Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the cost of living on recent demand for food banks in rural areas.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The latest statistics on food bank usage including data at a national and regional level can be found in the household food security tables located here: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of trends in food bank use in rural areas over the last 12 months.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The latest statistics on food bank usage including data at a national and regional level can be found in the household food security tables located here: Family Resources Survey: financial year 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the reasons behind the increase in food bank usage, as reported in the Family Resources Survey 2022-23.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to addressing poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels, which is why we published official estimates of foodbank use.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty, so this will be the foundation of our approach. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched on 26 November, will target and tackle economic inactivity and unemployment and join up employment, health and skills support to meet the needs of local communities.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of repeat food bank users receive disability benefits.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Family Resources Survey that measures whether a household has used a food bank in the past 30 days or 12 months can be accessed here Family Resources Survey - GOV.UK
Individual level statistics on food banks can be found in the annual Households Below Average Income statistics publication: Households below average income (HBAI) statistics – GOV.UK
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the level of the frequent use of food banks.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Family Resources Survey that measures whether a household has used a food bank in the past 30 days or 12 months can be accessed here Family Resources Survey - GOV.UK
Individual level statistics on food banks can be found in the annual Households Below Average Income statistics publication: Households below average income (HBAI) statistics – GOV.UK
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle the root causes of dependency on food banks.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. The Get Britain Working White Paper has set out how the Government will seek to grow the economy through using work as a route out of poverty and to improve living standards in turn.
Our joint ministerial taskforce, jointly chaired by Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, has begun work on an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life.The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, create 3,000 additional nurseries, as well as deliver our plan to make work pay to turn the minimum wage into a real living wage.
Alongside this, we are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do.
To further support struggling families, £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund in England by a full year until 31 March 2026, on top of the six months already announced, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help reduce the long-term use of food banks.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels.
We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. The Get Britain Working White Paper has set out how the Government will seek to grow the economy through using work as a route out of poverty and to improve living standards in turn.
Our joint ministerial taskforce, jointly chaired by Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, has begun work on an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life.The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, create 3,000 additional nurseries, as well as deliver our plan to make work pay to turn the minimum wage into a real living wage.
Alongside this, we are committed to reviewing Universal Credit to make sure it is doing the job we want it to do.
To further support struggling families, £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend the Household Support Fund in England by a full year until 31 March 2026, on top of the six months already announced, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of food bank dependency on people who (a) are disabled and (b) live in social housing.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Family Resources Survey that measures whether a household has used a food bank in the past 30 days or 12 months can be accessed here Family Resources Survey - GOV.UK
Individual level statistics on food banks can be found in the annual Households Below Average Income statistics publication: Households below average income (HBAI) statistics – GOV.UK
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church is taking to recognise the positive impact of ecumenical relations with other Christian denominations.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church of England is committed to ecumenical partnerships at every level and is seeking to increase its work with others, including newer partners
Ecumenical activity in the Church of England is overseen by the Council for Christian Unity (CCU). This is supported by a network of local clergy who act as Denominational Ecumenical Officers (DEOs).
Evidence shows that ecumenical partnerships increase the effectiveness of local projects, including food banks, warm spaces, youth work and refugee resettlement. These partnerships reduce duplication and administrative burdens, enable better resource management, provide better support for volunteers, and build stronger relationships across diverse communities. There is some evidence that ecumenical partnerships are becoming significant in the pursuit of racial justice, particularly where unity groups consciously seek wider membership.
CCU is currently working with the Church of England’s Data Services unit to study Single Congregation Local Ecumenical Partnerships (SCLEPs). This research should also be available later in the year
The Church of England works with partners through ecumenical instruments. Churches Together in England (CTE) now has more than 50 member churches and has experienced notable growth amongst Pentecostal and Orthodox members. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) works with the national ecumenical instruments and member churches, learning from the work of peace and reconciliation on these islands and building on that experience with collaboration on other areas of shared concern.
CTBI carried out research in 2024 into the work carried out by churches and charities around Climate Sunday. This research will help in the planning of future projects.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Newcastle (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Centre for Social Justice report Lonely Nation - Part 4: Loneliness and food banks, published in December 2024, which found that over twice as many people who use food banks feel lonely most of the time compared to all adults, what steps they are taking to address loneliness and social isolation as a root cause of food bank usage.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) supports DCMS in their work to tackle Loneliness and social isolation through Jobcentres, who carry out an important role in identifying people at risk of loneliness, directing people to tailored support such as social prescribing, volunteering opportunities, befriending schemes and other local community opportunities and helping them to return to, or prepare to return to the labour market.
More specifically, the Jobcentre network promote local opportunities relevant to those at risk of Loneliness such as the Warm Welcome Spaces in the community.