Increase in benefit cuts linked to rise in numbers using food banks

There is a strong link between increased benefits sanctions and a rise in food bank use, according to a new report.

Researchers from the University of Oxford looked at figures from the UK's largest food bank provider, the Trussell Trust between 2012 and 2015.

They analysed data from 259 local authorities and found that cuts in benefit payments coincided with a rise in people turning to food banks for help.

The Trust is now calling for a more lenient early warning system so that claimants do not immediately lose their money.

The report's lead author, Dr Rachel Loopstra, said: "(Our) findings show clear evidence of sanctions being linked to economic hardship and hunger, as we see a close relationship between sanctioning rates and rates of food bank usage across local authorities in the UK."

Ginette Thorne lost her job three months ago and has since used the food bank in Wokingham, Berkshire, three times.

Around a third of people supported at the centre have had their benefits stopped.

Ms Thorne told Sky News: "When they sanction you, it's immediate, you've got nothing, and you're supposed to still pay your rent, your electric, your gas and buy food with nothing.

"It's impossible. So if it wasn't for this place and places like this there'd be a lot of people going very, very hungry including children."

The report said food banks in the Trussell Trust network experienced a spike in numbers after 2013, when over one million sanctions were applied.

Food banks distributed nearly three times as much over the period, from just under 350,000 three-day emergency food supplies in 2012/13 to around 913,000 in 2013/14.

Adrian Curtis, from The Trussell Trust, said: "The findings from this ground-breaking study tell us once and for all: the more people sanctioned, the more people need food banks.

"We now need to listen to the stories behind the statistics: families go hungry, debts spiral, and the heating doesn't go on even as temperatures drop.

"There is much to be hopeful about - we're very pleased to see sanctioning rates have decreased and that the new Secretary of State has announced that work capability re-assessments for employment and support allowance claimants with incurable or progressive illnesses have been scrapped.

"However, we still see people being referred to our food banks who have been sanctioned unfairly.

"A true 'yellow card' system, which gives people a non-financial warning first, would mean less people thrown into crisis and ultimately, less people needing food banks."

Labour says the report is proof the sanctions system should be scrapped - but the Government denies it is the main cause of the problem.

In a statement, the Department for Work and Pensions said: "The reasons for food bank use are complex, and it is misleading to link them to any one issue.

"We're clear that work is the best route out of poverty, and the number of people in employment is at a record high, up by 2.7 million since 2010."