Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid has signed signed and delivered a letter to the Prime Minister calling for urgent investment in young people.
The letter was hand-delivered to Downing Street this week and signed by MPs and councillors from across England, including Warrington North MP Helen Jones and Leader of Warrington Borough Council Russ Bowden.
It claimed those from disadvantaged backgrounds in particular were paying a heavy price for austerity and demanded that Theresa May use her last weeks in office to leave a parting gift for children’s services.
The event was also attended by key Shadow Cabinet member Andrew Gwynne along with a number of opposition MPs. Additional signatories to the letter include heavyweight Labour figures Hilary Benn, Angela Rayner and Mayor of Sheffield City Region Dan Jarvis.
The letter was delivered at the height of exam season for tens of thousands of teenagers, highlighting that many children will have been unable to access libraries and youth centres in preparation for GCSEs and A-Level exams – due to severe cuts to these vital support services and over 1,400 closures nationwide.
In delivering the letter, signatories are urging the Prime Minister to address the £8bn funding gap which councils continue to face by 2025, and to use her remaining time in office to deliver a parting gift aimed at supporting social mobility, which Theresa May has been reportedly considering.
Many of the letter signatories included MPs and councillors from some of the most deprived communities in the UK. In these constituencies, the effect of cuts to council services has meant many councils have had no choice but to cut services at every level, including libraries, youth services and community centres.
Faisal said:” I delivered a letter to Number 10 Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister to urgently end cuts to services for children and young people.
“According to Government statistics, 3.7 million children in the UK live in absolute poverty. Children in poverty are more likely to live in an overcrowded home with no space to study. Children in poverty are less likely to have access to computers. Children in poverty are more likely to have additional burdens as carers.
“For these children, access to services such as libraries with computers and study spaces, and access to youth or community centres which often provide a respite from both home and school are all vital to their educational success.
“Yet councils continue to face an £8bn funding gap by 2025 – with cuts to the most deprived areas at least twice as deep as those to the most affluent. This is an absolute disgrace.
“The Prime Minister must act now. This year must be the last year that children pay the price for austerity. No investment in our children and young people means no future for our communities.”
1 Comment
Perhaps he could suggest a fifty percent cut in expenses to cover the cost instead of the near 2 per cent rise recently awarded to our councillors.