Petition · past parliament

Prioritise food supply deliveries for the vulnerable and poor

Rejected 14 signatures

What the petition asks

We need the government to prioritise food and essential household item deliveries for those who are elderly, disabled, chronically ill or low income. Special dietary requirements should be taken into account for the ill and disabled. The costs of these deliveries should be subsidised.
Because we need urgent action now to prevent the unnecessary suffering of the most vulnerable in our society.

Why it was rejected

It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.

The opening arrangements for supermarkets are a matter for individual retailers, not the Government or Parliament. A number of retailers have announced plans to open early for elderly or vulnerable customers and to prioritise deliveries for such people. You should contact your local supermarket to find out if they have put such arrangements in place.

The Government has made certain changes to enable supermarkets to work together during the coronavirus outbreak, particularly to serve customers who are elderly, ill or vulnerable: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/supermarkets-to-join-forces-to-feed-the-nation.

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/

Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

Timeline

18 Mar 2020 Petition opened for signatures
7 Apr 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 14
Status Rejected
Rejected 7 Apr 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.