Extract from Opposition day debate on Free School Meals: Summer Holidays - June 16
Wednesday, 17 June 2020 08:50
Rebecca Long Bailey (Salford and Eccles) (Lab):...But now that
there is a consensus emerging on the damage that child poverty does
to the outcome of our children’s lives, I ask Members to truly
address these issues. The two-child cap on child benefit and the
five-week delay to the first payment of universal credit are
cruelly blighting the lives of children and their families. Will
Members now pressure the Government to address decimated school and
local authority budgets and the closure of...Request free trial
(Salford and Eccles)
(Lab):...But now that there is a consensus emerging on the damage
that child poverty does to the outcome of our children’s lives, I
ask Members to truly address these issues. The two-child cap on
child benefit and the five-week delay to the first payment of
universal credit are cruelly blighting the lives of children and
their families. Will Members now pressure the Government to address
decimated school and local authority budgets and the closure of
Sure Start centres? Will Members’ concerns on these issues be
heightened now? Last month, a survey by the National Education
Union told harrowing tales of children
without coats and with ill-fitting, ripped shoes; children who were
tired and thin; children with mental health issues unable to get
help; children with bed bug infestations and rats in their homes.
It is no surprise that these children often find it more difficult
to learn, and no surprise that during lockdown they are likely to
have fallen further behind than their peers. It is no surprise that
over 1 million of these children do not even have access to a
digital device...
|
