Mark's Blog

There’s been a lot of stuff in the news lately that has caused me to feel a bit gloomy and wonder where the hell we are heading as a country. So rather than me keep these ranklings to myself, I thought I would do the honourable thing and share them with you for your consideration...

‘Food insecurity’ is a phrase we’ve been hearing a lot recently. The other word for it is poverty.

Following the news from The Trussell Trust that they have handed out a record of 1.6 million food parcels in the last year, it looks like we are heading towards a hunger crisis in the UK – an appalling truth for one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

This week we also heard from the British Medical Journal, who found that over half of people who were living with illness or a disability in 2016 could not afford to eat. The figures have risen dramatically in the last five years, and as usual, it is is the most disadvantaged people in our communities who are bearing the brunt of this.

Stories of parents skipping meals so their children can eat are heart-breaking to hear. The food banks, which have now become a sad part of daily life in Britain, are doing an incredible job, and the generosity of thousands of people who donate to them every week is only to be commended, but the fact is that they shouldn’t need to exist.

Politicians praising the wonderful work of foodbanks are not addressing the underlying issue: surely the government should be stepping up to provide a long-term solution, before the long-term effects become even more widespread.

Poor mental and physical health, particularly among children, have been linked to people who’ve experienced food poverty. It’s not just the poor diet and vitamin deficiencies that come with relying on cheaper foods, or the limited supplies from food banks. Young people are more likely to develop everything from asthma to depression as a result of going without.

Health and social inequality is rightly on the agenda at the moment, with the Social Mobility Commission’s report released this week (see story below). Let’s hope that, amongst the mess of Brexit negotiations and the Tory leadership scramble, these issues remain in the spotlight.

It is the business of the government of the day to do its very best for its citizens, regardless of who they think is to blame. The best test of any government is how it looks after its most vulnerable...there’s a thing or too that you lot could teach this government and many that went before it.

I am very proud of the work that we do at P3 and what each of you achieve every day to change the fortunes of our most vulnerable citizens.

Just one plea from me… no more talk of clients, customers, rough sleepers, the mentally ill, offenders etc - can we just say people, talk about people, write about people but let’s agree we need to drop the labels and do it from today?