Council asks for residents' views on tackling poverty

100,000 households across the city are expected to be affected by the cost-of-living crisis this winter

Author: Owen ArandsPublished 28th Nov 2022

Residents across Manchester are being asked for their views on how local politicians can do more to help them through the cost-of-living crisis.

Manchester City Council is working on a refreshed Anti-Poverty strategy which they say they hope to "make work for the whole city."

The council has already consulted with organisations and residents citywide with their input shaping new priorities which councillors hope will help to tackle poverty over the next five years.

The strategy outlines how councils and partners can take action to prevent residents from experiencing poverty, how they can help to make life easier for people experiencing poverty as well as helping people get out of poverty by ensuring that they have support to work and the chance to connect with good job opportunities.

Councillor Joanna Midgley, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council said:

"We are living in challenging economic times, and no one is immune from the current squeeze on finances, particularly with the rising costs of food and energy bills.

"Poverty is a complex issue and is driven by many factors including the impact of decisions made by national government. We are determined to do all that we can locally to support people through difficult times.

"With that in mind, we have spoken to partners, organisations and residents to help us develop our plans to tackle poverty, as well as ensure that residents have the opportunities to improve their life chances to move out of poverty through better-paid employment.

"We have outlined the priorities that we feel will take the city in the right direction over the coming years, but we would like to hear from as many residents as possible to ensure that they feel these are the right plans to both alleviate and tackle poverty in the city.”

The consultation begins on 28 November and runs until 11 December 2022 and can be found at https://surveys.manchester.gov.uk/s/antipoverty/

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.