My team of constituency caseworkers are here to help you. You can get support by phoning, emailing, sending a letter, or by attending an advice surgery with me or an experienced caseworker at Chadderton Town Hall by making an appointment.
Constituent Advice & Support Booklet
What is casework and how do we deal with it?
Casework covers a range of issues or complaints we may take up on your behalf.
We will ensure you are treated fairly, and by the rules in place for the issue you are seeking support for.
My casework team will deal with you in a fair and understanding way as we support you.
After reviewing your case we may ask to meet with you in my constituency office at Chadderton Town Hall, by telephone, or online via a video call.
The majority of individual casework is supported by my constituency caseworkers, with cases escalated for my personal attention if they require raising in parliament.
In 2024 we dealt with over 8,000 constituent emails and cases.
This guide gives you more information on how we deal with casework and what to expect.
How do we prioritise casework?
Urgent casework (Dealt with as soon as practically possible). We define ‘Urgent casework’ which is time critical. An example of this would include impending homelessness cases.
Standard casework (up to 5 working days). We define ‘Standard casework’ as important casework which isn’t time sensitive. An example of this could be a longstanding housing complaint.
Lobbies and campaigns (up to 10 working days). We define ‘Lobbies and campaigns as issues and events which are important to you, but which are not casework specific to you. An example would be showing support for a Bill going through parliament, or raising a issue such as international relations and national charity campaigns.
We support thousands of individual casework and lobby requests each year on a wide range of issues ranging from welfare, crime, housing and other local services, to legislation passing through parliament, as well as national and international issues.
Who can we help?
My office will deal with casework from all residents in the constituency regardless of how you voted, if you didn’t vote at all, and even if you are not on the electoral register.
We can only accept casework from constituents living in Chadderton, Oldham (Coldhurst, Hollinwood, Medlock Vale, and Werneth), and Royton.
If you or the person you are acting on behalf of does not reside in another constituency, for instance if they are of no fixed abode but with clear links to the constituency, we will apply common sense to ensure you are not left without representation.
What issues can we deal with?
We can help with a wide range of issues which are the responsibility of central government, such as;
- HM Revenue and Customs and HM Treasury
- Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
- Home Office
- Ministry of Justice
- Ministry of Defence
- Dept. for Work & Pensions
- Dept. for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
- Dept. of Health & Social Care
- Dept. for Education
- Dept. for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
- Dept. for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
- Dept. for Transport
- All other government departments, agencies, and public corporations
You can view a full list of Government departments, agencies and organisations here.
We can also accept casework for devolved matters in Greater Manchester including Greater Manchester Police, local probation services, local health services and coroner services.
If you require support on an issue which is the responsibility of Oldham Council, you should contact your local councillor. If you have tried to seek support without success, we may be able to look into the matter for you.
What issues can’t we usually deal with?
There are some things my office cannot do under any circumstances. These include;
- Give legal advice or interfere with ongoing legal proceedings, including making public comment on live court cases
- Provide personal or character references
- Offer debt or financial services advice
- Become involved in disputes with other individuals
- Become involved in any commercial disputes, or to carry out advocacy where you would usually expect a professional to act on your behalf, such as a solicitor, agent or accountant
We will not assist in securing an unfair advantage, to frustrate normal public administration or enforcement, nor will we support unreasonable or vexatious requests.
We may not be able to accept casework where doing so would place my office in conflict with another constituent we are already assisting.
Campaigns and lobbying requests
MP’s are often lobbied to support campaigns or contribute to surveys and events. We aim to respond to these within 10 working days if you live in the Oldham West & Royton constituency. If you do not live in the constituency you are unlikely to receive a reply.
Campaign and lobbying requests include requests to;
- contribute to a debate in Parliament (including committee debates) giving at least a weeks notice
- sign petitions
- sign an EDM (Early Day Motion)
- become a member of a APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group)
- attend an event or reception
- meet a delegation in parliament
- take part in a relevant survey
I do not usually agree to general requests to support campaigns or causes unless there is a direct link to my constituency or my area of expertise. This is because I like to fully research and understand the issue before committing, and to do this properly can be time consuming. When I do commit to support a campaign you are assured of a meaningful commitment from me.
Outside of general requests I have areas of interests where I invest time to support campaigning. These currently include;
- All matters related to my constituency.
- Support for Co-operatives and Mutuals and the social economy.
- Devolution and localism including economic development, transport, skills and job creation in Oldham and Greater Manchester
Freedom of Information requests (FOI)
Members of Parliament are not organisations and therefore not covered by the Freedom of Information Act.
Data Protection Act Subject Data Access
Members of Parliament are Data Managers under the Data Protection Act and you have a right to access information we hold about you. You can make a request free of charge, no fee is payable.
Tips to help us help you quicker
- If you seeking public information or are seeking to access government services for the first time (such as advice on applying for a passport or visa) you can find a lot of information on www.gov.uk
- Only send the email once in the first instance. You should receive an automated response on the same day. If you have not received a personal response within 10 workings days please resend your email or a copy of your letter.
- We deal with all casework in the order it arrives regardless of how it arrives. We accept letters, direct emails and emails from third party sites such as Writetothem.com
- Make sure you have provided your full home address, we cannot progress your case without it.
- If you are acting on behalf of someone else, we need their permission to discuss the case with you. If you already have this in writing please provide it.
- If you are seeking interventions in parliamentary debates please give as much notice as possible.
- Don’t be tempted to send a campaign or lobbying template letter. If you care enough about the issue to write in then please tell us how it affects you personally. In return you’ll get a personalised response.
- If you do use template letters we will usually have a template reply we will send back to you. This is to help administer the large volume of correspondence and allows more time to be spent on casework or correspondence requiring a personalised reply.
- We do not accept casework through social media. This is to protect your privacy and to ensure we keep proper records of all communication.
- Please don’t be rude or abusive. Treat me and my office as you would expect to be treated yourself.
- If you’ve had great service from a member of staff please take time to let me know. It means a lot to receive good feedback.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 