From Richard Quigley, former Labour parliamentary candidate, Cowes:

I WAS pleased to read Bob Seely MP bowed to pressure from all quarters of the Island and admitted he and his government have handled the free school meals issue badly.

Credit where it is due in admitting his mistake.

He now needs to follow through on this latest statement and make sure some action is taken to prevent the same thing happening again at Christmas.

The extension of the voucher scheme is sensible, but a sticking plaster.

I have met with the Foodbank and heads of organisations that provide help to those in need. What they really want is a long-term commitment to helping people permanently out of poverty.

72 per cent of children in poverty have at least one working adult in the household. The problem needs much more focus than it is currently getting.

The IW Council committed to reducing child poverty to below ten per cent by 2020/21. This won’t be achieved due mainly to large cuts to funding of the council (over £90m in the last ten years).

It’s not enough for me to just criticise, which is why I have offered to work with the council and Bob to find a long-term solution.

If they do the right thing, we won’t need to keep holding them to account.

Finding a solution to the problem on the Island, is far more important than which of us travels to Westminster each week.

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