Lib Dems Fighting For £100k More to Tackle Child Poverty in MK

The Liberal Democrat Group on Milton Keynes Council are proposing a £100,000 amendment to the 2021/22 budget to help tackle child poverty.

The Liberal Democrats have been consistently campaigning on the issue of child hunger and poverty, having originally called for the Child Poverty Commission to be set up back in 2019.

Last year they launched a free school meals campaign, writing an open letter to Milton Keynes MPs Ben Everitt and Iain Stewart, and brought a successful motion to Council which gained cross party support.

Now that the Child Poverty Commission has produced its report, Liberal Democrat Councillor Jane Carr wants this money to be used to make sure the recommendations don't get swept under the carpet.

The proposed amendment suggests £35,000 go toward progressing the Council's Poverty Strategy, and £30,000 to setting up Homework Plus, community-based homework clubs that provide a meal to children.

It also has £35,000 for positive activity sessions through Children's Centres. These sessions include physical exercise and group activities to build resilience and strengthen purpose amongst parents and children in material need.

Councillor Carr, who also Chairs the Children & Young People Scrutiny Committee, said: "It is imperative that now we have the recommendations from the Commission, we ensure the work gets done, not like in previous years when recommendations were ignored." "We have 22,940 children in Milton Keynes are in poverty after housing costs are considered. We have a duty, and moral obligation, to help them" concluded Councillor Carr.