Highland MSP decries Westminster's foodbank enforcement
Badenoch’s MSP has criticised the UK Government for "driving families to food banks" after new figures reveal the number of food parcels has increased over the past year.
The Trussell Trust’s annual foodbank statistics show that the number of food parcels distributed in Scotland surged by 17 per cent in 2017-18 to record levels – with Tory welfare policy remaining the main driver.
Benefit delays and sanctions are the primary reason for referrals, with the roll-out of universal credit a factor in the rise.
The Scottish Government have called on the UK government to reverse the benefits freeze and introduce a real living wage to help ensure families have enough money to live on.
In Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch between April 2017 and March 2018, 1,693 three-day emergency food supplies were given to people facing crisis by the Trussell Trust Foodbank Network, with 526 going to children.
Kate Forbes MSP said today (Friday 27): "There are two facts which are irreconcilable in my mind.
"The first is that we live in a comparably prosperous nation – one of the richest countries on earth.
"The second is that families in the Highlands and across Scotland are having to rely on emergency food parcels just to get by.
"Millions of families across the UK are suffering from a Tory pay cut – as rising prices, stagnant wages, and cuts to social security continue to squeeze living standards and push households into poverty, debt and crisis.
"Of course, in the Highlands, there are also phenomenally high numbers of people in fuel poverty too, not helped by the higher energy prices they pay. Energy is also a reserved matter and Theresa May could solve the regional disparity whenever she wants.
"These figures from the Trussell Trust show that the problem is getting worse - with food bank usage rising year on year. Tory policies are making it harder for families to cover even the basic costs of food, housing, and bills."
