What does Oldham's budget mean for me? From higher parking fees to potholes and parks

Oldham council has approved its budget – setting out the borough’s spending priorities for the year. The heated town hall, which was interrupted by a protester, saw decisions on council tax rises and a roster of ‘difficult’ budget cuts decided upon. 

Leaders have had to find a way to plug a £30m budget gap while balancing the needs of residents and the cost of services – including bin collections, childrens’s and adult services and housing. 

But what do the decisions mean for Oldham’s residents? 

Local authorities across the country are struggling to balance the books amid years of government cuts and spiralling demand for social services and housing. 

Council boss Arooj Shah said the town was ‘not immune’ to spiralling prices, inflation and high energy prices, which have had a ‘toxic impact on the budget position of councils like Oldham’. 

“There’s no more fat to trim,” Coun Shah said, “This budget is about meeting the needs of residents who need it the most.”

Here is breakdown of the decisions that will impact Oldhamers…

Council tax

Council tax will go up by the maximum possible – 4.99 per cent – in April, with households having to pay an extra £130 more per year on average.  

The rise will see the households in band A pay £74 more a year; band B £86; band C £98; band D £111; band E £136; band F £160; band G £185; and band H £222. 

Social housing rent

There will also be an 8pc rise in social housing rent. The average rent will go up by £7.54 per week (from £97.98 to £105.52). 

“It is assumed that the proposed increase in rents will not represent an unmanageable additional financial burden to tenants,” council papers say.

Officers believe that Housing Benefit or Universal Credit coupled with the recent rise in Local Housing Allowance means ‘part or all of the increase will be covered by tenant’s benefits’. 

Optional concierge charges for social housing will also go up by 2pc. 

Fees and charges, including parking

The budget also sets out new charges for certain council services like issuing birth, death and marriage certificates, registry office fees and car parking. Fees will go up by almost 9pc on average. 

Annual on-street parking waivers will go up by £29 to a total of £359. The parking charge rises are largely focussed on longer stays. 

Parking at Bradshaw car park for more than five hours will set you back an extra 50p. Longer stays at Roscoe Road, Hobson Street or the new Radcliffe Street car park will cost an additional 30p. 

Parks and highways

The council is cutting 35 environmental services posts. Most of these positions are already vacant or are staffed by more expensive agencies. 

The cuts could make a difference to how effectively the town hall can maintain the state of its parks. 

Highways staff will also see four posts removed – 10pc of the overall workforce. They’re responsible for maintaining roads, dealing with potholes and managing floods. 

Again, some of these are already vacant due to a national shortage of skilled workers in this area. 

Loss of outreach program 

The doorstep engagement team within the council has helped reach thousands of people who are struggling with the cost of living crisis but don’t feel they can reach out for help. The service was recently praised in an independent local authority review for the important work they do.

But unfortunately, the new budget will see this service slashed. The contract for the service was due to end at the end of March and will not be renewed. 

Smaller social work teams

The plans include removing 20 frontline social workers over the next two years. 

The move follows a big boost in the number of social workers employed last year to reduce caseloads on individuals.

While the council has made assurance the cuts would be made in a “staggered” and “safe” way. But there is a risk it could leave some experienced case workers responsible for 30 kids at a time, which it described as ‘unsustainable’.

The council argued that the cuts will come alongside other initiatives to reform the children’s care service in Oldham, including establishing three council-owned children’s homes.

But overall spending on adult social care and children’s services will increase

With demand spiralling, the council has no choice but to increase spending so they can provide vital services to “support the most vulnerable members of the community”, according to Cllr Shah. 

The council is also investing in projects they hope will reduce the price of the services in the long term. Currently, the council is having to fork out for inflated private children’s care as they do not have their own provisions. 

So they are looking to buy three children’s homes in the next few years. 

But Cllr Sam Al-Hamdani, part of the Lib Dem opposition, noted at the meeting that progress was frustratingly slow. He said: “We were promised a children’s home last year and here we are again.”  

Cuts to council management

In total the council will be cutting almost a hundred full time positions from the council payroll. This includes three executive positions – the highest paid employees at the local authority – and part of their communications team. 

Coun Shah noted: “We took a top down approach to cutting from our staff.” 

This could mean that remaining executives are left sharing large workloads between a smaller group of people – possibly leading to less responsive council services further down the line. But the council has previously argued it will introduce a “flattened structure” to ensure basic services are still delivered in the same way.