Newly released information paints a grim picture of life for many in the United Kingdom: food bank use, homelessness, and destitution are on the rise, putting people’s rights at risk.
The Trussell Trust, the largest UK-wide food bank network, reported it is giving out 16 percent more emergency food parcels than last year, and 116 percent more than it was five years ago. The reason? People on low incomes often have no alternative but to turn to food banks.
Government data released last week showed that the number of households in England facing homelessness and placed in “temporary accommodation” was up 10 percent from the previous year. Families often face years in “temporary accommodation”; a quarter of households with children spend two to five years, sometimes in rights-violating conditions.
Meanwhile, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation recently published estimates that 3.8 million people experienced destitution in the UK in 2022.
Patricia Leatham, a former support teacher, spoke about the homelessness she and her teenage son experienced for two years and its impact on their health and rights.
She also spoke about her work and her son’s education, calling for “more care and compassion” in politics.
It’s been 5 years since the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston visited the UK and afterward issued an excoriating report.
The current Special Rapporteur, Olivier de Schutter, reiterated Alston’s criticisms, urging a rights-based approach to social security and poverty.
De Schutter’s calls to ensure social security payments address in-work poverty, are regularly updated to meet rising living costs, and reach everyone who needs them echo an important domestic advocacy effort.