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 we’re delivering our pledge to widen devolution to the whole of England.

Most of the meetings aren’t seen, rightly they are for 121 meetings with councils and MPs, and given the weeks business this meant meeting with MPs across the range of counties in line for devolution, and each of the councils who have agreed to go ahead too.

The biggest moment of the year is almost certainly the Local Government Finance Settlement in the Chamber, a settlement which puts local authorities back on a stable financial footing with £69 billion of funding in total, and ready to begin the recovery so that Councils can deliver better frontline public services for their communities.

Before heading back to the constituency I took the backbench business debate on government support for coalfield communities. The social and economic scars are still visible today and MPs are rightly demanding better planned long term investment. Through devolution and investment, we can put right this injustice.

More widely, £2.6 billion was announced for our flood defences to save lives and livelihoods in every region of the country, along with an announcement to give millions of workers a pay rise – fulfilling our promise to Make Work Pay and improve living standards across the country.

With a day of advice surgeries and visit on housing development in Oldham town centre planned, it’s a great finish to an already busy week.

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, after 14 years of decline under the Tories, Labour is acting in power to change course.

We are ensuring greater financial stability through the first multi-year settlement in over a decade and rebuilding public services with over £5bn additional funding to start fixing the foundations.

For too long, Westminster churn has created chaos for local authorities, but now with stability, security and investment: Labour are creating long term stability for councils like Oldham all across our country.

“𝙄𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙭 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙙 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙜𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧.”

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.

𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀

I’m delighted that the work already underway in Lancashire before the devolution priority programme was established, and with the new additions of Cumbria and Cheshire and Warrington, it will mean that the whole of the North of England will be covered by mayoral devolution once completed.

𝗪𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

They join Greater Essex, East Anglia with Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent, and Sussex and Brighton, with mayoral elections planned for May 2026. Surrey will undergo local government reorganisation to unlock devolution.

Those in two tier areas in this new devolution priority programme will have elections postponed, as has been the case in previous rounds of local government reorganisation where the existing council will cease to exist, before electing to new shadow authorities once proposals are agreed. The bar for this unlocking devolution was rightly high, meaning not all of the applications were approved.

𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽

Taken with new mayoral devolution agreements in Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire which go to the polls to elect mayors in May this year, and foundation agreements in counties across the country, it shows the ambition to hit the ground running.

The work of local leaders to forge agreement has been significant and it is credit to them across political parties which reflects a shared ambition to break from the centralising culture in politics which hoards power and opportunity.

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲

The programme will also see an ambitious timeline to carry out local government reorganisation to create strong, more efficient and accountable unitary councils, with more resources directed to frontline services.

And going further we have started the statutory invitation process to all two tier council areas to be part of the wider local government reorganisation programme, with all local elections planned for May 2025 going ahead as usual.

Coupled with work to allocate multi-year funding settlements and reform to how councils are funded, so that it better reflects need, deprivation and the local tax base, and the cost of service delivery, for instance in rural areas, it offers a chance to give long term stability and provide better local public services.

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 around 14 years in just six months, but we can change course, and show we are determined to make a difference so that local people can see and feel better local public services in their own community.

𝙁𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙

This year, Oldham’s “Core Spending Power” will increase by £25.4 million or 9.5% on last year. This means the total funding available is worth £2,950 per household for local public services, including Council Tax.

Of this, £48.2 million is NEW grant funding for social care, including £2.2 million to invest in children’s social care preventative services.

Oldham will receive £2.9 million through a combination of other grants.

And like many other places which has been hit by rocketing demand, but a historically lower property value council tax base, Oldham will receive a £8 million Recovery Grant top up to help recover to financial strength. This is the first time this grant has been paid, and shows the change in direction to get funding where it is needed.

𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩

This is the start of the recovery, not the end, and we will come forward with plans for greater financial security by giving councils the first multi-year funding settlement in over a decade, rather than year by year, hand to mouth allocations, and we will drive further devolution so more of what is allocated gets decided on locally, not in Whitehall.

I want to thank Oldham councillors for steering the borough through the past decade, often fighting alone to safeguard vital public services, but we’ve all seen the impact of rocketing demand for social care, children’s services and temporary accommodation hit hard, and the financial squeeze then reducing local neighbourhood services which make the borough and it’s towns a good place to live, the strain is clear.

I’ll do all I can to make the case for the value of decent, safe and clean places to the proud of, and to support the council to turn the tide.

“𝙑𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙄𝙣𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙮.”

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 voices heard, to seek answers to all failures and for the perpetrators of abuse to be held to account.

The local Inquiry will be one of five, supported by the Home Office, as part of a wide ranging package of action that also includes implementing the recommendations of the recent national Inquiry.

The local Inquiry needs to recognise that after many years of distress and frustration, this is now an opportunity to get this right and rebuild trust and confidence in the system that many feel they have been let down by. It is absolutely essential that this is done correctly, with victims and survivors front and centre of any Inquiry.

My office and I have been supporting victims and survivors for a long period of time on this issue, through these discussions and shared experiences, it is clear that more needs to be done. From these discussions and experiences I have set out what the Inquiry needs to include –

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝; led by someone who has a proven background of dealing with inquiries of scale and complexity, and with a history of speaking truth to power, and following the evidence wherever it leads.

𝐕𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐝; that they lead the inquiry members in agreeing the terms of reference, and the support and advocacy arrangements.

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞; recognising that failures to support victims of sexual exploitation and abuse can impact on other different periods and experiences. No victim or survivor of abuse and exploitation should be denied their case being included.

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞; ensuring it covers all relevant time periods, engages all police forces and local authorities involved in the cases under review; essential to fully assess cross border and multiagency activity.

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞; ensuring the timing of the Hillsborough Law, which is expected to introduce a Duty of Candour, coincides to place a legal obligation on public officials to engage, give evidence and have a duty to offer full and truthful disclosure.

𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭; that immediate victims and survivor support is provided, commissioned by the Home Office (whether or not it is co-commissioned with Oldham Council) with a trusted organisation/s which can offer advice, support, and advocacy through the process and beyond it. This pre-inquiry stage is critical in my view and that of the victims and survivors in my constituency.

𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧; collaborating with victims and survivors in Telford and recognising the experience in Oldham to build a wider support network as Inquiry’s are established elsewhere, and to ensure that the lived experience by those most affected is valued and shared.

𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲; that any official in a position of authority and responsibility found through the Inquiry to have deliberately failed to take action when they should have done, and where the evidence supports it, should be held to account for that failure through formal action by the appropriate body.

𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬; that in addition to taking action on the recommendations of the IICSA (Alexis Jay Inquiry) victims and survivors who have raised further issues can see that they have been acknowledged and acted upon. This may include reviewing criminal offences recorded against victims and survivors during the abuse and exploitation, and the release of offenders back into the community where the abuse and exploitation was carried out.

From talking to victims and survivors in this process, I believe these tests will ensure we seek to right the wrongs of the past, and finally secure a sense of justice and peace for victims of this horrendous abuse.

I would add that there should be a dedicated resource provided, alongside a single point of contact for those victims and survivors who wish for their case to be reviewed criminally during the course of the review.

In the letter, I also recognised the longstanding work of Oldham based KOGS (Keeping our girls safe) who have both lived and professional experience, which has been invaluable to constituents in Oldham. Their input would be instrumental in this process.

This has the opportunity to finally make all victims and survivors of this awful abuse to be heard, listened too and have some semblance of justice provided. We must get it right.

𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁

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

Local charity KOGS (Keeping Our Girls Safe) provides one to one support and can be found at https://kogs.org.uk

Signed a Statutory Instrument (SI) which helps different combined authorities in North Yorkshire, the North East and the East Midlands by transferring some powers over borrowing, economic development and regeneration away from central government; continuing our agenda of ending Westminster centralisation and pushing power closer to people with skin in the game.

Spoke at the Local Government Association’s Annual Parliamentary Reception to thank everyone who makes sure local concerns are heard in all conversations in government. Ultimately, we want to fix local government so it works for communities and can deliver better frontline public services.

The government’s Water Bill completed its passage through Parliament, ready to become law. These reforms will bring tough penalties for law breaking bosses and bring in more infrastructure investment to fix the system, reforms which we worked hard to put together for years as Shadow Environment Secretary and which deliver on another manifesto pledge from July.

Find out how we can help constituents at https://jimmcmahon.co.uk/.