Myself and my Labour colleagues are becoming increasingly concerned about the rise in the number of our constituents relying on the support of our amazing food banks.
On Friday I again went to visit Annette Smith and her team at the Morecambe Bay Foodbank for an update on the problems that people from across Lancaster and Morecambe are experiencing.
I believe the need for foodbanks is a direct result of average wages still being less than they were ten years ago. The latest research shows in-work poverty is rising faster than employment. Many people are trapped in low paid, insecure work and 70% of children in poverty now live in working families.
Last week teachers and other educational professionals across the UK reported a significant increase in the visibility of child poverty in schools and colleges, with many witnessing distressing examples of child deprivation and hunger.
Teachers have cited examples of in-work poverty, housing issues such as high rents, homelessness and insecurity, and fears among parents about how Universal Credit may affect their ability to feed and clothe their children.
A survey of educational professionals by the National Education Union ahead of its annual conference found that 91% believe rising levels of child poverty is having a devastating impact on children’s learning.
The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of 1,200 food banks including the one at Morecambe. Together they provide a minimum of three days’ nutritionally-balanced emergency food to people who have been referred in crisis. They also provide desperately needed support to help people resolve the crises they face. Between April 2017 and March 2018 the food banks in their network provided more than 1.3 million emergency food supplies to people in crisis, a 13% increase on the previous year. There are also many more foodbanks operating independently across the country so we know that the need is even greater than these statistics reveal.
Research from the Trussell Trust indicates that more than 14 million people are living in poverty in the UK – including 4.5 million children. But as they say, it takes more than food to end hunger. Labour and organisations like the Trussell Trust are committed to challenging the structural economic issues that lock people in poverty. The trust’s latest campaign #5WeeksTooLong aims to persuade this Tory Government that Universal Credit is contributing to poverty and from the very start, everyone who applies must wait at least five weeks for a first payment – some people are left waiting longer. This must stop. And we won’t stop until this Government accepts its policies are creating misery and suffering.