Agenda item

Food Banks in Sheffield

It was moved by Councillor Shelia Constance, seconded by Councillor Sioned Mair Richards, that this Council:-

(a)

regrets that since this Government came to power there are more homeless people and people visiting food banks in Sheffield than ever before;

(b)

notes that the need for people to visit food banks has increased drastically over the past two years;

(c)

further notes that The Trussell Trust said its food bank network had fed almost 110,000 people since April 2012, compared with a total of 128,697 in the whole of 2011-12;

(d)

is aware that there are now seven food banks in Sheffield, which has more than doubled since the Coalition came to power;

(e)

is concerned about the disproportionate impact of homelessness on young people, who are more financially vulnerable and have less accommodation options open to them;

(f)

is doing what it can to help prevent homelessness in Sheffield but is faced with budget cuts which will mean less people will receive support when there is greater need;

(g)

believes that this need for emergency shelter and food supplies has increased due to tough economic pressures;

(h)

is aware that many families who need emergency food are working families that are struggling to pay bills as well as feed their families;

(i)

is also aware that the majority of people who need emergency food need help due to disruptions in benefit payments;

(j)

expects this situation to get worse with the introduction of universal benefits; and

(k)

is thankful that the churches and volunteer groups in Sheffield give up their time and resources to help people who need emergency support and hopes they will continue to do this.

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Colin Ross, seconded by Councillor Penny Baker, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.

the deletion in paragraph (a) of the words “this current Government came to power” and their substitution by the words “this economic downturn”;

2.

the deletion of paragraphs (f) and (h) to (j);

3.

the re-lettering of paragraphs (a) to (e) as new paragraphs (b) to (f), and the addition of a new paragraph (a) as follows:-

(a)

reminds Members that the previous Government oversaw the most severe economic collapse in post-war British history and left this country on the brink of economic abyss;

4.

the addition of new paragraphs (h) to (m) as follows:-

(h)

recognises that despite 13 years in power, Labour politicians failed to tackle the root causes of homelessness, with 1.75 million people on social housing waiting lists and an estimated additional 380,000 ‘hidden homeless’ people in the UK;

(i)

notes with concern, that under the previous Government, the building of social housing declined to the lowest figure since the Second World War, with seven times more prison cells being built than Council homes;

(j)

furthermore, acknowledges the Council have so far spent less than 10% of the New Homes Bonus, a fund specifically targeted at encouraging more home building;

(k)

welcomes moves by the Coalition Government to increase the building of social housing, and action taken by the last Council administration to build the first new Council homes in Sheffield for two decades;

(l)

acknowledges specific moves by the Coalition Government to tackle homelessness, such as the recent £264,000 awarded to Sheffield charities, the Archer Project and ASSIST, and measures in the Localism Act, which will allow homeless families to find a suitable home in the private rented sector and avoid the uncertainty of long waits in temporary accommodation;

(m)

supports broader Government initiatives, which have been welcomed by homeless charities, such as a cross-departmental Homelessness Working Group and the Health Inclusion Board, which will tackle chronic health problems among the homeless, and the new mental health strategy, No Health without Mental Health, which focuses on the needs of homeless people;

5.

the re-lettering of original paragraph (k) as a new paragraph (n).

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

The original Motion was then put to the vote and carried, as follows:-

RESOLVED: that this Council:-

(a)

regrets that since this Government came to power there are more homeless people and people visiting food banks in Sheffield than ever before;

(b)

notes that the need for people to visit food banks has increased drastically over the past two years;

(c)

further notes that The Trussell Trust said its food bank network had fed almost 110,000 people since April 2012, compared with a total of 128,697 in the whole of 2011-12;

(d)

is aware that there are now seven food banks in Sheffield, which has more than doubled since the Coalition came to power;

(e)

is concerned about the disproportionate impact of homelessness on young people, who are more financially vulnerable and have less accommodation options open to them;

(f)

is doing what it can to help prevent homelessness in Sheffield but is faced with budget cuts which will mean less people will receive support when there is greater need;

(g)

believes that this need for emergency shelter and food supplies has increased due to tough economic pressures;

(h)

is aware that many families who need emergency food are working families that are struggling to pay bills as well as feed their families;

(i)

is also aware that the majority of people who need emergency food need help due to disruptions in benefit payments;

(j)

expects this situation to get worse with the introduction of universal benefits; and

(k)

is thankful that the churches and volunteer groups in Sheffield give up their time and resources to help people who need emergency support and hopes they will continue to do this.

(Note: The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Vickie Priestley) and Councillors Simon Clement Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Rob Frost, Sylvia Anginotti, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Keith Hill, Penny Baker, Diana Stimely, Roger Davison, Andrew Sangar, Ian Auckland, Bob McCann, Anders Hanson, Katie Condliffe, David Baker, Alison Brelsford and Trevor Bagshaw voted for paragraphs (b), (c), (e), (g), (h) and (k), against paragraph (j) and abstained on paragraphs (a), (d) and (f) of the above motion and asked for this to be recorded.)