Foodbank network Trussell Trust has welcomed the Chancellor’s social security interventions to support people on the lowers incomes.
On Thursday 26 May Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £15 billion package of support, funded by a windfall tax on energy companies that has been previously pushed by the Opposition.
The package also includes a one-off £650 payment for 8 million families on means-tested benefits.
READ MORE: Chancellor vows to cut business tax to tackle cost of living
The move has been larger than predicted, and backed by a number of charities as well as the Institute for Fiscal Studies – which described it as a “genuinely big package of support”.
“Many more families would have been forced to use a food bank without this much-needed boost and we know from the pandemic that this kind of support will protect many people who are facing hunger,” Trussell Trust CEO Emma Revie said.
“This is exactly the kind of investment we need in our social security system, so we all have the security and stability of a strong benefits system not just in times of national crisis, but every day.”
Revie added: “Today’s pledge of support proves that change is possible. To end the need for food banks, this cannot be a one-off. Today’s announcement shows it should be our social security system, not food banks, that provides families with the stability and security we all need to ensure we are all kept warm, fed and dry.”
However, the Sunak’s package was also criticised by Asda chairman Lord Stuart Rose who called it a “drop in the ocean” compared to the pressures consumers were facing.
Similarly, while the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves supported the windfall tac as it signified Labour was “winning the battle of ideas in Britain” – she argued it was months too late and did not address long-term issues.
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