My speech to Norfolk County Council today on Food Poverty - I've posted the text of the full motion at the bottom;
Thank-you Chairman. I am pleased to speak in support of this motion. The issue of food poverty is very real, it existed before covid19, it was exacerbated during covid19 and it will no doubt continue to be an issue moving forward.
Over the past few weeks I have supported a survey of Thetford schools which revealed that 100% of those that responded were concerned about ‘holiday hunger’ and children not being able to access sufficient food during the Summer break.
I also know through talking with teachers that there are significant issues in Norfolk with children being able to access regular and nutritious meals and that malnutrition is a major concern which inevitably impacts upon the education of children in our county.
It’s a sad indictment of our country today that schools are concerned about children being hungry during school holidays and that we’re continuing to see people’s basic needs not being met. I am obviously pleased that the Government u-turned on the decision to not provide additional support during the summer holidays. However, this only affects those families in receipt of free school meals. There are many more families just above this threshold who are struggling financially due to Covid19 and the financial uncertainty. I would hope that we would all agree that No child in Norfolk should be left hungry.
A report by the Children’s Society estimated there to be over 20,000 children in Norfolk living in poverty but less than half of them were in receipt of free school meals. There are likely to be more than 10,000 children missing out and no doubt their health and wellbeing impacted as a result.
This week I have been to my old junior school in Thetford and provided them with £500 worth of gift vouchers as part of the County Labour Group’s Food Out Friday initiative - vouchers which the school distributed to families that do not receive free school meals but where they are aware of issues and challenges and where additional support is needed. It’s important I feel, to trust the teachers and the schools who know those children and their families best and trust the families to make responsible decisions. In addition to the practicable and immediate support I was able to collate together an information sheet detailing various other forms of support across Thetford and Norfolk so that families could be signposted to more sustainable and longer-term forms of help. A significant number of these support services are provided by charitable organisations and rely on the goodwill of others which is why as this motion requests, that we publicly thank volunteers in our county who make such a vital contribution and provide practical support to voluntary and community groups.
This sort of support should not be necessary but if it is necessary, it should not be limited to one area in isolated examples. We should not have to rely on the goodwill of volunteers at foodbanks and schools being creative with their budgets. I believe we need greater support from this Council and the Government to address food poverty and make absolutely certain that there is no hungry child in Norfolk.
Food Poverty
Norfolk has experienced the profound multiple impacts of Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic. Evidence shows that this impact has not been shared evenly, with those in the county’s most deprived communities suffering hardest. One very visible
example of this has been the rocketing use of foodbanks which have multiplied and provided critical support to those facing the difficulties of food crisis. As the city now begins to emerge from the pandemic special focus to provide support for those most at risk from hunger should be considered.
Council resolves to:
Ask the leader of the council to;
a) publicly thank the volunteers, groups, organisations and partners who have worked so tirelessly to provide emergency food, support of other provisions across the county, acknowledging the vital difference this has made.
b) write to the Secretary of State at the Department for Work and
Pensions and the county's Members of Parliament to request, with
specific reference to alleviating child poverty, that child benefit is
immediately raised by £15.00 per week, per child as an alternative to parents using the current inefficient, ineffective and often inaccessible voucher service.
(1) acknowledge the impact of a decade of deliberate structural austerity in driving people into hunger through the weakening of social security and other systemic measures which have fuelled poverty across Norfolk,
(2) use the powers available to ensure that the recovery of the county economy must address the root drivers of poverty with special reference to creating new, inclusive and sustainable growth, tackling endemic low pay and working with the newly formed Good Economy Commission; and
(3) Consider and implement the agreed Recovery Plan, working with partners, to enhance and develop strong and sustainable food networks to better provide support to those most at risk of hunger.
(4) Request that the Local Resilience Forum takes responsibility for continued of monitoring of and support for food banks in Norfolk and that continued food supply through any second spike of Covid-19 and the exit from the European Union forms a key part of the Emergency Plan
(5) Ensure all schools and colleges are informed of foodbank provision across the county before the end of this term 95
(6) Ensure that volunteers from the newly emerged foodbanks can access safeguarding training
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