24 weeks is too long …

The government has announced a new road safety strategy and steps being taken in this to make our roads safer such as action on pavement parking, ghost number plates, and drug driving are welcome. Our borough has seen to many lives lost as roads become racetracks.

It’s encouraging that the government is acting to support our recent local work to tackle dangerous driving in 2025: attending a roadside operation on Broadway with the Oldham Road Policing Unit in Oldham; hosting concerned residents before a community meeting in Chadderton; and writing to the GMP to press them to make local roads safer with increased visibility of road safety officers in hotspot areas, more physical safety measures, & greater education.

But if we’re serious about safety, we also need to fix what’s happening before people even get on the road.

Right now in Oldham the waiting time is an unacceptable 24 weeks. That’s half a year of delays for young people, key workers and anyone needing to drive for work or family life.

Long waits don’t improve safety, they hold people back and pile pressure onto learners and instructors alike.

I’m continuing to push for more to be done to bring down waiting times and make sure Oldham gets its fair share of tests. We need safer roads and a system that actually works for local people.

This week in Parliament

Back in Parliament this week after the Christmas break. I hope everyone across Oldham, Chadderton & Royton had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

It was a busy first week back.

🚗 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗴: I intervened in the Commons on the Road Safety Strategy which is out to consultation. There is much to welcome such as action on pavement parking, ghost number plates and drug driving and more, but I’m not convinced asking drivers to wait 6 months between theory and practical tests is the answer. The fact is that more is needed to tackle the unacceptable driving test delays affecting our area, and pressed Ministers on the government’s newly announced plans to prevent dangerous driving and get waiting times down. People need fair access to tests, not the current 24 weeks of delays holding them back.

🏦 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘂𝗯𝘀: I also raised the case for proper banking hubs in Chadderton and Royton. With so many high street banks gone, communities and small businesses still need face-to-face banking services. I’ll keep pushing this hard and hope to secure a debate in Parliament to really get to the bottom of the criteria and how we can ensure that every town has access to a bank.

🔪 𝗧𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗸𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲: this has been a big constituency issue alongside gang activity and child criminal exploitation. I met this week with researchers from the University of Manchester to discuss evidence-led approaches to preventing youth knife crime. This is about early intervention, support, and making sure young people have better opportunities and safer futures.

🏛️ 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: MPs representing Metropolitan council areas like Oldham met to discuss the current consultation on Fair Funding. Significant progress has been made to redistribute funding to areas of higher need, but some modest changes could make life much easier for councils struggling with rocketing demand for services in adults, children’s and temporary accommodation who’ve generally been badly hit over the 14 years of the previous government.

🐝 𝗖𝗼-𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲: we’re covering so much ground on really great things like growing the co-operative economy, expanding community ownership, and building out more to support credit unions and building societies. There is a lot to come in the weeks and months ahead and the first week back was planning ahead for that.

🛡️ 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Members voted on the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, an important piece of legislation to strengthen protections for vital services and infrastructure in an increasingly digital world.

As usual we run through the list of ongoing cases, campaigns and projects.

Plenty more to do as I head back up North for the rest of the week, and I’ll keep speaking up for Oldham, Chadderton & Royton every step of the way.

Brining Banking Back to Chadderton & Royton

Too many bank branches have disappeared from our high streets, leaving many towns like Chadderton & Royton high and dry – whole communities without even basic banking facilities.

This is paying a price. The erosion of high street banking over the years has left gaps in accessible financial services. Residents and businesses have been significantly impacted by the closure in 2017 of the Yorkshire Bank in Chadderton and the closure in 2021 of Lloyds Bank in Royton.

We’ve been pushing hard for banking hubs to be brought to our communities. Last year I wrote to the Department of Business & Trade to request the criteria to change so that clear standalone towns like Chadderton & Royton get the local services they deserve. Before Christmas I met with the postmasters at both Chadderton and Royton Post Offices, who have been clear they would welcome hosting these facilities.

Banking hubs mean:

🏦 Face-to-face services

💷 Support for small businesses

👵 Help for older residents and those who can’t bank online

This is about keeping our town centres alive and making sure people aren’t forced to travel miles just to access basic banking.

I’ll keep making the case and won’t let this drop. Chadderton and Royton deserve better.

Putting Communities Back in Control …

Oldham Council has taken an important step by implementing a borough-wide Article 4 Direction from 1st January this year, after their consultation last year. Removing permitted development rights to convert a standard house into a HMO will now mean anyone wanting to create a small HMO must now apply for planning permission.

It is a win for all those who made their voices heard during the consultation period since now the council will have more control over the number, location, & quality of these properties to protect decent family housing.

This is about getting the balance right: supporting good quality housing, while protecting the character of our neighbourhoods and the stability of our streets – exactly wat I was pushing for in my submission to the consultation.

Too many communities feel change is happening 𝘵𝘰 them, not 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 them. This decision gives local people a stronger voice and brings common sense back into the planning system.

We need homes people can afford, but we also need places where families can put down roots and communities can thrive.

This is a fairer, more responsible approach and the right call for Oldham.

Local people named in King’s New Years Honours

Congratulations to all those recognised in the Kings New Years Honours.

To Chadderton’s Peter Fitzpatrick, Station Manager, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service who has been recognised with an MBE for services to Burn Victims.

And a BEM goes to The Reverend David Ireland, minister at the Union Street Methodist Church, and formerly Chief Executive, Francis House Children’s Hospice.

An MBE also goes to John Pickford, previously the News Editor In Chief, Bauer Media whose stations include Oldham’s Revolution Radio, for services to Broadcasting and Local News.

I’d also extend congratulations to Julia Heap, formally of Oldham Council and now Principal and Chief Executive Officer, Hopwood Hall College, who has been awarded an OBE for services to Further Education. I had the pleasure of catching up with Julia at a recent meeting of Greater Manchester college principals and her commitment to her students was clear, as was her affection for Oldham.

And to Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council who has done an outstanding job in our neighbouring council and in her role as Leader of the Local Government Association Labour Group.

And a belated congratulation’s to First Choice Homes Mark Gifford who received his OBE from The King last week at an investiture in Windsor Castle. Mark has given the housing association the boost it needed and we are seeing the benefits with more new homes being built and social focus back at the heart of its business.

A wonderful way to go into 2026!

Backing action to improve parking at Royal Oldham Hospital

You might have seen the recent campaign to secure additional car parking at the Royal Oldham Hospital. It is something I was keen to support alongside work we have been doing on car parking charges and enforcement.

Across Greater Manchester there is a postcode lottery on charges for staff, patients and visitors, with some paying significantly more to work, receive care, or to visit a loved one.

Securing additional car parking spaces is important and it must not fall to patients, visitors or staff to pay more for such a basic service.

Over the past few months I have tabled a number of Parliamentary Questions on parking income, costs and investment. The findings are interesting.

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, which operates four acute hospitals, reported total parking income last year of £5,918,971. This included £2,208,479 from patients and visitors and £1,245,693 from its staff. The Trust recorded £5,281,122 in operating costs for car parking, indicating a surplus of £637,849.

Within these figures, the Royal Oldham Hospital site provides 1,727 parking spaces, including 53 disabled bays.

Data submitted to the Government shows that the average fee charged at Royal Oldham is £1.00 per hour for patients and visitors. This compares to £0.66 per hour at Salford Royal, which is a larger acute hospital within the same Trust.

So even within the same Trust there are variations from one hospital site to another.

But so too is the experience of those using car parks. It is clear more spaces are needed on site, even with additional car parking secured nearby anyone who has used the site knows the walk up the incline at Sheepfoot Lane can be challenging with any mobility issues, but it is also unnecessary for the payment machines at the hospital only to accept coins (without change given) with only App payments and no contactless option.

If you’ve used the hospital you’ll know lighting isn’t very good at some car parks and so many users will understandably not want to take out their phone to register, pay and wait for confirmation in the evening or at night. That’s aside from the obvious rush and anxiety many will feel if a loved one has just been admitted to hospital. Investment in machines which allow contactless payment is overdue.

So it’s clear to me that a fundamental review is needed which starts at the experience of staff, patients and visitors using the car parks.

We are in discussions with the Trust, Major Eddy Hardaker (chair of the campaign) and Cllr Dr Zahid Chauhan OBE who initiated the call for action.