Poverty and deprivation - 'The Elephant in the Manx Living Room' for a long time.

Poverty and deprivation which results in misery, despair and recourse to food aid is not something that just sprang up in the last year or so successive Manx governments have known about it and seemingly done little to tackle it.

In 2011 there were no ‘official statistics but a query from an MHK to then Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw MHK revealed that:

‘There are large numbers of families who are clearly struggling to make ends meet.

Statistics show that one in nine children in primary schools receive free school meals (701 out of 6580 pupils) and that one in seven secondary school children receive school meals (1003 out of 6585 pupils).

Minister Chris Robertshaw’s reply said that income support is paid to 1,050 families and 1,550 children are living in homes claiming Family Income Supplement (FIS).

Such benefits are paid in circumstances where income is considered to be below acceptable levels for families, and are often paid to single mothers who have little or no support from ex partners / husbands.

The circumstances in such cases might not necessarily be described as “poverty”. The 21st century definition of the word “poverty” is perhaps an issue to be clarified in the future, and clearly has different interpretation in different countries.

At the extreme end of the scale, the figures released yesterday show that the Isle of Man has 300 children classed as a “child in need.” Another 73 children are subject to child protection plans, with 28 of those through neglect and 24 through emotional abuse. Around half of these children are under five years old.

A total of 127 children are officially described as “looked after”.’

Here’s the link from December 2011:

http://www.isleofman.com/News/details/15281/does-the-isle-of-man-have-a-...

That was almost a decade and two governments ago and yet if anything the problem is worse.

It’s shameful and our so called reforming Tynwald with over 50% of ‘new faces’ has not made a jot of difference. Self interest still drives the political agenda!

Bernard Moffatt