We were pleased to see that ‘in-work poverty’ was the subject of a parliamentary debate yesterday led by Tan Dhesi, the MP for Slough. Many valuable points about poverty in the UK were raised by Tan and colleagues across political parties in this hour long debate and we hope positive change comes from these issues being heard in parliament.
Slough Foodbank received a number of mentions including:
“The punitive benefits system is driving more people to use food banks. At Slough food bank in my constituency, kind and amazing people who undertake much-needed selfless service report that six in 10 of the people they support are on universal credit, and many of them are employed. Charities openly acknowledge that they would rather not exist because they do not want a society where working people are forced to rely on food parcels to survive.
It is worth noting that in 2010 the Trussell Trust operated only 35 food banks. Staggeringly, today that number is closer to 1,300 across the UK, and between April 2022 and March 2023, they gave out 3 million emergency food parcels. That is a third more than during the pandemic and double the number before the pandemic. What a shocking legacy this Government are leaving behind.”
“My gratitude also goes to the House of Commons Library for providing accurate and relevant statistics. I thank Crisis, the Trussell Trust, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Slough food bank for providing their analyses, as well as for the brilliant work that they do in my Slough constituency and across our country.”
You can read the full transcript of the debate on this link: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-06-28/debates/891155B9-C8AD-47AC-865F-34A512B7C517/details#contribution-76340945-F267-4AA3-AB3A-305322693E4D