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Brendan Hughes

SDLP Stormont Assembly election manifesto - key points

The SDLP has made tackling cost of living pressures the number-one priority in its Stormont Assembly election manifesto.

Launching the 40-page policy paper, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said his party was focused "within every fibre of our being" on lifting people out of poverty.

He accused the DUP and Sinn Féin of "15 years of crisis and failure", claiming Stormont 's leading parties are using rows about the Protocol, ministerial titles and border polls as a distraction.

Read more: No voters raising Brexit Protocol says SDLP leader Colum Eastwood

An emergency payment of at least £200 for every household to ease cost of living pressures and support worth up to £1,200 for the hardest-hit families are among the SDLP's manifesto proposals.

Here is a look at some of the key messages and policies from the party's manifesto:

Cost of living

The SDLP proposed a six-point "action plan" on tackling the rising cost of living.

Its measures include an emergency payment of at least £200 for every household to ease financial pressures, and extending Stormont's current £100 emergency fuel payment scheme.

The SDLP also wants to relaunch a free school meal payment scheme for the remainder of the year including through the summer months.

The party said that combined, the three schemes could provide more than £1,200 in support to a family with two children who receive free school meals.

They also want to explore the potential of reintroducing the £20 Universal Credit uplift removed by the UK government last year.

Health

The SDLP said it was committed to delivering long-delayed reforms to the health service recommended in various Stormont reports over the years.

It proposed £1billion of funding for the next five years to "address the elective care backlog and close the capacity gap".

The party backed giving nursing staff a pay increase of at least 6%.

Cross-border health service collaboration is of "vital importance" for effective services, the SDLP said.

It said there should be parity of recognition of qualifications to allow staff to train and practice in both Northern Ireland and the Republic with ease.

Early years and childcare

The first 1,000 days of a baby’s life are the most critical in their development, the SDLP said.

It wants to increase free pre-school childcare provision from 12.5 hours per week to 30 hours per week.

The party also proposed expanding early years support initiatives for parents of children aged 0-2 years.

A Children's Future Fund was also pitched, giving every child a £1,000 investment in green technologies that they can withdraw when they turn 18.

Education

In schools, the SDLP would introduce the compulsory study of modern foreign languages from primary school and require that all children take a modern language to GCSE level.

The party said they support initiatives to "empower" the integrated and Irish-medium education sectors.

In universities, the SDLP wants to remove the cap on student numbers by designing a "sustainable funding system" for further and higher education, while ensuring that "no student is unable to access third-level education due to financial constraints".

Other points

The SDLP said Brexit has been a "disaster for relationships on this island and between these islands".

But it said the Northern Ireland Protocol offers "essential protections" to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland and "huge economic potential" through access to both UK and EU markets.

The party proposed creating a new European investment hub for Northern Ireland and a funding boost for cross-border body InterTrade Ireland to support small businesses.

They also pitched a new dedicated European Affairs Committee in the Stormont Assembly, and an "enhanced role" for the North-South Ministerial Council in EU affairs.

Read more: No voters raising Brexit Protocol says SDLP leader Colum Eastwood

Read more: Every candidate running for the Stormont Assembly

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