Tag Archives: pharmacies

Mark Valladares

18 March 2025 – the overnight press releases

By Mark Valladares | Tue 18th March 2025 - 7:30 am
  • 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.

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Posted in News, Press releases and Scotland | Also tagged , , , , , , and | 3 Comments
Doreen Huddart

Opposing pharmacy closures in Newcastle

By Doreen Huddart | Thu 29th August 2024 - 12:05 pm

Despite the lack of publicity and opportunity for discussion, toward the end of 2023 we became aware of possible closure of pharmacies in Newcastle.

First, Lloyds announced their closure of several branches including a busy one inside a large Sainsbury’s, which was popular with wheelchair users due to flat access.

Then Boots announced closure of five local branch pharmacies, affecting several neighbourhoods. I and dozens of my Ward residents would be personally affected by at least one of these closures and, as word spread about them, residents began voicing their concerns via local social media. They were not happy at being directed to other venues either a twenty-five minute walk or a bus ride away, and, even more difficult for those pushing a pram or using mobility aids.

In Kenton, the Boots pharmacy backed onto the local Health Centre, so was the first choice for residents. The nearest alternate was a mile away, dreadful news for the many elderly and disabled users. In this Ward, we fortunately had a keen young member, so decided to mount a petition and, despite the bitter winter weather, Rob stood outside collecting signatures and listening to the concerns of residents. Those of us who braved the elements to help, also stood round, gave advice and picked up casework. Soon the numbers were building up, and we opted to submit the petition to the next full Council meeting.

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Posted in Campaign Corner and Op-eds | Also tagged | 5 Comments
The Voice

LibLink: Richard Foord MP demands a better deal on pharmacies

By The Voice | Tue 26th March 2024 - 10:25 am

Over on the Midweek Herald, Richard Foord MP writes about the threat to high street pharmacies:

…these important facilities are under threat, and we are risk seeing them disappear from some of our high streets altogether. More than 1,000 pharmacies across England have shut their doors since 2015 and many more are facing an uncertain future as funding for these services has been cut by 30 per cent in real terms over the past seven years. There’s a vacancy rate of 14 per cent in community pharmacies in the West Country, compared to eight per cent across the UK. Communities like Axminster have already seen one of their pharmacies closed, leaving residents having to queue out of the door to get help from the sole remaining pharmacy in town, and in Sidmouth the news that Boots was giving up on their Woolbrook Road pharmacy caused considerable concern.

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Posted in LibLink and News | 6 Comments
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