The poor need free food says Rowan Williams: Former Archbishop of Canterbury attacks the Government’s benefits policy 

• Lord Williams spoke after food bank said its clients had doubled in a year
• 4,684 people used Cambridge Food Bank’s services last year
• Current Archbishop used Easter message to bemoan plight of families
• But critics claim there is a 'near infinite' demand for free food

Daily Mail (UK) | 14 June 2014

'A generation is growing up in conditions of anxiety and deprivation': Rowan Williams said support for needy people had been 'dismantled'

Rowan Williams reignited the debate over food banks yesterday by claiming a generation of children is growing up with ‘anxiety and deprivation’.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury attacked the Government’s benefits policy saying support for needy people had been ‘dismantled’.

And he dismissed the benefits of the economic upturn, saying it was doing nothing to prevent ‘day-to-day hardship’.

Lord Williams spoke out after Cambridge Food Bank, of which he has patron, released figures claiming the number of people fed by its five centres had doubled in a year to more than 4,600.

He said: ‘The facts on the ground are indisputable. Whatever may be said about economic recovery at national level, the day-to-day hardship experienced by so many people in this country is not getting less and is not going to get less in the near future.

‘Structures of support have been dismantled, resources for dealing with people in crisis situations have been reduced.

‘And meanwhile, a generation is growing up in conditions of anxiety and deprivation. The psychological as well as practical effects of this are long-term for those who are children now.

‘Once again, we have to challenge those who deny this to come and see for themselves.’

Dr Williams is the latest senior church figure to attack the Government over poverty.

His successor, Justin Welby, used his Easter message to bemoan the plight of struggling families ‘left broken and weeping’ by hunger and debt.

A letter signed by 600 church leaders including 36 Anglican bishops earlier this year called on the Government to deal with what it described as a ‘national crisis’ of poverty and people living below the bread line.

But their concerns contradict findings by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which show food poverty in Britain has reduced dramatically.

Only 8.1 per cent reported struggling to afford food in 2012 – down from 9.8 per cent in 2007, before the economic crisis.

Critics including former Cabinet minister Lord Tebbit have also pointed out there is a ‘near infinite demand’ for free food and warned of the ease with which people can claim the food parcels without providing evidence of financial hardship.

Piety: Dr Williams is the latest senior church figure to attack the Government over poverty. His successor, Justin Welby, used his Easter message describe the plight of families 'left broken' by hunger and debt

In April the Trussell Trust - a charity run by Labour Party member Chris Mould which has more than 400 food banks including those in Cambridge - was accused of being ‘misleading and emotionally manipulative’ after claiming more than 913,000 people had received three days’ emergency food in the past year – almost a threefold increase on the previous 12 months.

Publicity campaigns are widely accepted to have increased awareness of the service.

Applicant numbers have also swelled as a result of the Coalition overturning a Labour ban on job centres advising people about food banks.

Tory MP Stewart Jackson, a practising Christian, said he was ‘appalled’ at Lord Williams’ ‘partisan attack’ and defended the benefits system as ‘one of the most generous in the world.'

‘It’s interesting that Rowan Williams sat back under the Labour government when they abolished the 10p tax rate for poorer working people and presided over a huge rise in inequality between the richest and poorest. There wasn’t much moral indignation from him then,’ he said.

‘He is completely undermining his credibility with this partisan attack.’  

Poverty: A sign outside St. Paul's Church in Brixton, South London directs to a Food Bank depot

Some 4,684 people, including 1,650 children, were recorded as having used Cambridge’s food banks last year.

This included 1,405 because of ‘low incomes’, 682 due to ‘benefit changes’, 364 who were in debt and 139 whose reason was listed as ‘other’.

The trust admits it does not carry out checks into applicants’ suitability to receive food parcels. Instead, it relies on referrals from ‘front-line professionals’ such as GPs and social workers who fill out a tick box form.

‘Front-line care professionals make a judgement whether someone is actually in crisis and whether they need to be referred to a food bank’

A spokesman said: ‘Front-line care professionals make a judgement whether someone is actually in crisis and will ask questions about whether they need to be referred to a food bank.’

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said Government reforms were ‘improving the lives of some of the poorest people in our communities’.

He added: ‘The truth is that employment is going up, benefits are being paid to claimants more quickly and independent experts tell us that there are fewer people struggling with their food bills compared with a few years ago.

‘The Trussell Trust and other food banks agree that increased awareness has helped to explain their recent growth.’