In this morning’s Times Red Box, I’ve written about how government needs to be much clearer with its message to commuters and the transport sector at large.

In the midst of a public health crisis government advice must be clear and coherent, and when we look at the bus sector that is simply not the case. Government should have issued guidelines weeks ago to keep these vital key workers safe.

We must all work together to keep each other safe, but we need to hear more from government on the vital role transport will play and how it will secure the financial future of the sector so we can get people moving again.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/…/commuters-will-need-to-mind-th…

The coronavirus has fundamentally changed our way of life, not just in the short term but how we live. We owe our transport workers and other key workers a great debt, they have kept the country moving in the most difficult of circumstances.

But thanks and praise are not enough; we also need the Government to come up with a realistic plan of what life outside the lockdown looks like.

Clearly, public health is paramount. We must be led by the science, but that advice must be transparent so we can test the political decisions that flow from it. If the evidence shows that social distancing is the right way forward at least in the medium term, as it surely is, then the Government must ensure our public transport services get the financial support they need to continue to operate. Each sector will be different, but they will share a common challenge; keeping services running and keeping afloat, while keeping people safe.

For example, the Government isn’t providing anywhere near enough support for locally owned and operated metro, Underground and light rail networks. Councils are crying out for a more substantial package to make up for the losses they are incurring. And we have to ensure that money doesn’t go into the pockets of shareholders, but is put back in to the running of these services.

 Labour called for the lockdown and we continue to support it. But the Government has not always provided clear, accurate and timely guidance.

Take buses as an example. The fact that different operators have diverging views on the best approach is confusing. It is imperative that the Government publishes and publicises clear guidance for operators, Mayors and drivers. It should provide answers to key questions, such as whether drivers should be handling cash, whether deposit boxes should be installed to receive coins, or whether there should now be a total ban on using cash on buses completely. We need to know if drivers and support staff should be issued with gloves, masks, and other PPE items as standard and, if so, what specification this PPE should be and how it will be distributed to the frontline quickly and efficiently.

On our trains and light rail services, the Government must be clear about the kind of social distancing needed and how any staggered usage would work in practice. If this happens then we need to know whether there should be different charges for peak and off peak, or if this would just incentivise too many people to take the first train after the peak, or whether peak time restrictions should be suspended completely.

It seems clear that the fragmentation of our rail and bus networks has exacerbated the problem, hindering the flow of information from the Government down to drivers, and from the frontline back up to officials and ministers. Labour has proposed a national operators’ forum consisting of Government ministers, operators, and unions.

We are living through unprecedented and challenging times. The onus is on all of us to keep each other safe. But as we emerge from the lockdown, however slowly, we need to hear more from the Government about the vital role transport will play and how it will put the sector back on a secure financial footing so we can get people and our country moving again.

Today marks 75 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe. Today is Victory in Europe Day.

On the 8th of May 1945 the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender. It was a time where many across Europe celebrated peace at last. In the UK millions of people took to the streets in jubilation that after nearly six years of war the battle was nearly over.

We must not forget the horrors of Nazism, and the millions of innocent people murdered. The Holocaust remains the gravest human rights abuse in the history of mankind, and we must never allow anything like that to happen again.

We must remember those who went to fight in this war for us and celebrate their contribution. As much as people were celebrating the end of the war back in 1945, they were celebrating that they were finally able to look forward to a peaceful life and to rebuilding after so many years of devastation.

Under usual circumstances we would be celebrating today in a similar manner, when I was a kid, I remember the street parties we used to have. Where neighbours would hang out bunting and Union flags, we would enjoy food and each other’s company.

But you know as well as I do that today can’t be celebrated like a normal VE Day, Covid-19 and the pandemic we face means we must change the way we celebrate. I’m sure up and down Oldham, Chadderton and Royton there’ll be some inventive ways of celebrating VE Day as a community together whilst remaining sensible.

Whether it’s just by putting a poster that you found online up in the window, or it’s sitting down and making one with the kids to display. Or you might even be holding a virtual street party with your neighbours and friends.

Whatever it is that you’re doing to mark VE Day, let’s reflect and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who returned home as heroes, so that we can live in peace today and enjoy the life that we do.

Let us remember our generational responsibility to commit to a world of peace, unity and harmony.

We’ll meet again

On the 28th of April every year we commemorate International Workers’ Memorial Day, we come together to remember those who have died in the workplace. The theme for #IWMD20 is ‘Stop the Pandemic in the Workplace.’ 

This year is especially pertinent for many of us as the risk that many of our key front line workers are putting themselves in is greater than anytime in most of our lifetimes. The fight against this virus has shown that workers rights and health & safety in the workplace are critical to health and safety of our country, but too many workers are still working in situations where they don’t have the proper Personal Protective Equipment or without vital safety measures in place. 

The Coronavirus has meant that we are all working in unique and sometimes uncomfortable circumstances, it has affected every single worker in this country one way or another. Not only is the pandemic having a major impact on our working conditions, it is also taking its toll on our physical well-being and our mental-health too, causing people to worry about theirs and their family’s health and financial wellbeing.

At 11am today let us fall silent for those who have lost their lives at work and those who have died from work-related injuries. 

It will be a moment where we can pay tribute to the workers who have sadly lost their lives as a result of Covid-19 and pay thanks to those who continue to work at great risk to themselves and their family. 

Let us remember the tens of thousands of workers worldwide who have died, the thousands more who have fallen ill, and the millions more who continue to go to work. Let us renew our efforts to organise collectively to prevent injuries, disease and deaths as a result of work.

We remember those we have lost. We organise in their memory.

Jim McMahon (Oldham West and Royton) and Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) are set to hold a webinar for businesses based in Oldham and Saddleworth on Friday 1^st May. Over the last few weeks the two MPs Offices have been inundated with businesses seeking support, so in combination with the Business Growth Hub the two MPs are coming together to answer queries that business leaders across the borough still have.

The pair will be joined by Phil Hargreaves and Darren Flannery, Head of Access to Finance and Oldham Account Manager at the Business Growth Hub respectively – who are tasked with helping local companies access funding and support schemes at this difficult time, and John Townsend – Chartered Accountant and Managing Partner of Brandsons Accountants, who is usually providing those in the public and private sector with expert advice and guidance.

To ensure the event runs smoothly they are asking those who wish to participate to RSVP by 12pm on Tuesday 28th April and to include any specific questions you may have to make sure we can provide the best possible answers. To RSVP please email jack.bailey@parliament.uk by the deadline.

We’re now in the middle of what has been an extended lockdown, it’s covered Easter, it’s covered the school half-term and I know it’s been extremely difficult for many people.

Today we celebrate St. George’s Day, the Patron Saint of England and of course very a important day in the Christian calendar and I think the one thing that really stands out about this green and pleasant land are the people who live here.

The very people have been working on the frontline putting their own lives at risk quite often to make sure that we are cared for, that our country, our nation can continue to continue.

We know that this will be very difficult too for our Muslim friends, who will be opening Ramadan when they used to be in contact within the Mosque, within their community, seeing close family and this will be a change for them too, and they’ve adapted fantastically well.

We don’t know how long it’s going to go on for, thankfully it appears as though the line is beginning to flatten. And although that represents a huge number of fatalities still, it’s hopeful maybe that we are getting to the point where we can stabilise it, but that also means that we all have to do our bit, and play our part and that means that none of us despite the temptation, despite the frustration and the loneliness sometimes of being in self-isolation, to break the social distancing rules that have been set out because it’s through those rules and us all making sure that we look after ourselves and one another that we stop the spread of the virus.

And if we do that and we’re all playing our part it means that that the economy has the best possible chance of being able to recover after the lockdown has ended, but also that we don’t get a second or third burst of the virus outbreak as well.

So let’s all play our part, lets celebrate today if you’re celebrating St. George’s Day  or if you’re opening Ramadan today or if you’re just wanting to celebrate the fact that even in very difficult circumstances our country is showing the very best of itself, where people are coming forward in frontline services and through volunteering.

And finally for me, I just want to say thank you to my office staff, the people in the background who you probably don’t often see, are the people who are working really hard like many frontline workers to make sure the people get the support and advice and guidance that they need in what has been extremely stressful circumstances for many people in Oldham West and Royton so to them thank you. To our frontline workers thank you so much for all you’re doing to keep our country going in difficult circumstances, and we can all play a part in making sure that would beat the virus together.

We were told to do what was needed to tackle #Covid_19, so we have. We expected to be reimbursed these costs but Government's language has changed, throwing this in to doubt.

Costs to @OldhamCouncil could be up to £46m. So far we've had £7.6m. My letter to @10DowningStreet 👇 pic.twitter.com/PHtQ9qmIB3

— Sean Fielding (@cllrsfielding) April 18, 2020

Oldham West and Royton’s Jim McMahon MP has given his support to a letter Oldham Council Leader Cllr Sean Fielding has sent to the Prime Minister. The letter comes after the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick seemed to walk back on his earlier comments that councils should spend whatever was needed and seemed to raised the issue of councils “burden sharing”.

“Originally the message from central government was to do what was necessary to keep residents safe and healthy, and it’s obvious that Oldham Council and others across the country would do that. They needed to do whatever it took to fight this virus, and now to be told that the money might not be coming would be disastrous for Councils.”

“It’s time for central government to honour the commitment councils took in good faith at the time of a national crisis. They are on the front line of this crisis, providing key public services across the board and doing their best to protect their residents.”

“Oldham Council’s budget has already been massively depleted since 2010, it’ll be impossible for them to carry on as is if they’re not reimbursed for the money they have to spend on the coronavirus crisis.”

I’ve been concerned that thousands of children could miss out on this scheme because they don’t have a qualifying chain supermarket nearby.

Smaller retail shops like, the Co-op or local convenience stores, are a lifeline to so many families across the country and it feels like a monumental mistake to leave them out of this scheme. The Co-op exists to do social good, in our country’s hour of need we should be utilising all of the tools at our disposal to help those in need. And not including discount stores like Aldi and Lidl, where so many people now do their regular family shop is beggars’ belief.

It’s unreasonable to expect families to make multiple trips to multiple different supermarkets in order to do their regular shop and then to redeem the FSM vouchers, when government is telling us to leave the house as little as possible.

I’ve been liaising with the Department for Education about the hole in their scheme since it was announced, and it looks like there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel.

Last week I was informed that the DfE are close to coming to an arrangement to expand the scheme, so it should not be long before this mistake has been rectified.

Since I posted this on Facebook I’ve had a number of constituents come to me expressing concerns that they cannot get access to the Edenred website and that there are issues with generating codes for the vouchers, this is deeply worrying – especially after the website went down for a few days at the start of last week. If you’ve been affected by this please do not hesitate to let me know.

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep banging this drum, we take our social care workers for granted. And right now we can’t afford to be doing that. We need to make sure that Covid-19 doesn’t spread like wildfire in care homes.

The easiest way to do that is to make sure those working in these settings have the proper personal protective equipment to make sure they protect themselves and they protect the vulnerable people they’re providing much needed care for.

Our care workers need to feel safe whilst they’re providing this vital public service, so they should be provided with the very best equipment. In the end we’ll all benefit from the extra precaution, so it makes sense to do everything we can to stop the spread.

I’ve raised the issue of PPE in care-homes a number of times over the last week in discussions with local and regional leaders, I’m grateful for the work that’s being done on the ground but I remain concerned by reports that deliveries arriving are just a tenth of what’s needed.

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/nobody-knows-how-many-people-18092421?fbclid=IwAR22x-kcyvCPqE0InHMt1LyX2gXHrhqrkfSP-RgHBRLzXC0T3O8quv-PfEw