Page 5 - Chadderton Connected - March 2018

Revolution Local News
Council leader “not surprised” by Oldham child poverty stats
The leader of Oldham Council says the statistics showing an area of the town is the worst in England for child poverty aren’t a surprise.
Coldhurst came out as the worst in the country for kids below the poverty line.
Councillor Jean Stretton explains what she thinks is to blame: “A freeze on social security benefits, the rollout of Universal Credit, where Oldham was a pilot area, (and) we’ve seen visitor numbers to the local foodbank rise from 5,500 in 2016 to over 7,000 last year.
“Oldham, unfortunately, is a low-wage, low-skill economy. “For years, there have been significant areas of depravation and unfortunately it’s not going to get better. “Child poverty is a national problem that requires a national solution.”
Number of smokers Oldham and Rochdale highest in Greater Manchester
The number of smokers in Oldham has risen, according to new figures.
Nationally, the level has remained the same - but in our region, it’s gone up from 17 to 19 percent between 2016 and 2017. Along with Rochdale, the town has the highest rate of smokers in Greater Manchester.
Oldham spends £33 per head on smoking-related illnesses - with 2,234 hospital admissions based on smoking in 2016-17. Across Greater Manchester, there were 28,910 smoking-related hospital admissions in the same period.
The data comes from the latest GP Patient Survey, run by Ipsos MORI on behalf of NHS England. Oldham council provides free stop smoking services to try and get more people to quit.
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