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| Welfare reforms cut food budgets to as low as £20 a week, finds survey | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Low-income households spend an average of £2.10 a person a day on groceries, having cut their daily food budget drastically since the summer, according to the latest instalment of a survey on the impact of welfare reform. | |
| The detailed survey of more than 87 families found that a third said they now spent less than £20 a week on food, partly to cope with spiralling gas and electricity bills, while more than half said they had no money left once bills were paid. | The detailed survey of more than 87 families found that a third said they now spent less than £20 a week on food, partly to cope with spiralling gas and electricity bills, while more than half said they had no money left once bills were paid. |
| A combination of shrinking incomes and rising living costs, coupled with high personal debts meant the "reality of everyday life has got tougher" for low-income families since April when a series of welfare changes, such as the bedroom tax, were introduced, the report said. | A combination of shrinking incomes and rising living costs, coupled with high personal debts meant the "reality of everyday life has got tougher" for low-income families since April when a series of welfare changes, such as the bedroom tax, were introduced, the report said. |
| There were no signs yet that welfare reform had helped jobless tenants to find work or an increase in working hours, despite a rise in the percentage of participants searching for work. | There were no signs yet that welfare reform had helped jobless tenants to find work or an increase in working hours, despite a rise in the percentage of participants searching for work. |
| The Real Life Reform survey examined the finances and everyday habits of tenants in eight housing associations in north-west England and Yorkshire in October. One in five tenants were in work. The average household weekly income for social housing tenants in the region is £265 a week. | |
| Food spending had dipped from £3.27 a person a day in July to £2.10 in October. The survey found neighbours were coping by sharing the cost of meals, including one group of women who clubbed together to cook a Sunday roast to ensure their children ate "decent food". Others were using food banks, eating with relatives, or missing out on some meals altogether. | |
| One tenant quoted in the report said: "We don't have breakfast and dinner now. We have one meal a day. We've been doing that for about two months and we've got used to it." | One tenant quoted in the report said: "We don't have breakfast and dinner now. We have one meal a day. We've been doing that for about two months and we've got used to it." |
| Lisa Pickard, chief executive of Leeds and Yorkshire Housing Association said that despite incredible resilience, some families were struggling to survive: "With the pressure of worsening weather, rising energy costs and Christmas, there is no question that people will face difficult choices – between eating or heating their homes and getting into more debt." | Lisa Pickard, chief executive of Leeds and Yorkshire Housing Association said that despite incredible resilience, some families were struggling to survive: "With the pressure of worsening weather, rising energy costs and Christmas, there is no question that people will face difficult choices – between eating or heating their homes and getting into more debt." |
| Frank Field, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on hunger and food poverty, told the Guardian the hardship demonstrated in the report reflected already established trends that had been made worse by welfare reform. | Frank Field, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on hunger and food poverty, told the Guardian the hardship demonstrated in the report reflected already established trends that had been made worse by welfare reform. |
| "It begins to explain why people have fallen back on food banks as one way of making an inadequate budget stretch further." | "It begins to explain why people have fallen back on food banks as one way of making an inadequate budget stretch further." |
| After rent, bedroom tax, transport costs, clothing and council tax, it found participating families spent an average of £33 a week on food. Many participants said they now bought cheaper, lower quality food, and were eating less fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. | After rent, bedroom tax, transport costs, clothing and council tax, it found participating families spent an average of £33 a week on food. Many participants said they now bought cheaper, lower quality food, and were eating less fruit, vegetables, meat and fish. |
| Cuts in food spending were in part a response to rising weekly energy bills, up 16% since the first survey in July, and amounting to an average of £30 a week. Fuel bills were expected to increase in the winter, though the report noted that in October the average family had just £4.79 left after bills were paid (down from £12.50 in July), making it unclear where the cash for extra heating would come from. | Cuts in food spending were in part a response to rising weekly energy bills, up 16% since the first survey in July, and amounting to an average of £30 a week. Fuel bills were expected to increase in the winter, though the report noted that in October the average family had just £4.79 left after bills were paid (down from £12.50 in July), making it unclear where the cash for extra heating would come from. |
| Many households said they could not afford to heat their homes already, however, and a quarter had reduced fuel spending since July. | Many households said they could not afford to heat their homes already, however, and a quarter had reduced fuel spending since July. |
| Survey participant Dawn Lennon, 52, who lives with her disabled 28-year-old daughter Kelly in a three-bedroom housing association home in Runcorn, said the welfare changes, coupled with cost of living increases had left her with barely any money left after bills were paid. | Survey participant Dawn Lennon, 52, who lives with her disabled 28-year-old daughter Kelly in a three-bedroom housing association home in Runcorn, said the welfare changes, coupled with cost of living increases had left her with barely any money left after bills were paid. |
| She has to keep the heating on 24 hours a day because of her daughter's condition, Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. Despite the third bedroom being used as a sensory room for Kelly, she must meet an £11 housing benefit shortfall each week as a result of the bedroom tax, and has been refused discretionary housing payment help. | She has to keep the heating on 24 hours a day because of her daughter's condition, Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. Despite the third bedroom being used as a sensory room for Kelly, she must meet an £11 housing benefit shortfall each week as a result of the bedroom tax, and has been refused discretionary housing payment help. |
| As a result she has cut down on the volume and quality of food she buys. "I just get the cheapest stuff that I can afford. I'm not eating healthily. I'm just counting the pennies." | As a result she has cut down on the volume and quality of food she buys. "I just get the cheapest stuff that I can afford. I'm not eating healthily. I'm just counting the pennies." |
| She said she believed they were being unfairly penalised by welfare reform, and she invited ministers to come and see how they lived. | She said she believed they were being unfairly penalised by welfare reform, and she invited ministers to come and see how they lived. |
| "At the moment there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Things are just getting harder." | "At the moment there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Things are just getting harder." |
| The report showed that participants' problems were exacerbated by high levels of personal debt. Nearly three-quarters of households owed money, with an average debt of £2,273. Although this average figure was down marginally since July, the number of tenants with debts of up to £1,000 had risen by 23%. One in every three tenants now had a council tax debt, following the abolition of council tax benefit in April. | The report showed that participants' problems were exacerbated by high levels of personal debt. Nearly three-quarters of households owed money, with an average debt of £2,273. Although this average figure was down marginally since July, the number of tenants with debts of up to £1,000 had risen by 23%. One in every three tenants now had a council tax debt, following the abolition of council tax benefit in April. |
| More than a quarter of tenants owed money on household bills, compared with 17% in debt to the bank and 10% to credit card companies. One in 10 owed money to payday lenders or loan sharks. Despite repaying up to £40 a week, tenants were finding it hard to chip away at underlying debt levels, suggesting many were trapped in a "perpetual cycle of borrowing". | |
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