Labour & Co-operative | Serving the communities of Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton
A pleasure to be invited to open the new Royton Medical Centre with the Mayor of Oldham this morning – Mayor of Oldham 2021-22.
The new centre is a fantastic addition to healthcare facilities in the town and full credit to all involved, including Oldham Councillor Dr Zahid Chauhan
Last November, Oldham West and Royton MP, Jim McMahon met with shopworkers from the Cathedral Road Co-op in Chadderton, during the meeting Jim promised to raise the increased violence against shopworkers with Deputy Mayor for Police and Crime Baroness Bev Hughes.
In January this year the first meeting took place, Jim and a group of cross-party MPs from across Greater Manchester met with the Bev Hughes to discuss how GMP can better deal with violence against shopworkers and retail crime.
Fast forward six months and there is now a dedicated Retail Crime Steering Group working within the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and GMP meaning that shopworker’s and customer’s safety is now a high priority.
The group of Greater Manchester MPs have met regularly with Bev Hughes for updates on the steering group and its plans going forward. After the most recent meeting last week Jim said, “I’m very pleased with the progress that’s been made in Greater Manchester in relatively short time, it may take a while yet before shopworkers start noticing the difference but I’m delighted with the leadership Bev and her team have shown on this.”
“I’m really glad that a meeting I had with staff from the Cathedral Road Co-op has turned into something that should make the lives of shopworkers easier.”
“The pandemic saw threats, abuse and violence against shopworkers almost double, it’s unacceptable and was frankly unsustainable. It’s not part of the job and hopefully we’ve now reached a turning point.”
“I’d just encourage everyone to follow the Shop Kind guidance, remember how important shopworkers have been in keeping our families fully stocker with the essentials we need, be kind to them and customers whilst shopping, and carry on wearing a face mask to keep shopworkers safe too.”
This week the leader of Oldham Council gave an update on the assurance review of child protection currently underway. The only approach to a review of such importance is one of openness, transparency, and humility.
It is important all residents play their part in reporting concerns, and in understanding the different characteristics and patterns of abuse which take place.
In January I posted an article which set out the scale of the challenge currently in the borough, and it’s worth repeating.
According to published data there are 2,460 children in need in Oldham (2019/20), and a reported 400,000 children in need across England. Locally 386 young people were the subject of a child protection plan. 44% of those with a child protection plan were because of emotional abuse, 47% because of neglect, 3% physical abuse, and 6% sexual abuse.
In the same period there were 4,627 assessments completed by children’s social services, which are reviews carried out by social workers once a concern is raised.
At the meeting Cllr Arooj Shah said, “Our biggest responsibility as a council is to keep our children and young people safe. The review team are leading experts and I have no doubt they will identify areas where our work in the past has fallen short.
Nothing should be said today which seeks to either pre-empt or undermine the review. I am acutely aware that those who seek to make political capital will portray whatever is found as part of a conspiracy if it falls short of completely slamming all that was done at the time to protect young people. We must not allow that to guide us, or to blind us, in that we must take it’s findings even when it offers challenge and use that to ensure lessons are learned.
Nothing Madam Mayor, and I repeat nothing matters more than the protection of young people and bringing abusers to trial.
And so, I ask each and every one of you in order. Firstly, help us instil confidence so that victims feel supported to come forward. Help us educate and go into every community to teach young people what positive relationships are, and what signs of abuse to watch out for including control, grooming and inappropriate behaviour at home, in the community or online.
Secondly, there is no hierarchy of victim or offender based on race, religion, social class, gender, or anything else. All victims must be supported equally, and all offenders must be dealt with robustly and with the full weight of the law. I will not shy away, and I hope I have the support of the whole chamber and the wider community.
And finally, all of us in public service are here to serve the community to the best of our ability and judgement.
It is a fact, and a horrible fact that abuse does take place. Protesting, abusing or marginalising those of us fighting to put it right does not help victims, nor encouraging decent people into public service.
My personal commitment to you is honesty, hard work and accountability.”
If you have any concerns about child sexual exploitation you can report them and find resources at https://www.itsnotokay.co.uk/
If you have concerns about the welfare of children you can report them to Oldham Council Social Services on 0161 770 7777 or by email at child.mash@oldham.gov.uk
It was great to support Oldham Cancer Support by thanking two amazing fundraisers!
Well done to Colin who fundraised for an Everest Marathon (next May all being well) and Summer, aged four, who walked a mile a day in March, both exceeding £1,000 each for the charity.
I have been a long-standing supporter of Oldham Cancer Support since it was set up around 15 years ago and honoured to be a Patron. The sense of family and compassion shown by all the trustees and volunteers is outstanding.
Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has condemned the racist abuse that England’s young players have faced after last nights European Championship Final.
Speaking this morning the Oldham MP said, “These lads have inspired our country over the last few weeks, they’ve shown the very best of our country and they’ve taken us to heights none of us imagined before the tournament began.”
“To wake up this morning and see the torrents of abuse that Rashford, Sancho and Saka in particular have received is disgusting, and yet sadly not at all surprising.”
“Twitter, Facebook, other social media companies and the Government can stop this constant cycle of abuse. Standing idly by with warm words is unacceptable.”
ENDS
A great day helping to tidy up Oldham (Coldhurst, Barker Street) and Chadderton (Stanley Road) as part of a wonderful community effort lead by local councillors and volunteers.
Determined to make every street clean and cared for. A big task but will make a huge difference.
There are now regular sessions across the borough and residents are encouraged to come along and get involved. I’ll get full details of sessions and post them as soon as I am able.
I’m really grateful to Oldham Council and ward councillors for showing leadership on this as much as the big strategic projects are important for the future of our town and our high street.
People have the right to know that the streets where they live are well cared for, tended to, and people can be proud of where they live.
It’s got to be a community effort, that’s why I’m so glad so many residents in Chadderton South joined us on Saturday, it’s important of course that we’re all out – but it’s about building a wider movement, and taking back control of the places where we live.
Earlier this week I wrote to the Health Secretary urging him to provide Oldham Council with more resources to allow localised community based work to be carried out and prevent any new emerging strains of Covid-19 taking hold in Chadderton, Oldham and Royton as we lift social restrictions.
In some of our communities in Oldham vaccination take-up is not where we need it to be, especially when compared to others. We now need to get on with working with these communities and community leaders to get to the bottom of why that is, without demonisation, we are where we are and we must work together to improve the situation.
Surge vaccination should absolutely be a priority, so must resources needed to ensure those that have not yet been vaccinated are encouraged to do so, and work must be done to reassure anyone who has concerns about the safety and importance of getting vaccinated to protect the whole community.
We cannot be complacent and find ourselves in a situation where we see more devastating social and economic restrictions placed on our town again because the resources to prevent that and move us in the right direction were not forthcoming.
I know that last year when I joined teams from Oldham Council out on the streets of Oldham, going door-to-door with testing teams, the community responded positively. My instinct says that we may require a similar street level effort, and we should learn from places like Leicester who have focused on empowering community leaders in their vaccination programmes.
Just last week I raised these issues and other with the Director of Public Health and other in Oldham’s public health team. As a local MP I want to ensure that the Council and public health teams are adequately resourced for the job at hand, I will continue to work with the civic leadership and public health teams here in Oldham to push for the best outcomes for our town.
The full text of my letter:
The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP
Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care
39 Victoria Street
London, SW1H 0EU
26 May 2021 Ref: JM33762
Dear Matt,
You will know that frontline staff are working around the clock to protect the local population in what has been the most testing period for the nation. I want to pay tribute to workers in Oldham for all they have been doing since the outbreak of Covid-19, when our town was under the spotlight for high infection rates, and the resulting social and economic restrictions which hit us hard. As the vaccine roll-out has progressed, they have again demonstrated their commitment and public duty and we remain extremely grateful to them all.
I am writing to you as the Health Secretary because I remain deeply concerned that the government is not making the required progress to ensure that the vaccination is reaching all parts of the population in Oldham, and that take-up rates remain low in Pakistani and Black African communities.
Data provided to MPs on 12th April showed the rate for Cohorts 1-4 amongst the Pakistani community stood at 67.16%. The latest data provided to local MPs on 24th May, it had only risen to 71.08%. Likewise, for Cohorts 5-9, rates stood at 56.48% and grew to just 62.4% in the same period.
Unless we achieve higher rates of vaccination, the risk of new strains gaining ground is greater – particularly given the apparent lack of strategy around the government’s border policies.
While the same level of growth across that period is in line with the White British community, the significant difference is that rates now stand at 94.95% across Cohorts 1-4 and 87.27% for Cohorts 5-9 for White British people.
In the same period for Cohorts 1-4 the Bangladeshi community saw rate increase to over 82.99%, with rates at 91.57% in the Indian community. Likewise, those with Black Caribbean ethnicity are showing rates of 86.52%.
It is important that targeting is evidenced based, and critically community based. Surge vaccination should be a priority, but this must be accompanied by the resources needed to ensure those who have not yet taken up the vaccine do so and to reassure those with concerns that the vaccine is safe and important for the protection of the whole community.
I fear that many vulnerable people are not getting the protection they need and that not enough resources are being provided to allow localised community-based work to be carried out, door-to-door if required. I am also concerned that as the country comes out of social restrictions, any emerging new strain detected locally may lead to intense local action later. We cannot see more devastating social and economic restrictions – it is vital we learn the lessons 2020 has taught us.
As a local MP I want to be assured that every route is being taken to secure a greater level of take up and that local councils and public health teams are adequately resourced, given the intensity that it is likely to need.
My instinct is that we were successful when we were at street level. When we visited door-to-door for testing in the wards over summer 2020, those I visited responded positively. We should learn from areas like Leicester, that have placed vaccination clinics in places of worship, community buildings and focused on empowering community leaders in their vaccination programmes. Having more localised vaccination centres supported by door-to-door activity could make a difference, and I know the civic leadership in Oldham will take the lead, as will I personally in that effort with public health officials.
But to do that we need resources now, not later if we witness a new strain taking hold in an under-vaccinated part of the borough.
Kind Regards,
Jim McMahon OBE MP
Member of Parliament for Oldham West and Royton
Not all pubs have reopened, some may never welcome regulars again.
Pub closures have been a running concern as many which lined main roads, served local estates and communities are lost for ever, unfortunately too often also seeing poor quality conversions or demolition.
The old boozer, which was the centre of work and community life feels increasingly a thing of the past as habits change and so too does the industry, with a much greater shift to food and dining.
For many working class communities the housing which sprung up to accommodate the mill and factory workers which were such a strong feature of towns like Chadderton, Oldham and Royton were interspersed with buildings of note which stood out; churches, banks, and pubs. Each added to the character of the neighbourhoods they served and in the case of the church and the pub were where people came together. As church attendance diminishes they too are under significant threat, and with them the risk that another historic building could be lost.
While there is little any government can or should do in tackling declining church attendance, it must have a better plan to deal with the historic building left behind. And for the local pub much more should be done to step in and provide communities the support they need to stop the loss of what can still be viable assets.
When the Bowling Green pub at Hollinwood faced demolition to make way for (another) KFC and Starbucks Drive-Thru the response in support of its loss pointed to the nearby Spinners Arms and Bridgewater Inn. As we emerge from the pandemic and the terrible impact on hospitality it is clear we will see some pubs never return.
Today the boards remain on the Spinners Arms, and the metal shutters lock out the old regulars from the Bridgewater Inn, with local rumours it may become (another) McDonalds Drive-Thru.
We’ve also seen the Hare and Hounds which was a longstanding town centre watering hole, and the former Old Tatts at Chadderton, which was under pressure before the pandemic hit.
More must be done to give power to communities to come together and fight to save their local pub. They are not just places to drink, they are places to socialise, to feel connected and to be part of a community. As isolation and loneliness only seems to get worse, it is vital we do not loose viable facilities.
None of us expect a pub with few customers to remain open while the owner takes the hit. But it is a fact that some pubs which have a following are being put at risk just because they are seen as ripe development opportunities, either by property developers or multi-national corporations keen to see every high street and main road a carbon copy.
There is a route through registering pubs, libraries, and a host of other facilities as an Asset of Community Value. While it does not stop owners deciding to sell up, that of course is their right, it does allow for the local community to step in. Nominations to list assets of community value can be accepted from any group of at least 21 local people who appear on the electoral roll within the local authority, or a neighbouring local authority. The names must also be from separate households. Love it? List it! is the Co-operative Party’s campaign to help communities take the first step to protect the loved local places like parks, pubs and post offices from being sold-off.
We’re aiming to list over 1,000 local spots as “assets of community value” and fighting to give communities more powers to protect and eventually own the local places that bind them together.
In the recent budget a £150m fund to help communities take over local pubs at threat of closure was established, meaning there is financial support.
Under the fund, which will open in the summer, community groups will be able to bid for up to £250,000 of matched-funding to help them to buy local pubs to run as community-owned businesses.
Though we can’t save every closure, I am keen to do all I can to help local communities list properties and ensure we retain these vital community facilities.
Not all pubs have reopened, some may never welcome regulars again.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 