was great to open the debate on the Local Government Finance Settlement in the Chamber yesterday. This represents the start of recovery, not the end. From my time as Oldham Council Leader during austerity, I know the huge impact local government cuts have on vital public services which many vulnerable people rely on. However,Continue reading “Financial stability for Local Government”

Devolution revolution!

โ€œ๐™„๐™ฉ ๐™ง๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™š๐™จ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™จ ๐™จ๐™ž๐™ญ ๐™ข๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™๐™จ ๐™ค๐™› ๐™จ๐™ค๐™ก๐™ž๐™™ ๐™ฌ๐™ค๐™ง๐™  ๐™—๐™š๐™ฉ๐™ฌ๐™š๐™š๐™ฃ ๐™ฃ๐™–๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™–๐™ก ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™ก๐™ค๐™˜๐™–๐™ก ๐™œ๐™ค๐™ซ๐™š๐™ง๐™ฃ๐™ข๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ, ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™จ๐™๐™ค๐™ฌ๐™จ ๐™ฌ๐™๐™–๐™ฉ ๐™˜๐™–๐™ฃ ๐™—๐™š ๐™–๐™˜๐™๐™ž๐™š๐™ซ๐™š๐™™ ๐™ฌ๐™๐™š๐™ฃ ๐™ฌ๐™š ๐™ฌ๐™ค๐™ง๐™  ๐™ฉ๐™ค๐™œ๐™š๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง.โ€ We are well on with deepening and widening devolution in England, and this week we presented the largest single package of mayoral devolution to date. ๐—ก๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜๐˜€ Iโ€™m delighted that the work alreadyContinue reading “Devolution revolution!”

Council funding – the recovery begins

This week marks the first local government finance settlement under your Labour government, and I am proud as Minister of State to begin the work of turning the tide on a decade of decline, giving councils the support they need. For Oldham, this marks a significant change in fortunes. No new government can turn aroundContinue reading “Council funding – the recovery begins”

Cracking down on knife crime

Knife crime must be tackled head to keep communities safe across Britain, including Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton. We have a plan and are acting on it to ๐ก๐š๐ฅ๐Ÿ ๐ค๐ง๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐œ๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ง๐ž๐ฑ๐ญ ๐๐ž๐œ๐š๐๐ž: From legislating to ban ninja swords, lethal zombie-style blades and machetes; to the successful GMP operations AVRO and Venture toContinue reading “Cracking down on knife crime”

Important Update: Oldham Independent CSE Inquiry

โ€œ๐™‘๐™ž๐™˜๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ข๐™จ ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™จ๐™ช๐™ง๐™ซ๐™ž๐™ซ๐™ค๐™ง๐™จ ๐™ข๐™ช๐™จ๐™ฉ ๐™—๐™š ๐™›๐™ง๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™ฉ ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™™ ๐™˜๐™š๐™ฃ๐™ฉ๐™ง๐™š ๐™ค๐™› ๐™ฉ๐™๐™š ๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™ค๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™จ๐™š๐™™ ๐™„๐™ฃ๐™ฆ๐™ช๐™ž๐™ง๐™ฎ.โ€ I have written to the Home Office regarding the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Oldham. The work to be undertaken by Oldham Council, the Home Office and the GMCA, will provide an opportunity for victims and survivors to have their voicesContinue reading “Important Update: Oldham Independent CSE Inquiry”