The current Conservative Government needs to do a lot more to help the 25% of children living in poverty in Bradford South, which equates to over 7,000 children. Across Bradford, the figure is 21.8%.
Judith condemned the Government's record on child poverty during a speech at Parliament during a debate on the Children’s Future Food inquiry report.
The report recognised that what children eat during the day has a direct impact on their concentration and performance in school. The evidence also showed that children bringing their own food, rather than receiving school dinners, are significantly less likely to be eating a balanced diet.
Judith Cummins MP comments: “Food poverty is holding our children back from achieving their potential. In Bradford South, this is having a devastating impact on the life chances of children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Every child should be given a healthy diet, regardless of how wealthy their parents are, as this will help them secure the education that will give them the best chance to succeed in life.
“To achieve the goal of removing child food poverty, this Tory Government needs to take a much more proactive approach than we have seen from them over the past 9 years. For starters, we should be expanding free school meals and the Healthy Start voucher scheme, both of which provide struggling families with the support they need to give their children a healthy diet. It’s a stain on our country that child poverty rates have increased so much, and while this is unlikely to change under the Conservatives, we must do what we can to ensure that children do not go hungry.”
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