The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 set stretching targets for child poverty reduction. The...
Food poverty
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04/03/2014
‘Hard to know’ why people use foodbanks – minister
A coalition government minister has claimed it is ‘very hard to know' why people go to foodbanks.
The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Lord Freud, said in the House of Lords: 'On the issue of food banks... which we have discussed several times in this House, clearly nobody goes to a food bank willingly. However, it is very hard to know why people go to them'.
He added that a recent review commissioned by the coalition government had shown a 'lack of systematic peer-reviewed research' from the UK on the reasons or immediate circumstances that lead people to turn to food aid.
Category: News stories -
03/03/2014
1 in 3 councils supporting foodbanks
Local councils in England and Wales have spent nearly £3 million over the last two years on tackling food poverty, an investigation has revealed. Well over a third of all councils – 140 out of 323 responding – told a survey for the BBC's Panorama programme that they have subsidised foodbanks.
Both the Trussell Trust (the largest network of food banks) and Citizens Advice told the BBC the main causes of the rise in demand are problems with benefits, low income and debt.
Source: Hungry Britain?, Panorama, BBC One, 3 March 2014Category: News stories -
20/02/2014
Foodbank use linked to poverty – official report
Low incomes, unemployment and benefit delays have combined to trigger increased demand for foodbanks among the UK's poorest families, according to an independent report commissioned by the government.
The report, by researchers at Warwick University and the Food Ethics Council, directly contradicts the claim by a coalition government minister that the rise in foodbank use is due to the fact that there are now more of them.
Category: Reports -
18/12/2013
Food poverty among families and young people
Rising living costs and changes to the benefits system are driving increasing numbers of vulnerable families to use emergency food services, according to a report from the Barnardo's charity.
The report examines the extent and nature of food poverty among families and young people, based on a survey of Barnardo's services.
Key findings 94 per cent of services say that use of emergency food services is rising or high. 90 per cent of services say they have referred people to food banks in the past 12 months. 92 per cent of applicable services say demand for Christmas food parcels is increasing.Barnardo’s Assistant Director of Policy and Research Neera Sharma said: 'It's a tragedy that in one of the world's richest countries, the most vulnerable families can't afford to buy Christmas dinner for their children'.
Category: Reports -
10/12/2013
Benefits reforms ‘cut food budgets to £20 a week’
Poor households are cutting food costs in an attempt to cope with the effects of rising fuel bills, shrinking incomes and benefits changes such as the 'bedroom tax', according to the latest instalment of a survey looking at the impact of coalition government policies.
The 'Real Life Reform' project is tracking the impact of benefits reform on up to 100 households in social housing across the north of England through to 2015. This is the second of six scheduled reports on how the households are responding to the changes.
Category: Reports -
01/11/2013
Families cut back on fresh food
Many young families cut back on fresh fruit and vegetables and switched to less healthy processed food as the recession squeezed household budgets, a study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies has revealed. It shows that rising food prices and stagnating wages have led people to buy less food and choose cheaper products.
Category: Reports -
16/10/2013
Call for official inquiry into food poverty
Britain's largest food bank network has called on the coalition government to launch an official inquiry into the causes of food poverty, after releasing statistics showing that food bank use has tripled in the space of a year.
The Trussell Trust charity said 355,000 people received food parcels from its food banks between April and September – more than the number given out during the whole of last year. It says the increase is driven largely by hardship caused by benefit delays, welfare reform and low pay – and that the problem of hunger is getting worse.
Chris Mould, executive chairman of the trust, said: 'The level of food poverty in the UK is not acceptable. It's scandalous and it is causing deep distress to thousands of people. The time has come for an official and in-depth inquiry into the causes of food poverty and the consequent rise in the usage of foodbanks'.Category: News stories -
17/09/2013
Free school lunch for every child in infant school
All infant school pupils (aged 5-7) in state-funded schools in England will be eligible for free school meals from September 2014, the coalition has announced. It says this is the first step towards giving free school meals to all children in primary schools (up to age 11).
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: 'My ambition is that every primary school pupil should be able to sit down to a hot, healthy lunch with their class mates every day. Millions of parents across the country are feeling the squeeze. Over the course of a year families spend over £400 on lunch money for each child. I am determined to do all we can to help put money back in the pockets of these families'.
Disadvantaged students at sixth-form colleges and further education colleges will also be eligible for free meals from September 2014.Category: News stories -
13/09/2013
Hunger in the classroom
On average 2.4 pupils in every class arrive at school hungry at least once a week, says a report produced by multinational food company Kellogg's.
The report explores the extent of hunger among schoolchildren and its effects on learning. It is based on survey research done by YouGov with more than 700 teachers in England and Wales.Category: Reports -
24/08/2013
Jamie Oliver attacks food choices of poor families
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has said he finds it 'hard to talk' about modern-day poverty when he comes across families on low incomes who live on junk food but spend money on expensive TV sets.
Oliver was being interviewed by the Radio Times magazine about his forthcoming television project, which he hopes will encourage healthy eating by people on modest incomes.
Oliver said: 'I'm not judgmental, but I've spent a lot of time in poor communities, and I find it quite hard to talk about modern-day poverty. You might remember that scene in Ministry of Food [a previous series], with the mum and the kid eating chips and cheese out of Styrofoam containers, and behind them is a massive fucking TV. It just didn't weigh up'.Category: News stories
