New analysis suggests Oldham Council is seeing less money from the government despite being hard-hit by Covid-19

Liberal Democrat Councillor Howard Sykes

A breakdown of the analysis in The Independent shows that Oldham has lost £1.1 million pounds worth of funding despite it being among the 10 areas of England with the highest rates of coronavirus infections.

More than £100 million of public money has been diverted away from Councils in the bottom half of the English deprivation index.

Some believe it is a political move from the Conservatives as the 10 richest area, which are all controlled by the party, have seen a funding boost. 

Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Opposition leader on Oldham Council, is appalled at the new analysis. He said:

“The cash was supposed to be for fighting Covid-19. Our communities need this money, our area is already struggling badly.”  

“I commend bravery and hard-working nature of local people. However, Oldham needs the financial support! We cannot do without it.”

Despite the hardships with funding, the leader of Oldham Council says they're doing everything they can to support the borough. 

The council now has an extra £3 million for the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund which small businesses who weren't eligible for the last round of funding can now apply for.

Sean Fielding said that even if the £3 million isn't enough, they will consider dipping into their own funds:

"If we get more applications than the new funding can finance, we need to consider each application on a case-by-case basis, and look at whether it is appropriate to use some of our own funding to support business and the economy in the borough"

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