Food bank Britain

As families already struggling under a generation of austerity are doubly hit by the introduction of Universal Credit, food bank use has skyrocketed and now stands at an all-time high.

The Trussell Trust, the UK’s largest network of foodbanks, released damning figures today (April 25) showing it gave out nearly 1.2m food parcels in 2016-17, up from 1,109,000 in the previous year. Of this year’s food parcels, more than 400,000 went to children.

In a new report published today (April 25), the charity laid the blame on the latest hike in the number of emergency food supplies it handed out squarely on the shoulders of Universal Credit (UC), which sees families have to wait six weeks for their first payment.

This waiting period has not only forced people to turn to food banks out of desperation, but it has also caused people to fall behind in their rent, sometimes leading to evictions, and has led to a rise in personal debt. It has also exacerbated mental health issues and has in some cases caused marriages to break down.

The Trussell Trust found that in areas with full Universal Credit rollout to single people, couples and families, foodbank referrals shot up by more than 16 per cent, well above the national average of 6 per cent.

The six week waiting period was not the only problem with Universal Credit (UC). The Trust found that poor administration of UC – for example, the online sign up system often did not work correctly and paperwork at Job Centres is routinely lost – often lead to delayed payments.

The fact that UC is paid in arrears has also caused delays, debts and problems with budgeting.

Worst of all, UC has become an extension of the government’s draconian benefits sanction regime. For the first time ever, even people who are in work can be sanctioned if they aren’t working enough hours. One food bank noted that sanctions in particular were hitting those with mental health conditions.

Holiday hunger

The latest findings from the Trussel Trust come just as a group MPs warned today (April 25) that 3m children risk going hungry during school holidays.

The all-parliamentary group on hunger published a report that found 1m children on free school meals may experience hunger over the holidays, while another 2m children with working parents who are still in poverty will also be hit by hunger.

“There can be no escape from the reality that in 2017, children in different parts of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are arriving back at school hungry and totally unprepared to learn after the holidays,” the report noted.

“We have learnt of one young person who vomited during the holidays because their diet consisted exclusively of packets of crisps. Elsewhere, a group of children taking part in a holiday football tournament had to drop out of the latter stages of the competition, as they had not eaten a meal in the days leading up to the event. Their bodies simply gave up on them.”

Labour MP Frank Field, who chairs the all-parliamentary group, slammed the government, pointing to the fact that “under its stewardship of the sixth richest country in the world, too many children are stalked by hunger.”

“Abolishing hunger during school holidays is beyond the ability of individual community groups and volunteers alone,” he said. “It needs, above all, a government lead in giving local authorities duties to convene churches, community groups, businesses, schools and public bodies in their area.”

Shame

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner likewise criticised the government.

“Theresa May and the Conservative party should hang their heads in shame,” he said. “1.2m food parcels and three million children going hungry in the sixth biggest economy on the planet is no accident, but the fault of a Tory government which has failed Britain’s families who are in the grip of a squeeze in incomes not seen since Queen Victoria was on the throne.

“Hunger stalks the land in 21st century Britain because the reality of a Conservative government is that for millions in this country, work does not pay,” he added.

“When even nurses are turning to food banks to feed their families, it is time to put an end to a Tory government which has crushed lives and left people on the edge of despair.

“We need to put a stop to the misery of insecurity and sanctions and create an economy that invests in people and communities to end the growing scandal of hunger in Britain.”