City's new 'poverty champion'

A NEW push to tackle poverty in Plymouth has been announced by Plymouth City Council. It has appointed a new "champion" to sup-port work to address the issue and raise the living standards of people in the city.

- By LORNA HUGHES

Councillor Maria Lawson, who represents Plymstock Dunstone, is the council's new "Building Bridges to Opportunity" champion. It comes as the council says it needs to take a "longer-term approach" to tackling the root causes of poverty.

Her new role will see her support-ing Cllr Chris Penberthy, cabinet member for housing, cooperative development and communities, in work that builds on partnership work to address poverty across the city. She will help champion the Building Bridges to Opportunity programme, which aims to embed work to tackle poverty and the causes of poverty in city plans. It also acknowledges that poverty impacts residents of all ages.