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Citizens Advice Bureaux set to give out more than 100,000 vouchers for emergency food this year

16 Rhagfyr 2013

Citizens Advice Bureaux are on course to give out over 100,000 food vouchers a year. Estimates show a 24% increase over six months.  Research by the national charity shows that delays in benefit payments, sanctions and shortfalls in income are the main reasons people are forced to seek help for emergency food.

The reliance on foodbanks in all areas of the country comes as MPs are due to debate the issue in Parliament next week. The national charity’s Chief Executive, Gillian Guy, calls the rise in demand for emergency food supplies “extremely worrying” and has warned that “families may face a hard struggle this Christmas”.

Chief Executive Gillian Guy said:

“The fast-rising need for emergency food vouchers is extremely worrying. Millions of families are facing pressures on their budgets. The combined impact of welfare upheaval, low wages and the high cost of living is putting unbearable pressure on many households. Some families will be facing a bleak Christmas this year, struggling to put food on the table.

“The tough and often poorly applied new sanctions regime has had a damaging impact on our clients and is forcing many to turn to emergency food vouchers. Withholding people’s support to get into work, often for spurious reasons, can move people even further away from the jobs market. Over the last year Citizens Advice has seen a 46% increase in the number of advice queries received about JSA sanctions alone.

“In our Gateshead office, staff say they are giving out food parcels every day. One client, having been sanctioned, was unable to claim hardship payments and was left without anything to eat. Another client had been refused Employment Support Allowance and was appealing the decision. In the meantime he had no money coming in and faced five days without food. A pregnant woman out of work turned to a payday lender. The debt was collected in one lump sum, and a further sum then taken for the already paid loan two weeks later. She then had no money on which to survive.”

“It is vital that with so much upheaval going on in the welfare system that ministers put in place strong protection for people affected.  Universal Credit is potentially hugely beneficial and slowing down roll-out will give ministers the chance to ensure the new system is right.

“At Citizens Advice we are particularly concerned that many people will struggle to budget with monthly benefit payments. Nine out of ten of our clients told our bureaux they are not prepared for Universal Credit.  Giving people the support they need to budget effectively and manage changes is the best way to help people get into work and live independently. Offering people the option of receiving temporary fortnightly payments will help to ensure they can cope with changes and avoid debt and rent arrears.”

Case studies

In Central England, a thirty-five year old man with learning difficulties who was unable to write was sanctioned multiple times by the Jobcentre for failing to record his job search. He did not understand why he had been sanctioned until the local Citizens Advice Bureau contacted the Jobcentre, which had been unaware of his difficulties until this contact. Before this call from the CAB, no note of his problems with writing had been made on his file and no one had told the client about his option of applying for ESA. The client had run out of money, built up debts and needed several food parcels.

A fifty-nine year old man in the Midlands had his ESA stopped after a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). The client had had two major strokes. He was forced to go through mandatory reconsideration, the period after a WCA before a formal appeal against the decision can be made and during which no support is available to the individual. The client had no money and was given a food voucher. In the longer term the client only had the option of claiming JSA despite his health conditions.

Notes to editors:

  1. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local bureaux, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
  2. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
  3. To find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk. You can also get advice online at adviceguide.org.uk
  4. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers
  5. Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales advised 2.3 million clients on 5.4 million problems from October 2013 to September 2014. For full 2013/2014  service statistics see our quarterly publication Advice trends
  6. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 3,000 service outlets across England and Wales.