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<p>Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work
and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and
accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.</p><p> </p><p>We
take the issue of food insecurity seriously, which is why we added internationally
used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 19/20 and published
the data in March this year. (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020</a>).
Food insecurity data from the Family Resources survey for 20/21 is not yet available.</p><p>
</p><p>This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, including
by increasing the living wage, and by spending an estimated £111 billion on welfare
support for people of working age in 2020/21. This included around £7.4 billion of
Covid-related welfare policy measures.</p><p> </p><p>We introduced our Covid Winter
Grant Scheme providing funding to Local Authorities in England to help the most vulnerable
children and families stay warm and well fed during the coldest months. It will now
run until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269m.</p><p>
</p><p>We are investing up to £220m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme which
has been expanded to every local authority across England this year. Children eligible
for benefits-related Free School Meals will have the option to join a holiday club
programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities during the summer, Christmas
and Easter holidays in 2021. We also increased the value of Healthy Start Vouchers
from £3.10 to £4.25 in April.</p><p> </p><p>As the economy recovers, our ambition
is to help people move into and progress in work as quickly as possible based on clear
evidence around the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time,
in substantially reducing the risks of poverty in all its forms. We are investing
over £30 billion in our ambitious Plan for Jobs which is already delivering for people
of all ages right across the country.</p>
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