Food Insecurity debated at Westminster Hall
FAWN Co-convenor Michael Calerbank reports on a Westimster Hall debate that brought food poverty and inqeuality to the heart of Government.
A Westminster Hall debate held last month on 19 November saw the Government obliged to respond on its stance towards the use of foodbanks. In a heavily over-subscribed debate, MPs from around the country had just two minutes each to pay tribute to their local foodbank volunteers and call for action to tackle food insecurity.
The New Labour Government and Food Insecurity
Ahead of Labour’s first annual conference with the party in government for over 14 years, FAWN organised a public letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, calling for determined action to eradicate the need for foodbanks. Such “change” won’t happen inevitably but will require decisive action to transform the labour market and empower to trade unions to eradicate the scourge of “in-work poverty” and also to replace the present punitive model of welfare with a system of genuine social security. In the absence of such a radical approach, the danger is that there will be a quiet acceptance that foodbanks are now a regular and normal part of life in Britain.
So how far does Labour recognise the scale of the challenge it faces? A Westminster Hall debate secured last month (19 November) by the SNP’s Seumas Logan saw the Government obliged to respond on its stance towards the use of foodbanks. In a heavily over-subscribed debate, MPs from around the country had just two minutes each to pay tribute to their local foodbank volunteers and call for action to tackle food insecurity.
Minsiter advocates for the Right to Food
To her credit, Shadow DWP Minister Alison McGovern, replying for the government, directly affirmed that “no one in the United Kingdom should have to beg for food”. This implies people ought to have food as of right, which begs the question whether the government would be open to considering legislating to put this right onto a statutory footing, requiring public policy decisions to be taken with regard to this requirement. No such announcement was forthcoming.
Importantly, McGovern recognised that “In 2022, 2.3 million people lived in a household that had used a food bank in the past year, and 40% of them were living in families where at least one adult worked”, adding “that is not acceptable to me. Too many people in our country are being denied the dignity of decent and fair work. Too many are stuck in insecure jobs with unpredictable working patterns”. Key here will be ensuring that the measures in the Employment Rights Bill and related legislation are sufficiently robust to make work pay. , or those limited in their capacity to work
Scrapping the Two-Child Beneift Limit
McGovern highlighted the impact of food poverty in children, and emphasised the commitment of the new government’s recently announced Child Poverty Strategy. However, as Labour backbencher Kim Johnson suggested, one simple way to reduce child poverty would be to scrap the 2 child benefit limit – a measure which Labour has resisted in favour of holding a review into the operation of Universal Credit. For his part, Logan pushed for the Government to adopt an “essentials guarantee” as recommended by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which would require an independent panel to advise on the legal minimum rate of benefits necessary to ensure that households can afford the basic essentials. The recent Budget saw benefits rise at a rate lower than inflation, meaning further real terms cuts – although for those in work this might be offset by a significant increase in the rate of the National Minimum Wage.
The most recent report produced by the Trussell Trust showed a 27% increase in the number of old age pensioners using foodbanks, with 179,000 parcels provided for older people in this age bracket. Given that we know that many older people eligible pension credit do not currently claim it, can the Government really be confident that the withdrawal of the Winter Fuel Payment will not result in yet more of our older constituents struggling to feed themselves? Indeed, the Government’s own assessment is that 100,000 more pensioners will be pushed into poverty as a result of the measure. Until, the rhetoric is matched by practice, campaigners must keep up the pressure.