Food: Food Banks Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Lord Martin of Springburn
Main Page: Lord Martin of Springburn (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Martin of Springburn's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(11 years ago)
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Lord De Mauley
My Lords, the gist of the noble Lord’s question was whether the Government think that it is okay to rely on the voluntary sector. The answer is no. The Government recognise the good work of charitable organisations that redistribute surplus food, but the Government also have a role. It is not the Government’s role to set prices, but we work to promote open and competitive markets that help to offer the best prices to consumers. Through Healthy Start and other initiatives, we provide a nutritional safety net in a way that encourages healthy eating among more than 500,000 pregnant women and children under four years old in very low-income and disadvantaged families throughout the UK.
Lord Martin of Springburn (CB)
My Lords, is it not the case that we are subjecting people—decent men and women—to great indignities by having them queue up for food at the food banks, and that we should find some other way of helping families in need?