Oldham Winter Cost-of-Living Support

As we approach the colder months, I know households in Oldham will really feel the effect of the cost-of-living crisis. 14 years of Tory economic mismanagement, slashing of public services, and austerity has made it harder than ever for lower income households to make ends meet.

Change has begun under the Labour Government, but this won’t happen overnight. That is why I want to echo Cllr Arooj Shah; ‘We have a simple message to everyone in Oldham this winter: do not go cold or hungry. Anyone who needs help will receive it.’

This week’s budget prioritised the lowest income households, with policy decisions directed at benefitting them the most. For instance, the extension of the Household Support Fund with the commitment of £1bn new funding will help councils to support those in need with the cost of essentials like food, energy, and water. There is also the Warm Homes discount currently available with an additional payment of £150 for low-income households.

Specific to Oldham, it is great news that the Council has secured a support package worth nearly £2.5m to be able to provide payments to people who can’t afford to heat their homes, food vouchers to families who have children eligible for free school meals over Christmas, and local community groups will be given resources to help people.

I know many constituents are also worried about losing the winter fuel payment. Firstly, I would urge all pensioners in Oldham to check if they are entitled to pension credit and the winter fuel payment. 3,200 people in Oldham alone are not claiming what they are currently entitled to meaning there is as much as £7.8m still waiting to be distributed. Secondly, if you are just above the threshold and are worried about the cost-of-living this winter, don’t hesitate to contact my office or the council for assistance.

Support is available, please use it and get in touch if you are struggling in any way.

How the Budget will provide more Good Jobs

The Budget has been about tough decisions, but also about Labour choices, Labour values, and the Labour ambition to protect working people. We have kept our manifesto commitment not to increase income tax, VAT, or employee national insurance. Working people will not fit the bill for the £22bn Tory black hole.

In Oldham we have a higher employment rate than the national average, as well as it being over 2% higher than the rest of the North-West.

The National Living Wage will rise to £12.21 per hour, and there will be a 16.3% wage increase for 18–21-year-olds. More than 7000 people will directly benefit from this in Oldham alone.

My pledge if re-elected was to prioritise good jobs for the people of Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton. A key step to making this happen is by ensuring work pays and people feel the benefit in their pocket.

The party of working people, on the side of working people.

Statement on UNRWA

Many constituents have made representations on the conflict in the Middle East and the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza as the issue continues to be grave for so many civilians including innocent children.

The news that the Israeli Knesset has voted to effectively ban the UNWRA from administering aid into Gaza is deeply troubling and sets a dangerous precedent. It opposes the UN Charter and will put more lives needlessly in danger.

Israel must allow the safe and free passage of aid into Gaza to stop more innocents needlessly dying in this conflict. This decision should be reversed immediately; there is no alternative to the UNWRA when it comes to the scale and pace of delivery of aid they can provide.

The last Labour government restored funding to the UNWRA, they provide essential and life saving humanitarian aid and basic services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and throughout the region. With this work being barred from taking place, many more lives could be lost in the aftermath without the support the UNWRA provides.

The move jeopardises the entire international effort for a ceasefire, to save lives and get the hostages out of Gaza safely.

We stand with our international allies in urging the Israeli Government to reverse this decision in the name of saving lives and finding a resolution to this conflict.

£500 million more to fix local roads

We pledged in our manifesto to fix a million more potholes a year, this announcement of £500 million will mean we will exceed that commitment.

Potholes on Britain’s roads are a sign of the decline we suffered under the Tories. But Labour’s changes will rebuild and modernise our country’s transport infrastructure.

Doing so will ease the cost-of-living, increase efficiency for businesses, and deliver on my priority of decent homes for the people of Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton more widely by improving neighbourhood streets.

What the Budget Means for You

Today we prioritised making the right decisions for working people.

This is what the Budget will mean for Britain and for you👇

✅ No increase on National Insurance, VAT, or Income Tax

✅ No return to austerity

✅ National living wage increase of 6.7% rising to £12.21 per hour

✅ Compensation schemes for victims of the infected blood and post office horizon scandals

✅ Funding to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day

✅ Households on the lowest incomes benefitting the most from policy decisions

✅ £1bn for the Household Support Fund

✅ £3.4bn for the Warm Homes Plan

✅ Biggest increase to the Carers Allowance since its creation in 1976

✅ 2 million extra NHS operations, scans, and appointments every year

✅ £1.4bn to rebuild 500 schools

✅ £30m for free breakfast clubs

✅ Significant investment into our railways and bus networks

✅ £500m to fix local roads and fill in potholes

✅ Investing up to £2.3bn in prison expansion

✅ Cheaper pints in pubs

✅ The largest settlements in the history of devolution

Stability over chaos.

Budget 2024

Today’s budget is the first step in rebuilding Britain and achieving economic stability after 14 years of Tory chaos. We have made our ambition clear: fix the foundations, invest in our future, and deliver on the promise of change.

We can’t underestimate the scale of Tory chaos; an NHS on its knees with record waiting times, schools falling apart meaning children missing out on the greatest start in life, and councils neglected with no funding or support.

This budget turns the page on chaos.

🌹 Investment into our NHS with the largest funding increase since 2010, a £22.6bn increase in day-to-day spending, and the delivery of 2 million extra operations, scans, and appointments every year.

🌹 £1.4bn to rebuild 500 schools, £30m to provide free breakfast clubs, and a £1bn uplift in funding for SEND provision.

🌹 Uplift and support to every council so that they can provide the essential services that we all rely on.

A Labour Government promised change. Today we are delivering it.

GB Energy will drive-up living standards and create good jobs for local people

I prioritised good jobs for local people at the election, and the GB Energy Bill, which has its third reading today in Commons, is one way in which we are delivering more decent and well-paid jobs.

It will create a new publicly owned, clean power company to lower bills and drive-up living standards for people in Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton – which is vital because despite the fact energy bills are now coming down, they are still roughly 42% higher than before the Tory cost-of-living crisis.

We are changing Britain. We are turning away from 14 years of chaos and decline; and turning towards the lowest inflation in over 3 years, £24 billion of private investment being secured for clean energy projects, £22 billion being invested in carbon capture in our northern industrial heartlands.

Our decade of national renewal is well underway.

Answering Parliamentary Questions as Minister

With multi-year funding settlements and the ending of wasteful bidding processes, our Labour government is creating the structures to put councils like Oldham across the country on a sure financial footing for the long-term.

Children’s services both fall below standards people rightly expect while also increasingly are driving the funding pressures councils are facing across the country.

In Oldham, there has been a borough-wide increase in demand for children services of 50% with 500-600 referrals each week. I commend the work done locally to achieve a “Good” Ofsted judgement across all areas of its Children’s Services in Oldham, but councils like Oldham of all stripes across the country are all in desperate need of support.

It’s not for communities to navigate a broken system, instead we need to re-wire the state so that it works for people. The Labour government knows this and we are working hard to address the problems we have inherited.