Latest news with #BevCraig
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Thousands of children' in Manchester will benefit from major free school meal change
'Thousands of children' in Manchester are set to benefit from a major change to free school meals from next year. The move, which extends the lifeline benefit to all kids in families who receive Universal Credit, could save parents up to £500 a year. More than half a million children across the country are expected to become eligible for free school meals as a result of the change. Welcoming the news, Manchester council leader Bev Craig said 'thousands of children' across the city will benefit. READ MORE: LIVE: Rail chaos after two people die on tracks with lines shut and emergency measures on major route - updates READ MORE: She was an NHS 'doctor' who earned over £1m helping hundreds of patients... she was lying the whole time Currently, all children in England can get free school meals until the end of Year 2. After that they only qualify if their family gets certain benefits. Kids in families that claim Universal Credit only qualify if their household earns less than £7,400-a-year after benefits. But from September 2026, all children in Universal Credit households will be able to get a free, nutritious hot meal. More than 500,000 kids are expected to benefit from the change which the government says will lift 100,000 children out of poverty. This will benefit thousands of children in Manchester — Bev Craig (@bevcraig) June 4, 2025 Some 2.1m pupils - almost one in four (24.6 per cent) - in England were eligible for free school meals in January 2024. The numbers have soared since the start of the Covid pandemic when 1.44m children were eligible, the Mirror reports. As of this January, nearly half of pupils in Manchester were eligible for the free school meals - around 44,465 in total, according to PA. This is the highest proportion in any local authority area across the country with Salford also ranking high on the list at 36.3 per cent. In Tameside, around 35.1 per cent of pupils currently receive free school meals, while in Oldham the rate is 34.3 per cent. Around 32.9 per cent of kids in Rochdale receive free school meals, while in Wigan 28.9 per cent of pupils are eligible. Bolton appears lower down on the list with 28.4 per cent of pupils currently being eligible while in Bury it's 24.8 per cent. In Stockport 21.6 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals while in Trafford, just 17.3 per cent of pupils are. Responding to the announcement, Oldham council leader Arooj Shah, who chairs the Children and Young People Board at the Local Government Association (LGA) said it would have a 'positive impact', but more needs to be done so eligible children are signed up. She said: 'No child should go hungry and expanding free school meals to all those in receipt of Universal Credit has been a longstanding ask of the LGA and councils. 'This move will certainly have a positive impact. Making it easier for more children to have a healthy, nutritious meal will make a real difference to their health, wellbeing and attainment. 'Council still face data sharing and resource challenges in ensuring as many eligible children as possible receive what they are entitled to. 'Introducing automatic enrolment, using existing government data to capture all those who are entitled to free school meals, would also streamline the process and ensure as many children as possible can benefit, at a time when many families are still under financial pressure.' Joseph Rowntree Foundation Chief Executive Paul Kissack said: "It's really positive to see the Government now taking concrete measures to reduce the unacceptable levels of child poverty in the UK. With 4.5 million children currently in poverty, expanding free school meals eligibility is a critical first step to relieve some pressure on family budgets ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy. "We look forward to seeing a coordinated strategy which builds on this, with ambitious measures to boost household income and ensure all children get the best start in life, unhindered by hunger or hardship."
BBC News
31-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Locals 'should not be put out' by Oasis gigs
Locals should not be "put out" when Oasis play a series of gigs in Manchester, a council leader has said The band are playing five huge concerts at Heaton Park in July, with some people living nearby saying they are "apprehensive" over the disruption. Residents in Prestwich told BBC Radio Manchester during previous events they had experienced gridlock on the roads, litter on the street and fans urinating in City Council leader Bev Craig said nearby restaurants would receive a boost in trade and a community impact fund would "benefit local people". Liam and Noel Gallagher are reuniting for the 2025 tour, which includes five sold out gigs in the grounds of the council-owned Heaton Park on 11, 12, 16, 19 and 20 July. Manchester City Council said the shows, alongside the annual Parklife Festival in June and other performances, would bring in £375,000 in profit for the year 2025-26.A community impact fund, which was set up for Parklife in 2024, generated £45,000 for community groups based around Heaton said: "The key thing for us is making sure that no resident is put out by what should be an iconic time for the city to celebrate". Robert Younge, 73, has lived on Bury Old Road, opposite Heaton Park, for 40 said revellers in the past had not been respectful of neighbours. "They're wrecking the area," he said. "I've caught them climbing over the wall and relieving themselves - but what can you say to kids who've got no manners." About 80,000 Oasis fans will be at Heaton Park each night for five concerts in Bury Old Road in Prestwich, there are pubs, restaurants and takeaways which have said they will benefit from an influx of tens of thousands of music fans. Jade Field, 33, manager of Armstrongs Fish and Chip shop, said: "It's pretty fun to watch them going to the concerts and having a nice time in their crazy outfits. "We prepare by doubling-up on all our orders, including chips and sausages. The queues are always out the door". Nissen Lewis, 38, who opened Benny's Bistro more than two years ago, said he was also expecting to benefit from the crowds and would also be stocking up with more supplies."Thousands of people will be walking past. We provide American-style food like burgers, chicken wings and messy fries," he said. "The footfall is crazy, so I'll have to prepare for the Oasis gigs and order extra food". Emily Foort moved into her house on Bury Old Road earlier this year. She said: "We have been warned that the streets get trashed. We are quite nervous and apprehensive - but we have got tickets for one of the Oasis concerts."Trams in Manchester city centre will face disruption during the gigs. No services will run from Piccadilly Gardens to Piccadilly Station as the Metrolink network is having a £150m upgrade, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said on Thursday. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to and via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
ITV News
22-05-2025
- ITV News
Arena attack victims remembered eight years on from bombing
Moments of silence will be observed in Manchester as the city marks eight years since the terror attack which claimed the lives of 22 people. Manchester City Council said a minute's silence would be observed twice at Victoria Station on Thursday 22 May - at midday and again at 10.31pm - the exact time of the attack in 2017. 22 people were killed and hundreds more were injured after suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated a bomb at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. Writing book 'lifted us' say Arena victim Saffie-Rose Roussos' parents The names of those who lost their lives will be read out during services at Manchester Cathedral at 1.10pm (Holy Communion) and 5.30pm (Choral Evensong.) The cathedral will be open throughout the day for prayers and reflection. The Glade of Light memorial. Representatives from the City Council including leader Cllr Bev Craig, will lay flowers at the Glade of Light memorial on behalf of the city. The permanent memorial has the names of the 22 victims written into stone which forms a halo around a central garden. Cllr Bev Craig said the "city will never forget those who were lost that day" and the attack "was one of the darkest days in Manchester's history". The Council leader said: "The aftermath also showed the city's remarkable solidarity and Mancunians' refusal to give in to those who would seek to divide us. 'We will never forget those who were lost that day, their loved ones, those who were injured and everyone who was affected. "We remember them throughout the year but each anniversary is especially poignant.'
BBC News
21-05-2025
- BBC News
Minute of silence planned for Manchester Arena bombing anniversary
A minute of silence is set to be observed at Manchester's Victoria Station as the city marks the eighth anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing. Manchester City Council said silence would be observed twice throughout Thursday - at 12:00 BST and again at 22:32 - the exact time of the attack. Twenty-two people were killed in the bombing at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on 22 May 2017 and hundreds more were injured. Manchester Lord Mayor Carmaine Grimshaw and Council Leader Bev Craig will lay floral tributes to the victims "on behalf of the city" at the Glade of Light memorial near Manchester Cathedral, the council said. The names of those killed are also set to be read out at services at the cathedral at 09:00, 13:10 and 17: described the attack as "one of the darkest days in Manchester's history". "But its aftermath also showed the city's remarkable solidarity and Mancunians' refusal to give in to those who would seek to divide us," she said. "We remember them throughout the year but each anniversary is especially poignant." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Telegraph
17-05-2025
- Telegraph
One-woman campaign forces Labour council to repay a year's parking fines
A Labour council is to pay back a year's worth of parking fines after a woman launched a crusade against a 'misleading' sign. Manchester city council will also remove the sign that the social media campaigner, who uses the name Zoe Bread online, revealed was pointing drivers to the wrong meter, resulting in thousands of pounds in fines. Over a five-week campaign, the T-shirt maker and activist staked out the street on which she was fined, interviewed a traffic warden, and questioned Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, on a radio show. Now the local authority says it will refund a year's worth of fines. The campaign against the sign began in early April, when Zoe was given a £50 penalty for paying at the wrong machine in Collier Street, in Manchester city centre. Now, Bev Craig, the council leader, has told the campaigner she accepts the sign 'should be better', that it will be changed 'as soon as possible', and fines will be refunded. Zoe told her 1.3 million TikTok followers the sign directs drivers to a nearby pay and display machine for a private car park and she had 'parked for six minutes with the wrong ticket because of the arrow direction'. On April 8, in the first of a series of videos, she published a recording of one council official telling her motorists were often fined after parking on Collier Street but mistakenly paying for the private car park nearby. Then a security guard from a neighbouring car park told Zoe around 10 people a month are caught out by the sign. On April 11, she revealed the results of her Freedom of Information Request for how many fines were awarded on Collier Street before and after the private car park was created. In 2018, just 93 people were awarded a penalty, compared with 288 in 2023. Zoe then filmed herself speaking to a parking warden, who told her he agreed that the parking sign was misleading. 'We tell the council but it's up to the council to do it,' he said. The council insisted many people managed to buy the correct parking tickets for Collier Street. But after Zoe called into a local radio station to question Mr Burnham over the issue, Cllr Craig contacted her to resolve the issue. The council leader said on Saturday: 'Our signage at Collier Street is legally compliant but we agree it could be much clearer. We're going to address this as soon as possible with new signs, by relocating the meter, and by asking the owners of the nearby private car park to take down their signs which have contributed to confusion. 'As a goodwill gesture, we will also quash any pending or unpaid tickets relating to Collier Street – including Zoe's – and review our records of fines for the last 12 months in that location. We will refund anyone who said at the time that they believed they had paid for their parking.' Alan Good, a Liberal Democrat councillor who backed Zoe's campaign, said on Saturday: 'It should not have taken Zoe's hard work in raising the issue, formal complaints to the council from myself, in addition to social media pressure, for common sense to prevail.' Reflecting on her victory, Zoe told her followers: 'If I've learnt anything from this situation it's that the only way to get anything done is to be a completely annoying little pain in the ass. Oh, and that I was born to be a completely annoying little pain in the ass.'
