We live in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, but hundreds of thousands of people here in the UK are going without the essentials we all need to get by.
Anyone's circumstances can change. Losing your job, needing to care for a sick family member, breaking up with your partner - these are things that can happen to any of us.
That's why Universal Credit should offer support to anyone in need of help, but right now, it's not providing enough to cover the cost of life's essentials, such as food, household bills or travel costs and more people than ever are being driven to food banks.
Our latest research shows that food banks in our network have seen the highest level of need in a six-month period. Between April 2023 and September 2023, 1.5 million emergency food parcels were provided to people going without the essentials – including a record 540,000 parcels for children.
These alarming numbers show that the social security system isn't protecting people from going without. The significant shortfall between people's living costs and the basic rate of Universal Credit is leaving people with no option but to seek support from a food bank. This simply isn't right.
We're calling on all MPs to take action on this situation and the harm it is doing to people in our communities. We must call for change to make sure they do.
This means calling on the UK government to introduce an Essentials Guarantee in our social security system so that, at a minimum, Universal Credit protects people from going without the essentials.
Together we can send a clear message to all MPs and ask for their support of the campaign.
Please take action now.
