Council services go into holiday mode

COUNCIL services will be scaled down between Christmas and New Year to save money.

For the third year running, many facilities offered to the public will be pared back with just emergency services, such as council house repairs and social care, remaining open.

The services affected — and details of emergency contact telephone numbers — are outlined in a series of advertisements in local press and on the council website at www.oldham.gov.uk  

Refuse collections will carry on as normal and people should put bins out on their usual days.

Oldham Council staff are required to take three days out of their annual leave entitlement allowance (on December 29-31) to enable the closures to take place.

Councillor Lynne Thompson, cabinet member for finance and resources, said: “This is the third year we have operated the Christmas closure scheme and it has proved very successful to date.

“The public should be relatively unaffected as this is traditionally a very quiet time for the core services we provide to residents.

“However, it is important now that service users familiarise themselves with these arrangements.

“They should be aware that many of our usual services will be shut, and that they should only contact us in a genuine emergency situation.

“All employees were again notified that they needed to take three days’ leave from their normal annual entitlement for this purpose. This makes sound economic sense for council tax payers, having saved the authority an estimated £77,000 last year over the three days. I would like to reassure citizens that we have again planned this year’s closure in thorough detail to ensure that — if and when emergencies occur — the necessary staff and resources are available to cope and provide assistance.”

Further details can be viewed at Oldham Council’s website at www.oldham.gov.uk/christmas_hours