Chief Minister Alf Cannan has insisted the government is determined to tackle child poverty, despite watering down proposals for a “breakfast club” provision across all schools.
Cannan said: “The Council of Ministers is committed to tackling poverty, improving life chances and ensuring every child and young person on our Island has the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their circumstances.”
A report into poverty recommended the Education Department should “ensure consistent access to affordable early morning meal provision across all schools” and report back to Tynwald within a year.
But a CoMin amendment saw that changed to say the department should “review” the cost and feasibility of such a plan and give a progress report within 12 months, “noting that any cost or resource implications required to implement this would be subject to Treasury concurrence”.
Cannan said the government “supports the principle of breakfast provision and recognises the benefits it can bring to children and families”.
But he added: “Extending the provision across all schools would involve important practical and financial considerations.”
Breaking the Poverty Cycle
Tynwald last week debated the full report by the Tynwald Select Committee on Poverty, which focussed on child poverty and the education and health solutions.
Committee member, Douglas East MHK Joney Faragher, said: “Poverty can affect children’s health, development, educational attainment and later opportunities.”
Children who grew up in poverty were more likely to experience poverty as adults, she said, “perpetuating an inter-generational cycle that decades of research can show to be extremely difficult to break without sustained intervention”.
Education was seen as the “most powerful” route for intervention.
“Academic achievement is the strongest predictor of whether a child from a disadvantaged background will achieve financial security as an adult,” she said.
“Breaking the link between childhood poverty and adult poverty begins in the classroom.”
The report’s 26 recommendations sought to “narrow the attainment gap, strengthen early intervention, join up support for children and families and ensure that opportunities to learn remain available beyond compulsory education”.
Faragher said the committee was happy to support CoMin’s amendments to nine of the recommendations.
Cost Implications
Cannan said: “These amendments contain the spirit of the committee’s recommendations whilst ensuring that the commitments are, I hope, realistic and achievable.
“The amendments are not intended to diminish the importance of the issues raised by the committee. They are intended to ensure the amendments aimed to ensure the resolutions approved are realistic, deliverable and aligned with proper governance.”
He added: “This is not a barrier to progress. It is how government ensures that commitments are sustainable and that Tynwald is not being asked to approve actions that Treasury cannot fund.”
Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Tim Glover welcomed the report but said: “The future government must move from agreement in principle to delivery in practice.”
Tynwald voted in favour of the recommendations as amended.
The Council of Ministers’ amendments are in the accompanying picture, and you can read the select committee report on child poverty, including the original recommendations, here:
