I was pleased to be able to secure a Member’s debate in order to discuss the findings of the Menu for Change report: Found Wanting. It is a disgrace that in 21st century Scotland people are living with food insecurity. This is simply not acceptable and more needs to be done to tackle this. There are things that we can do now to tackle food insecurity and those steps should be taken as a matter of urgency.
You can find the motion for the debate below, a clip of my speech, and a full copy of the report.
Motion Number: S5M-20197
Lodged By: Alex
Rowley
Date Lodged: 10/12/2019
Title: A
Menu for Change’s Report, Found Wanting
Motion Text:
That the Parliament welcomes the report by A Menu for Change, Found Wanting, which looks at the pressures forcing people into food insecurity in Scotland; understands that A Menu for Change is a three-year initiative that is run by Oxfam Scotland, Nourish Scotland, the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland and the Poverty Alliance, and is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund; notes that its research was carried out in Fife, East Ayrshire and Dundee and tracked people with lived experience in and out of food insecurity; believes that, while people said that they found great support from community groups and the healthcare and education sectors, the report found that system changes are required to prevent the causes of food insecurity; considers that income shocks from insecure and inadequate wages from employment and social security are key drivers in pushing people to become food insecure; notes the report’s recommendations for a review of the budget for the Scottish Welfare Fund, for the Scottish Government to use public procurement to deliver fair work and invest in low-paid sectors, and to ensure that devolved employability programmes are designed to provide person-centred support for people who are furthest from the labour market; recognises the significant barriers that people facing food insecurity can face, and, in doing so, notes the authors’ recommendations for UK ministers to restore the value of key benefits, uprate all benefits in line with inflation, remove the two-child limit and benefit cap, eliminate measures creating income shocks, including the five-week wait for universal credit, and to improve in-work conditions through measures such as increasing the national living wage to the real living wage, banning exploitative zero-hours contracts and improving in-work support.
