Food banks

That this House notes with extreme concern the new figures from The Trussell Trust which showed that 1.5 million food parcels were provided to people between April and September 2023 by food banks in the charity’s UK-wide network, which is a 16% increase on the same period in 2022; highlights that 320,000 people have needed to use a food bank for the first time in the past six months; notes that a record 540,000 food parcels were provided for more than 265,000 children living in families who could not afford the essentials, which is an 11% increase compared to the same period last year; highlights the grave concerns expressed by the UN Poverty envoy Olivier De Schutter on poverty levels in the UK; and urges the Government to act now to tackle poverty by ensuring decent pay, investment and high quality public services.