A plea was made for all children in families receiving Universal Credit to receive free school meals. This was called for by Liberal Democrats on Essex County Council on 12 July but was rejected by the Conservatives.

Lib Dem councillors pointed out that, since the Free School Meals policy was introduced (seven years ago by the Liberal Democrats in Government), the Conservatives have increased funding per pupil from £2.30 to just £2.34 - an increase of 1.3% compared to inflation of 7%. As a result, children in the Essex County Council area have lost the equivalent of £1,171,603 - more than any other area in the country. Had funding increased with inflation, it would currently stand at, at least £2.46 per pupil. This funding cut has left Essex schools covering the extra cost by spending less on textbooks and teachers.

The government has slashed funding for free school meals for 4-7 year olds in Essex, Southend and Thurrock by £1.5 million in real terms, shocking new figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

The party said it is another example of the Conservatives "short-changing our children."

Children in the Essex County Council area have lost the equivalent of £1,171,603 - more than any other area in the country. Those in Thurrock have lost £154,583 and Southend-on-Sea £138,555.

A worrying decline in the physical and mental health of Essex children was noted on Tuesday 10 May at an Essex County Council meeting. The Liberal Democrats backed two different sets of proposals to address these concerns.

The Lib Dems called on Essex CC to rapidly roll out a programme of "School Streets" - safe zones that would support physical health, by encouraging pupils to walk or cycle to school.

The Liberal Democrats have had at least one councillor representing Epping Hemnall since 1996. These are just some of their achievements.

New postbox
Following a petition by local residents Janet Whitehouse got Royal Mail to provide a postbox outside Pelly Court Hemnall St. Residents now (2022) want a larger postbox. Janet contacted Royal Mail who have removed the plate restricting the size of letters that can be posted and Royal Mail are monitoring the usage of the box to see if a larger one is needed.

Proposals to help ease the pressure on families struggling to meet soaring costs of energy, food, mortgages, and tax rises were tabled by Essex Liberal Democrats.

At the budget meeting of Essex County Council on Thursday 10^th February, the Liberal Democrat opposition group proposed an amendment to the Conservatives' budget, with the following key points:

• Local Liberal Democrats calls on Epping Forest MP to sack Boris Johnson
• Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey says "It's time Conservative MPs did their patriotic duty"

Responding to Sue Gray's update on parties being held in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns, Liberal Democrat district councillor Jon Whitehouse said:

New analysis from the cross-party East of England Local Government Association (EELGA) shows that Essex and the wider East region has missed out on key Government funding.

EELGA represents all 50 local authorities across the East and they wrote to HM Treasury prior to the Chancellor's Autumn Budget, outlining five key priorities for the region and making the case for further investment into the region's diverse communities.

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2022

The next local elections take place on Thursday 5 May 2022.

In Epping Forest the following council seats will be up for election. If you are interested in standing for the Liberal Democrats please contact info@eflibdems.org.uk.

You can find more about what being a councillor involves on the Be A Councillor website.

There is no reference to road repairs in Essex County Council's new strategic plan. The Lib Dem Group on Essex CC drew attention to this omission at the Full Council meeting today, 12th October.

The new Council Leader tabled a plan with 20 strategic objectives and a list of 74 performance measures. Lib Dem Cllr. Stephen Robinson (Chelmsford North) pointed out that not one of them refers to road repairs, despite 72% of the population saying it was their key concern for the Council in a survey earlier this year.

Congratulations to Jon Whitehouse who was elected to the District Council with an emphatic 61% of the vote in the Epping Hemnall ward (see full details). We're delighted to continue to represent Epping residents and hope that results like this inspire more people to help us increase our presence across the district in future elections.