Our social security system should be the nation’s safety net, not charities and food banks

People shouldn’t have to rely on the kindness of other people during the pandemic – the government must provide them with an emergency income

Data released today by the Trussell Trust is shocking: there has been an 81 per cent increase in emergency food parcels being accessed from food banks, and a 122 per cent increase in parcels for children in the last two weeks of March 2020, compared with this period last year.

Fifty-nine per cent of this increase is due to people reporting a fall in income from work or benefits. Meanwhile, food banks in the Independent Food Aid Network reported on average a 59 per cent increase in need from February to March this year, an increase 17 times higher than between February and March of 2019. Put simply, many more people are depending on food aid services during the pandemic because they cannot afford food. In a society that believes in looking out for one another, this is just not right.

We are all caught in the same storm with coronavirus, but we are not all in the same boat. Non-key worker parents, previously reliant on schools and grandparents for childcare, are being forced to reduce their hours, accept furlough, take unpaid leave or even quit their jobs in order to look after their children, putting deep strains on household incomes. This task itself has become more difficult, as parents attempt to homeschool children and keep them entertained, often with no access to outdoor space.

As staying at home means higher bills, and economic slowdown means lower wages, many will fall into poverty for the first time. Others already facing hardship or on tight budgets with little room for manoeuvre will be pulled deeper into it.

During the coronavirus crisis, the government has taken some steps to strengthen social security. However, the fact that many frontline charities are still having families rely on them suggests such schemes are not enough.

Today, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, where I work, is joining together with the Trussell Trust, Child Poverty Action Group, the Children’s Society, Independent Food Aid Network, StepChange and Turn2Us to call on the government to introduce a time-limited coronavirus emergency income support scheme for individuals and families currently facing or at serious risk of financial hardship.

This scheme is a set of targeted measures to boost the social security system, including targeted support for families with children; extending the suspension of benefit deductions to cover advance payments; lifting the benefit cap and two-child policy; and empowering local authorities to provide effective crisis support.

As we have seen in the last few weeks, we should all be able to rely on our social security system when times get tough. Our proposal would enable this system to take the strain when people are hit by unexpected costs or lost earnings. It would also enable the food aid system to focus on people who are shielding or self-isolating and cannot access food in the shops right now.

We recognise that ours is not a simple proposal and are eager to work with the government to make it happen. We propose that Downing Street establishes an emergency taskforce to drive this work, including partners from the anti-poverty sector. We stand ready to work with the government to expand on the measures it has already put in place to ensure that nobody is left behind as we continue to weather this storm.

Helen Barnard is acting director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation