Former PM Gordon Brown launches region’s first multibank in Middlesbrough

Tuesday morning marked the launch of Middlesbrough’s Multibank, the first of its kind in the North East.

The multibank will serve the whole region and is supported by four local authorities in the Tees Valley: Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough and Hartlepool. It is the fifth multibank in the UK and the initiative was co-founded by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Amazon.

The Junction Foundation will operate the facility, based in a 12,000 sq ft warehouse, in the Middlehaven area of Middlesbrough. The immediate aim of the project is to donate more than 750,000 surplus goods over the next year to 75,000 families across the region.

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This includes clothes, toiletries, home furnishings and baby goods. The event on Tuesday saw speeches given to a crowded warehouse, where thousands of items are already organised and ready to be distributed to those in need.

After the speeches, there was a ceremonial ribbon cutting and the speakers toured the facility and saw the project already in action.

Beth Major, Chief Executive of The Junction was asked whether she thought this multibank would suffice as the complete solution to poverty in the region, or just part of it. She said: “I think it is part of a solution, the reasons behind poverty are complex” and that “the level of child poverty in the Tees Valley should be a scandal, it should be something that we all feel is unacceptable”.

She further commented that it is up to society to not accept any level of poverty as being acceptable. “That may sound quite utopian, but actually, there are things both through corporate partnerships, through public policy, through that whole range of response, that we can do to make sure that children' s lives aren’t impacted through poverty," she explained.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown highlighted the blight of child poverty in the town, being one of the highest in the country. He added: “People in Middlesbrough want to do something about it”, highlighting The Junction and other charities, adding that there is a “coalition of compassion”.

It was put to the former prime minister that numerous people at the event had said how in an ideal world, the multibank wouldn’t have to exist. The existence of the multibank highlights the high level of poverty in the region.

Mr Brown was asked about what tangible changes the national government could make to policy in order to address the problem of poverty, beyond the ongoing review. Mr Brown said: “I think the interesting thing is that food banks want to do themselves out of existence, and who wouldn’t because you want people to have enough income without having to come to a foodbank.

"There will always be a role for multibanks though because there are goods that are surplus to companies that they might destroy or landfill, or waste, and I think it’s really important that we find a way of getting these goods repurposed and used by people. So while foodbanks, I hope, can do themselves out of existence, there will always be a role for a multibank if it’s bringing about a solution to the problem of pollution.”

Michelle Cooper, CEO of Point North said: “We’re working with The Junction in helping them, one as a grant funder, we’ve actually invested in the project. Secondly, we’re working with them to really engage local businesses, it’s a mechanism of harnessing corporate social responsibility and giving.”

It was put to John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager for Amazon, that two thirds of children in the Middlesbrough ward of Newport live in poverty. Did he believe that multibanks were the long term solution? He described the statistic as “heartbreaking”.

He added: “Multibanks are one of the ways in which we can make a difference in local communities, it’s a story about the private sector, businesses coming together with the public sector, local authorities, and the charity sector and that three way partnership, being able to take products from businesses and then get them to families in need."

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