The Government’s changes to welfare policy have led to thousands of Wrexham people using a food bank in the last year.
That is the view of Wrexham MP Ian Lucas, who has said the figures – released by the Trussell Trust – are a “sad indictment” of Government policy. The figures show that, over the past year, three day’s emergency food has been given out to 5,515 people in Wrexham – 3,516 adults and 1,989 children.
Mr Lucas said: “The fact that emergency food is having to be given to thousands of people in Wrexham is a sad indictment of the Government’s welfare policy.
“Despite the claims by some Conservative politicians, people who use food banks are not doping so as a lifestyle choice. People have to be assessed and referred to food banks – it is not simply a case of people turning up to them.
“The thousands of people who are being referred are being sent to food banks because they are in a desperate situation. I have seen a notable rise in cases where people are not receiving benefits simply because of backlogs in the system – and vulnerable people who have been left waiting months for vital help because of incompetence in the way their cases have been dealt with.
“Five thousand people needing a food bank in Wrexham county alone is, surely, a sign that something is very wrong.”
