Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support emergency community food providers and tackle food insecurity in the Heywood and Middleton North constituency.

The Government has committed to ending mass dependence on emergency food parcels.

This includes funding of £1 billion per year through the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) until March 2029. The CRF enables local authorities to provide funding directly to emergency community food providers in areas such as the Heywood and Middleton North constituency. This funding includes preventative, wraparound support as well as assistance for people facing a financial crisis. Further, this Government is strengthening our partnership with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) through our Civil Society Covenant.

We have also taken substantive action to support low-income households and tackle food insecurity, by increasing the National Living Wage and increasing the rates of Universal Credit. The Child Poverty Strategy, particularly the removal of the two-child limit and increasing access to Free School Meals, should also help address demand for food related support.