Government Must Do More To Tackle Food Poverty - Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire Liberal Democrats)

Cymraeg
English

Brecon and Radnorshire Liberal Democrats <info@brecon-radnor-libdems.org.uk>

Government Must Do More To Tackle Food Poverty - Williams

February 26, 2009 1:32 PM

Following a response to a Parliamentary Question about the levels of food poverty amongst the poorest 10% and the richest 10% of the population, Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and Liberal Democrat Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson, is calling on the Government to do more to tackle food poverty.

Mr Williams said:

"In response to a question I tabled recently I received a letter from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which showed that amongst the poorest 10% of the population 22% of their income was spent on food, compared with just 3% of the richest 10%.

"Gordon Brown is very keen to highlight the efforts he has made to reduce inequality within Britain, yet this just shows how little has changed under this Labour Government.

"The fact that over a 5th of household income in the UK's poorest houses is being spent on food is absolutely shocking and could have serious consequences in terms of the quality of food these people can eat and the health consequences associated with a more limited diet.

"The Government is very good at showing how they are tackling health inequalities, yet this just shows that the root causes remain. They must act to reduce these inequalities."

NOTES:

A copy of the letter from the ONS is available on request.

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