Children’s Future Food Report

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 27th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Frank Field) for putting his case so well. I also commend the hon. Members for Congleton (Fiona Bruce), for Stoke-on-Trent North (Ruth Smeeth) and for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson) for their contributions. No one could listen to their contributions and not be moved. Minister, I am going to say some things fairly firmly. I am not a person for harshness—that has never been my nature—but I want to speak honestly about how things are. I think everyone has done that. I need to do that too, and in a way that I hope the Minister can respond to.

I am well known for supporting working class people and, increasingly, the so-called middle class who are living hand-to-mouth. It is beyond shocking to me and others that in this day and age children are starving and their families have to turn to food banks to put food in their bellies. Children are suffering for their parents’ financial position. Through no fault of their own, children are sitting in school classes hungry and unable to concentrate. When you are hungry, you are unable to concentrate. The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North referred to the wee child who fainted because he had no food. It is clear that children are unable to concentrate and frankly that is cruel.

It is heartbreaking that 4.5 million children across the United Kingdom live in poverty. We in this place and the Government are not doing enough to tackle the issue. That is somewhat vindicated by the fact that we foist responsibility on to charities, but why is this the case?

To the surprise of the mainstream media, which often portrays the Church as out of touch and not involved in communities, the Church is stepping up to the challenge. That is the case in my constituency and, from what I have heard so far, I suspect that churches in everybody else’s constituencies are filling the gap and taking responsibility. Despite some saying that the Church indoctrinates children, the only thing that it seems to be indoctrinating children into displaying is compassion. For me, that is clear. It is bringing up the next generation to care and take action when they see people in need and are in a position to help.

I am very proud to be the Member of Parliament for Strangford, which is stepping up to the challenge on child food poverty. Our local churches in Newtownards have stepped up where local and national Government have failed. The Thriving Life Church, the Ards Congregational, the Ards Baptist Church, the Glen Community Church, St Mark’s, Londonderry Primary School, Greenwell Street Presbyterian, First Ards Presbyterian Church, Ards Reformed Presbyterian, Scrabo Hall, Scrabo Presbyterian Church, St Patrick’s tennis skills and Northdown Christian Fellowship Church have all advertised that they include free food with their Bible clubs.

Other Members have referred to the summer, which was in my mind before the debate, because it brings added problems for children and their parents, who do not have schools to fall back on. That is why what the churches in Strangford and Newtownards specifically are doing to come together collectively, cross-religion, is so important. They have all seen the need and have stepped into the gap. They should not have to do that—it is not their responsibility—yet they are, because that is what their Bible teaching, beliefs and faith tell them to do. We need to ask ourselves in this place: are we doing all we can? The Government have not delivered for these poor children who need food, which is a sickening thought.

Whatever is being done to solve this pressing issue is clearly not working. Thanks to charities such as the Trussell Trust—it set up the first food bank in Northern Ireland, in my constituency in Newtownards—and other various organisations in the community, the problem is minimised. Without them, the issue could be far worse, which is a scary thought, to say the least.

The situation is particularly disappointing, bearing in mind that there is not enough focus on the options to minimise the problem. Recent data published by UNICEF shows that one in five youngsters under 15 now lives in a food-insecure home. How is that possible in this day and age? This should be a red flag for Government and for everyone else, yet they continue to employ—I say this respectfully, Minister—austerity measures that only make matters worse. It really does not take a genius to realise that the cuts and changes that the Government continue to employ are paramount to the problem. That is the feedback I am getting in my constituency about universal credit. The food bank tells me that the changes in benefits are putting the pressure on, so I have to say that in this House because it is true. It is happening and we cannot ignore it. When someone works different hours and their tax credits claim materially changes, they migrate to universal credit with a five-week embargo on payments. That puts people over the poverty breadline and it is really unfair.

I asked my local food bank for its up-to-date figures. This is what is happening in my area:

“So for the last year we have fed 1,992 people…846 were children”—

so 45% were children. It continued,

“this is a 3% rise on the last year. The rise is on the increase as we see more and more families switching to UC. And as we head to the summer, kids off school—414 of those kids from low income families = summer hunger with no free school meals.”

That is going to be the issue this summer. The churches stepping in, running their Bible classes and Bible clubs and having the meals alongside those, is so important. The food bank continued:

“Last summer June-August we saw 152 low income families alone! The problem we see is families going without.”

The reality of today’s society is that families are going without. Parents do not eat so that their children can, or children do eat not because their parents are not eating either.

The food bank continued:

“Last year we began partnering with Ards Community Network to help families with free uniforms. And this year we are launching with local churches and their holiday bible clubs to offer lunches.”

I suggest that is true community spirit at work, alongside the churches and faith groups, offering practical, financial and emotional help when it is needed most.

I urge the Government to do the right thing by helping to better the lives of those who are left with no option but to line up at food banks. More funding is needed, along with better understanding. One of the fundamental purposes of government is to help the people. Frankly, that is not being achieved at the moment.

Twenty years ago, Tony Blair—people have their own opinions about him—pledged to end child poverty, calling it a “20-year mission”. Three Prime Ministers later—the fourth is on the way—we are nowhere near accomplishing that mission. Children have to go home after school and sleep on an empty stomach. That is a disgrace. Never would I have expected child poverty to be such a problem in 2019. Nations are meant to develop, not to go backwards, but I am afraid that is what I see.

The National Housing Federation, using Office for National Statistics data, has found that roughly 847,000 children from working families—a 30% increase from 2010—live in poverty due to the sole reason that their homes are too expensive. We need to look at the reasons for that as well. One of the reasons is the cost of rental accommodation. Many parents have to choose between paying the rent and feeding their children. We have recently had debates about that—last week in Westminster Hall, I think—when there has been some talk about how the Government could help people under rental pressure. It breaks my heart that parents have to make that choice.

With all due respect, we must stop approaching these life and death issues in a daze. I gently suggest that this House needs to wake up to what is happening, because children are starving and families are having to turn to food banks. For heaven’s sake, we are in the 21st century and this is one of the richest countries in the world. When will we get it right for those children and families? I am sorry if I am being a bit harsh, but we must take a good look at the important underlying crisis in this country. More importantly, we must make better decisions. We need to be aware of how decisions made here affect children throughout the whole United Kingdom.

I am speaking today from my knowledge of the matter in Northern Ireland, which comes from seeing it directly in my constituency office every week. The Thriving Life Church food bank in Newtownards tells me that the organisation that points the most people to it is our advice centre. That tells me, and hopefully this House, that I have my finger on the pulse of what is happening in my constituency, and that I understand that the food bank is doing an incredible job, but I also understand that people are under pressure.

We must take a better look at this important underlying crisis. The issue is not one that we can poke with daisies—if we poke it with a daisy, it will not move, because daisies have no strength. I say this with respect to Opposition colleagues—they may agree with me and they may not—but of course Jeremy Corbyn would make the matter worse, with his Marxist manifesto—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. The hon. Gentleman cannot stray into naming a Member. Has he given that Member notice that he intends to name him, and get into a political argument about his views?

[Jim Shannon]

I have not.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

You are normally a very caring Member of Parliament. I think we need to keep to what we are discussing, rather than getting into what we think another Member may do, especially when we have not given notice.

[Jim Shannon]

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

Let us not look at this issue as if it could be worse; let us look at it as if the state of this country for poor children could be better, should be better and must be better as soon as possible.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Steve Reed (Croydon North) (Lab/Co-op)]

This is my first appearance at the Dispatch Box as Labour’s children and families spokesperson, and I am glad that it is in a debate on such an important issue. It is shocking and unacceptable that child hunger still exists in our country to this extent. I would like to take this opportunity, if I may, to thank our previous spokesperson, my hon. Friend the Member for South Shields (Mrs Lewell- Buck), for her work in this role. She brought her experience as a social worker to the position, and she made a significant contribution to our manifesto in the general election.

I am grateful to all Members who have spoken in the debate. From my own party, my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Frank Field) drew on his vast experience and powerfully highlighted the extent of child hunger, the damage it does to children and the link to welfare reform and benefit cuts. He called on the Government to act. My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Ruth Smeeth) reminded us how widespread holiday hunger has become for children from low-income families, particularly over the last decade. She shared some powerful and moving examples from our own experience. My hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson) emphasised the importance of listening to children talk about their experiences. She asked the Minister a series of direct questions, which I hope he heard when the Whips were not distracting him. We look forward to his answers.

Members of both Houses and from all sides of the political debate have contributed to this important report, and I would like to congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Sunderland West and the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford) on co-chairing the inquiry, as well as the hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Anne-Marie Trevelyan), my hon. Friends the Members for Wrexham (Ian C. Lucas) and for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy), my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead, and my hon. Friends the Members for Stoke-on-Trent North and for City of Durham (Dr Blackman-Woods), who served on the committee. I must, in particular, thank the 15 young food ambassadors who also gave their assistance and their experience.

The committee’s work now joins a body of important literature that highlights the shocking levels of poverty in our country. One hungry child is one too many, but UNICEF estimates that 2.5 million British children live in households where food is not always securely available, and the Trussell Trust points out that more than 500,000 emergency food parcels went to children alone last year. It is staggering that that can be happening here, in one of the richest countries in the world.

Food insecurity blights children’s immediate and future lives. It can trigger mental health problems, and it can damage a child’s physical health. It can lead to obesity and restricted growth, and it can retard healthy development. It affects children’s school attendance as well as their ability to learn. Ask any teacher, and they will tell you that a hungry child cannot concentrate in class. In a BBC report on child poverty last year, one headteacher described their pupils as having grey skin. Another described the unhealthy pallor of the students in their school. Something is going badly wrong in our society if we are allowing this to happen to so many of our children. A society that loves and cares for its children does not let them go hungry, especially not to this extent.

The report reinforces the importance of the early years of a child’s life, particularly the first 1,000 days. Those early years have a defining impact on a child’s development, affecting everything from educational achievement to economic security to health. The report states:

“The food, energy and nutrients which children eat during this period determine how well they grow, how well they do at school and are also a good predictor of long-term health.”

I invite the Minister to tell the House what has happened to the Government’s review of the first 1,001 critical days—an excellent initiative commissioned by the right hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Andrea Leadsom), the former Leader of the House. The Department’s approach to early years has been lacklustre to say the least. A thousand Sure Start centres have been closed since 2010. As the Minister knows, they were places where young mums could receive advice and support on breastfeeding, healthy nutrition and their child’s critical early development.

The report highlights how free school meal provision is inconsistent, and it expresses concern about how the free school meals policy works, including worries that the allowance is not always enough to buy a meal. As my right hon. and hon. Friends have said this afternoon, it is important to find out how much money is not spent and what happens to it, so that it can be redirected to support the children for whom it was originally intended. One way of tackling child hunger would be to introduce universal free school meals for all primary school children, paid for by removing the VAT exemption on private school fees, as proposed in Labour’s manifesto. The outgoing Prime Minister is somewhat belatedly talking about increasing education funding, so perhaps the Minister can start today by matching Labour’s commitment on free school meals.

As Members have mentioned, several months have passed since the inquiry published the final report. My hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East held a Westminster Hall debate on 8 May to discuss its findings and recommendations. During the debate, the Minister stated that he had asked his team in the Department to work with the Food Foundation to look into setting up a working group. I am sure that Members across the House would appreciate an update from the Minister on how that working group is proceeding. Members will also want to know whether the Government intend to involve the inquiry’s young food ambassadors in future work, and what the Government intend to do with the five key asks of the #Right2Food charter.

Since the publication of the Food Foundation’s report, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, has published the UN’s findings on poverty in our country. That report exposes the cold reality of poverty in Britain today. It reinforces the findings of the Food Foundation, observing that children are showing up at school with empty stomachs and that schools are collecting food and sending it home because teachers know that their students will otherwise go hungry. Teachers, the report states, are not equipped to ensure that their students have clean clothes and food to eat, not least because many teachers rely on food banks themselves. The UN also predicted that, without urgent change, 40% of British children will be living in poverty by 2021. What a damning indictment it is of this Government that they are allowing that to happen in one of the richest countries in the world.

[Jim Shannon]

Does the hon. Gentleman recognise the good work done by faith groups? Their physical and financial contribution enables food to go directly to those who need it most. They play an important role.

[Mr Reed]

I absolutely acknowledge the amazing work done by faith groups, but many other parts of civil society, such as charities and other community organisations, are also stepping in to alleviate child hunger that, frankly, should not exist in the first place.

One hungry child is one too many, but 2.5 million British children regularly go hungry. The Food Foundation report shames this Government, but it is also a wake-up call, and it must lead to action.