Manchester City Council has announced it will extend free school meals throughout the 2022 Christmas holidays to make sure that no children go hungry this winter.
Council bosses said they were responding “to the lack of action being taken by the central government” in order to address the “desperate situation thousands of people could soon face”.
The move was announced on Wednesday 5 October as part of an £8m package of local support designed to help Manchester residents deal with spiralling bills and soaring food costs caused by runaway inflation.
It is hoped that the move will pull a large number of children out of food poverty this winter, as it is is estimated that the cost-of-living crisis could adversely affect up to 100,000 households in Manchester this winter.
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As well as extending free school meals through the winter break, council bosses are also setting up a support line to connect people with local foodbanks, pantry services, and dedicated meal providers.
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Inspiration is being taken from the Council’s previous work supporting people throughout the Covid pandemic, where emergency hubs were established to provide people with essentials.
A new Cost of Living Advice Line has just gone live this week, through which residents can contact the Council via phone, or online, to get advice on how to access support this winter. between Monday and Friday, 9am–4pm.
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The number for the hub is 0800 023 2692 and will function in a similar way to the Covid emergency response seen during the pandemic, putting residents in touch with local support and advice services.
Elsewhere, the Council’s Welfare Provision Scheme is being expanded to provide emergency hardship support, and a new website has been set up to help make it easy for residents who are in financial difficulty or crisis to apply for grants and support.
Additionally, the Council and its health partners will be getting in touch with residents about Winter wellbeing information, including Flu and Covid-19 vaccination details set within help around food, heating and household bills linked to the Cost-of-Living crisis.
However, bosses recognise that far more needs to be done to avert the “impending disaster.”
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “As we head into the winter months many residents in Manchester are staring down the barrel of true hardship.
“We are proud of the work the Council has already done in recent years to alleviate poverty and create an economy in Manchester which works for everyone, but it is clear that in these dire times greater action is needed.
“The steps taken by the government have not gone nearly far enough and much more has to be done if we are to prevent our residents from slipping below the poverty line.
“A lot has been said about the impact of the cost-of-living crisis but we believe that in the absence of leadership from the centre, we need to take action with the powers we have at our disposal.
“By declaring a Cost of Living emergency the Council is laying out just how seriously we are taking this situation. We are not prepared to stand idle as more and more of our residents are exposed to hardship.”
Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly earns surprise England call-up
Danny Jones
Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly has earned himself a surprise England call-up for this upcoming international break.
The impressive young utility player, who has been deployed as both a defender and a midfielder under Pep Guardiola, has proved to be a popular member of the squad among Man City fans.
A north Manchester-born academy product, O’Reilly has represented the Three Lions throughout various age groups across the youth level, but this England camp will be his first senior call-up.
Yet another local lad flying the flag for 0161 in the national team.
The 20-year-old arrived at St George’s Park on Monday afternoon along with a number of ther young English stars such as Myles Lewis-Skelly, Elliot Anderson, Jarrel Quansash, who have recently been integrated by national team boss, Thomas Tuchel.
O’Reilly has been added to the squad following the withdrawal of fellow defender Reece James, with the Chelsea fullback having picked up yet another injury in the Premier League.
As detailed by England Football: “The Chelsea captain sustained an injury playing for his club over the weekend and has been ruled out of England’s October internationals following medical assessments.”
With O’Reilly able to play not only in defence but on either flank, as he has already done in Guardiola’s ever-fluid system, the versatile Man City rotation player isn’t just looking more and more like a first-team star but could soon be a capped England international.
Looking forward to seeing more of this on the big stage:
As you can see, Pep has continued to deploy him in even the biggest of games, and it seems as though he’s clearly impressed Tuchel enough to make him first in the queue to replace James.
Rightly so, we’d hasten to add; it remains to be seen whether or not he will feature in the two upcoming fixtures against Wales and Latvia.
Commenting on the moment of recognition, City expressed their pride and congratulations, insisting that the decision “also helps further cement what has been a quite magnificent start to the season for the 20-year-old” in which he’s already made nine first-team appearances across all competitions.
That now makes the number of Greater Manchester-born/based players in the current England squad to four (just one of those being from Man United in Barcelona loanee Marcus Rashford) – an admittedly smaller number than we’ve come to expect over the years.
Nico O’Reilly signed a fresh new deal at Manchester City just last month.
Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Georgina Pellant -
5th October 2022 
