Oldham Council

Thank you.

And Mike Barker, Deputy Chief Executive of Oldham Council.

Hi.

Thanks for joining us today to delve into strategic commissioning in more detail.

This absolutely sounds like it's been, uh, written by you.

Bosses at Oldham Council have banned staff from wearing flip-flops and sandals to work, citing health and safety fears.

Health and safety.

That's fantastic, right? They fear people who wear the flimsy footwear are more likely to trip and injure themselves.

Let's go over to the UK where there's a few council stories making news.

Oldham Council is facing possible government intervention after failing for a fourth time to elect a leader.

The local government Chronicle reported that the failed vote will prompt the Chief Executive to write to the Community Secretary.

And officers warn the deadlock may be breaking the law and could see Oldham lose its seats on the Greater Manchester Committees if no leader is chosen by September.

First, Arooj Shah.

So Arooj has twice served as leader of Oldham Council and through that role sat on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority alongside Andy Burnham and other Greater Manchester leaders, including Bev Craig and Paul Dennett.

She's now chair of Labour's National Constitutional Committee and is a close ally of our new Manchester Mayor, Bev Grade.

So she brings both a greater Manchester perspective and an understanding of the wider Labour movement.