COVERING WOKINGHAM, FINCHAMPSTEAD, EARLEY, WINNERSH, SHINFIELD, WOODLEY, TWYFORD & SURROUNDING AREAS
WOKINGHAM.TODAY
THE VOICE OF THE BOROUGH
Call to fund free school meal vouchers
THE NEW NAME FOR THEWOKINGHAMPAPER Thursday, October 29, 2020 No. 285 70p CALLFORCLIMATE P9 CITIZENS’ASSEMBLY
EXCLUSIVE By JESS WARREN jwarren@wokingham.today POLITICAL party leaders across the borough are calling for the council to step in and offer free school meal vouchers to struggling families in the holidays.
This week, the leader and deputy leader of Wokingham Liberal Democrats met with the council’s chief executive, to call for action. Cllr Clive Jones, deputy leader of the Lib Dems, said: “In that meeting, we made it absolutely clear that if we were in control of the council, the council would be funding free school meal vouchers over the Christmas holidays and February half term.” Cllr Jones estimates the scheme would cost between £80,000 and £90,000 to help feed the 1,800 children who receive free meals during term time in the borough. This, he said, could be funded through the £1 million given to the borough council by the Government last week, to help get through the covid-crisis. He added: “I’m sure there will be extra costs coming our way over the next few months that could eat up the £1 million.” � Continued on page13
Child poverty in numbers RESEARCH from Loughborough University states there were 5,649 children in poverty across the borough between 2018/19.
Last week, an inaccurate calculation was used in the front page headline that stated 6,300 children were in poverty. The new data still puts this as onein-six children. The number is calculated by analysing the number of children living in relative poverty, as researched by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), combined with housing costs.
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Rising cases mean borough may enter Tier 2 soon EXCLUSIVE By JESS WARREN jwarren@wokingham.today RESIDENTS across the borough could find themselves living under Tier 2 Covid-19 restrictions, as infection rates continue to rise.
The borough council’s health executive says they’re keeping a watchful eye on figures, but the Government have not made contact
over tier levels yet. Over the past month, the number of people testing positive for coronavirus has been steadily increasing, although at a slower rate than other regions in the country. Between Sunday, October 18 and Saturday, October 24, there were 171 positive cases confirmed in the borough, an increase of 53 from the previous week. This meets the one of the criteria for Tier 2 restrictions, with
100 cases per 100,000 people. But until a decision is made in conjunction with the borough council, nothing is changing. Cllr Charles Margetts, executive member for health at Wokingham Borough Council said: “You have to wait for the phone call. There are no discussion underway at the moment, and we have not had any contact from the Government about our tier level.” � Continued on page 6
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