Food poverty: MPs call for ‘delayed’ food banks report to be published

All-party group says the findings of the Defra report will kick start a proper debate on the causes of food poverty in the UK

All all-party group of MPs and peers has called on the government to publish a long-delayed official report into the growth of food banks in the UK.

The review, which examined the scale and causes of the explosion in emergency food aid in recent years, was delivered to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in June, but has since remained under wraps.

Labour MP Frank Field, chair of the newly-formed all-party group (APPG) on hunger and food poverty, wrote to the environment secretary Owen Paterson on Thursday demanding that he publish the report "as a matter of urgency".

The letter states:

"We are deeply concerned that something very serious is happening to the poorest individuals in our society and we believe that by publishing the evidence review the Government can kick start an important public debate on this issue. 

"I am therefore writing to ask on behalf of the APPG whether you will publish and lay a copy before Parliament as a matter of urgency."

There is speculation that the report has been "suppressed" by the Department for Work and Pensions because it makes clear that the growth in food bank use is driven in part by the effects of welfare reform. Ministers have always insisted there is no robust evidence for this.

A Defra spokesperson said: "Government funded research projects are required to go through the necessary review and quality assurance process prior to publication. Once this process is complete, the report will be published on the Government's website."

The Defra research, which was carried out by experts at the University of Warwick, examined the scale of emergency food aid and its impact on recipients, including the extent to which charity food provision alleviates the underlying causes of food poverty. The report was peer-reviewed in June.

The letter was the first action taken by the hunger and food poverty APPG at its inaugural meeting on Wednesday. Some 37 MPs and peers have registered with the group, including nine Tory MPs. The South Thanet conservative MP Laura Sandys, a food policy expert, is vice chair of the group.

The APPG's stated aim is:

"To raise the issue of hunger in this country, to try to understand the underlying causes and ways of addressing the issue."

Other Tory MPs on the group include: Andrea Leadsom, Eleanor Laing, Graham Brady, Sarah Newton and Sir Peter Bottomley. Labour members include Luciana Berger, David Blunkett, and the poverty expert Baroness Lister.

Field told the Guardian the group was set up because of fears that there was too little debate about the growth of food poverty in the UK:

"I was really concerned that we were just neglecting the issues, and allowing food banks to become a part of the welfare state, with us asleep."

He said it was important to "locate the source" of the rise in food poverty and understand the reasons why people turned to food banks, such as household debt and cuts and delays to benefit entitlements.

In September Field wrote to the prime minister David Cameron urging him to hold a short inquiry aimed at setting out an effective anti-poverty strategy for people who are forced to turn to food banks.

Field said this should ask why families become hungry, what immediate food support exists, how far the issue of debt influences food poverty, how budgetary and household skills can be improved, and the feasibility of living on benefits as a reliable source of income.

Guardian