Our third manifesto review of the week covers the Green Party’s offering to the electorate, released at an event in Hove, East Sussex. Here are the key things for you to be aware of:

Education

The Green Party’s manifesto commits to giving all children a free school meal each day and delivering free breakfast clubs for children to Year 6, and for schools to involve children in growing, preparing and cooking food as part of the core curriculum. A trained and paid counsellor would be placed in every school and sixth-form college to help improve the nation’s mental health.

The Greens are promising an additional £8bn for school funding, including £2bn for a pay uplift for teachers, and commits to abolishing Ofsted and developing an education system that values children’s individual qualities. If elected, the party aspires to deliver adequate support in the school system for neurodivergent children and children with special educational needs, with councils mandated to provide free transport for 16-18 year old pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Children, Young People and Wellbeing

The Green Party plans to increase funding for mental health care to put it on an equal footing with physical health care, enabling people to access evidence-based mental health therapies within 28 days. Tailored provision would be made available to meet the needs of communities of colour, children and adolescents, older people and LGBTIQA+ communities.

The Greens also plan to provide funding for community hubs and primary care to roll-out free dental nursing for children and those on low incomes. Elsewhere, the party wants to introduce a new Clean Air (Human Rights) Act to give everyone the right to breathe clean air.

Sport and Society

Noting the contribution of arts, culture and sports to people’s mental and physical wellbeing, the Green Party plans to invest £5bn to support community sports, arts and culture. This includes a commitment to keeping local sports facilities, museums, theatres, libraries and art galleries open and thriving.

A future Green government would invest £2.5bn in new cycleways and footpaths as part of an ambition to reimagine how streets in residential areas are used with an aim to reduce traffic and open them up for community use. Aligned to this is a commitment to adopt Active Travel England’s objective of 50% of trips in England’s towns and cities to be walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030.

Finally, the party plans to introduce a new Rights of Nature Act which would give nature itself rights, set aside 30% of land and seas in which nature would receive the highest priority and protection, and introduce a new English Right to Roam Act to extend people’s access to green space and waterways close to where they live.