SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan has criticised a lackadaisical and tin-eared response from the Minister of Education, Paul Givan following a request to establish a holiday hunger payment for low-income households over the summer holiday.
Responding to an Assembly Question tabled by Mr Durkan, Minister Givan stated it was for the Executive to address the issue of food poverty within the context of the Anti-Poverty Strategy
Said the Foyle MLA: “It’s appalling that food insecurity remains a reality for some families here and even more appalling that the current Education Minister is attempting to evade responsibility.
“95,000 children are living in poverty in the North – the majority of whom have at least one parent in work. Foodbank usage is at a record high. The decision to cut hunger holiday support in the current climate was utterly senseless.
“Previous research from the Department of Education highlighted the value of this grant, it also recognised the disproportionate impact cuts would have on pupils with a disability.
“Despite the evidence for its retention, the Minister’s response to my request, which I submitted in May, is an absurd attempt to deny any responsibility for the position so many families currently find themselves.
“The events of the last few years have left communities here primed for poverty.
“The pandemic and cost of living crisis have wrought havoc across these islands but the lack of an Executive, thanks to the actions of the Minister’s own party has left children here in a much more vulnerable position.
“We’ve been waiting 20 years for the Anti-poverty ‘cure-all’ the Minister refers to. While it’s important this strategy is delivered, immediate intervention is required to undo the damage of Tory austerity policy which this Executive sleepwalked in to.
“93,000 children here entitled to school meals are missing out on this lifeline but that figure is much, much higher when we consider the many working families not entitled to support but still every bit as vulnerable, if not more so.
“The lackadaisical, almost arrogant response from the Minister is an insult.
“And while I commend every community organisation and local café who have stepped up to the plate to deliver free meals due to the failure of this government; this is not their responsibility.
“It’s a disgrace that the Executive created a society where foodbanks are a necessity, it’s their duty to undo that reality.”
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