Yesterday in Parliament, Munira challenged the Government on failing to properly support children, young people, parents and schools in the Budget. This should have been a children’s Budget, investing in our children and young people and their recovery from the pandemic, rather than prioritising tax breaks for bankers.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a proper catch-up fund, one which includes and prioritises both mental health support for children and young people and extracurricular activities, alongside academic support. This catch-up should include vouchers for parents to spend on their children to support their education in the best possible way.
You can watch Munira’s full contribution in Parliament below:
Commenting on the Government’s lacking approach to education, Munira said:
“This Budget and Spending Review should have been a Children’s Budget, focused on post-pandemic recovery and catch-up.
The additional catch-up funding announced in the Budget amounted to a meagre £1 per pupil per school day, whilst bankers were given a tax cut of £6 per day. The Goverment has only committed to a third of what their own adviser recommended is needed to properly fund our children’s recovery from the pandemic. That’s why schools in my constituency are being forced to increasingly rely on parental donations and fundraising for the essentials. Children are sadly not a priority for this Government. I will continue to press ministers for the additional £10bn of catch up funding our children desperately need, in the same way that I have already been lobbying for local schools’ Covid costs to be fully reimbursed throughout the pandemic.”