Trussell Trust report increased demand for food banks
The Trussell Trust has issued new data on Wednesday which reveals that 128,490 emergency food parcels were provided to people in Scotland between April and September through their 130 food banks, representing a 9% increase on the same period last year.
The new report shows that a majority of these parcels were given to families with children, and at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) Gathering on Tuesday it was revealed by members of a panel which discussed the Scottish Government’s Cash First initiative to ending the need for food banks, that a staggering 3 in 4 people using food banks are disabled or have a disabled person in the family.
The Trussell Trust says that food banks are at breaking point as more and more people find themselves unable to afford essentials.
Shirley-Anne Somerville Minister for Social Justice said on Tuesday afternoon: “We cannot forget the wider value of food in all our lives. So a Cash First approach doesn’t just mean cash only. As many of you said before – I’ve met folks in the sector, and when I’ve been visiting projects around the country – when poverty affects an individual a family is not just about material things. It’s the lack of dignity, its the isolation, and it’s the feeling that you have failed when actually it is the state that has failed you.”
Polly Jones Head of the Trussell Trust in Scotland said: “Surviving is expensive.”
She also said when revealing the report that despite the rising numbers “there are some positives in Scotland. The Trussell Trust recently welcomed the Scottish Government’s support for an Essentials Guarantee, the publication of its plan, Cash First: Towards Ending the need for food banks, and the launch of its Cash First Fund. These are significant steps towards a future where no one needs to use a food bank. However, at a time when need for emergency support is greater than ever, the scale of the hunger and hardship faced by thousands in Scotland must be met with significantly scaled up action this winter and beyond.
“We are also calling on the UK Government to urgently confirm in the Autumn Statement that benefits will rise in line with inflation next April, and to reduce the burden of debt deductions which drive unacceptable levels of hardship.”
Number of emergency food parcels distributed by food banks in the Trussell Trust network in Scotland in the mid-year periods of 2023/24 and 2022/23. With top five local authorities by parcels distributed in 2023.
| 1 April– 30 September 2022 | 1 April – 30 September 2023 | |||||
| For adults | For children | Total | For adults | For children | Total | |
| United Kingdom | 953,212 | 543,635 | 1,496,847 | 804,737 | 487,884 | 1,292,621 |
| Scotland | 77,228 | 40,140 | 117,368 | 86,612 | 41,878 | 128,490 |
| City of Edinburgh | 7,200 | 3,193 | 10,393 | 11,188 | 4,850 | 16,038 |
| Glasgow City | 9,347 | 6,265 | 15,612 | 9,966 | 5,935 | 15,901 |
| South Lanarkshire | 5,159 | 2,751 | 7,910 | 7,095 | 3,189 | 10,284 |
| Fife | 5,310 | 3,232 | 8,542 | 5,300 | 2,996 | 8,296 |
| East Lothian | 3,431 | 2,058 | 5,489 | 4,251 | 2,383 | 6,634 |
At the Court of Session today
The second Judicial Review brought by representatives of those who own or manage Short Term Lets in Edinburgh is being brought in the Court of Session today.
The petitioners in the largest crowdfunded legal action in Scotland declared victory in June this year when Lord Braid issued his decision in the first petition for Judicial Review of Edinburgh’s licensing scheme for short terms lets.
But it was not a complete victory.
His Lordship did not decide that the whole scheme was unlawful, rather that parts of it were – restrictions on using tenement properties, the refusal by the council to issue temporary licenses and requirements for landlords to have carpets in any holiday let properties.
The decision dealt with something called a ‘rebuttable presumption’ – in other words the council said it would presume that any applications for a short term let licence for houses or flats in tenement stairs would not be granted. The policy did not provide for temporary licences (even thought it would grant temporary licences in other cases). The decision determined this would be an inconsistent policy as the council would normally grant permission for secondary short term lets – even those in a tenement stair.
The second petition in the name of Iain Muirhead & Another will determine whether the council’s move to implement a city wide short term let control area, (as the council agreed in April this year), is lawful in respect of retrospective applications. The imposition of a control area means that anyone owning an STL in the capital requires both a licence and planning permission to use the property in this way as it is a “material change of use”.
Local Democracy Reporter Donald Turvill will be in court and will report on proceedings later.
First King’s Speech in 70 years
For the first King’s speech for seven decades there was an amount of interest and political response. Some said there was little content which would help deal with the cost of living.
For the whole picture read more here.
The Bonnie Barista
The Bonnie Barista is opening a new shop at 80 Bruntsfield Place EH10 4HG on Saturday from noon. There will be cake and treats for dogs as the coffee shop is dog friendly. You are promised good coffee and treats.
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Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
