In a column in the Telegraph, Fraser Nelson has stated:
In a column in the Telegraph, Fraser Nelson has stated: “David Cameron should not be afraid to talk about food banks. Rather than a sign of social decay, they are a sign of the ‘big society’ in action.”
Mr. Nelson continues, “Given how much we’re likely to hear about food banks, it is probably worth Mr Cameron’s time explaining the situation. Yes, food banks are there because people need to eat – but it’s not as simple as poverty. Surveys since the crash have shown no real increase in people unable to afford food. Just one in five food bank customers mentions low income, and one in six cites changes to benefits.”
This does not reflect the best and most recent information we have about foodbank use.
In 2014, West Cheshire Foodbank, together with the University of Chester devised and operated a new data collection method, using a detailed coding system to provide much more precise information than has previously been available. In March 2015 they published a report #cheshirehunger : Understanding emergency food provision in West Cheshire.
It foundthat: “Problems with benefits directly accounted for almost half (47 per cent) of the referrals.” These problems included “protracted administrative delays, sanctions and ESA stoppages.”
Mr. Nelson rightly says that no system is perfect, there will always be errors and delays that leave people in need of temporary help. But to deny, as he does, that the welfare reform policies of the current government have not greatly increased such problems would seem to be a denial of reality. In this he is not alone, as much of the political and media establishment seem remarkably unaware of what is happening.
Welfare reform introduced a much stricter regime of benefit sanctions, for instance, which has created a punitive culture. In the #cheshirehunger report Major Gill Stacey of the Salvation Army said: “The stories I hear from people who have lost their job – especially those in their 50s – remind me of how easy it can be to lose everything you have. In these difficult circumstances, benefit sanctions are the last thing people need: the fear that these create can be all consuming, damaging people’s mental health and driving people further from employment.
“The jobcentre treats people looking for work as third rate citizens. Current policies are dehumanising and strip people of their self-belief, worth and esteem. We need to rethink the way that we treat people in crisis, and strive for a social security system that emphasises compassion and dignity.”
The Coalition has also caused chaos in the system of support for disabled people. First they decided, against expert advice, to roll out the Work Capability Assessment to all existing claimants. This led to many people wrongly losing their support. Then they abolished Disability Living Allowance, introducing Personal Independence Payments with changed eligibility criteria. This has left hundreds of thousands of sick and disabled people waiting for the support they need, and many losing it altogether. Disabled people were also badly affected by other elements of welfare reform, including the bedroom tax.
The authors of #cheshirehunger concisely summarise the effects of welfare reform combined with austerity: “Severe reductions in UK public expenditure, particularly in social security entitlement and levels, as well as a rise in insecure and self-employment and stagnant wages, have combined with significant loss of local authority networks of support and marked increases in essential costs of living including food prices, to leave more and more people struggling to sustain access to enough good food for a healthy life.”
Of course, it is a good thing that communities have responded to the needs of their neighbours by donating food and volunteering at foodbanks. But to go from this to regarding foodbanks as a welcome new component of our welfare system seems to lack imagination or empathy for foodbank users.
Anyone who has volunteered at a foodbank will tell you of the embarrassment and shame many people feel in having to admit they need charity. The hunger, anxiety and anguish they may have gone through before finally arriving at the foodbank cannot be overstated. Would we feel it desirable to be in a position where we needed such charity? Would we like to go through the application process, provide all our paperwork, to receive a few carrier bags containing tins of beans and soup. And perhaps then eat it cold because we had no money to put in the gas or electricity meter?
Perhaps this highlights that there are now different visions of the welfare state. If we see the welfare state as offering ‘handouts’, then foodbanks can be seen as a natural extension of that. But if we see the welfare state as a system of ‘social security’ to which all who are able contribute to support those who need it, with no stigma attached, then foodbanks do not sit easily within that.
Charity is wonderful and brings benefits to all involved. But it can never be a replacement for a fully functioning social security system. If we would not wish to be reliant on a foodbank ourselves, we should not be content to see others in that position.
Mr Nelson says that foodbanks “show the shape of welfare to come” and views that as a positive thing. I view it as ominous.
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25)
* More on the issues in the 2015 General Election from Ekklesia: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/generalelection2015
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© Bernadette Meaden has written about political, religious and social issues for some years, and is strongly influenced by Christian Socialism, liberation theology and the Catholic Worker movement. She is an Ekklesia associate and regular contributor. You can follow her on Twitter: @BernaMeaden