‘Tackle benefits or foodbanks could struggle to meet demand’
FOODBANKS could struggle to meet increasing demand this winter unless urgent action is taken to improve Universal Credit (UC), the Government is being warned.
The alert comes as figures reveal a 4% rise in food bank usage in Wales since last year.
The Trussell Trust provides an emergency package containing three days’ worth of food for people who have been referred by a professional.
The Trust, which runs 36 food banks in Wales, says that 43,059 people across the country used their services from April until the end of September this year – including 15,220 children.
Nationally, the charity has distributed 586,907 emergency supplies in the six months to September, over 67,000 more than during the same period last year.
The Trust said the six-week wait for UC should be cut as a matter of urgency. Administration of the benefit also needs to be improved, while the Government should reassess the freeze on benefit levels, the Trust said.
According to the charity, 43% of all referrals in Wales were due to an issue with benefit payment, with 25% due to a benefit delay and 18% due to a benefit change.
But the charity says that in other centres around the UK, where UC has already been implemented, there has been a 30% average increase in service usage after six months of the rollout compared to the year before.
Susan Lloyd-Selby, manager at the Vale food bank in Barry, said she was worried for the future.
“I set the food bank up in 2011 and really had no idea how busy things were going to be,” said Ms LloydSelby.
“What’s happened since April here in the Vale is that we’ve seen a 4% increase in the number of people who have needed our support. We’re really concerned as we move into the busy Christmas season that pressure’s going to grow.
“The Friday before last, the food bank had shut and I took a call from the Vale council services. They had a mum on the phone whose benefits had been delayed so the DWP had agreed that she could have a shortterm benefit advance, but they couldn’t process that until the Monday. She had five children. So I spoke to her on the Friday and she said she’s never used a food bank before, that she could go without food for the weekend, but she was desperate for the children. So we went up and opened the food bank, packed a parcel of food for her and her five children.
“With this increase in demand, what we’re seeing more and more people who are left in this situation when they simply have no money for food and no food in the cupboard.
“We’re seeing an increasing number of people on low income, people with underlying debt, so even if this cause of the financial crisis is resolved, they can find themselves in this situation for a long time.
“Every year since I’ve been running the food bank, we’ve seen an increase in demand in the run-up to Christmas. Parents and families are obviously under a lot of pressure. This year, we’ve got the added pressure in the increase in demand and so we’re incredibly grateful to the local community for their donations, because actually it keeps us going.
“We’re particularly concerned about the impact of the full rollout of Universal Credit which is due to hit us next year. What we do know, is that when we look at the full rollout of Universal Credit in other food banks in other parts of the country, they’re looking at a 30% increase. That would put us under considerable pressure.”
Since April, the Vale food bank has also provided packages for 589 children.
Tony Graham, Wales director at The Trussell Trust, said: “We are still seeing increasing demand at foodbanks across Wales driven by the inadequacy of income levels and issues with benefit payments, and this is ahead of the acceleration of full Universal Credit rollout. Foodbanks in Scotland and England already experiencing full rollout are sharing serious concerns about the effect of the six week wait, poor administration and inability of the advance payment system to support everyone on no income. We must act on these insights now to ensure the story is different in Wales.
“Our network is working hard to stop people going hungry but the simple truth is that even with the enormous generosity of our donors and volunteers, we’re concerned Welsh foodbanks could struggle to meet demand if we see the scale of increased foodbank use seen in full Universal Credit areas elsewhere. People cannot be left for weeks without any income, and when that income does come, it must keep pace with living costs – foodbanks cannot be relied upon to pick up the pieces.”
Last week we reported how respected think tank The Institute for Fiscal Studies predicted Wales’ absolute child poverty rate will rise from 28% for the 2013-2015 period to 34.9% for 2019-2021 if the UK government presses ahead with benefit reforms.
The IFS warned that the hike in poverty is “larger than those projected in Scotland, Northern Ireland, or any English region”.