• Lib Dems force crunch vote on free school meals as 200,000 children miss out
• Pharmacies: Government has left a “question mark” over support and now consequences “painfully apparent”
• 51,100 violent incidents directed at NHS staff since 2019
• New Social Attitudes Survey shows overwhelming support for assisted dying

Lib Dems force crunch vote on free school meals as 200,000 children miss out

New Liberal Democrat analysis estimates that over 230,000 children eligible for free school meals are not receiving the food they’re entitled to, though the true figure could be much higher – as the party prepares to push a key vote in Parliament to bring free school meals to over a million children.

New analysis by the Liberal Democrats has suggested that at least 230,000 children eligible for school meals may not be enrolled to receive the benefit. Combined with the Child Poverty Action Group’s estimate that 900,000 children in poverty are not eligible for free school meals, this figure would bring the number of total vulnerable children in England not receiving free lunches to over 1 million.

On Tuesday, Liberal Democrats will force MPs to vote on auto-enrolling eligible children for free school meals. They will also table a vote on raising the income threshold for free school meal eligibility to £20,000.

The number of eligible children not claiming meals could be far higher than the 230,000 estimated figure. Shockingly, the last Government analysis of the issue took place in 2013. That study suggested 89% of those entitled to free lunches were claiming them, leaving 1 in 10 eligible children missing out. If those numbers hold true today, that would mean over 230,000 young people are going without the meals to which they’re entitled – with the Lib Dems slamming the Government for “flying blind” on this crucial issue.

The House of Commons’ Education Select Committee has recently backed calls for auto-enrolment. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at the National Association of Head Teachers, also added his name to the list of those calling for the policy change. He told the BBC last month that “social stigma means parents do not register”. He also cited the pupil premium money that free school meal enrolment brings to a school, noting that “without registration”, children eligible for free school meals “miss out” on “vital additional support.”

The Times reported yesterday that Government changes to the benefits system could also see a million children lose their free school meal eligibility.

Munira Wilson MP, Liberal Democrat Education, Children and Families Spokesperson, said:

It’s heartbreaking to think that hundreds of thousands of children are going without the food to which they’re entitled. No child should go hungry in twenty-first century England. The Government certainly shouldn’t be flying blind on this crucial issue.

MPs now have a choice: whether or not they want to stand up for struggling children and families in their constituencies. Auto-enrolment is a common-sense step that would remove crucial barriers for families in poverty struggling to put food on the table for their children.

My colleagues across Parliament must seize this opportunity and back this change – transforming the lives of thousands of vulnerable children for the better.

Pharmacies: Government has left a “question mark” over support and now consequences “painfully apparent”

Responding to the National Pharmacy Association advising its members in England to start reducing opening hours and services if no new and sufficient funding is delivered from April 1st, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson Helen Morgan MP said:

This announcement is deeply concerning and will worry many who rely on their local pharmacy to access the essential prescriptions they need to get through their daily lives.

For too long, the Government has left a massive question mark over the support they will give to pharmacies. The consequences of this failure are now painfully apparent.

Ministers need to get around the table immediately and work around the clock to prevent this from happening or risk many suffering unnecessarily.

51,100 violent incidents directed at NHS staff since 2019

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today said that the SNP government must do more to stop violent attacks on NHS staff after research by his party found there had been more than 51,100 of these incidents since 2019.

The party asked each of Scotland’s health boards to provide the number of incidents involving members of the public displaying violent behaviour towards NHS staff since 2019.

The responses from the boards revealed:

• There have been 51,170 violent incidents directed at NHS staff since 2019.
• Many boards only provided the figures for staff in general, but of those able to give a more specific breakdown: 25,142 incidents were directed towards nursing staff, while 344 were at doctors and 63 at midwives.
• Tayside saw the highest number of violent incidents directed against staff since 2019 with 10,689, followed by Fife with 8,622 and Glasgow with 8,338.
• Last year alone, Lothian saw 1,178 incidents and Highland saw 1,138 incidents.
• Since 2019, in Borders and Dumfries and Galloway combined, there have been 3,566 violent incidents against NHS staff.

Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

Like any other employee, NHS staff deserve to go to work without fear of violence or harassment.

Staff are there to provide care, treatment and support. Often, they are under significant pressure in trying to do so; the last thing they need is to be met with violence and abuse.

Incidents are still stubbornly high year after year, so I want to see the Scottish Government working closely with health boards, medical bodies and trade unions to understand what staff need to be safe at work.

Ministers must also ensure that those who behave so abhorrently are given swift and thorough punishments, making it clear that violence will not be tolerated.

New Social Attitudes Survey shows overwhelming support for assisted dying

Scottish Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur MSP has welcomed the latest British Social Attitudes Survey published by the National Centre for Social Research which found that 79% of the British public are in favour of assisted dying.

The findings come just days after the Royal College of General Practitioners voted to drop its opposition to assisted dying, which Mr McArthur hailed as a ‘watershed moment in the assisted dying debate’.

Mr McArthur said:

The findings of the British Social Attitude Survey show a continuous and solid majority of public support for a compassionate assisted dying law. Taken alongside other polling data, which shows that the majority of voters in every constituency in the country back a change in the law on assisted dying, it sends a clear message to my parliamentary colleagues that the public are strongly behind a safe and compassionate law.

My bill would allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults only the choice of an assisted death here in Scotland. It puts in place the compassion lacking in our current law as well as a range of safety measures similar to those which have been safely and successfully introduced in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the United States where assisted dying continues to enjoy strong public support.

As we move towards a vote on my proposals, it is vital that the voices of dying Scots are at the centre of the debate. I have spoken to countless people across the country about the harrowing deaths they have witnessed and to dying people facing a series of horrible decisions. All agree that what we need at the end of life is excellent care and more choice.