Green parliamentary group focuses on social policy in the 2022 budget

"First contact point for discrimination"

"There has been an increasing number of racist incidents in the Main-Kinzig district for years," says Viola Haßdenteufel, vice-president of the parliamentary group and spokeswoman for social policy of the Green parliamentary group in the district. “We therefore call for the creation of an anti-discrimination body for the coming year.”

"An anti-discrimination body is the first point of contact for people affected by discrimination", Haßdenteufel explains the application for the 2022 budget of the Main-Kinzig district, which will be voted in the district next Friday. ‘Because discrimination and crimes based on racist motives have occurred very frequently in our district in recent years.’ These include the threat to the former district councillor Erich Pipa in 2016 or the attack on an Eritrean in Wächtersbach in 2019: “Sad low point was the worst right-wing extremist attack since the Federal Republic of Germany in Hanau in 2020. They show that preventive and proactive work is urgently needed in the Main-Kinzig district.”

The creation of an anti-discrimination body would make it possible to raise awareness of this issue through advice, information and outreach. ‘At the same time, information events can be held in administration, schools and companies in the district area to draw attention to the issue of discrimination.’ Cities such as Offenbach and Frankfurt have already set up such a body: "These are very well received and show that there is a need for advice and information among the population," said Haßdenteufel.

In the area of ‘Society policy’, the Green parliamentary group also focuses on school swimming: "About 59 percent of ten-year-olds cannot swim safely," explains the social policy spokeswoman. ‘While fewer and fewer children are able to swim, more and more indoor swimming pools throughout Germany are closing because they can no longer be carried by municipalities.’ The Kreistag group therefore calls for the Main-Kinzig district to increase funding for school swimming from EUR 380 to EUR 750,000: ‘The aim is to reimburse all costs incurred by municipalities. In addition, they can use the increased grants to cover corona-related revenue shortfalls.’

This is because: ‘The responsibility for ensuring that the children can swim safely in a circle lies not with the municipalities, but with the Main-Kinzig-Kreis as school sponsor. This should therefore ensure that sufficient swimming lessons can be offered.’ Since municipal swimming pools are needed for this, it is the obligation of the district to ‘sufficiently finance them’.

In addition to the sporting activity, school lunch is also the subject of a budget proposal by the Green parliamentary group: “As a Fairtrade district, it should be the self-image that organic, regional and fair food is offered in the canteens in the district area. We therefore call for the circle's school meals to be doubled in order to relieve the burden on parents and improve food quality", the vice-presidents concluded.

Enquiries to:

Jakob Mähler
Group Managing Director
Alliance 90 / The Greens Main-Kinzig
06181/61596
0176/46763336
fraktion@gruene-mkk.de