Food banks are simply one indication that the government is presiding over a shocking increase in poverty and deprivation. There are many more.
Food banks are a good example of David Cameron’s Big Society in action: do it yourself, because we no longer care.
If that sounds like a rather harsh assessement it is because it is increasingly hard to reach any other conclusion. As Chris Mould, executive chairman of the Trussell Trust, a charity which provides food banks, puts it:
“We’re talking about mums not eating for days because they’ve been sanctioned for seemingly illogical reasons.”
By sanctioned he means had their benefits stopped.
The awareness of what is going on is out there, but the government is either in denial or is genuinely unconcerned with the plight of those who are having to seek out food banks in order to fill their stomachs.
A case in point is the fact that the coalition has today blamed the increase in the number of people using food banks on a greater number of foodbanks. “The Trussell Trust itself says it is opening three new food banks every week, so it’s not surprising more people are using them,” a government spokesperson said.
It is perhaps unsurprising that the government should feel this way. It would, after all, be unusual for a Conservative-led coalition to be devoid of the pessimism about human nature that conservatism is known for – i.e. people with full stomachs are obviously just visiting food banks for free food, right?
Were we only seeing a rise in the number of food banks there might be an argument to be had. But we aren’t. Food banks are simply one indication that the government is presiding over a shocking increase in poverty and deprivation. Here are a few others:
1. Rough sleeping in London has increased by 13 per cent in the past year, with 6,437 people sleeping rough in the capital in 2012.
2. 50,000 council tenants are facing eviction because of the Bedroom Tax, with potentially tens of thousands more also affected.
3. The number of people working on zero hour contracts has surged since the coalition came to power in 2010, with some estimating that around 1 million people – 4 per cent of the workforce – are now on precarious zero-hour contracts.
4. Britain has suffered a substantial fall in real wages – the second biggest out of all the G20 countries – since the coalition government took office.
5. The number of people using food banks to feed themselves and their families has gone from 40,000 a year under Labour to over 350,000 in the last six months alone.
During his time in opposition, David Cameron liked to refer to “broken Britain”. Judging be some of the dreadful statistics now coming out on a regular basis, he has a funny way of fixing it.
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25 Responses to “Food banks and five statistics that shame the Coalition”
MoniqueBuckner
Workfare is the new workhouse. And with wages so low for many working people, what’s the difference between this and slavery?
Tony Turtle
What about the person that is so desperate to get off benefits that he tried his best to find work and then got sanctioned for doing too much!
What about the two week sanction for not receiving a letter that had been delivered to the wrong address? No the claimant had not moved, the postman got it wrong and the person that received it in error did not pass it on!
Sparky
“2 and 3 can happen for thousands of reasons”.
The reasons are irrelevant, since the benefit officer doesn’t know what they are. All he or she can do is act upon the fact of no-response, because that’s all the information available. Interestingly, when I worked at the benefit office, all benefits were sent out by post. How many of those cheques were lost in the post? Virtually none. Yet how many letters requesting information went missing? Hundreds. “I never got it”, “It didn’t arrive”. Right. But you got the cheque okay?
“Nobody’s saying it’s the fault of the staff.”
But they are. You only have to spend an hour in a benefit office to witness people shouting and swearing at the staff. You only have to read these pages to see comments about from people about how ‘those bastards’ at the ‘dole office’ cut off ‘my money’ for ‘no reason’.
“It’s the fault of a corrupt and callous system”.
In what way is the system ‘corrupt’ exactly? A corrupt system would imply that the staff take bribes. I’ve never seen a bribe offered, let alone accepted. Do you have other information?
“You have to be referred by a health visitor or other professional.”
No, this is incorrect. Referrals can be made by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. I could walk down to my local CAB this afternoon and tell them I’ve got no money and get a referral. Do you think they ask for bank statements? The CAB and other such people are not given performance metrics that check whether they verified a client’s background and means, they are measured by how many clients they see and how they resolve their case. Referring a client to a food bank counts as positive performance indicator.
“The article is listing statistics.”
Yes, it is. But the stats do not demonstrate a causal relationship with the the use of foodbanks.To prove a causal link, one would have to collate data on foodbank users. As it is, the figures are just provided to create an emotional response in the reader. They have no statistical value when trying to understand foodbank usage.
Kathryn
“The reasons are irrelevant”
No the reasons are NOT irrelevant when you’re talking about someone’s level of basic support, and them being unable to subsist.
“But they are. You only have to spend an hour in a benefit office to witness people shouting and swearing at the staff.”
This happens in every line of work. You’re not a special snowflake. Also see above – it’s someone’s most basic level of income and a last resort for the vunerable and desperate. Of course emotions ride high.
“In what way is the system ‘corrupt’ exactly?”
We live in a world where 46% of wealth is owned by 1% of people. We could easily redistribute and not have the need for food banks. The government is making it harder for people to get out of poverty, and penalising the poor and sick. And reducing tax, in our country, for those at the top. It’s fucked up and cruel.
“No, this is incorrect. Referrals can be made by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. I could walk down to my local CAB this afternoon and tell them I’ve got no money and get a referral.”
Bullshit. Try this and let me know how you get on.
I’m not engaging with you any more. There are hundreds of more positive ways for me to use my energy than on someone as heartless as you.
Sparky
There isn’t a single heartless statement in my post. You have ascribed that quality to me because, like all Left wingers, you are so convinced of your own moral superiority that the only explanations that you have for people who disagree with you is that they either greedy, evil or stupid.