Britons driven to food banks by poverty seen as 'collateral damage' by DWP, says Trussell Trust

Exclusive: Britain's biggest food bank provider says the Government has threated the charity for speaking out on the issue



Hundreds of thousands of Britons driven to food banks by poverty in the past year are seen as “collateral damage” by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), according to Chris Mould, chair of the Trussell Trust. 
The Government has spent years in denial of the existence of food poverty and continues to threaten the charity for speaking out on the issue, he said.

The Trussell Trust is Britain’s biggest provider of food banks, with more than 420 around the country. But despite years of repeated attempts by the charity, Iain Duncan-Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who has accused the organisation of scaremongering, has never met its representatives, said Mr Mould.

Food bank volunteers face growing battle as benefits crisis bites

“We’ve asked on many occasions over many years and we’ve always suggested that we’d like to have a conversation with his department about the issues that we see.”

He added: “The only time we’ve had access to the Department for Work and Pensions at any sensible process of dialogue was during the early part of the Coalition government in 2010-2011 when they were consulting on issues relating to the social fund and welfare reform.”

Lives are at stake, said Mr Mould, who ran the Central Police Training and Development Authority and NHS trusts in Wiltshire and Bedfordshire before becoming involved with the charity more than a decade ago.

“We are dealing with people who have been going hungry but, more importantly, have come to a point where they see no point in continuing to live. What makes me angry is that I’ve met too many people who have been driven to that place by inadequate implementation of existing public service and policy.”





He added: “There are many people who have told me that the food bank saved their lives and several instances of people where that’s absolutely true; they had reached the end of their tether and they were planning to commit suicide.”

Food-bank use in Britain is at record levels. More than one million food parcels, each providing enough food for three days, were given out between 2014 and 2015, more than 400,000 of which went to children. In recognition of the growing problem, the Big Lottery Fund gave the Trussell Trust £748,423 last month. In more than 40 per cent of cases, the main reason for people needing food parcels is related to delays or changes to their benefits, says the charity. Although official figures are not yet available, food banks were busier than usual over Christmas.

Commenting on the DWP’s refusal to have a meaningful dialogue with the charity and its stance on the plight of Britons who cannot afford to eat, Mr Mould said: “I would imagine they see it as collateral damage as they implement new policy and they don’t intend to divert or adjust their policy, so it’s better not to hear. That’s how it feels.”

Attempts by officials to undermine the charity continue but are more subtle than tactics used in the past, he said. Last year The Independent revealed how a senior aide to Iain Duncan-Smith had warned Mr Mould that the “Government might try to shut you down”, because of the charity’s campaigning on food poverty. Asked if such threats persisted, Mr Mould said: “What’s happened is that the messages are passed through in a more subtle way, that’s all I can really say. What we hear is that we will never get access to policy makers in Government.” He added: “We get told that if we were to say less, and to be less regular in the saying of what we say, we would then get the chance to have conversations with Government departments.”


Food poverty in Britain is set to worsen in the coming years, he fears. “We have to face the reality that what we are seeing now is just the beginning,” he told the IoS. “The measure must be that when things go wrong, we fast-track putting them right. But we have a Government department that tolerates without shame situations where people have no access to financial support for months on end at times.

“If you were to take the same principle and apply it to the health service and say, ‘A tiny proportion of patients won’t get a good service’, and as a consequence they don’t get better and die, there would be a scandal. Because you would never be allowed to consider that that’s how you would operate a public service.”

More at  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britons-driven-to-food-banks-by-poverty-seen-as-collateral-damage-by-dwp-says-trussell-trust-a6794101.html

Sassquatch... you and your idiot lefties want loads of immigrants turning up every year taking our jobs, driving up costs of living, driving down wages...

Mumble, mumble, carp, carp, bow and scrape, blame the 'immigrants'.  Monkfish, make sure you pad the kneew of your trousers won't you.

Sassquatch, this made me smyle.

Is a very fitting name me thinks...!!!



Come on sassy... you can't have it both ways!!!

On one hand you favour hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming here every year, who you regularly try to tell us are all hard working etc... so surely if they didn't come there would be more jobs for our own people...!?

Also the cost of living wouldn't be going up so much... and wages wouldn't be constantly held down...

Tommy Monk wrote:

Is a very fitting name me thinks...!!!



Come on sassy... you can't have it both ways!!!

On one hand you favour hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming here every year, who you regularly try to tell us are all hard working etc... so surely if they didn't come there would be more jobs for our own people...!?

He does have a point.

Afraid not Eddie, our problems are with the rich and the huge companies that don't pay their taxes.  With the money from them, we would be in clover.

sassy wrote:Afraid not Eddie, our problems are with the rich and the huge companies that don't pay their taxes.  With the money from them, we would be in clover.

That's also true sass, but we don't have enough to go round for the poor at the moment so it makes sense to sort that our first.

If you don't have a lot of food you don't invite the street round for dinner knowing your own family won't have enough to eat.

Figures have shown that immigrants put in more than they take out, so they help, not hinder, and they are certainly no excuse for the things that lead to food banks, which have been shown in the main part to be sanctions.  Sanctions which have been shown to be totally unfair and arbitary.

Figures show...?
Sassy, please tell me you don't trust government figures?

Definitely NOT Government figures lol

Off to do dinner, BBL

I'v not trusted Government figures on ANYTHING for years.

So they take Jobs that our people could and should be doing. . . ! ?

Tommy Monk wrote:So they take Joseph that our people could and should be doing. . . ! ?

Eh?

Jobs. .. Bloody predictive text...

Sassquatch might like to explain how the areas with most foreigners are the places that are also said to be y he most deprived and unemployed and in most receipt of benefits! ?

Tommy Monk wrote:Jobs. .. Bloody predictive text...

Gets on your ducking nerves doesn't it?

Yesterday it fuck ingredients doesn't... Bloody hell... done me again...!

Translate - yes it fuckin does

sassy wrote:Figures have shown that immigrants put in more than they take out, so they help, not hinder, and they are certainly no excuse for the things that lead to food banks, which have been shown in the main part to be sanctions.  Sanctions which have been shown to be totally unfair and arbitary.

Sassy
Are there fairiz at the bottom of your garden?

Do you believe the moon is made of green cheese?

Do you believe the world is square?

Do you believe Jimmy Savile was innocent?

sassy wrote:Afraid not Eddie, our problems are with the rich and the huge companies that don't pay their taxes.  With the money from them, we would be in clover.

4

That's part of the problem but it's undeniable that immigration is also another big problem in many areas,
My son was made redundant twice in the space of a year. The companies he worked for closed down (he is a fully qualified scaffolder) all the workforce was laid off ....only to open again soon after with a completely foreign workforce (mostly Polish)
Yes they could work for a lot less than the Brits because their overheads were cheap....they all bunked in together and they left their families back home . They were also less qualified than the British workers who were laid off.

This isn't unusual in the building trade (though it's gotten better in this area over the last 2 years) and the catering trade.

Being in clover we might be Sassy, if we are, it should go to our own people, those poor unfortunate souls oop north, not forunuz which you are so fond of, I wonder why??????.

Sassquatch is exhibiting the lefties 'quantum thinking' again. .. whereby she can hold two totally opposing ideas at the same time and believe both to be completely true!!!

Tommy Monk wrote:Sassquatch is exhibiting the lefties 'quantum thinking' again. .. whereby she can hold two totally opposing ideas at the same time and believe both to be completely true!!!

Well that does seem to be true - that happened a lot on here though

Syl wrote:

sassy wrote:Afraid not Eddie, our problems are with the rich and the huge companies that don't pay their taxes.  With the money from them, we would be in clover.

4

That's part of the problem but  it's undeniable that immigration is also another big problem in many areas,
My son was made redundant twice in the space of a year. The companies he worked for closed down (he is a fully qualified scaffolder) all the workforce was laid off ....only to open again soon after with a completely foreign workforce (mostly Polish)
Yes they could work for a lot less than the Brits because their overheads were cheap....they all bunked in together and they left their families back home . They were also less qualified than the British workers who were laid off.

This isn't unusual in the building trade (though it's gotten better in this area over the last 2 years) and the catering trade.

that is just temporary adaption to the new market and will balance out.  (it has here and was originally seen as an issue with the Asian immigration)
Assuming the British labor is actually higher quality then there will become 2 business models, one quality focused and the other prices minimizing.

Its already happening veya...you can for instance buy a cheap shit made chainsaw for 50-100 quid that will likey fall apart after 2 trees....or quite possibly kill you

or you can buy a Stihl or Husquvarna at arond 300 and upward

exactly, it will be the same for scaffolders or any other job

labor is just another commodity and freedom of movement creates the same situation as free trade other commodities.

the systems that allow this movement are not embedded yet and still have some teething problems but for English speaking western nations there is no avoiding the fact that this is 'globalization of the economy' that we have been pushing.

Morelike the globalisation of Islam.

Stormee wrote:Morelike the globalisation of Islam.

Do you always smoke crack before posting?

eddie wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:

Is a very fitting name me thinks...!!!



Come on sassy... you can't have it both ways!!!

On one hand you favour hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming here every year, who you regularly try to tell us are all hard working etc... so surely if they didn't come there would be more jobs for our own people...!?

He does have a point.

No he doesn't.

Some locals or "our own people" don't want to do particular jobs, some of which ar vital services like nursing. The NHS and the private sector health services no choice but to rely on foreign workers. I've personally had 4 nursing jobs advertised for £15 per hour for 18 months. Finally found them, in the EU countries.

Some locals (not all) who are employed with us show up for their shifts late, if we're lucky or don't show up at all. Which means we have to rely on agency staff, who are of course foreign. Just because some of our staff members spend too much time in the pub the night before. Do you think I'm going to continue to employ anyone but especially a nurse who comes to work drunk? The foreign workers over here have come to work and make money and consequently have a much better work ethic.

Tommy Monk wrote:So they take Jobs that our people could and should be doing. . . ! ?

Do you want to know why your statement is utter bullshit?

Of course foreigners are stealing your jobs.

But if someone who can barely speak English, has no local contacts or family and very little money can steal your job - then imagine how shit you are.

Fuzzy Zack wrote:

eddie wrote:

He does have a point.

No he doesn't.

Some locals or "our own people" don't want to do particular jobs, some of which ar vital services like nursing. The NHS and the private sector health services no choice but to rely on foreign workers. I've personally had 4 nursing jobs advertised for £15 per hour for 18 months. Finally found them, in the EU countries.

Some locals (not all) who are employed with us show up for their shifts late, if we're lucky or don't show up at all. Which means we have to rely on agency staff, who are of course foreign. Just because some of our staff members spend too much time in the pub the night before. Do you think I'm going to continue to employ anyone but especially a nurse who comes to work drunk? The foreign workers over here have come to work and make money and consequently have a much better work ethic.

And we have to advertise locally first before we can offer the job to a foreigner. And they still don't take the opportunities.

Then you have people like my builder from Albania, who's been here 15 years and has an IT business as well. He now employs others (yes, locals) and has set his daughter up in her own architect firm. Which parent from the UK would think of that kind of vertical integration within the family? British parents hardly talk to their children once they leave home.

Instead of being jealous, why don't you stop playing the victim and start being more diligent.

Fuzzy Zack wrote:

eddie wrote:

Tommy Monk wrote:

Is a very fitting name me thinks...!!!



Come on sassy... you can't have it both ways!!!

On one hand you favour hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming here every year, who you regularly try to tell us are all hard working etc... so surely if they didn't come there would be more jobs for our own people...!?

He does have a point.

No he doesn't.

Some locals or "our own people" don't want to do particular jobs, some of which ar vital services like nursing. The NHS and the private sector health services no choice but to rely on foreign workers. I've personally had 4 nursing jobs advertised for £15 per hour for 18 months. Finally found them, in the EU countries.

Some locals (not all) who are employed with us show up for their shifts late, if we're lucky or don't show up at all. Which means we have to rely on agency staff, who are of course foreign. Just because some of our staff members spend too much time in the pub the night before. Do you think I'm going to continue to employ anyone but especially a nurse who comes to work drunk? The foreign workers over here have come to work and make money and consequently have a much better work ethic.

That's a fair enough post and come from someone I know, doesn't lie.
I've also heard this before from a lady I know who use to work in the motor trade: all the English go home early on a Friday and the knows that stay are EU....

Point taken, but it is a generalisation though. All my family have always worked really hard Zack.

So UK people refusing to work should expect to get a hard time at the job centre and money stopped.




But maybe firms are eager to hire foreign eu country nationals because of the 1000 quid per person they can get from Brussels. ..


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2379477/Brussels-offers-UK-firms-1-000-cash-bribes-hire-foreign-workers.html

veya_victaous wrote:

Stormee wrote:Morelike the globalisation of Islam.

Do you always smoke crack before posting?

LOL!   Hi Veya, how is doing up the new place going?

Fuzzy Zack wrote:Instead of being jealous, why don't you stop playing the victim and start being more diligent.

I do find it funny that almost all the issues are "but these foreigners work harder than us for less money" yet some how it isn't there fault they are lazy. Tommy and Stormee seem to think a business should give them money just cause they are Anglo, they should pay them more than the Polish guy that works harder... Which is obvious ridiculous

eddie wrote:

Fuzzy Zack wrote:

No he doesn't.

Some locals or "our own people" don't want to do particular jobs, some of which ar vital services like nursing. The NHS and the private sector health services no choice but to rely on foreign workers. I've personally had 4 nursing jobs advertised for £15 per hour for 18 months. Finally found them, in the EU countries.

Some locals (not all) who are employed with us show up for their shifts late, if we're lucky or don't show up at all. Which means we have to rely on agency staff, who are of course foreign. Just because some of our staff members spend too much time in the pub the night before. Do you think I'm going to continue to employ anyone but especially a nurse who comes to work drunk? The foreign workers over here have come to work and make money and consequently have a much better work ethic.

That's a fair enough post and come from someone I know, doesn't lie.
I've also heard this before from a lady I know who use to work in the motor trade: all the English go home early on a Friday and the knows that stay are EU....

Point taken, but it is a generalisation though. All my family have always worked really hard Zack.

Aww! Thanks for the respect Eddie. I'm flattered.

And of course, I was generalising. Which is why I tried to say "some". I'm a person who likes to treat people as individuals, so I apologise if I gave the wrong impression.

I could also look at this from a non-racial point of view and say it's also a generational and a gender phenomenon. For example, women who are old enough to have children who can look after themselves (say, 13 years old), tend to make more dedicated nurses. As a mother, you can imagine why that is.

sassy wrote:

veya_victaous wrote:

Stormee wrote:Morelike the globalisation of Islam.

Do you always smoke crack before posting?

LOL!   Hi Veya, how is doing up the new place going?

Good... lots of hacking back over growth... thankfully it was fairly cool so no snake sightings.
But other animals a plenty
2 sorts of deer, not sure what I'll see if i can get some pictures, but they are small herds with fawns, coming onto my property to rest under the plum and apricot trees
Rabbits or Hares (buggers are fast and pretty big so think it might be hares)
and like something out of snow white there is a blackbirds nests just meters from from the back door


back at work now, so posting as normal during the week again 

Going back down on Friday and taking my dogs with me this time... spent most of the last week fencing off a section for them around the house. 

Sounds like heaven!

veya_victaous wrote:

Fuzzy Zack wrote:Instead of being jealous, why don't you stop playing the victim and start being more diligent.

I do find it funny that almost all the issues are "but these foreigners work harder than us for less money" yet some how it isn't there fault they are lazy. Tommy and Stormee seem to think a business should give them money just cause they are Anglo, they should pay them more than the Polish guy that works harder... Which is obvious ridiculous

I do sympathise a little with Tommy but as Sassy says, he's blaming the wrong people.

Wages in the UK (and most likely the other EU states and the US) have been going down in "real" (inflation adjusted) terms for many decades. Obviously this has reduced our standard of living has dropped. And as the competitive advantage of cheap imports drop over the next decade, we will see prices of staple products rise in the market. Then we will really feel how much our standard of living has dropped.

And yes, globalised labour markets have dropped wages. Products are being made in China, etc and services in the local marker are being provided by other foreigners (e.g. In nursing). Companies have to compete in a global market too and have to offer a competitive price. Therefore reduce their wage bill.

This is where Sassy is right: if companies choose profit to compete in a global market (which is fair enough if you believe in some form of capitalism), then they must pay their taxes. Those taxes can then be redistributed to companies that provide vital public services (such as nursing) so they can pay better wages.

Or we can increase the national minimum wage to ensure companies pay a living wage that will help reduce the wage gap.

The government sets policy on wages and taxation. Companies lobby government to set policies favourable to their profits. The immigrants don't have any power.

the other is the reduce the cost of living.

currently there are several necessities being treated like investment commodities (housing, Pharmaceuticals, telecommunications just to name a few ) policies need to implemented to prevent profiteering and speculation from investors in things that public deems a necessity.

If we remove the idea of a universal 'right to profit' so that only those that 'add value' actually increase the cost of goods/services classified as necessity.

the problem is largely the CEOs on millions of dollars. the add zero value and are immense cost. having worked in large organization 90% of upper management can be replaced with simple approval algorithms that would be much more effective than the human equivalent and literally less than 0.1% of the cost and ready to work 24/7 365 days of the year.

What they don't want to tell you is the Least necessary person is the CEO and directors, they are decision makers supposedly by rely standardized management techniques that can be made into algorithms. even making the replacement woudl be cheaper than the replacement of a factory worker.

@Zach
your analysis fails to take into account that for decades the Europeans have been producing less and less each year in actual value.

Europe has been growing at 1-3% while Australia has been growing at 5-10 %  and China at 7-15%. and they are just 2 examples.

so while 20 years ago we were much smaller economies we have been growing faster so we are increasing our share of the 'global resources' as there is a finite amount of global resources this is coming from Europeans, as is only fair since Europe is now making less and less of the world resources/wealth.

in the last 20 years not only has the wage/production ratio reversed it the gap is now growing. you used to earn more in the UK for the same job now you earn more in Australia  and the amount more you earn is increasing.

Mainly because the UK is yet to accept it is the new way economies work and it has to pull it's finger out and tell the lazy buggers that have had it too good for too many generation to get to work as they cannot rely on slaves and colonials to cover the cost of their layabout life style anymore.
the standard of living will drop because the people currently living in Britain only work hard enough to afford that standard of living.

@Veya

I agree about the extortionate prices of pharma companies. And that there should be regulation on how much profit they can make on their IP. This would have a huge impact not only of costs of the NHS (hence reduce govt expenditure) but also improve quality of health.

I don't think any centralist or right leaning govt will do anything about property supply (building more homes) or demand (stop 2nd home or foreigners purchasing property), as reducing property values will reduce the assets on our own personal balance sheet. That is, current home owners will feel poorer and maybe send them into negative equity (long shot).

I don't think China or India are any more productive than the EU. It's just that the factors of production have moved there.

Countries like the US and even Israel develop IP and consumables that adds value to the economy. I don't think China and definietly India are not there yet.

The U.K. is trying to be a player in graphine. The historical problem with the U.K. is that we invent despite poor investment and lack of support but ultimately fail in marketing.

you have never lived among East Asian if you don't think they are more productive.
their work ethic is tops and they value education, culturally they are better suited to globalized economies and they already had some much tradition smashed by western powers they are much better at adapting than any nation in Europe.
the Only reason Australia is up there in our production is that we saw how hard they work back in the early 90's plus the ever increasing portion of citizens from that part of the world. Even in the 90's the schools for the academically gifted was 40%+ east Asian decent, now it would be closer to 80%.


we saw the tiger economies grow and realized that eventually they would be the big players. USA and Israel make crap IP often the innovation is merely in the profiteering capacity rather than practical and as they say
"Copyright infringement doesn't translate to Mandarin Anyway"
there is no moral reason for them to respect copyright law quite to opposite Copyright law is immoral, where would the world be in the guy that invented the wheel was allowed to copyright it.
China is already powerful enough to ignore the cries of the western empire.

India has been Hobbled by the western empire we purposely fuck it up to keep it down, China doesn't let the west do it because it doesn't let western companies act independently cause it aint stupid and can see anywhere the western companies are allowed to act independently (including our own nations)they rort and steal and generally do everything they can to ruin the community for their own profit

Beside more IP comes from Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. the superiority of their education systems means that the proportion coming from these countries will only grow While nations like the USA go backwards in education.

the western empire is in decline the east is rising, all the better economists have been saying it for a decade plus. Paul Keating (an Ex-PM) literally gave a speech back in like '92 that pretty much outlined and predicted the current economic shift towards the east.  He is generally  considered and asshole but Hindsight has rendered him one of out most astute Prime Ministers. Cause he was right... 
in 1993 GDP per capita in Australia was 17,657.2 and in the UK was 18,389.0
in 2014 Australia is now 61,925.5 and the UK is only 46,332.0

similarly Singapore
1993 -18,302.3   2014- 56,284.6

You do know there's a difference between work ethic and being economically productive?

Like I said, factors of production have moved to China and India but they are not innovating yet. Innovations that are exportable add real value to the economy.

And FYI - you have to work with companies in India if you want to do business there. Even large companies like Coca Cola have partnered up with Indian companies.

Indians do have a strong work ethic but not that good at innovation. The only people keeping India down are Indians.

veya_victaous wrote:

Syl wrote:
4

That's part of the problem but  it's undeniable that immigration is also another big problem in many areas,
My son was made redundant twice in the space of a year. The companies he worked for closed down (he is a fully qualified scaffolder) all the workforce was laid off ....only to open again soon after with a completely foreign workforce (mostly Polish)
Yes they could work for a lot less than the Brits because their overheads were cheap....they all bunked in together and they left their families back home . They were also less qualified than the British workers who were laid off.

This isn't unusual in the building trade (though it's gotten better in this area over the last 2 years) and the catering trade.

that is just temporary adaption to the new market and will balance out.  (it has here and was originally seen as an issue with the Asian immigration)
Assuming the British labor is actually higher quality then there will become 2 business models, one quality focused and the other prices minimizing.

It has balanced out in some trades... like you say people get what they pay for.

On the other hand when unqualified staff are needed, and companies like Butlins and Costa advertise abroad for workers instead of employing local people, which has happened fairly recently....how can that be right?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2379477/Brussels-offers-UK-firms-1-000-cash-bribes-hire-foreign-workers.html

Syl wrote:

veya_victaous wrote:

Syl wrote:
4

That's part of the problem but  it's undeniable that immigration is also another big problem in many areas,
My son was made redundant twice in the space of a year. The companies he worked for closed down (he is a fully qualified scaffolder) all the workforce was laid off ....only to open again soon after with a completely foreign workforce (mostly Polish)
Yes they could work for a lot less than the Brits because their overheads were cheap....they all bunked in together and they left their families back home . They were also less qualified than the British workers who were laid off.

This isn't unusual in the building trade (though it's gotten better in this area over the last 2 years) and the catering trade.

that is just temporary adaption to the new market and will balance out.  (it has here and was originally seen as an issue with the Asian immigration)
Assuming the British labor is actually higher quality then there will become 2 business models, one quality focused and the other prices minimizing.

It has balanced out in some trades... like you say people get what they pay for.

On the other hand when unqualified staff are needed, and companies like Butlins and Costa advertise abroad for workers instead of employing local people, which has happened fairly recently....how can that be right?

it's what is.. it is globalization and the world is past the point of going back.

But is it really fair to employ someone that costs more and works less just because they were born on a particular piece of dirt?

Now the Uk has a double situation with the EU, but long term that will allow Europe to compete with the USA and China, so it is short term pain for long term gain from an overall Europe perspective.

so there is problems, that is life, but what do you do? do you cry and say "try and make it was like it was before"(which doesn't really work) or do you try and solve them by doing things like increasing the education standards in the UK so that even if you are importing labor you are exporting expertise. A more UK specific option would be to try and modernize and revitalize some of your old port/industrial cities focus on specific components in manufacturing or technology and try and own that market like Thailand does Magnetic HDD and Korea does RAM and CPUs.