Food Banks

Sam Carling Excerpts

Tuesday 19th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Vaz.

Food bank use massively increased under the last Government, and has nearly doubled since 2018-9. Of the 3.12 million emergency food parcels distributed by the Trussell Trust network in 2023-4, more than 1.14 million were for children. In June and July this year, 13.6% of households reported being food insecure, meaning that they ate less or went a day without eating because they could not access or afford food.

I want to highlight the Peterborough food partnership, which helps many of my constituents in North West Cambridgeshire. In October, the partnership received the Sustainable Food Places bronze award, in recognition of its work towards increasing access to healthy food, tackling diet-related ill health, and creating a vibrant and diverse sustainable food economy. The partnership includes over 100 organisations across the area, including from the local farming community, the public sector, Peterborough city council, local food businesses and, of course, Peterborough food bank.

Peterborough food bank served nearly 3,000 households in 2023, and saw a huge increase of 34% in parcels in 2023-24, compared with the previous financial year. The food bank partners with Peterborough citizens advice bureau, which has experienced an exponential increase in the number of people trying to access its services for income maximisation and debt advice, with up to 1,800 unique calls per month, of which it is able to answer only 15% to 20%, so there is a real issue there.

Through the partnership working, people who attend food banks in Peterborough—including the one at CSK Hampton church in my constituency—are able to receive wraparound support from the Citizens Advice and other organisations, so that they can start to tackle the root causes of their issues, which often include debt, which is in turn caused by general poverty. I am so grateful for the work that Peterborough food bank does, alongside all the other organisations in the sustainable food partnership. I hope we can start to replicate that approach elsewhere.

[Valerie Vaz (in the Chair)]

I am so sorry, but Douglas McAllister has only 30 seconds. We will then move on to the wind-ups.

--- Later in debate ---

[Danny Kruger]

Yes, indeed; I very much look forward to that review coming along soon.

Many hon. Members have mentioned the record of the last Government. I recognise the extent of low wage growth and in-work poverty that we have seen. If we look at absolute poverty, however, which is the measure that we should ultimately be looking at if we are thinking about the extent of destitution and food poverty, 1 million fewer people are in absolute poverty after housing costs in 2024 than in 2010. That includes 100,000 fewer children, 200,000 fewer pensioners, and 700,000 fewer working-age people, so the last Government made a real impact on absolute poverty. Overall, there are 1 million fewer workless households than in 2010.

Much of that impact was driven by the introduction of universal credit. Those of us who worked in the social sector before 2010 might remember the labyrinthine complexity and the perverse incentives that were created by the mess of the benefit system that we inherited in 2010, which we rationalised and improved. It is also worth mentioning the enormous £100 billion cost of living package that the last Government put together in the light of the energy shock.

Let us turn to what this Government are doing. The most significant policy that they have announced so far on poverty is the withdrawal of the winter fuel payment. Some 10 million pensioners will be denied that essential benefit, including 70% of disabled pensioners. That is surely not a record that hon. Members are proud of.

[Sam Carling]

The shadow Minister has made a point about the Government’s difficult decision to withdraw the winter fuel payment. If he feels so strongly about it, why did his party pledge to do it in 2017?

[Danny Kruger]

We did not pledge to do it and we did not do it. I think it is important to have universal entitlement to essential benefits, but if there does need to be some means testing, surely it should penalise, or withdraw the payment from, only the wealthiest pensioners, not 90% as is happening under this policy.

The other thing that the Government have done is impose a significant tax on employment through the national insurance rise, which they promised not to do in their manifesto. The cost of that will fall disproportionately on low-paid workers, who will see the impact of that tax in their wage packet.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which is no friend to my party, has pointed out that poverty is due to rise because of the Budget that the Chancellor has introduced. Every household type, except pensioners, will be poorer. Single-parent families will be £1,000 poorer. An average couple with children will be £1,760 poorer. Inequality will be higher. That is all the testament of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The Office for Budget Responsibility points out that real wages will fall and indeed, the Budget has caused the OBR to lower its real wage growth forecast by 0.5%. As the OBR says, the Budget shifts

“real resources out of private households’ incomes in order to devote more resources to public service provision.”

That might indeed be the policy that the Government want to pursue, but the effect will to be to reduce household income, as the OBR acknowledges.