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Oldham Council has quietly rolled out a winter support page that bundles school-closure alerts, gritting updates, and emergency heating help in one place. For parents who have previously scrolled through three different sites before dawn to find out if the gates are open, the change removes a small but draining daily uncertainty.

The same page links directly to housing services, so anyone whose boiler has failed can, without leaving the screen, check whether they qualify for a warm-home grant or request urgent social housing if their landlord has not fixed the heating. Staff say the aim is to stop people giving up because they cannot remember which department does what.

Behind the scenes, the council has merged its winter and cost-of-living menus, meaning the same team that updates road-gritting maps now also refreshes benefit advice. Officers admit the switch has been messy internally, with some phone lines still pointing to old extensions, but they promise all redirects will be straightened out before the first heavy frost.

Residents who tested the page last week reported mixed results. One Shaw mother received a text alert about her child's school within minutes, while a Hollinwood pensioner said the heating-help link sent him in a circle back to the homepage. The council's web team logs each complaint and claims fixes are uploaded overnight.

No extra money has been allocated; the change is purely digital. Whether it actually keeps vulnerable households warmer will depend on how quickly people hear about it and whether the alerts arrive before the ice forms.