A row has erupted after the opposition leader on Salford council called for the "cycle of single young women and girls in the city becoming pregnant" to be broken. Leader of the Conservative group, Robin Garrido, made the comments at a full council meeting where a progress report on the initiative Tackling Inequalities: The Salford Way was delivered.
The report by Councillor Sharmina August sets out how the authority is "building a fairer, greener and healthier city" since it was launched in March last year. It aims to prevent people from falling into poverty, provides targeted support for people already struggling and is pushing for long-term change in Government policies and practice.
However, there was a storm of protest at comments made by Coun Garrido, responding to Coun August's report. He said: "How can we break the cycle of [single] young women or girls becoming pregnant and having babies? How can we introduce respect and responsibility into that cycle?"
