Why did shared council plan fail?

“Very bad day for Oldham”, claims Sykes
OLDHAM Council’s Labour leaders will face searching questions after pulling out of plans to share a management team with Rochdale.

Lib-Dem councillors won’t be able to raise the issue at tonight’s full council meeting as a paper on the proposal is set to be withdrawn following the decision.

But Lib-Dem leader Councillor Howard Sykes said questions will be asked at the two council’s next joint advisory committee meeting instead.

Proposals to share a chief executive and management as part of joint working that aims to save at least £20 million were dramatically dropped earlier this week.

Councillor Sykes has blasted the decision as a wasted opportunity and wants to know how intended savings will now be made.

He said: “We need some written details on why it’s fallen apart and who is to blame.

“Labour, after only a few months in charge of both Oldham and Rochdale councils, have failed to do a deal that could have protected frontline services while making a significant contribution to the savings both councils need to make over the next two to three years.

“This was the most obvious and beneficial way to find a huge chunk of the massive savings, which would have been achieved by sharing management, sharing human resources and reducing duplication.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that this is a very bad day for Oldham Council, its staff and the citizens of this borough.”

But Labour leader Councillor Jim McMahon insisted only a small amount of money would have been saved and the councils will press ahead with sharing services, adding: “Having a joint chief executive and management would not save a significant amount of money and there’s a desire for Oldham and Rochdale to have that management support.

“We will still continue with the service review. The joint advisory committee will continue to review each business case. The assumption is we will share unless there’s a reason not to.

“There was never an agreement to share a chief executive. We agreed to look at it to see if it was in the interests of the two boroughs. We only anticipated marginal savings.”

He added that the two councils have a good track record on joint working, such as the recent street lighting contract, and the council has 20 different areas where it teams up with other authorities across Greater Manchester.

Rochdale Council leader Councillor Colin Lambert said: “Although we have come to the conclusion that proposals for a shared management team and timescales proposed by the consultants would have been challenging to achieve we will continue to review services.”