Charity urges action on hardship as food bank demand up by half in five years
There were almost 2.9 million emergency food parcels handed out in the year to March 2025, the charity said.
The latest figure of 2,885,086 is a 51% rise on 1,909,345 parcels given out in the year to March 2020.
Trussell said the figures also show struggles for families, with the charity saying there has been a 46% rise in emergency food parcels provided to families with children, and a 32% rise in parcels to support children under the age of five since 2020.
The most recent overall number is down on last year's record high of 3,126,479 parcels.
Food parcel demand fell in each of the four UK nations, to 2,396,853 in England, 239,503 in Scotland, 171,673 in Wales and 77,057 in Northern Ireland.
Deliveries also fell across each region except London where it rose from 454,998 in the year to March 2024 to 455,571 in the year to this March.
Trussell chief executive Emma Revie said the Government must make addressing hunger and hardship a priority as part of its overall plans to boost the economy, as she urged a rethink on welfare reforms.
Proposals, set out earlier this year, would tighten the eligibility criteria for the main disability benefit in England and see the sickness-related element of Universal Credit cut.
The package of measures are aimed at reducing the number of working-age people on sickness benefits, which grew during the pandemic and has remained high since.
The Government hopes the proposals can save £5 billion a year by the end of the decade but an impact assessment published alongside the reforms warned some 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – could fall into relative poverty as a result of the changes.
Last week, it emerged Rachel Reeves's local Labour party is to demand that the Chancellor abandons her plans to cut disability benefits.
The Leeds West and Pudsey Constituency Labour Party (CLP), which campaigned to return Ms Reeves to Parliament in the general election as its local MP, agreed to write to her 'as soon as possible' to make clear it does not support the cuts.
The local party branch passed a motion opposing the cuts, seen by the PA news agency, when it met last week.
Meanwhile, Trussell also called for local housing allowance to be unfrozen, arguing the freeze can have a major impact on the ability of those most in need to afford the essentials.
Ms Revie said: 'Thousands of families with children, single households, disabled people, working people and older people from across the UK needed to access food banks for emergency food in the past year.
'A whole generation has now grown up in a country where sustained high levels of food bank need feel like the norm. This should be a massive wake-up call to Government and a stark reminder of their responsibilities to the people of this country.
'This UK government will fail to deliver on its promise to improve living standards for us all unless it rows back on its harmful policy choices on disability benefits and housing support and shows greater ambition on areas like the upcoming child poverty strategy and future of local crisis support.
'Without action, they risk leaving a legacy of rising food bank need and child poverty.
'It is clear that the public's cost of living fears are far from over, and these numbers show why. If the UK government truly wants to improve public services, boost the economy and make the UK a better place to live, then addressing hunger and hardship must be a priority.'
A Government spokesperson said: 'This Government is determined to change people's lives for the better, helping them out of poverty and tackling the unacceptable rise in food bank dependence in recent years.
'We are reforming the broken welfare system we inherited so we can get people into good, secure jobs, while always protecting those who need it most.
'As part of our Plan for Change we are extending the Household Support Fund, launching 750 breakfast clubs across the country and making changes to universal credit to give a £420 boost to over one million households.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
24 minutes ago
- ITV News
Government strikes returns deal with Iraq in latest bid to deter small boats
The Government has agreed a new deal with Iraq to return illegal migrants as part of wider moves to limit small boat crossings. The deal, signed by Home Office minister Dan Jarvis, will set up a formal process to return Iraqis who have arrived in the UK with no right to stay in the country. It comes after an £800,000 deal last year with Baghdad to help the country crack down on smuggling networks and organised crime. Earlier this year Sir Keir Starmer and Iraq's prime minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani agreed to strengthen co-operation on migration. Mr Jarvis signed the agreement during a visit to the UK by Iraq's deputy foreign minister Faud Hussein. The Home Office said the accord would allow the 'swift' return of illegal migrants. Home Office statistics said since previous deals, the number of Iraqis arriving in the UK by small boat has fallen to 1,900 in the year to March 2025, down from 2,600 in the previous year. Mr Jarvis said: 'By working together on security, development and migration challenges, we are building stronger relationships that benefit both our countries whilst tackling shared challenges like organised crime and irregular migration.' The returns deal is the latest as part of the Home Office's policies to stop small boats crossing the channel. Similar agreements have already been made with Albania and Vietnam since Labour came into power. Another deal with France recently came into force, where small boat migrants who have arrived over the English Channel from the French coast can be returned to the country. The small boats migrant will then be exchanged for a legitimate asylum seeker in France who can demonstrate a genuine family link to the UK. The number has been capped, but it is hoped it will act as a deterrent to those crossing the Channel. The latest figures from the Home Office showed 116 migrants arrived aboard two small boats on August 15. Mr Jarvis said: 'This visit reinforces the strength of the UK-Iraq partnership and demonstrates our government's commitment to serious diplomacy that delivers real results. 'As someone who served in Iraq, I understand first-hand the importance of building enduring relationships in the region, and the new agreement we have signed is a testament to the trust and co-operation we've built with our Iraqi counterparts.' However, the announcement was criticised by Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp. He said: 'Over 50,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel in Labour's short time in power, the worst illegal immigration crisis in our history. 'Labour has surrendered our borders, and the consequences are being felt in our communities, from rising crime to shocking cases of rape and sexual assault by recent arrivals. 'Now they boast about a measly returns deal with Iraq, but barely any small boat arrivals are Iraqi, and most would qualify for asylum anyway. It's a sham designed to look tough while crossings keep soaring. 'Labour has scrapped Conservative deterrents and created the conditions for chaos, leaving the British people to foot the bill. Only the Conservatives will stop the crossings and restore control of Britain's borders.'
Evening Standard
24 minutes ago
- Evening Standard
Budget cost hikes drive 79% of hospitality firms to raise prices
In a joint statement, the trade bodies said: 'This shocking data reinforces the urgent need for Government to recognise the incredible pressure hospitality businesses have been put under, particularly since April, and illustrates why it should come forward with measures to support this vital sector at the Budget.
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why where you live can affect your school grades – and the gap between areas is only widening
Pupils in London are outperforming those in the rest of the country, but Labour has no credible plan to fix the problem, a leading think tank has warned. A report by the Institute for Government (IfG) warns that educational inequalities in England have 'grown wider and more pronounced' across the country and among various demographic groups since the Covid pandemic. Despite the government's commitment to closing the disadvantage gap, the think tank warned that ministers had 'not yet articulated a clear vision or plan for delivering this goal'. The announcement comes as tens of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to receive their GCSE results on Thursday. The average Key Stage 4 attainment rate, meaning pupils who pass English and Maths GCSE, is at 65 per cent across England. But the regional imbalance is huge, with rates as low as 40 per cent in the Merseyside village of Knowsley, and reaching 83 per cent in the affluent west London borough of Richmond upon Thames. At Key Stage 2, the end of primary school, London's attainment of 69 per cent was eight percentage points above the national average of 61 per cent last year. Between 2019 and 2024, KS2 attainment in England fell from 65 per cent to 61 per cent, driven by steep drops in maths and writing results. Performance fell across all regions, although to a lesser extent in London – a fall of 2 points. As a result, the gap in KS2 attainment between London and the rest of the country has grown by half – from 6 to 9 points – since the pandemic. The data also shows that the disparity in GCSE attainment between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students has widened in most local authorities since Covid, with little progress made in closing the gap between 2019 and 2024. The government has previously promised to 'focus on closing gaps in outcomes between children eligible for free school meals and their more advantaged peers', as well as tackling barriers to attainment for children with special educational needs and disabilities. Earlier this year, the government announced that an extra half a million children would benefit from a free school meal, which they said would lift 100,000 pupils out of poverty and put an extra £500 in parents' pockets. But Caroline Voaden, the Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon who sits on the Commons education select committee, urged the government to go further by addressing funding disparities across the country. She told The Independent: 'A Camden school is paid nearly three times as much as a school in Devon for every child with additional needs on their roll. So they can afford more teaching assistants, more specialist help, better facilities, more extracurricular activities, better and healthier food, music, arts and sport specialists. Is it any wonder that children outside of London are missing out?' Ms Voaden said she had raised the issue with the schools minister and had 'never received an adequate answer'. 'Frankly, it's a scandal that children across the country are being let down by a focus of consecutive governments on London and it has to change. Our children deserve better.' James Toop, head of the education charity Teach First, warned that the pandemic had 'set back a generation, with disadvantaged young people paying the highest price. Worryingly, progress since then has been limited, with social and regional inequalities continuing to grow. The government must do all it can to deliver on its mission, starting by attracting and incentivising the brightest and best to teach where they're needed most.' The IfG report suggests the disparity comes as a result of the capital's distinctive demographic mix as well as London's draw as a place to work, meaning it's more likely to attract better-qualified staff. The think tank has said tackling high absence rates, particularly among disadvantaged pupils, 'will be key' to narrowing educational inequalities. Recent Department for Education figures show that the number of children in England classed as 'severely absent', which means they missed at least 50 per cent of possible school sessions, rose to nearly 150,000 in autumn 2024. Amber Dellar, an IfG researcher and report author, said: 'The pandemic has undone much of the last decade's progress in tackling educational inequalities, leaving some areas and groups of children far behind. The government's opportunity mission is a good starting point for narrowing the gaps but it lacks a clear vision or plan for delivering that goal in schools. Any serious plan must focus on helping schools share what works in supporting disadvantaged pupils and reducing their high rates of absence.' The report also showed that areas of the country where disadvantaged pupils perform worse are more likely to have large populations of poor white children. Less than a fifth (18.6 per cent) of white British pupils eligible for free school meals achieved at least a grade 5 – considered a 'strong pass' – in English and maths GCSEs in 2023-24, compared to 45.9 per cent of all state school pupils in England. A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'We are driving high and rising standards for every child through the expert-led Curriculum and Assessment Review, new Rise [Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence] teams and strengthened school accountability. This comes alongside work to tackle disadvantage, including expanding free school meals, rolling out free breakfast clubs and revitalising family services in every local authority. But we know there is more to do, which is why we will bring about the reforms needed through our schools white paper later this year to create an education system where every child can thrive, regardless of their background.'
