War cabinet sets out its help agenda

OLDHAM Council’s credit crunch “war cabinet” has hit the ground running in its fight to help Old-hamers through the recession.

Oldham Council and partner organisations held their first meeting to agree its opening measures in tackling the slump.

The ‘war cabinet’ has pumped an initial £400,000 into a rapid intervention fund to support residents and businesses.

It received information about how the number of people claiming the Job Seekers Allowance benefit is rising, as well as a report on how the Citizen Advice Bureau’s normal waiting list of two weeks has tripled to a worrying six weeks.

It was agreed to fund an additional two members of staff at the Citizen’s Advice Bureau to help reduce this backlog and to provide personal debt and benefits advice.

The funding will enable advisers to work with other partners as part of a team going into local businesses to provide support within the workplace.

Council leader, Counci-llor Howard Sykes, said: “The people of Oldham are right to be concerned about the credit crunch. I would like to reassure residents that we are working with the organisations in the Oldham Partnership on building real support for those who are facing redundancy and the other consequences of the recession.

“Our ‘war cabinet’ will not be a talking shop where nothing is decided. We will bring real support to those that need it in these uncertain times. The steps taken are all about ensuring that people get the advice they need, at the time they need it to prevent them from spiralling into debt.”

The ‘war cabinet’ will be meeting monthly so that it can keep a close watch on how the local economy is performing.