A Lib Dem Councillor has hit out at Oldham council for being secretive and needing a change in culture Councillor Garth Harkness has revealed the changes on Oldham Council since being re-elected in 2023 are for the worse. 

Councillor Garth Harkness said “I have significant concerns that residents do not get responses to enquiries from council departments.  Elected members are told to follow the same channels and get the same lack of response.  Members are now having to put in freedom of information requests, which is a shameful indictment on this council’s transparency and accountability”

Councillor Garth Harkness also adds that the situation has got worse recently 

“We were told when the new Labour coalition took over the council we would have more collaborative working. We have seen less. Opposition councillors are banned from certain parts of the building and often don’t get access to information or answers. We find out the Chief Executive is going to Tameside through the press. This is just an example of arrogance of the leadership to exclude elected members”. 

Councillor Garth Harkness called for a review on council communications at Oldham council on 11th September 2024  and suggested some remedies for the way of working which included each department having a dedicated member’s email enquiry inbox and it should be monitored by a senior officer who triages work to the appropriate member of staff.  There should be a guaranteed response time for initial findings and timeframes on future actions.

Despite chasing he is yet to receive a response. 

Councillor Garth Harkness added “It is ironic that the point about not getting responses has not had a response. There has been swarms of senior officers leave Oldham Council. There is a toxic nature to full council meetings. All have a responsibility to act with respect. What we see as opposition councillors is a lack of transparency and culture in an organisation is down to leadership. Rather than troubleshooting other boroughs we need to address the issues in Oldham”.