More support for children in Keyham after shootings
The Government's providing almost £800,000
Nearly £800,000 is going towards supporting children in Keyham following the shootings in August.
The money will be used to provide social care workers and family support staff to help young people affected by the tragedy.
There will also be educational psychologist support for school staff and Early Help intervention to reduce the risk of escalation.
The annoucnement, from the Department for Education, comes on top of £1m of funding from the Government that has already gone towards improving community safety and policing since the incident.
Government Minster for Children and Families Will Quince said: “This funding will go towards early help and wellbeing services so that the young people and families affected get the right advice and support. It's vital that we keep all those affected by the shooting at the heart of our work with the community, to help them recover and take positive steps forward."
The announcement has been welcomed by city leaders including Luke Pollard, MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, and Plymouth City Council Leader Nick Kelly.
Luke Pollard MP said: “I want to pay tribute to the way our community has stepped up and supported one another.
“In Parliament I have made the case that the children and young people affected by the shooting must get the support they deserve. This new funding for our schools will make a huge difference to the children in our city that have been so heavily impacted by the shooting.
“I’m pleased that all of us in Plymouth have come together to make the case for this funding – this really is a ‘Team Plymouth’ effort. I know we will need to do more to ensure the support gets to the people who need it, as well as making the case to change the law around guns to ensure no community ever again faces what Keyham has.”
Council Leader Nick Kelly said: “This announcement is very welcome news for the Keyham community and surrounding areas.
“Many of our children and young people would have been deeply affected by the awful event which took place just over three months ago and this money will be used to directly support them as they come to terms with what happened.
“As a city we are healing from the event of August 12 and funding focused on education is crucial to that recovery as we put the mental health and wellbeing of our young people first.
“But there is still more to be done to help every section of the Keyham communities and we will continue to work with central government to ensure that more support is forthcoming as our recovery from such a devastating event could take many years.”