The Education Policy Institute’s 2020 Annual report on the state of education in England recently found that the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in Oldham has barely improved since 2012.
The study finds that when compared to non-disadvantaged pupils nationally, disadvantaged pupils in Oldham are up to five and a half months of learning behind in the early years, nine months behind at primary school and by the end of secondary school a mammoth nineteen months of learning behind their peers.
Commenting on the findings of the report, Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon said, “These stats are really quite troubling, for the first time in ten years the national attainment gap has stopped closing. This loss of momentum could have a really devastating impact on closing it again in the future.”
“We can’t afford to be pushed back in this fight, government should be doing everything it can to eradicate this gap completely. But as we saw with the recent A-Level results fiasco and we narrowly avoided with GCSE’s thanks to another U-turn, government seems unwilling to grapple with the reality for disadvantaged pupils.”
“It’s not fair that by the end of secondary school disadvantaged pupils in Oldham are over eighteen months behind their peers. The attainment gap at all levels of education in Oldham has barely improved and for early years has actually increased by over a month. The findings in this report do not yet take into account the damage that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on our education system, there will be a lot of hard work to in catching kids up anyway.”
“Oldham already has the highest rate of child poverty in England, with nearly forty percent of kids living in poverty and kids in Oldham being six times more likely to live in poverty than those in wealthier areas of England.”
“We were supposed to benefit from the Opportunity Area Fund, but stats like these show that it has failed to bring about the sustained improvement that our town needed. Education is supposed to be a route out of poverty, but with attainment gaps this large our kids don’t have a fair chance.”
“After a lost decade of Tory austerity and our education system facing a funding shortfall of £12m this year alone, whilst the government wasted money on failed free schools and the failed university technical college in the past, we should be wary of sound bites about levelling up. They have been in government for ten years and have had plenty of opportunities, their failed experiments have already played havoc with pupils’ education.”
Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has this morning written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, detailing three key asks based on Oldham’s experience of dealing with Coronavirus.
In the letter Mr McMahon asks the Health Secretary to urgently reconsider the way the Department collects the data of those working in high risk occupations and repeats his call for routine workplace testing to get ahead of any outbreaks. The third and final ask is regarding childcare, an issue that many constituents have been in touch with Jim about given the social restrictions here in Oldham. Jim asks that the Department reviews the restriction which prevents extended family members to provide childcare to support parents going back to work.
Commenting afterwards Jim said, “We’re more than six months into the pandemic now and it’s time for us to start looking at the lessons we’ve learned along the way to better improve our response.”
“One thing that’s clear to me is that our efforts to build a robust evidence base on the source of transmission is being hampered by the lack of occupational data being collected. Simply making this information be a required point when interacting with the online booking system would give us a much clearer picture of high-risk occupations.”
“Just knowing that certain occupations are high-risk is only the beginning of the story, and so we urgently need to start doing routine testing in the workplace to find any cases before they spread and cause a spike. One of the things I picked up whilst out with Team Oldham was that many people working in transport, retail, factories and warehouses just hadn’t been tested yet and that can’t be allowed to continue.”
“My email inbox has been full of questions from constituents asking how they’re supposed to get back to work, as the government is encouraging everyone to do, if members of their extended family aren’t allowed to offer the support they usually do. Childcare can be expensive and unpractical with the shifts that people work. I think that this restriction, as a result of it being impractical, is not being observed and is undermining the basis of other restrictions too.”
I’ve been thinking about this story a lot since I read it on Sunday, and it has left me with a few thoughts. Oldham needs levelling up, and that means investment not withdrawing support. Ending the furlough scheme in October will be a mistake that could potentially devastate our town even more.
Data from the House of Commons Library shows that there are fourteen thousand jobs – which works out at around 30% jobs – in Oldham West and Royton ‘furloughed’, the pandemic will not have gone away in five weeks’ time when the scheme draws to a close. What we do know is that many people on low wages, as unfortunately too many people in Oldham are, are extremely vulnerable at the moment, the Office for National Statistics shows that less than 10% of the lowest paid earners can work from home.
I do not understand the thinking behind the government’s one-sized-fits all approach, there are certain industries that cannot, with social distancing and with government imposed limits on attendance, get back up and running at capacity. What does government expect these workers to do once the furlough scheme ends?
Since March those claiming unemployment benefits here in Oldham West and Royton has doubled to just under seven thousand people. It’s not out of the question to say that come October it could double again, or even worse: triple.
Surely someone in the Treasury, someone in Government recognises that these people will then need support from the government in one way or another. Is it not better to keep providing this support, to keep people in jobs for a while longer rather than having to deal with a sudden increase to the number of people claiming universal credit?
It’s worth reminding ourselves at this point that universal credit is not a simple system, it has not been designed for ease of access. Since it’s rollout my office and I have been helping constituents battle through the process, and the same is true over the last few months. We have seen too many instances where constituents have lost their job or self-employed people have been ineligible for support and Universal Credit – the system designed to be our safety net has failed them – how many more times will we see that if 30% of the town suddenly lose their jobs?
We know that retail outfits are struggling, Debenhams (one of the last big anchor brands in the Spindles shopping centre) is at risk of going into liquidation, Boots have been making job cuts, and these are major businesses there will be countless other smaller and medium businesses who have fallen through the gaps of all the schemes across our town for whom reopening and carrying on as before is not an option.
Our retail, manufacturing and hospitality sectors will need time to get back into anywhere near a healthy state, the October cliff edge for the withdrawal of the furlough scheme will not help these sectors. It is time for government to think again, to tailor it’s approach to the sectors and employers that need help still.
We are already in the middle of a job’s crisis; government can prevent it getting worse. There is no magic solution to the problems our town faces, and there is certainly not going to be an oven ready, one-sized fits all approach that works in Oldham and works in the other nine towns in Greater Manchester.
Place matters and communities’ matter, Oldham was already struggling with a fragile economy before the pandemic. To remove the props and push us off down the river would be unforgivable.
A copy of the text of the letter sent to supermarket chains
Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon has this morning written to all major supermarkets with stores in the constituency urging them to do more to increase compliance with wearing face coverings. From his own experience in shops around the constituency, comments and tweets from constituents on social media, and his casework inbox Jim knows that there are still lots of people shopping without masks.
In the letter Jim encourages supermarkets in Oldham West and Royton to ‘take immediate action to ensure there are adequate staffing levels to promote effective social distancing and public health measures with dedicated and trained staff able to enforce the wearing of face coverings for those required to wear one.’ And states that ‘Where there is no exemption in place entry should be denied.’
Commenting afterwards, Jim said “I know just how difficult it can be for staff in supermarkets and shops to enforce the laws that I help set in Parliament. As a Labour and Co-op MP I’ve been fighting for greater protections for our shopworkers in these exact situations and sought tougher sentences for those who abuse and assault frontline retail staff.”
“I understand why staff don’t want to get in a confrontation with customers, so that’s why I’ve written to supermarket bosses to ask them to do more. To increase the number and size of signs that are in prominent places as you enter a store, enforcing the need to wear a face covering and to make sure there are enough staff with adequate training to be able to enforce the wearing of face coverings.”
“I’ve mentioned face coverings a lot over the course of the last week, but that’s because it’s a simple tool which we can use to defeat the virus. It’s something that for the most part we can all do that helps protect ourselves and protect each other. As it becomes more normalised and more shops are denying those without exemption from entry, more and more people will follow the rules.”
“I know compliance is getting better because I’ve seen the numbers increase, but even when you take into account the people who are exempt from wearing a face covering for medical grounds there are still far too many people not following the rules.”
“So, I ask of supermarket bosses and all of us, let’s come together to protect lives and advance our common endeavour to beat this virus.”
MPs have been working with the council and its public health officials, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Mayor, and Government to seek an evidence-based intervention to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
News that we have narrowly avoided a full lockdown will come as a huge relief, but we need to be clear that unless infection rates decrease further, we remain firmly on notice.
A widespread economic lockdown would have been the wrong decision. Far from helping to defeat the virus it would have diluted resources and needlessly closed businesses which were not a factor in the spread of the virus.
In Oldham West and Royton, the positivity rates are currently showing highest in Werneth, and so increased testing has been carried out to track the virus. As we are seeing younger adults more likely to carry the virus, at the moment, many do not display symptoms which would usually be the catalyst to get tested. This is why the testing scheme has changed to focus on high risk groups, for instance because of the public facing job they do, contact tracing, full household testing and neighbourhood testing.
This is important because we have to accept that the virus will be circulating for what could be another year or more. In that time where it spikes will reflect many factors and we need to have a properly resourced system in place to identify those infected early, and to fully track those they have come into contact with.
I have requested more resources to allow proactive and routine testing in high risk workplaces. This way we can pick up where the virus is among those who are showing no or minimal symptoms. This stops its further spread and reduces the risk of those more likely to be much more affected by the virus being exposed to it.
We also need to see more support for businesses, and further enforcement to ensure the rules are adhered to. This means inspections for compliance on the wearing of face coverings and household mixing. It is impossible for businesses at times to be able to enforce some of the rules. For instance, restaurants knowing if it’s a single household booking a table or understanding what a legitimate support bubble is.
One thing that has come out repeatedly is the confusion caused by mixed messages. We all like a bargain, and our hospitality industry does need a boost, but the demand created by the “Eat Out to Help” Out scheme means restaurants are often packed out. This makes distancing difficult and means often close contact with strangers, when at the same time you are denied the chance to sit with extended family and friends.
There is also conflict with the often-changing requirement to self-isolate. With little financial support people are being forced to choose between health and putting food on the table. More should be done to support people to self-isolate when they are required to do following a positive test result.
We also need firmer workplace protection for workers. A significant feature of risk is intense and high contact jobs. These include transport workers, security staff, care staff, retail workers and warehouse and factory workers. More resource to inspect these (hundreds) of premises, offer advice and guidance, enforcement and improvement is important. This also would support workplace testing.
And we must see enforcement on face coverings. My comments feed, my email inbox, and my own experience living in the town is that compliance is not where it needs to be, in some cases far from it. Inspections on trams and bus stations will increase (and they will need to even more so if schools do return in September).
But large supermarkets can and must do more to have trained (and properly resourced) staff to restrict entry. It’s important to say that some people will have a legitimate health reason not to wear a mask. There is also a significant issue with local shops and takeaways where the rules are routinely ignored. Perhaps it’s that we are better prepared for the ‘big shop’ and see nipping out to the local shop as less important. Either way enforcement will have to be increased.
I have been out with frontline staff and volunteers over two days, and will join them again next week. They have been working incredibly hard to keep us safe and deserve our thanks.
Though we’ve escaped a full lockdown, I can say with confidence that if not for the work locally, we could well have been facing the prospect of businesses closing again. We are not in the clear, we can not believe the risk is over. Far from it.
We need individual action now. This means we all follow the rules to the letter and to the spirit. The sooner we bring the virus rates down, the sooner we can meet extended family and friends again.
I know we have all made sacrifices, and I know many of you have really been affected by the virus and the lockdown restrictions. Stay safe and look out for each other.
Together we can beat the virus.
The new restrictions are;
Oldhamers should only use public transport for essential travel, that is to go to work and school.
You should not mix with people you do not live with in homes, gardens, public parks, restaurants or pubs.
There will be greater restrictions on the number of people that can attend weddings and funerals.
In a letter to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Oldham’s three MPs, Jim McMahon, Debbie Abrahams and Angela Rayner, have urged Mr Hancock to give the town an extra two weeks before a decision is made on a local lockdown in order to see the impacts of recent interventions made locally.
The letter highlights that the vulnerability of low-income workers in towns like Oldham and urges the Government to bring forward a programme of greater financial support for those who need to self-isolate after a request has been made by NHS Test and Trace.
Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham West and Royton, said: “Here in Oldham we have a considerable number of low-income workers, and for many of them the luxury of working from home when asked to isolate isn’t an option, neither can they rely on Statutory Sick Pay. It’s either too little to cover the bills or they don’t qualify for it in the first place.”
“This is one of the key barriers to a functioning test and trace system, until we have greater financial support for those needing to self-isolate, we will always have problems. And that it why it is a central ask in our letter. If we’re to avoid a lockdown in Oldham that would be so devastating to our town’s already fragile economy, we need to see support in place.”
“A lockdown would undoubtedly mean job losses across Oldham, so it’s important that we do everything we can to avoid that and that is why we’re asking for an extra two weeks so that we can witness the impacts of recent interventions here.”
Angela Rayner, MP for Ashton, Droylsden and Failsworth, said, ““The Government’s handling of this pandemic has been shambolic from the start.
“My constituents in Oldham are doing their bit to bring the number of cases down but what we really need is a test and trace system that actually works.
“People need to know they will be supported financially should they have to isolate. Statutory Sick Pay isn’t enough to live on and it certainly isn’t enough to support a family on.
“We don’t think a borough-wide lockdown – which will devastate our local economy and local businesses – is the right approach to take now for the people of Oldham, which is why we are calling on the Government to assess the situation over the next two weeks and take the necessary action to defeat this virus in Oldham.”
Oldham East and Saddleworth MP, Debbie Abrahams, who is a former public health consultant and a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health, said: “With Covid infection rates at worrying levels Oldham faces a full lockdown.
“No-one wants this but we are in the last chance saloon and we must all play our part.
“However to do that we need to make sure we have the right resources in place. We can’t do this alone and we are calling on Government to ensure we get timely and effective support.
“Given that we didn’t have a fully operational contact tracing system when the easing of lockdown restrictions was announced back in May, this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”
Since the lockdown was introduced in March, people across Oldham have made some incredible sacrifices and made some incredibly important changes to our behaviour. Not seeing family and friends has been hard, not enjoying the things we usually enjoy is not easy, but it has been so important and for this hard work we must all thank each other.
Likewise we can never thank the frontline key workers who have put themselves at risk, in our shops, running our transport system, in our care homes, and our doctors, nurses and support staff across the healthcare system, enough. They have truly shown the best of us over the last five months.
The latest Covid-19 data shows an increase from the already worrying 57.8% to 107.5% per 100,000.
As a local MP I have been supporting hundreds of constituents and businesses employing thousands of people, I have seen first-hand the impact restrictions have had on our economy.
In the Oldham West and Royton constituency alone unemployment has almost doubled, rising from 3,418 in February to 6,740 in July. As of 30th June, 21% of all workers (13,700 in total) were placed on furlough, with 79% of self-employed people (3,800) forced to apply for government support.
But even with this, many people have fallen through the cracks, for instance those who had to self-isolate with the only safety net being Statutory Sick Pay of £95 a week, and some not even able to claim this, for instance if they do not earn enough or if they work less than 16 hours a week.
And so, any lockdown is in the context of an already fragile local economy, thousands impacted by the inability to work, and businesses on the verge of going under. These are serious decisions with very real consequences for every household.
We have to beat this together. It will need collective action but firm personal responsibility.
None of us can be blind to the routine breaching of the rules which are in place to support us all. It only takes a bus or tram journey to see people routinely not wearing a face covering, a visit to the supermarket, or even more likely the local convenience shop or takeaway, or a visit to a local bar or restaurant with members from different households. Though we are getting to a stage where the majority are observing, we must be honest and say that a significant number are still flouting the rules.
The same is true of household visits, including outside in the garden, and just nipping in for a few minutes, meeting up with family and friends, and the list goes on. Too often the reason is explained away, sometimes with an imaginative interpretation of what a ‘bubble’ is.
During the early days of the pandemic I am sure all of us were washing hands for the 20 seconds, regularly applying alcohol gel and minimising how often we touch surfaces and our face. As time goes on that urgency becomes lessened and old habits kick back in.
Many will make significant sacrifices, and I’ve heard heart-breaking stories which drive this home, but sometimes the rules aren’t followed, or perhaps its human nature to want to break out after so long being placed under restrictions. The urge to see family and friends, to get back to normal, they are all understandable. But the truth is that it makes us weaker in fighting the virus, and ultimately in saving lives.
There is also a risk, that in an effort to be transparent with data, recent localised infection rates are published by ward. This shouldn’t allow any of us to think that, even in areas with current low positive test results being shown, we are not at risk. It must be remembered that the testing approach changes over time, for instance early on much was done in hospitals, but not in the community.
Now localised testing is actively targeting those who are considered high risk, many because of the frontline, customer facing or intensive work they do. On top of this the decision to test whole households including those not displaying symptoms (Asymptomatic), though the right approach in identifying the virus, creates higher results particularly with larger, sometime multi-generational households, where the virus can be picked up at work and spread at home.
We also need to be honest and accept that far too many do not have the financial safety net to self-isolate, when the best that’s on offer from government doesn’t even cover the rent, let alone other bills and actually putting food on the table.
It is highly likely the virus will be with us well into next year, from its outbreak to its eventual defeat once a vaccine is found, how it spreads and where it spikes will change. What we must see is action to reduce the risk at every opportunity. For that we need government to get a clear plan in place, but whatever government’s many failings, we cannot defer our own responsibility.
I have made contact with Oldham Council, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Mayor and I have asked that given we are now months into the crisis we must see robust, consistent and endured enforcement across supermarkets and local shops, in hospitality, and on public transport. I am pleased that today confirmation has been given that enhanced inspections and enforcement will take place on Metrolink and in the bus station too.
It’s also been good to see that Oldham Council have been out in Oldham Town Centre today handing out face coverings, giving advice to residents, and ensuring that businesses are all doing their bit to keep us safe and prevent the need for any further restrictions. On top of the new visual presence of Social Distancing Marshals, the council have also started door-to-door testing in certain areas of the borough this morning. I expect further details of inspection and enforcement in other places will follow.
I’ve also asked that we push forward with working up plans to carry out workplace testing in high risk sectors. One statistic which stood out for me was that 10% of those infected are responsible for 80% of transmission, you probably have heard of the term ‘super-spreaders’ before, and so having a system in place to track them fully is critical. And importantly it must be remembered that it is the case that many who are carrying the virus do not display symptoms, or if they do often very mild symptoms.
I’ve also suggested that although the government has failed to come forward with a robust system to capture contact tracing details in bars and restaurants, let alone basic minimum standards which are enforced. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking at creating our own system in Greater Manchester, not least of all to ensure that personal data is handled in compliance with the law, but most importantly so that any spikes can be dealt with swiftly.
I do not support the approach taken in other places where the government has intervened to lockdown whole council areas. Like many places Oldham borough is not a single place, but a collection of seven towns. A boroughwide lockdown not just has the potential to close down businesses, and with that almost certain job losses, in areas with few recent positive test results, but it also dilutes the available resources to fully target areas which are at risk with the necessary support.
A boroughwide approach also misses that people do not see the local government administrative boundaries; Oldham’s boundaries are less important as to their workplaces, places of education, where they shop, where they socialise and who they then interact with as a result. With a borough which stretches from Manchester to West Yorkshire, an outbreak on the Manchester border would more likely impact more on its adjourning neighbourhoods outside of Oldham than another district miles away on the opposite side of the borough.
This was part of the rationale for Greater Manchester wide restrictions we are currently subject to. The truth is that both are a blunt tool, and any intervention must be localised, targeted and resourced properly. Vitally, it must be supported by evidence.
Please stay safe, and as always if you need support and are not sure where to go, my office is here to help. I’ve also provided helpful links to support and advice on my website which you might find useful.
Oldham MP Jim McMahon OBE has reacted to the news that the UK is in a recession for the first time in 11 years and is enduring the worst in Europe. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that in the second quarter of this year UK GDP plummeted by 20.4%
“We saw once again yesterday that unemployment has rocketed over the past 5 months, it’s more than doubled here in my constituency of Oldham West and Royton. The double prospect of the Job Retention Scheme ending in a couple of months, and a second wave is deeply worrying, and government must act to prevent further loses and worsening economic conditions for many people here in Oldham.”
“My colleagues in the Shadow Cabinet have been warning the government of the danger of sticking to their one-sized-fits-all approach for some time now and they appear to be being ignored. Instead we find ourselves in the midst of Johnson’s job crisis.”
“Oldham still hasn’t recovered from the global financial crisis, we cannot allow the recovery from this current crisis to be built on the back of those on low wages, on our towns that have borne the brunt of the last ten years of Tory Austerity, or on communities so in need of investment. It is absolutely crucial that we build back better, the old way cannot be allowed to continue.”
“To start with government should back Labour’s five point plan for jobs: fix the furlough scheme to support those in the worst hit industries; back our businesses with a fightback fund to stop firms going under and save our high streets; ensure no one is left behind with targeted support for areas forced back into lockdown; keep our workers safe; and finally, drive job creation by investing in infrastructure, speeding up our transition to a zero-carbon economy, and improving access to skills and training.”
Oldhamers should only use public transport for essential travel, that is to go to work and school.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 