Foodbanks sound an early warning

THE people behind foodbanks up and down the country should be listened to when they sound the alarm bell about poverty in Wales.

The Trussell Trust’s foodbank network provided three-day emergency food supplies on 95,190 occasions in 2016-17. This was up from 85,656 in 2015-16.

It is sobering to imagine the suffering that people in poverty would face in a Wales without foodbanks. It is saddening that the need for the service they provide is so glaringly acute.

An immediate cause for concern is the impact of the roll-out of Universal Credit.

The Trust reports that people are being referred to them because of issues with the benefit. Local authorities have invited foodbanks to support their work as Universal Credit is rolled out.

The joint working is commendable but it is concerning that there is such a strong expectation that people will fall into trouble and have to rely on charity when the delivery of benefits changes.

The Trust says that areas of full Universal Credit roll-out “have seen a 16.85% average increase in referrals for emergency food, more than double the national average of 6.64%”.

It notes that people in insecure or seasonal work are particularly affected. This should be particularly concerning in Wales, where tourism and agriculture are important sources of employment.

There is now worry about the extra pressure put on both food donation stocks and the welfare of volunteers.

The Trust welcomes the simplification of the welfare system but – as so many major government projects have demonstrated – things can go very wrong.

It is one thing for a government department to squander cash on, for example, an IT system that doesn’t work. But it is another to change benefits in a way that inadvertently takes cash away from people who will struggle to feed themselves and their families.

The health and dignity of individuals who may already live with intense uncertainty is at stake. Parents in poverty will face terror if the wellbeing of their children is jeopardised, and the changes are being brought in against a backdrop of concern about the scale of the squeeze on welfare spending and predictions of increases in child poverty.

It is welcome that heroic volunteers have put compassionate measures in place to prevent tragedies – but so should government.