FOODBANK USAGE HITS NEW HIGH
FOODBANK usage has soared in parts of Wales in the past year, with inadequate benefits blamed for the rise.
More than 2,600 emergency food packages were handed out by Trussell Trust foodbanks in Anglesey in 2017-18 – the equivalent of seven every day.
That’s up from around 1,300 three-day food supplies that were given to people in crisis the year before – more than double.
Denbighshire also saw a particularly sharp increase in foodbank usage, with the number of packages being handed out increasing from 1,808 in 2016-17 to 2,340 in the last year.
Ceredigion and Swansea also saw the number of emergency supplies rise dramatically.
The Trust’s figures reveal that the number of foodbank referrals due to benefit levels not covering the costs of essentials has been driving this increase overall.
They argue that this trend suggests an urgent need to look at the adequacy of current benefit levels.
Tony Graham, director of Wales for the Trussell Trust, said: “It’s hard to break free from hunger if there isn’t enough money coming in to cover the rising cost of absolute essentials like food and housing.
“For too many people, staying above water is a daily struggle. It’s completely unacceptable that anyone is forced to turn to a foodbank as a result.
“The Welsh rollout of Universal Credit has been piecemeal, but when fully rolled out, is the future of our benefits system.
“It’s vital we get it right and ensure levels of payment keep pace with the rising cost of essentials, particularly for groups of people we know are already more likely to need a foodbank – disabled people, people dealing with an illness, families with children and single parents.”
Across Wales, more than 98,000 food packages were handed out over the course of 2017-18, and around 35,400 of these went to children.
That’s up by 3% from just over 91,000 emergency supplies the year before.
The rise would have been larger if Cardiff had not seen a 21% fall in foodbank demand because of the end of a free fuel scheme that had been run previously with NPower.
As well as people on low incomes not receiving enough benefits to get by, some of the main reasons for people using foodbanks were changes made to the amount of benefits they received and delays to payments.
On top of calling for benefits to be uprated in line with inflation to ensure payments keep pace with the cost of living, the Trussell Trust is also asking for an urgent inquiry into poor administration within Universal Credit, so errors such as incorrect payments along with poor communication issues can be tackled.
Debt also accounts for an increasing percentage of referrals, and the statistics show the essential costs of housing and utility bills in particular are increasingly driving foodbank usage.
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “The reasons why people use foodbanks are complex, so it’s wrong to link a rise to any one cause.
“This research is based on anecdotal evidence from a small, self-selecting sample of less than 0.04% of current Universal Credit claimants, whereas Universal Credit is working for the vast majority who claim it.
“It was also carried out before our significant improvements to Universal Credit came into effect at the Budget, such as 100% advances, which support people before their first payment, removing the seven waiting days, and two weeks’ extra housing support for claimants moving on to Universal Credit,” the spokesman added.