In this month’s Leicester Mercury column, I talk how we must build a brighter future for our children as we emerge from this pandemic. Education must be top of the agenda. Right now, the Government’s National Tutoring Programme won’t even reach every pupil on Free School Meals, and the extra money for schools to deal with the impact of Covid-19 is a paltry 43 pence per pupil.
Leicester has had the longest lockdown of anywhere in the country. If we want to build a brighter future as we emerge from the virus, we need a long-term strategy backed with proper Government support – not a quick fix done on a shoestring.
This evening I joined Leicester Council of Faiths, faith & civic leaders from across the city, to remember all those who’ve lost their lives during Covid-19.
As we mark one year since the start of the first lockdown I think of all of those who have lost their loved ones and I reflect, both as a MP and as a member of a family, on what we have all been through.
Leicester has been hit especially hard by this virus as our poverty and inequality have made us vulnerable, but together in addressing these problems we will prevail & build a better future for us all.
I recently spoke in a Westminster Hall Debate to mark ‘World Social Work Day 2021’. I thanked the 100,000 social workers in the UK, including the 320 in Leicester, for their hard work, passion and commitment to supporting people in our communities.
Social workers have faced huge additional pressures during the pandemic which have added to the challenges brought about by a decade of cuts to council budgets totalling £8 billion. The Government must better support social workers and the people they support. I talked about 3 important ways it can do this.
First, the Government must act to tackle the disgraceful rates of poverty in our country which mean a staggering 40% of children in parts of Leicester West are growing up poor. We know that most parents in poverty are doing their very best, but for those who are already struggling, poverty can make things so much harder.
Second, the Government must finally act on the unacceptable level of people with learning disabilities and autism living in hospital settings due to a lack of community care.
Finally, over 18 months since he promised he had a plan for fixing adult social care, the PM must now bring forward his proposals for social care reform.
Social workers will know all too well the impact of the Government’s failures in each of these areas. They deserve better.
I’m campaigning for more affordable housing in Leicester West – including building more social housing – and a fair deal for people who are private renters.
I’m campaigning for better services and support for older people, carers and their families, and a sustainable system for funding our NHS and social care in future.
I’m working to help your family by pressing for faster progress in local schools, more improvements in our NHS, and continued investment in children’s early years.
