Akse P-19 paints a mural of Rashford in Withington
Marcus Rashford scored two huge victories over the weekend.
The first was an impressive 3-1 triumph at Goodison Park; where the striker helped his club grab three precious Premier League points.
But an even bigger win was waiting for the Manchester United striker when he got off the pitch.
As he dusted himself down after the match in Merseyside, Rashford’s phone rang – and the Prime Minister was on the other end of the line.
He told the footballer that his campaign to help children and families was now being considered – with over £400 million provided to low-income households as part of a winter grant scheme.
During the crucial phone call, Boris Johnson explained to Rashford that the government would be providing funding from the start of December until the end of March.
£170m will be distributed through councils, with 80% put aside for help with food and bills. The holiday food and activities programme will receive £220m investment, with £16m given to food banks.
Initially, the government had voted against Rashford’s new campaign – which asked for a further expansion of free school meals; food and activities during all holidays; and to increase the value of Healthy Start vouchers to at least £4.25 per week.
But for the second time, Rashford has gotten ministers to change their tune.
The footballer convinced parliament to provide free school meals throughout the summer, and now he’s encouraged ministers to climb down from their commitment to Universal Credit – which they’d previously insisted was the best approach to help low-income families.
☔️ The Covid Winter Grant Scheme is a new £170m #Coronavirus scheme to support children and families this winter.
? The money will reach the hardest hit during the pandemic, helping families put food on the table, heat homes and pay bills.
According to Rashford, the new fund would support £1.7 million children in England.
“We asked for three things,” said the footballer.
“They [the government] managed to u-turn on two and they’re willing to sit down and discuss the third.”
Rashford said he thanked the PM on behalf of the families for his support, but he isn’t stopping just yet.
The United star said that another 1.7 million would still miss out “because their income isn’t quite low enough” to qualify for funding.
Rashford added: “I now call on the government to collaborate with the Child Food Poverty Taskforce”.
“I am fully committed to this cause, and I will fight for the rest of my life for it,” Rashford stated.
“Because in my mind, no child should ever go hungry in the United Kingdom.”
His fight isn’t over.
News
More than 100 ‘unsafe’ counterfeit Labubus seized in Oldham
Daisy Jackson
More than 100 counterfeit Labubus and accessories have been seized in Oldham, the council has announced.
The Labubu dolls – a plush collectible with giant smiles and bunny ears – have been seized because they are fake, and unsafe.
The haul of 104 Labubus has been given a street value of between £800 and £1000 – but if they were the real deal, they’d be worth more than three times as much.
The poorly-made figures were being sold for a fraction of the price of a real Labubu, which are manufactured by Chinese company Pop Mart (it’s set to open its second Manchester store in the Trafford Centre next week).
Oldham Council’s Trading Standards team said it seized the counterfeit Labubus from local businesses and found that they were unsafe and poorly made.
Officers raised concerns about the safety of the dolls, which had small parts such as eyes, hands and feet broke off easily, creating a choking hazard.
What a genuine Labubu should look like. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
They were also missing legally required safety marks such as the CE or UKCA labels, and lacked the name and address of a UK supplier, which is another legal requirement.
Councillor Elaine Taylor, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Licensing, said: “Oldham Trading Standards carries out regular checks to help keep unsafe products off the shelves. In this case, these counterfeit toys failed safety standards and have now been removed from sale.
“We know it can be tempting to buy toys that look like a bargain, but parents need to be extra careful. Fake toys like these may be cheaper, but they can put children in real danger if they’re not made to strict safety standards.
“If anyone has concerns about toys they’ve purchased, or if they see unsafe products on sale locally, we’d encourage them to get in touch with Trading Standards through the Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.”
Council publishes list of central Manchester roads set to be resurfaced this summer
Emily Sergeant
A list of roads in Manchester that are set to be resurfaced before the summer is out has been published.
Manchester City Council recently asked residents in the region what their priorities were for their community and what issues they wanted to see tackled – and for many, the answer was the quality of the road surfaces.
Since then, the Council says it has been ‘engaged’ in a long-running programme of improvement works throughout the borough.
Now, with just over a month of the summer season left, it has been confirmed that some vital resurfacing works are due to start over the coming weeks in north and central Manchester, bringing a range of improvements to key district roads along with it.
First up, from Saturday 9 August, Hollinwood Avenue is to be resurfaced.
The Council has published a list of Manchester roads that are set to be resurfaced this summer / Credit: MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
Anticipated to take six weeks to complete, this work will be carried out during weekend closures from 8am-5pm, with the road remaining open during the working week.
The closure area will be between Greengates Roundabout and the Oldham boundary at Owler Lane, and a signed diversion route will be in place while work is carried out, and access for residents will be maintained at all times.
Then, starting from Saturday 16 August, resurfacing works will begin on Moss Lane East, between Alexandra Road and Princess Road.
Work will take place between 7am and 5pm on weekdays, and 8am and 5pm on weekends, and during the works, the road will be completely closed – with a signed diversion route in place and access for residents maintained.
As always, disruption is expected and the public is encouraged to plan ahead / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
These works are expected to take six weeks to complete, and as with all resurfacing projects, residents should expect some disruption and may need to plan ahead.
The Council is aiming to keep disruption to the public at a minimum, where possible.
“We know how important it is to our residents that key roads are well maintained, which is why were glad to be able to deliver this latest round of improvement works,” commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“I’d like to thank people ahead of time for their patience during the course of these works and would advise them to check when closures will be in place and where the diversions are.”
You can find more information on the resurfacing works on the Council website here.
The Manc -
9th November 2020 
