Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2015 to Question 3621, whether he has discussed levels of food bank use in Scotland with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; and what plans he has to discuss that matter with that Minister in future.

I meet regularly with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions where we discuss a wide range of issues. The DEFRA report: ‘Household Food Security in the UK: A Review of Food Aid’ showed that the food aid landscape is diverse and difficult to document with a number of independent initiatives. I would be happy to meet the honourable Member to discuss these issues, including how the UK and Scottish Governments can work in partnership to respond to them.

The All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into food poverty and hunger also came to a similar conclusion. Their report can be read here:

https://feedingbritain.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/food-poverty-feeding-britain-final-2.pdf.