Rachel Reeves: Shocking food bank stats shame the Government

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Rachel Reeves says today's figures showing an increase in the use of food banks prove that the "cost-of-living crisis" is deepening for many people. Today we learn a shocking fact about life in David Cameron’s Britain. A new report from the Trussell Trust charity found more than 900,000 people were forced to rely on food banks last year - up from 346,000 the year before. Today’s figures confirm food banks as the shameful symbol of David Cameron's government and the problem is getting worse. The huge increase in the number of people relying on food banks are a result both of the cost-of-living crisis hitting families across Britain, and of the incompetent and unfair way that this Government has handled welfare reform. Millions of families are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis which is forcing many to choose between heating and eating. Millions more are stuck in low-paid jobs, working shorter hours than they need as they struggle to survive. The cost-of-living crisis is a reality for families in every corner of the country apart from one, Downing Street. The huge increase in the number of people relying on food banks to get by last year will shock the country. It shows how David Cameron has put a privileged few before hardworking families. His government has taxed disabled people’s bedrooms while cutting taxes for millionaires. The Trussell Trust says today that benefit delays and changes have led to 50 per cent of all referrals to food banks. The Bedroom Tax, which increasingly looks like it will cost more than it saves,? is a huge part of the problem. It is an unfair levy which will be abolished by a Labour government. But the chaos that Iain Duncan Smith has created at the Department for Work and Pensions is also playing its part. The National Audit Office says that claimants are waiting months to claim new disability benefits, with even terminally ill patients waiting four weeks to get support. This incompetent government must urgently get a grip of the delays which are forcing so many people into severe hardship. A Labour government will take determined action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis through freezing energy prices, getting the next generation into work with a compulsory jobs guarantee for young people and a lower 10p starting rate of tax. We will tackle the problems of low pay by raising the national minimum wage, getting more employers to pay a living wage and ending the abuse of zero-hours contracts. When the Tories say the cost-of-living crisis does not exist it shows how out of touch they are. When the Tories deny the huge increasing numbers of people using food banks is evidence that the cost-of-living crisis is deepening it shows how out of touch they are. If you are as shocked as I am that 900,000 people are being forced to rely on food banks to survive, help us replace David Cameron and his out-of-touch ministers with a Labour government which will stand up for working people. Rachel Reeves is Labour's Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions.