Flintshire sees 14% rise in people accessing emergency food supplies in past 24 months

Over 7,000 people across Flintshire accessed a food bank for emergency supplies in the past year.

The data, which has been released by the Trussell Trust, shows that between April 2018 and March 2019 over 113,000 three-day emergency food supplies were given to people in crisis in Wales.

Almost 41,000 of these went to children – an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year.

Flintshire also saw an increase in the number of people accessing emergency food supplies, with 7,100 people in crisis locally over the past 12 months.

The Trussell Trust say that 4,153 of these were adults and 3,002 were children, this is up by over 14 per cent in the past 24 months.

Delyn MP David Hanson said:

 “The figures released by The Trussell Trust are truly appalling. We are one of the richest nations in the world and 3,002 three-day emergency food supplies have had to be given to children in Delyn.

Go back ten years we were living in a time when the Labour Government was eradicating child poverty and ensuring that people were gaining the skills they needed for the modern workplace.

We now have a UK Government who have presided over increasing poverty and unemployment in our communities whilst the roll-out of the fundamentally flawed Universal Credit system continues.

Some wards in Delyn have now got child poverty levels over 40%.

The pressure being put on family’s incomes due to a social security system that doesn’t work or pay enough and an economy that is barely growing is atrocious.

The UK Government have even admitted that their welfare policy has driven up foodbank usage, yet they still refuse to do something about it.

I will be writing to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Amber Rudd MP, asking her what she intends to do to eliminate the need to foodbank use in Delyn and eradicate child poverty.

It took Labour thirteen years to lift half a million children out of poverty. It has taken this UK Government nine to unpick it. They should be ashamed.”

The charity is now calling for an end to Universal Credit five week wait, stating that the main reasons for referral to its food banks are:

– Benefits consistently not covering the cost of living: 31.94%
– Delays in payment: 22.53%
– Changes to benefits being paid: 17.98%

Susan Lloyd-Selby, Wales Operations Manager for the Trussell Trust, explains:

“We are seeing record numbers of people in Wales walking through the doors of food banks because they simply cannot afford food. This isn’t right.“No one should be left hungry or destitute and we owe it to each other to make sure sufficient financial support is in place when we need it most.

Our benefits system should anchor us all from being swept into poverty with Universal Credit being part of the solution. But currently the five week wait is leaving many without enough money to cover the basics.

As a priority, we’re urging the government to end the wait for Universal Credit to ease the pressure on thousands of households.

No charity can replace the dignity of having financial security. That’s why in the long-term, we’re calling for benefit payments to reflect the true cost of living and work is secure, paying the real Living Wage, to help ensure we are all anchored from poverty.”